Britax Duo Plus Isofix

Posts Tagged ‘britax duo plus’

When looking at car seats, you may come across six-point, five-point, t-shield harnesses. The six-point will have two straps at the crotch, hips and shoulders while the five-point only has one at the crotch. A t-shield comes is a padded triangle that latches down at the crotch. There is also an over-the-head fitting that latches at the crotch.

Nowadays, you will normally find mostly five-point harnesses which are deemed to give the most protection to your child. This is because this arrangement secures the child more tightly and in the event of a collision, this would prevent excessive movement that would harm the child. The t-shield and the over-head fittings do not secure the child as securely and could allow the child to be thrown from the seat in a collision.

A tether is normally a strap that is made of the same material as the seat but also has a clip that secures a forward facing baby seat again to prevent excessive movement of the child in the event of a collision.

When asking what is the best baby car seat, you are asking yourself a pretty loaded question. Why? Basically, if you buy new, all seats on the market will have to abide by the specific car seat safety rules of the country where you buy but it is up to you to make sure that you follow the car seat manufacturers, your car manufacturers and common sense guidelines.  For example, in the UK, you will follow the correct guidelines for the Britax Duo Plus where guidelines state that the top of your child’s head should be at least two inches below the seat structure. If you don’t make sure it is, you are putting your child at risk.

The golden rule of thumb really is that you should make sure you follow any guidelines and that the baby car seat matches your child’s height and weight at all times. A car seat is unfortunately for your pocket, not something you can use forever, you will have to change it at some point to keep your children safe.

One of the other things you should be looking out for are ease of installation. This is where ISOFIX fittings are useful. Such fittings (the system is frequently named differently in other countries to the UK) are simply a push and click fitting for your car. Since 2006, cars are fitted with a standard ISOFIX fitting but if your car is pre-2006, you may need to check with the car manufacturer before you buy your seat.

You should also watch out for the weight of the car seat if you are likely to be taking it in and out of your car frequently. If you have more than one car, or intend to use a travel system for baby, this should be a consideration for your personally. It won’t affect baby, but it will affect your back carrying it!

If you are having to buy the cheapest seat you can find (preferable to secondhand), remember that these must also be of a certain standard and follow safety recommendations. Where cheaper seats may scimp is in comfort. Don’t just think that it looks comfy, push you hands onto the sides and into the corners to check it out for good padding and any lumps, bumps or holes in the padding.