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 Opal

Since J was still quite young (10 months) when he became too long to travel safely in the Maxi Cosi CabrioFix carseat, I was keen to find an alternative that would keep him rear facing for as long as possible, since that is the safest way for younger passengers to travel in a car.

Additionally, he was still under 9kg which is the minimum weight for a Group 1 carseat which made it even more difficult to find a suitable option.

Fortunately, it was around this time that Maxi Cosi launched their Opal carseat. This seat is a Group 0+ and Group 1 combination carseat, which means it’s suitable from birth up to 18kg. Up to 13kg the child can travel rear facing, and up to 18kg forward facing. As it is a combination seat, it offers the same seat size as a normal Group 1 carseat with the added bonus of being suitable from new-born, which meant I didn’t have to worry about J not being 9kg yet.

Maxi Cosi Opal Intense Red

Again we had a physical fitting prior to using the Opal – it is another unit fitted with the 3 point seatbelt in the vehicle. Even in my small 1999 VW Polo it fitted well, and comfortably even in the rear facing position. Many people are put off ERF seats because they think they’ll take up a lot of room – well I can confirm the Opal fitted very well, though it did minimise space for the front passenger as I had to have that seat quite far forward in order to accommodate the Opal rear facing. This meant that when Daddy P travelled with us he wasn't especially comfortable (he's 6ft+) but as we don't tend to do regular long drives with all of us in the car it wasn't a huge issue for us.

The silver hooks on either side of the seat hole the harness out of the way when you're getting the child in & out. The rubber backing on the harness pads ensures they grip the clothes, making escaping the harness much more difficult. Always ensure the harness is correctly tensioned to the child - you should not be able to get more then 2 fingers between the breast bone and the harness. The child should not be wearing thick padded coats or snowsuits which may lead to the harness not being correctly tensioned. 

The only annoying thing I found was the horizontal seatbelt section was right across the gap you had to put the child in / lift them out of the carseat which made it awkward. J was 10 months when he started using it so it wasn't so bad but with a newborn I would think this could be quite difficult. 

The Maxi Cosi Opal fitted rear facing in a 1999 VW Polo. There is a space between the back of the carseat and the front passenger seat as there should always be when fitting a rear facing carseat. The seatbelt in this vehicle was at full length to accomodate the Opal rear facing. There is no standard length for seatbelts in vehicles, so before purchasing one you should always get a physical fitting from trained staff to ensure the seat can be safely and correctly fitted. Sometimes the tilt of the vehicle seat may also make a carseat unsuitable as the carseat cannot be fitted at the correct angle, so it's important to check before you buy.

A comment that a lot of people make is that their child prefers to be forward facing, but I contest this, as J was rear facing and perfectly happy in his Opal up until he was 19 months old. This is beyond the new recommendation to keep babies rear facing til 15 months old. At 19 months old J hadn’t yet met the 13kg maximum weight limit for rear facing in the Opal, but he had reached the maximum height for rear facing travel in the Opal. There’s an indicator on the side of the seat to show you. Once you adjust the headrest to a certain height, it will show you that the seat can no longer be used rear facing – it’s due to the head crowning over the top of the main part of the carseat shell. He weighed 12.5kg by this point so he wasn’t far off the 13kg mark, and like a normal Group 1 carseat this seat can be turned forward facing from 9kg (though the recommendation from Maxi Cosi is to keep baby rear facing as long as possible)

J rear facing in the Maxi Cosi Opal at 18 months old

I love how easy the Opal is to adjust the harness height – there is no messing about. You grab the headrest and bring it forward, then pull the headrest up or push it down to adjust it. By doing this, it also adjusts the harness height. You should always go by the harness height for correct headrest adjustment – when using rear facing the harness should be level with the child’s shoulders, or a maximum of half an inch above or below the height of the shoulders. When using the seat forward facing, the harness should be level with the child’s shoulders, or a maximum of half an inch above. When forward facing, the harness should never be lower than the shoulders as in an impact this could cause compression injuries.

As well as this very easy harness adjustment, the Opal fabrics are even easier than the CabrioFix ones for removing to wash. Again, Maxi Cosi recommend a maximum 30 degree handwash only for optimum care, but again I have washed on handwash setting in the machine at 40 degrees and never had any issues. One thing I notice with the Opal is that after a few months of use the fabric becomes quite flattened, but a wash fluffs it back up again as good as new and again it’s nice and padded and comfy. The downside is that the harness pads can’t be removed for washing, but I found a damp cloth or a baby wipe cleaned them up no problem.  I’ve always managed to adjust the Opal harness to the right height required without any issues and because it can be done so easily & quickly it means you’re confident before every journey that it is correctly adjusted.

A huge bonus for me with this seat is that it is width adjustable. J looks quite lost in a normal Group 1 seat as they’re so broad compared to him, but in the Opal I can have the width set to fit him well and it doesn’t look really wide!

