This day I love.......: Isofix

A little while ago we reviewed the Cosatto Hug which was installed via a 3 point harness. Cosatto recently launched the Hug with isofix installation and I was keen to see how they would compare. Both Cosatto Hug have great side protection and a deep padded seat. As with all Cosatto products the Hug comes with a 4 year guarantee and a gorgeous pattern.

Make	Cosatto
Model	Hug
Group	1,2,3
Age/Weight	9M - 12Yr / 9-36Kg
Direction	Forward facing only
Installation type	Isofix for Group 1,2,3. Universal 3 point belt for Group 2,3. Top tether
Harness/Shield	5 Point Harness
Location in car	Group 1,2,3 needs Isofix.
Headrest adjustable	Height-adjustable headrest and harness with easy single-handed adjustment allows the seat to grow with your child without the need to remove and re-thread the harness, five positions Height-adjustable headrest and belt guide in group 2-3 position with easy single-handed adjustment allows the seat to grow with your child whilst keeping the adult seat belt in the correct position over your child’s shoulder additional 4 positions.
Recline	Yes, five different angles
Instructions	Paper booklet
Assembly	No Assembly required
Ease of First Installation	Instructions on side of seat with simple step by step guide for first installation. Can be tricky to convert to Group 2,3
Depth, Height Width	L: 64cm W: 50cm D: 50cm
Weight	9.5 KG
Testing and Certification	ECE R 44/04

The Cosatto Hug was quick and simple to install when following the instructions for first installation. Instructions are clearly printed on the side of the Hug for quick reference.

A great feature on the Cosatto Hug is the ability to control each isofix bar independently. Each bar has its own button to press to release and therefore if one has attached and not the other, which is often the case, you can simply re release the unattached bar to get a secure fit. The buttons are located on the front of the seat.

To help with installation the Cosatto Hug also comes with isofix guides. These do aid installation and the yellow colour helps to make them visible in the car during install.

An additional safety feature the isofix installation has over the belted installation is the top tether. The top tether adds an extra layer of security to the seat, particularly if the car was to roll. Another clever feature of the Hug, which I have not seen on other car seats, is the roll of excess strap. With most top tether there is a lot of strap left over which often gets thrown around the car. As this is rolled and stays rolled it is much easier to store the excess.

The top tether also did not seem to take too much tension in order to be of correct tightness, I have had other seats in comparison that have left dent marks in the seat.

Installation was quick and simple to do and gave a much more secure fit in the car than the belted installation seat. Both the belted and the isofix seat features good deep padding on both the head rest and on the sides. With gorgeous patterns.

My youngest was very pleased with her new seat, however she currently weighs 16.5kg and is tall for her age [she is taller than her older sister]. I did notice that the harness did not appear to fit her correctly, it looked as if it was coming from below her shoulders. The head rest would not increase any further in order to give me the extra height needed. The harness and head rest move together to ensure correct positioning. I could have done with just one extra notch for the head rest to get the harness level with her shoulders.

It is just about level in the photo but I don't think it would be much longer before it is below her shoulders. This would mean she would need to be in a Group 2 seat a little earlier than I would like in order to ensure correct fit in the car.

Upon conversion to Group 2,3 you do get extra head rest height.

To convert involves removing the harness and seat pads. The tricky part was removing the buckle, as I found it tricky to get the clip out of the socket. However the rest of the seat was easy to remove.

The Cosatto Hug isofix offers as much luxury as the belted installation. Overall though I would choose the Cosatto Hug isofix over the belted installation as I feel the seat is secured better in the car and is a much better fit.

We have been sent a Cosatto Hug car seat to review. All words ad opinions are my own.

No comments

There is so much choice on the market for children's car seats. Rear Facing or Forward Facing? what group do I buy? Harness or impact shield? These are just a few of the questions I have asked myself whilst purchasing seats for my girls. It is such a tough choice.

One of the sites I often use is Which? as they are independent and purchase the seats to test. As an example I have embedded the video from their site on the difference of a good seat Vs bad seat, The video is a little upsetting even though crash dummies are used

Which? test their car seats beyond the tests required for the ECE R44/04 which is compulsory for all UK car seats. They test to 40mph, 10mph more than the ECE R44/04 test and use a full car instead of a mock up of the back seat. They test both rear collisions and side impacts. This element of the test accounts for 60% of the Which? rating with the other 40% down to ease of installation of the seat. As a correctly fitted seat is key to the seat performing correctly in a crash. Although I appreciate there are other sites and reviews Which? is the one I personally value most for its Independence and thoroughness.

For the question of Harness Vs impact shield. I personally prefer Impact shield. From 6 months of age my eldest daughter worked out how to get out of her harness. It did not matter if it was in the pushchair, car seat or high chair she could get out of them. No matter how tight or what gadget I used, she would work out a way to get out. At one point I had to do an emergency pull over and stop as she had climbed completely out of her seat. With the impact shield I have never experienced this. I know in some instances some children don't like the feel of the shield and so its always better to try a seat before you buy it but for us the impact shield is much safer.

