Maxi-Cosi Rodi AirProtect

I’d like to start with an explanation about why we decided to replace J’s carseat so quickly.

Basically, the Rodi XP that we had wasn’t brand new. I wasn’t too happy about that, but we weren’t in a position to afford brand new, I knew the history of the seat and knew it had been looked after correctly. Being carseat fitter trained, I knew that it fitted my car suitably. Even though it was over five years old it is not a unit with integral harness and coupled with the fact I knew the history I was satisfied it was safe enough. It still niggled that I couldn’t get a brand new seat for my precious boy to use but we decided we’d use the Rodi XP til we could afford a replacement. (And I was determined to get him a replacement, but he’d suddenly grown out of his Opal in a short space of time)

It turns out, that happened sooner than expected. On the way back from a lovely short break at the coast, J was travel sick. Fortunately we were just round the corner from home, so we were back and he was changed and cleaned up within ten minutes and I took the seat out of the car to strip the fabrics and put them in the wash. After I’d done that, I looked at the seat and realised that the polystyrene insert on the headrest was cracked through. Any damage like that to the polystyrene of a carseat means that in the event of an impact it may not absorb / distribute the force as it is designed to, and it may transfer the force of the impact to the child, therefore not providing the protection you would want to the occupant of the carseat.

When I made enquiries about getting a replacement section of polystyrene the offer came to me of a Rodi AirProtect. It was a no-brainer – why worry about getting a replacement part for a carseat that was so old when a brand new replacement seat was available?

The Maxi-Cosi Rodi AirProtect is a Group 2/3 High Backed Booster seat, suitable for children from 15-36kg. The AirProtect is fitted using the three point seatbelt in the vehicle around the child and seat. For additional anchorage there is a top tether point which is on the headrest on an elastic cord – you pull it out and between the vehicle seat and headrest then close the gap by replacing the headrest. This is an additional anchor point and is not required for use – if your car can’t accommodate it, you don’t have to use it. I like it for the fact it gives me more peace of mind when J isn’t in the car – it means even without the seatbelt around the empty carseat I know it won’t be moved a great deal in the event of an impact.

The AirProtect arrived in a single box, in two pieces. It took me about ten seconds to put it together – you just click the base of the seat onto the back section and fold it from a flat position into a seat position. Once it’s locked in place, it won’t come off again – you can be confident that when you carry the seat out to the car, or move it from car to car, the base section won’t drop off again.

The AirProtect has two cushions either side of the head section for maximum protection in a side impact accident. Additional to this it is well padded all round and looks a lot more comfortable.  It offers an upright and a recline position (the XP only has upright position)

The colour we have is Modern Black – this is a black on black leopard print pattern which is more interesting than a plain seat but less fussy than a full on colour pattern. I really like it and it would be suitable for a girl or a boy. Bearing in mind this carseat is used until the child no longer requires a carseat, I think it’s important to get a fabric style that isn’t tied to a specific age group as what they’re into at four will be very different to their interests at age 11!

J hasn’t had a particularly long journey using this model carseat but he has told me that it is very comfy and he enjoys travelling in it – I’m thoroughly impressed with the quality of the product, as well as the independent crash test results (Which? Awarded it four out of five stars – only an IsoFix fitted product can get five stars)

It’s a lovely top end unit providing optimum safety, comfort and style, and I have no hesitation recommending this product to anyone seeking a seatbelt fitted Group 2/3 carseat. * Remember, Maxi-Cosi recommend that a carseat fitter trained person provides a physical fitting of any carseat prior to purchase to confirm suitability in your vehicle *

*** UPDATE ***

20.09.14

J continues to be very comfortable in his Maxi-Cosi RodiAP and has been dropping off to sleep a lot more often since travelling in this seat vs travelling in the RodiXP. I don’t know if this is co-incidence or if the seat is more comfortable – it certainly seems more thickly padded. With recline option as well he can get really comfy – I tend to recline it before he gets in and we set off on any journey that is going to take more than an hour. He’s not been carsick again since swapping to this model either.

At four years and 2 months old he is approximately 107cm. I haven’t weighed him in a while so I don’t know how much he’s put on recently but he remains a very slender build. 

*** These views are entirely my own. I am not paid to write this material and do so in my own time ***

Maxi-Cosi Rodi XP

I’ve used – and been a huge fan of – the Maxi-Cosi Opal in my car since J was 9 months old. At that point – and for many more months – he used the Opal rear facing. At 12.5kg he required an additional harness height on the Opal that indicated he had to turn forward facing. He was a tall 19 month old at that point.