The downside to a combination Group 0+ and Group 1 carseat is that it is like a normal Group 1 carseat in size and weight, which does mean you’re unable to remove it from the car like the CabrioFix and fit it into a pushchair chassis, so it does mean you have to get baby out of the carseat and into the pushchair every time you arrive at your destination. I only ever used to use the CabrioFix on the pushchair chassis occasionally when we went to the shops by car, so it didn’t make too much difference to me not being able to do that.

J is now 100cm tall so the harness is on the highest setting but it is exactly right for him – he is forward facing as he is now 15.5kg but I am proud to have kept him rearfacing til 19 months old as this is far longer than many people manage.

A few months ago I got a new car which meant re-checking the fit of the carseat to ensure it was suitable for use. The new car is a Toyota Yaris Verso, and I find fitting the Opal in this vehicle so much easier as it’s taller than the Polo, with flatter seats in the back and plenty of space and it takes about a minute to successfully fit the Opal into this vehicle and there’s no messing about – the only thing I didn’t like about fitting the Opal into the Polo was the amount of fussing about you had to do because the seatbelt was only just long enough and there was such limited space in the car. Now it’s in and out within a minute and I’ve no issues doing it.

I really like this carseat and it looks so comfy and J can see out of the window brilliantly because of the height of it, it offers recline positions when forward facing so even if he falls asleep in it I can make him comfortable without any issues (there’s a button on the underside of the front edge of the seat to press in and lift the front of the carseat up in order to recline) The guideline is that a Group 1 carseat is suitable until approximately 3.5yrs old (maximum weight 18kg) while J will be well below 18kg when he hits 3.5yrs old he remains a very tall child for his age (on the 95^th percentile) and as I mentioned before he is already using the highest possible harness setting so there’s no more scope to adjust it but he continues to be comfortable and safe and I’m in no hurry to change him to a high backed booster seat so I will be continuing to use the Opal for him for as long as possible.

J forward facing in the Opal - 100cm tall, 15.5kg, 3yrs 1month old 

Maxi Cosi CabrioFix & EasyBase 2

Before J was born, I did a lot of research into which carseat was the best option for me.

I wanted an infant carrier with a carseat base, but I didn't have IsoFix in my car, which meant that I needed a base that could be secured using the 3 point seatbelt.

As there is no standard length for seatbelts or seatbelt webbing in vehicles, when fitting a carseat using the 3 point seatbelt it is always recommended that you have a physical fitting from trained staff prior to purchase to confirm suitability.

The Maxi Cosi EasyBase 2 was suitable for use in my car at the time (a 1999 VW Polo) In combination with this base, we used the Maxi Cosi CabrioFix carseat (though the Maxi Cosi Pebble is also compatible with the EasyBase 2.)

The advantage of having a carseat base meant we could leave the base secured in the car and just click the carseat on and off as necessary. It saved time when we were going out, rather than having to mess about fitting the carseat every time you just got baby into the carseat in the house, carried the carseat to the car and clicked it onto the base before setting off. I was confident every time that the seat was correctly fitted and it saved time when going out with baby - which any new mum will tell you is a bonus!

J was very tall even as a young baby, but the CabrioFix was long enough for him to last quite a white. We removed the lumbar support cushion at around five months old as he needed the additional space for his bottom - the headhugger remained in place til he was 9 months. When I adjusted the harness on the carseat to come through the top holes, I brought it through the bottom holes of the headhugger to hold it in a higher position in the seat to be able to continue using it. 

I also got the matching footmuff to use with the CabrioFix which I found an excellent accessory, well worth the money - it meant J was warm enough in the car in his day clothes and just with the footmuff on, and because the harness goes inside the footmuff you can be confident the harness is correctly tensioned and not too loose on the baby because of the extra padding between them and the harness that you'd get by adding a winter coat.

As you expect to find with a child in a close fitting item such as the CabrioFix carseat, J got quite hot in it during the summer months so I also invested in a Summer Cover. This terry towelling fabric goes over the normal carseat fabric and means that baby remains cooler. Plus it's easy to remove and wash, which I did several times over and every time it came out good as new despite being the cream colour which a lot of people thought was really inappropriate for a baby carseat fabric colour!

The standard fabrics on the CabrioFix carseat can be removed for washing easily - and you don't need to mess with the harness at all to do so - which was another huge bonus for me. Maxi Cosi recommend handwashing fabrics at 30 degrees for optimum care, but I put them in our washing machine for a handwash cycle at 40 degrees and they came out brilliantly every time. I wash them then give them a fast spin in the machine and lay them on an airer to dry and they were ready for use again by the next morning.

Due to how tall J is, he became too long for the CabrioFix at 10 months old - his head was crowning over the top lip of the seat no matter how much I jiggled his legs to shift his bottom down and keep his head contained in the seat shell. In a rear facing carseat such as the CabrioFix, the head should not crown over the top lip of the seat, so at that point we needed to get the next stage carseat for him.