Chosing an infant car seat

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#1702362 13-Jan-2017 06:38

We deliberately went with a capsule to start. One of the "will last years" seats would probably be fine, but we figured purpose built for 0-6 months would be better. I'm told kid stuff in good condition has good resale value.

I'm hoping @networkn gets info from his wife and posts it here.

Goosey

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#1702374 13-Jan-2017 07:04

Also, a lot of places will let you test in your car out in the carpark... I reccomend this. This way you know if the seat will be a good fit for your back seat etc.

Batman

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#1702376 13-Jan-2017 07:21

they are all safe. I'd buy based on comfort (some feel like plastic some are supremely padded some overly padded), you baby's shape when he outgrows his capsule (some head protection too high/wide/narrow for your baby at that time, some will fit like a glove and that's what you want, remember - the head), and whether it fits your car (some are wider than kim dot com, some are skinny as).

i won't buy it now as you won't know.

Involuntary autocorrect in operation on mobile device. Apologies in advance.

timmmay

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#1714812 3-Feb-2017 08:33

networkn:

My wife is incredibly detailed in her research and we have *6* top of the line car seats to cover our 2 kids in her car, my car, and the nannys car to ensure they are always safe. I'll get her recommendations. She was exhaustive and she knows more than most of the salespeople we interacted with at various stages.

Did you ever get around to this @networkn? We're going to need one soon so your conclusions would be interesting. Maxicosi 85 seems to be our current frontrunner.

Inphinity

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#1714818 3-Feb-2017 09:05

joker97:

they are all safe.

There is significant, demonstrative, variation in protection levels between different child restraints. This can literally be the difference between life and death for the child in an accident, and choosing comfort over safety is, in my view, a foolish choice. There are plenty of options that provide a great balance of safety, comfort, and ease of use, there is no reason to compromise safety with something like this.

networkn

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#1714819 3-Feb-2017 09:07

@timmay I am so sorry. I thought I'd posted this before.

https://www.babyonthemove.co.nz/Diono

Ranier is the one we have.

0-14 Years. You will need a BIG car because to take a 14 year old it's tall. and HEAVY. Esp when it's rear facing the first while.

This is basically the best you can get.

I'll try and get my wife to write a blurb for you if you like and post it here tomorrow.

Obviously not convenient like one that takes a capsule, but in terms of absolute safety, my wife says there isn't anything safer she is aware of.

timmmay

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#1714820 3-Feb-2017 09:10

Thanks, hadn't even considered going outside the baby city / factory stores. That's not far from home so we may have to pop in for a look, thanks :) Interested in what else your wife found too, thanks.

Inphinity

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#1714821 3-Feb-2017 09:10

networkn:

She was exhaustive and she knows more than most of the salespeople we interacted with at various stages.

Any chance of sharing the research? Would be an interesting read :) As to the salespeople, it's no different than many with a tech interest being more knowledgeable than the random salespeople at the likes of Noel Leeming, unfortunately.

The expiry date does not mean the seat is no longer safe. The manufacturers put them on so that people don't keep them forever when new technology is being added all the time.

While it's certainly not like, say, foodstuffs that can go 'bad' in a short time after the expiration date, it is not purely about new technology and features. It is also about the rigidity and construction methods of the shell and the confidence level in them retaining strength over time, given estimated exposures to UV light and G forces in use etc. While it's quite possible for a seat to retain it's strength for a long time after 'expiry', it does indicate a stage at which there is reduced confidence in it doing so, so does present increased risk - depending on a number of factors including the condition and treatment of the seat over it's life, this increase can vary between minuscule or significant. The materials used can become more brittle over time, leading to increased chance of failure under crash conditions.

ZollyMonsta

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#1714822 3-Feb-2017 09:19

We're expecting our first also in June (wow, us Geekzoner's are breeding at the same time)

So watching this thread with interest. We're hiring a capsule for $50 from Baby Factory since it has such a short lifespan of use. But same as you, still looking and deciding on a car seat.

Cheers,
Grant

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Wade

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#1714839 3-Feb-2017 10:03

dickytim:

Hi All,

I really appreciate all the advise, so far we have discussed and decided that we will wait until we need the carseat, unless there is a very good special, we will try it in our cars first, currently I have a 2002 Commodore and my fiancé has a 2014 Santa Fe so we will need 2 seats, which was always likely anyway. When I upgrade my car, likely next year it will probably be to a 2009 - 2012 Commodore so still no ISOFIX.

Agree with the above post that I want a 3in1 version that can change with the child.

By the looks of things the Diono and Britax are very popular, I will go and have a look at these ones.

We have the Evolution, great seat, the vinyl is hard wearing and 3 years on zero rips.

My baby is a big 4yo now and we have converted to booster with car seat belt and she is still very comfortable in it. the recline option is great as she can sleep in it without head falling forward, in fact the recline function is so user friendly i can adjust it as i drive :P

Most ISOFIX seats only go to 18kg, you really want to go for a 0~25kg seat if you want to do once, P & T have a 6yr lifespan, keep in mind a seat in its last year or so has no resale value, one could argue it is better to get a baby seat sell it at its half life when it still has a certain value then buy a booster seat rinse and repeat

slingynz

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#1714852 3-Feb-2017 10:28

Make sure it fits in your car.

The seats need to rear face for the first 2 years and they take up a lot of space, so much that it can actually make it impossible to use the front passenger seat depending on car.

I have a Britax Boulevard in my car - I can swap it into a different car in a minute or so.

We later purchased a Diono Radian XT and a Diono Rainier for different cars which are a bit harder to move but the wife just goes into Baby on the Move to get them reinstalled.

fizzychicken

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#1714860 3-Feb-2017 10:41

I have the full mountain buggy terrain 2016 set-up with all extras. that includes the car capsule.

I got all of this before my boy was born (first child). He is now coming up to 4 month old and it he is only just getting used to being in the front facing stroller seat. He never used the bassinette and was avoid the car whenever possible as he hates it, stick him in the capsule or the basinette and he has a full blown scream/choking meltdown.

have just borrowed a new large car seat (evenflo I think) to try as hes a big unit and is going to be too big for the capsule soon anyway, hoefully he likes it.

All I can say is hire a seat for a short period and see what happens when they become more aware. First month he was too small to understand where he was but as soon as he figured out different surroundings and was able to focus on things...he decided he hated the car.

https://keybase.io/fizzychicken

timmmay

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#1714872 3-Feb-2017 10:44

That's a shame, our boy's just over 3 months old, ever since he was born he screams getting into his capsule but goes to sleep immediately when the car starts moving. We went to Taupo from Wellington and he only woke up when we stopped and got him up! Friends of ours have twin boys who would scream constantly when they were in a stroller / car seat for the first 12 months, so they never took them anywhere they didn't have to.

Wade

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#1714887 3-Feb-2017 11:15

Our #2 was in a capsule for barely 3 months, she was a big baby and obviously she didn't like it as put here in a babyseat and she travelled infinity better.

I'm glad we chose to hire not buy capsule as I think it cost only $50 to hire for up to 6mths, we would have been lucky to not lose more than that reselling a near new capsule

blackjack17

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#1714898 3-Feb-2017 11:36

I have the older version of this https://www.babyonthemove.co.nz/exclusive/diono-radian-rxt

Heavy as hell but does do extended rear facing (my daughter is nearly three and still rear facing).

It is quite narrow so you can potentially put three in a back seat (or have two people sitting next to it)

It also functions as a booster seat

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