Any car seat recommendations?

[owl]

I'm looking to buy a car seat for my 1 year old. Wondering if anyone has done any research on what are the safest car seats... Not sure whether to get an 8 to 26 kilo "maxi rider" - read somewhere that they aren't good for side impact crashes. Any suggestions on particular brands would be much appreciated.

[kiwibird27]

Best brand is anything by safe and sound - they do extensive testing on ALL models (! think the only company that does this so rigorously)so if u buy new u get the best in safety available - have spoken to alot of shop keepers about this and thats the only thing they agree on!!!!!!!
Good luck

[Tisme]

I've seent he newest Maxi Rider and it looks BRILLIANT. I have a really old one for my daughter and will probably buy a new one once I get the Baby bonus to upgrade as they are a really comfy looking seat as well as looking more like a car seat than a childrens sofa (the patterns on some of the boosters are GAUDY). They also have a bottle/cup holder and once the child is old enough to go into a normal belt or harness there is one specifically designed for it.

Although the Cosi rider (not sure what age/size this is for) performed well in all crash tests that Choice put it through.

[draught]

We have the maxi rider and are very happy with it - don't know about the side impact part of things, but it is made by Safe and Sound and we have been happy with it - and it turns into a booster seat when they are too old for a harness. My DD1 is very tall and she still fits it, so we will get much use from it.

[mildrid]

Hi

AS a mum to 7 I have tried all the sest on the market but always go back to Safe n Sound seats.
The new maxi-rider is good.
Safe n Sound have been around for so long and do all the testing on their seats at the QUEST centre.

I highly recommend their seats.

[♥Heaven Sent♥]

Yeh the safe and sound ones are great my Mil brought me one of them and havnt looked back.I will probably have to get another one before #2 arrives.My mil said they are safety approved too.

[LucyE]

Age isn't a real deciding factor in which carseat would be the most appropriate - weight is the important factor. As a general rule Safe'n'Sound are great but I wouldn't make a blanket statement saying all their seats are good. Check out the NRMA/NSW RTA crash test study. It showed that some of the S'n'S seats were not up to scratch. S'n'S have since come out with new updated models so you'll need to bear that in mind when reading the report.

The NEW maxirider is good but don't get conned into buying an older model because it's cheaper. The old model had several flaws including insufficient head protection in a side impact and the worst issue was that if you wanted to use an H-harness, it meant leaving the seat unbolted from the anchor point and relying on the seatbelt to hold it in place. This is potentially dangerous due to the weight of the seat. Anyway, as I said, the new model has rectified these problems and is probably what we'll move DS into when he grows out of his S'n'S Meridian convertable seat (which has a weight range up to 26kg).

For a cheaper yet safe option to the Maxirider, have you considered the S'n'S Peaguses (sp?)?.

[mildrid]

I am currently looking at the Pegasus for my son aged 2 BUT weighing 15kilos.
I like the style and the safety factor of it being a higher one and also the anti-submarine croth clip.
If we do go for this seat tho we will also be using a harness with it.

There used to be a seat made by Safe n Sound that was called the "Advantage".
It was bolted in to the vehicle, had the anti-submarine croth buckle and you could also have a harness clipped on it with the same attachment as the anchor bolt. I'd like one of these style seats.
I like that seat and dont know why it was taken off production.
These can be purchased second hand but they were also a similar style to the old maxi rider so may not have had as good side impact protection for the head and neck area.

Hope this helps.