Infant seats in Germany

[KaiLing]

Hi folks!

I've had two questions now from American friends living in Germany about what seats to buy for newborns. A search here has lead me to believe that the Germans are FFing at before age 1, and if you don't want to do that you are best off importing Swedish seats.

But what about before that? Are there any long-lasting infant seats on the German market, or convertibles to use from birth that might get kids beyond age 1? Do people who know Germany and want kids RF longer have a standard list of favorites?

Thanks!

 

[ketchupqueen]

There are Swedish seats that can be used from birth. I think the Akta/Graco Duologic?

But most people do what most folks do here- an infant bucket for a while (6-12 months) followed by a different seat later.

I believe that Graco/Teutonia sells some of their buckets in versions there- and that there's one with the same shell as the SnugRide 35. (It doesn't go as long by weight as it does here but it's tall at least.)

I personally am a HUGE fan of the Cybex Aton 2, and that is available in Europe as well. It's decently long-lasting, the shell is only 1/2 inch shorter than the Keyfit. And it works on strollers with Maxi-Cosi adaptors, which means all those awesome European brands!

There are also some great infant seats there that we don't have here, like the Red Castle Sport Infant Seat, which can be used in a rear-facing position lying flat up to about 20 lbs. (and inclined after that for a few kilos longer...)

 

[newyorkDOC]

We use a cabriofix which is one of the most popular bucket seats still. There's also the recent maxi cosi pebble. You will find that almost all stroller companies have maxi cosi adaptors.

As KQ mentioned we also have the Aton in Europe. As well as the b-safe by britax which is one of the few 5-PT harness seats (bucket-wise).

MANY Europeans use the car bassinet which is usually sold with the stroller system. Unless the infant has a physical need to lie down, these are NOT as safe as a bucket seat.

Another Swedish convertible suitable from birth is the new britax maxfix.

 

[ketchupqueen]

Few? Most of the newer buckets I've looked at on European sites seem to be 5 points. (Though the 3 points are so different that's not a huge hangup for me.)

Eta: ok, looking at amazon uk, I'll revise that down to half or so. Apparently I mostly look at the expensive new ones, not the ”old standards.”

 

[ketchupqueen]

The Keyfit seems to be available as well.

Do remember that in Europe most seats are sold without bases, which are sold separately when available.

 

[newyorkDOC]

Do remember that in Europe most seats are sold without bases, which are sold separately when available.

Most bases are available on amazon UK but not all countries sell bases separately. So if they want to buy locally they may have to purchase the seat with base and not take the "let me see how I like baseless install first before dropping 150 euros in the base" approach like I did :/. The ONLY place I found a separate base for my cabriofix was on amazon UK. It has to do with the way dorel distributes apparently. Like I also could not purchase a spare cover separately at a B&M shop (only from amazon or dorel directly).

 

[_juune]

Another Swedish convertible suitable from birth is the new britax maxfix.

Are you really sure it's from birth? Britax.se website says from 6 months, which is the usual way of saying that it's too upright or simply too big for a newborn

 

[newyorkDOC]

Are you really sure it's from birth? Britax.se website says from 6 months, which is the usual way of saying that it's too upright or simply too big for a newborn

Uh... I didn't look... Just going off AD's shop which had it listed as 0-18 I think? TBH, I wasn't too concerned with the details bc my DS is already 8m. I was just looking for seats starting at 0 bc he's not yet 9 kg and I'm pretty sure the TWE will be too upright before 12m.

Max-Fix is basically an Isofix version of the very popular Britax Max-Way seat. Max-Way is approved 9-25 kg (20-55 lbs) while MaxFix is approved 0-18 kg (0-40 lbs). The seat will provide comfortable rear facing from birth to around age 5.

Doesn't it have various recline positions? So I'd assume it can be reclined to 45 degrees?

 

[_juune]

Uh... I didn't look... Just going off AD's shop which had it listed as 0-18 I think? TBH, I wasn't too concerned with the details bc my DS is already 8m. I was just looking for seats starting at 0 bc he's not yet 9 kg and I'm pretty sure the TWE will be too upright before 12m.

Doesn't it have various recline positions? So I'd assume it can be reclined to 45 degrees?

Yeah, carseat.se indeed says from birth I really don't know, haven't seen it IRL. But for seats that start at 0kg yet have the "6 months" added, it often means sitting unassisted I think. There is no 9kg lower limit, because the seat can be used RF. I had a 0-18kg BeSafe iziCombi for my daughter, and no way would it ever fit a newborn, and it had the same "recommended from 6 months" thing. In the German ERF boards somebody tried the 0-18 Sirona with a few months old baby, and the from what I read the fit wasn't really that great.
MaxFix's manual doesn't seem to be available online yet

 

[newyorkDOC]

There are seats with the 9 kg lower limit that are ERF (TWE is one of them). I can see how various seats labeled from birth may not fit (US safety 1st avenue is a good example as I tried it with DS at 2m and the harness was above his ears!). There's an infant insert for the maxfix though. I'd really like one but am having a hard time swallowing the 520 euro price tag.