The next stage up for J was a Group 2 carseat. These are available, but more commonly you will find a combination Group 1 & 2 carseat or a combination Group 2 & 3 carseat (there are seats available which are Group 1,2 & 3 but I’ve never used one of these) The Opal is a Group 0+ & 1 combination, meaning it is suitable from birth to 13kg rear facing, and to 18kg forward facing. Group 2 & 3 combination seats are for 15-36kg. As J grew taller I was concerned about the lack of further harness height adjustment I had – he had been using the top setting for a while, but it remained level with his shoulders for a long time.

Credit to www.goodeggsafety.com 

One evening, we were going through some junk from the cupboard in the front bedroom that we’re in the process of sorting out to put all of J’s stuff in there (at the moment he sleeps in that room and has his toys in there, but all his clothes are in his old room which is really annoying!) Anyway we found a set of scales so J wanted to know what they were for, and we ended up weighing him. I was astounded to realise my lanky little boy was 17kg! Despite looking so slight, he’s solid and at around 103cm tall while he’s not right at the top end of the percentile height wise for his age anymore, he has increased on the weight side. At that point I realised – even if the harness remained suitable for him for another however long, he was only 1kg away from being too heavy for the Opal anymore anyway!

As a big fan of Maxi-Cosi, given that all my previous carseats have been that brand and I’ve been very happy with them, I naturally looked to the Maxi-Cosi Collection for the Group 2/3 carseat.

There’s a wide variety, all within the ‘Rodi’ name – RodiFix, Rodi Air Protect, Rodi XP and Rodi SPS. The RodiFix was pointless for me – I don’t have IsoFix in my car, so it was an unnecessary addition to pay for. Rodi Air Protect, Rodi XP or Rodi SPS were all suitable for my car, but in the end I went for the XP purely because I could get it in Navy, as he’s always had black or red carseats before. (Ideally I’d love an Air Protect in Kids Choice Magic for him!)

It felt very strange the first time I placed the Rodi in the car and J climbed into it. You don’t put the seatbelt around the seat to anchor it into place and then use a harness for the child; the child and the seat are held using the three point seatbelt. With the Rodi you thread the diagonal belt through the red guide on the bottom of the headrest section and once this is adjusted correctly to lead that belt across the child’s shoulder (not cutting into the neck) the headrest is in the correct position as well. It’s simple to adjust – just grip the headrest section and you’ll feel a shaped piece with four grooves just right for your fingers to grab – lift it up and the headrest will now move up and down. Release it at the correct height and click it into place. The child in the seat, the seatbelt goes through the second red guide at the child’s hip for the lap belt to be hip to hip on the child, not across the soft part of their tummy. Out the guide on the other side and lock the seatbelt into place. I do take the slack out of the seatbelt even though I know in an accident the inertia would lock the belt – however I prefer to ensure the chances of him managing to wriggle out or move around too much are minimised from the start.

Maxi-Cosi Rodi XP User Manual pages 8 - 9

www.maxi-cosi.co.uk/gb-en/products/car-seats/child/rodi-xp/service.aspx

The first journey I found quite weird because I’m so used to him being in a carseat with a harness, and every time I glanced in my rear view mirror and saw him I just kept thinking how grown up he suddenly looked in his ‘big boy’ booster seat. We got to the shops and went into the supermarket – he told everyone he could that he was in a “big boy blue booster seat” and whether or not they all understood him they all nodded and he was very pleased with the overall reaction!

First time in the Maxi-Cosi Rodi XP going to the supermarket in my car

To be honest with you I’m still struggling with the idea of my baby boy now being in this carseat, but he tells me it is comfortable and he likes it, and he can see well out of the window so he is happy. I will be happier once I am a bit more used to the idea I think. The fact that it is so easy to install means I can easily move it between my car and my parents-in-laws car if I need to.  I rate this carseat and would say it is definitely worth the RRP for the amount of use you’ll get out of it.

On the way to Grandma & Grandad's House

To determine if the Maxi-Cosi Rodi XP is suitable for use in your vehicle please take the car to your local Maxi-Cosi retailer and ask for a carseat fitter trained member of staff to provide a physical fitting prior to purchase.

*** UPDATE ***

20.09.14

J continues to be very comfortable in his Maxi-Cosi RodiAP and has been dropping off to sleep a lot more often since travelling in this seat vs travelling in the RodiXP. I don’t know if this is co-incidence or if the seat is more comfortable – it certainly seems more thickly padded. With recline option as well he can get really comfy – I tend to recline it before he gets in and we set off on any journey that is going to take more than an hour. He’s not been carsick again since swapping to this model either.

At four years and 2 months old he is approximately 107cm. I haven’t weighed him in a while so I don’t know how much he’s put on recently but he remains a very slender build. 

*** These views are entirely my own. I am not paid to write this material and do so in my own time.***