Britax Dualfix

[AmandinePoulain]

Has anyone else seen the latest offering from Britax? It looks great! It's pushed the Varioguard off the top of my wishlist as it's looking like it'll actually be ready sooner (the end of next month according to their fb page )

It looks very similar to the sirona, except there's no impact cushion which is what put me right off it and it's £70 cheaper.

[RobotBananas]

Now... just to find stockists

[RobotBananas]

Ah, thanks for the securatot link on the other thread. I might email them nearer the time and see if they'd be able to order one in for me.

[AmandinePoulain]

I think they keep them in stock - but you need to make an appointment to visit, and they advised me that they book up early! They're 2 hours from me and as I said I found somewhere a bit closer to me that can order me one in. I'm pretty set on what I want though, if you want somewhere with a wide range of seats they appear to be the place to go.

Good luck

[RobotBananas]

They're not too far from me, I'll definitely give them a call closer to the time. It looks perfect, as long as it reclines far enough. I found the maxi cosi cabriofix one very upright with DS.

Thanks again for the tip! If you do see one of them in the flesh would you mind PMing me and letting me know how you get on?

[AmandinePoulain]

No problem. I'm not really in any hurry though, we've still got a few cm headroom in the Babysafe and I like the convenience of sticking it on my pram for the school run . We found our carrier quite upright for the first few weeks when it was clicked into the base, I think they all suffer that problem unless you go with one of the completely flat seats.

[AmandinePoulain]

And if you look for Securatot on Facebook they have pictures of a dualfix in use

[RobotBananas]

You are extremely helpful, thanks again!

[AmandinePoulain]

I've done a lot of research

[StetsonsAreCool]

I've got one of these now!

I've got a comfy front passenger seat now, as it's lovely and compact in the back (I have a grande Punto).

I also tried a Cybex Sirona, but I'm glad I didn't buy that now, based on what I've since read about impact shields.

As I said, it's compact, but DD still has comfy leg room in the back, just less than the BeSafe Izi Combi that we had before. The swivel base is a bit stiff, and it seems to stick a little bit - that might be because it's new though, and just needs breaking in a bit. It might also be that I'm being too gentle with it. But it works, and is very handy indeed.

I'm also a bit disappointed that, unless I'm doing it wrong, the headrest is at the highest setting, so it might not have the growing room that the BeSafe had. But overall, it's a lovely looking seat, and I get the leg room back in the front seat, so it will do for now

DD is 3.3, so I wasn't going to keep her RF for much longer anyway. She's dinky though - only 25th and 9th centile for height and weight (can't remember which way round ) - and not heavy enough for a Stage 2 seat. Hopefully by the time we have a second DC, she will be big enough for a Stage 2/3, but not too big for this one else I can see me having to switch back to the BeSafe - which will be a pain because of the not-much-legroom in the front and because the BeSafe doesn't fit FF in my car stupid angled back seat.

FWIW I won this car seat, so I haven't spent money on it, else I would definitely have gone to get it tested in my car first and found out about the size etc beforehand.

Tis lovely though.

[AmandinePoulain]

Thanks for the review, your dd sounds similar in size percentile wise to mine - she's 12mo and just over 8kg

My friend has just had one delivered so I'm hoping to try hers out before I commit to one. She loves hers so far, her ds is 10mo but already heavier than my little doot

[AmandinePoulain]

And congrats on winning one, I emailed every day for 2 weeks but wasn't lucky

[StetsonsAreCool]

I think it would be a great one for a 12mo - you'll definitely get plenty of use out of it. I've got the purple one and it's got a cute little owl printed on it (superficial, me )

Just checked the red book - DD is 13kg now, so 25th centile. I had a lie flat seat which we replaced with the BeSafe in my car for longevity when she was 7mo. She was 9kg at 12mo - with the newborn insert still (!) in the BeSafe, we didn't take that out until about 18mo I think. She was also still comfortably in the Cabriofix in DH's car until 20mo, so don't worry about switching from your infant carrier just yet - you've got plenty of time to try car seats out. I know how much fun it is though, so I don't blame you for starting to look!

TBH, I thought I was buying a car seat would outlast my car, but a reshuffle in our finances has meant that I won't be swapping the car for at least two years, and I'm getting tired of having no leg room now, after two and a half years - that's the only reason I'm swapping from the BeSafe, as otherwise it's a magnificent seat.