An impact shield, I have found removes the element of the child being unable to climb out of the seat or undo the harness. I find it easier to get the impact shield on my daughter and fasten her in if she she is having a tantrum. With a harness I really struggle to fasten her in correctly if she is having a tantrum and generally not wanting to sit in the seat. I also personally feel reassured, as I often worry I have not done the harness up correctly.

When researching a car seat for my youngest I decided to go for rear facing after watching this video

However, I then encountered a problem. The only car seat I could find which was rear facing had harness and not an impact shield. I decided to go with it as the video had convinced me to go for rear facing. The car seat arrived and to this day I am not 100% convinced it is installed correctly. It was difficult to install, incredibly heavy so we cannot transport it between cars and my daughter can escape from the harness, which leads me wondering how effective it would be in a crash? It also is one of the smallest on the market but it still takes up a lot of space.

Having bought a Kiddy Energy Pro for my eldest I turned once again to Kiddy for a solution. They have the impact shield I prefer and also a Which? best buy.

There are several points I love about our Kiddy car seats, the first is how incredibly light weight they are. I can lift it one handed whilst carrying my daughter in the other arm. This makes it easy to transport between vehicles, and would be ideal to use on an aircraft. The second is how easy it is to fit. The Energy Pro is simply placed on the seat, whereas the Guardian Fix pro 2 has isofix bars. It took me less than 2 minutes to install using isofix. This leaves me confident it is installed correctly.

The third is that Kiddy really do love kids, so much so they put it on the tag

Kiddy really have thought of everything when they designed their seats. From Easy one touch recline, to adjustable footrests and to the Side impact protection. The covers come off and are machine washable which is great for me, as my kids love to make a mess. There is a wide range of colours to choose from too, meaning there should be something to suit all tastes.

This will be a seat that will last and grow with my daughters right up until they are 12 years old. My daughter loves her Kiddy car seat and after a hard day at nursery can have a place to rest her head whilst she naps.

Kiddy loves my kids and my kids love Kiddy.

Kiddy very kindly provided me with a Guardian Fix pro2. All words thoughts and opinions are my own.

7 comments

Ever since I can remember, the thought of taking my youngest anywhere in the car has filled me with dread. The constant, and I do mean constant, screaming from the second the car engine starts until we reach our destination and I pick her up make for very unpleasant journeys. It is not the car or the driver neither of these too factors seem to make any difference or for that matter the seat for she would happily sit in it, unless she was in the car.

She has started to outgrow her existing car seat. Her head was coming over the top and it was a real squish to get her in so I started looking into a new seat. My eldest has a Kiddy Energy Pro, which I have to say is one of the best car seats I think I have ever owned. Its light weight so easy to transport between cars. When I say lightweight I can pick it up with one hand with no effort. Incredibly easy to install, you simply sit it on the seat. My daughter finds it comfy and she loves the impact shield for resting her head on when tired. Better still it wins Which awards. An amazing seat. I started looking into seats for my youngest.

I read some reviews, and watched some videos and after weighing up evidence decided I wanted a rear facing car seat, with the option of forward facing. The option of forward facing was more in case the screaming in the car from my daughter was because of the direction of travel. I put a question on Babyhuddle and was amazed at the response. I really would have loved another Kiddy Car seat but unfortunately they only have forward facing.

I settled therefore for the BeSafe Izi Combi similar to this one. It arrived really quickly and I set about today installing it. I spent the best part of the morning, pulling levels, turning ratchets, extending poles and clipping clips onto various points of the car. I finally managed to install it and then came the part of getting my daughter in. Well I pulled levels and belts and finally managed to get her straps on. I could only get one of the magnetic clips to work to hold the straps out the way. It is no where near as easy as the Kiddy, and no where near as light weight. I have told my husband it is never coming out of the car because I cannot do with the stress of figuring out how to install it again.

I started the engine expecting to hear screaming but all I got was some mm noises. That's never happened before. We only went to pick up some milk about a 20min drive and when I stopped the car still silence, the unthinkable had happened, sleep. Now she was trying her hardest to get comfy to fall asleep, her head kept flopping forward even on the most reclined position, but eventually she did and off she went. I was in shock.

For all the stress it took me to put the seat in the car and its large size and weight non of it matters because, not only is my daughter safe, she also appears to be happy. This is the first time in 8 months we have got in the car and no tears, no screaming. I love that she is high up so she can see out the window and she even loves that she can see her sister. The padding on the seat does feel lovely and soft so I think it is comfortable to sit in, shame it does not recline more, although it does recline more than most. I am hoping with time the shoulder straps become easier to adjust as they are really stiff and that the buckle becomes easier to clip on and off as it is really fiddly. It is by no means as easy to install or move from car to car as the Kiddy but she seems to like it.

This day I love the new car seat

11 comments

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