Oh, the other thing was the shop fitted the Dualfix in my car in about a minute. It was so fast. Lots less faff than the BeSafe. I think my heart still lies with that one, truth be told, but I'm really happy with the Dualfix too.

[AmandinePoulain]

I want purple

[StetsonsAreCool]

[lenats31]

I have the purple,

and the swirvel button needs a firm push, and the function needs breaking in.

[AmandinePoulain]

I've finally seen one in the flesh

I was passing Mothercare and went in thinking they'd never have them...and saw a Maxfix on display, so I asked about the Dualfix and the assistant said that 2 had just arrived and fetched me one to see . Unfortunately she wasn't happy to try it in my car because she hasn't been trained and we struggled with the swivel function - I think we just couldn't get the knack and the instructions weren't much help. How do you do it out of interest? She mentioned that they're getting a Britax rep in at some point for full training so I'll go back in a few weeks.

It's great to see rf seats in a mainstream store and the assistants seemed happy to help but did inform me that I'd be better off with the dualfix over the Maxfix because 'she'll ask to ff soon, she'll want to look around'

[CommanderShepard]

We've just ordered this - looks really good and fitted beautifully in our car. Only gripe is my car doesn't have isofix so we still need another option but there's still a tiny bit of room in our 0+ seat.

[StetsonsAreCool]

You have to get the seat in the most uppest upright position to swivel it. IIRC (only did it once, then left the seat upright) there's an extra button at the front, just to the side of the button you press to swivel it, that you have to press in while you do the recline button with your other hand. Not the best explanation, sorry, so I'll check it tomorrow when I'm at the car again and report back.

Lena, you were right btw. Ours is completely broken in now and is really easy to swivel now. Still tricky when it's rearfacing though, as I can't seem to get my hand in the right angle, but when it's facing the side it's really easy.

[AmandinePoulain]

Thanks

They have them out on display in my local Mothercare now but I didn't have time to properly play when I last went in. My friend says that once you've got the knack it's easy

[CommanderShepard]

It won't let you rotate if it's in the birth-to-whatever setting so that you can't forward face a newborn, which is nifty!

Ours comes this week. Very excited although I nearly cried at the price. And we still need another seat for when DD outgrows the one in my car!

[AmandinePoulain]

I ordered mine today with 15% off at Mothercare . I really wanted to order it from Securatot after they were so helpful but I can't really afford to lose £51 .

I had a good play with it in the shop now I know what I'm doing and it's lurvely. Now I just have to decide whether to use it straight away it carry on with the convenience of my carrier for a bit longer

[annis51]

Just bought this for my grandson today. Collecting on Wednesday snow permitting! Fantastic seat and so much safer having dgs facing backwards. Assistant at Taunton Mothercare was great and so helpful. Very expensive though. Supposed to go in the Discovery 3 and our Range Rover. Not sure about the Freelander yet. Apparently the best seat for a newborn right through to 4 years old or so. Can't carry the baby in it but not supposed to do this anyway. Supposed to put newborns in a pram or lying flat in a pushchair. This seat replaces the Britax First Class Plus seat we had which wasn't isofix fixed into our Discovery and didn't fit the Range Rover. It cost a lot but not if we only need one seat for four cars. Not going to leave it in the car on the street in case it is stolen. Luckily we live on Exmoor so not much theft here but something to think about if you live somewhere with a higher crime rate. £340 is a lot of money!!!!!

[annis51]

AND this seat is now in my Discovery 3. Marvelous piece of baby kit. A lot of money but will do for a premmie right up to 18kg. There is masses of leg room. Can lie down on long journeys. So easy to put him in too. Really easy to install between cars and not heavy to carry. Only problem taking it on a plane would be a risk so awkward if going on holiday by plane. Not sure it would be a holiday with two little boys on an aeroplane. When my girls were small we went in our Land Rover so no problems with delays or boredom. This seat won't go on a pushchair frame but babies are far better off in a pram lying flat. Supermarkets have baby seats now so don't need to push a pram as well. Can't see over an infant carrier in a trolley and I'm 5' 8". So I think that this is the best seat on the market even at the price of £340. This is cheaper than buying a Maxi Cosi infant carrier plus isofix base and then the next seat. The only seat that turns through 360' so can be used on a rearward facing seat as well. Money well spent.