This is already the cheapest extended rear facing car seat when not on sale, now cheaper than most regular 0-4 car seats.
Rearward Facing: Extended rear facing Birth – 2 to 3yrs approx. (39cm torso)
Forward Facing: 12 mths to 4 yrs (approx.) (43cm torso)
DIMENSIONS:
Minimum: (H) x 720 (W) x 440 (D) x 400 mm
Maximum: (H) x 792 (W) x 440 (D) x 400 mm
It's made by Britax, who make Safe N Sound, BabyLove and Hipod. This particular seat is a rebadged BabyLove EzySwitch with different fabric.
The Ascent is an A2 seat, so only rearfaces to 35cm. If you have no intention to extended rearface and happy to pay $20 more, fine. I do know someone with a long torsoed child who outgrew an A2 seat at 4 months. It's illegal to forward face before 6 months, so they needed to buy another seat. Not great value then.
This is (I believe) the same seat as the Babylove Ezy Switch EP, which does not rate highly: https://www.childcarseats.com.au/find-and-compare-child-car-…
Its a fairly narrow seat though, and cheap.
It is the same seat. That website isn't to be trusted though, there are very inconsistent results.
- Two seats, same seat with different name/fabric, get different safety ratings
- A seat gets an extra star for ISOFIX vs seatbelt install, none of the other ISOFIX seats do. It's agreed ISOFIX is no safer
- A seat gets a higher safety rating in forward facing mode than rearfacing, implying it's safer to forward face. It was because it rated better comparatively to the other forward facing seats
This seat has active head restraint and extended rearfacing, which is safer
Can't comment on your first two points but it appears to be a specific seat you are talking about.
On the third, the CREP rating is to be treated like an ANCAP crash rating in that you cant cross compare between categories. As a rear facing the 3 star score is fairly average, but a 1 star score is particularly bad for forward facing. Don't disagree that extended rear facing is better, but there are better extended rear facing seats.
Correction to make but I can't edit: It's not the same seat, those results are for the discontinued A2 seat. The A4 version is still pending despite being 2 years old.
I gave those examples of other seats to show how meaningless CREP's safety ratings can be. The only testing I go by is that all seats meet Aussie standards.
I agree there are better (more features, not necessarily safer), but not at this price bracket. The next cheapest is RRP $399 Compaq, lowest I've seen it go is about $230? And that doesn't have active head restraint. If I only had $200 to spend, this is the seat I'd get.
Agreed. The poor test results I linked to are for the A2 seat not the extended rear facing.
this isnt isofix is it?
Would this be suitable for an off-the-charts-tall 1.5-year-old? Also, is it very narrow?
Its extended rear facing, so will take a taller child than average.
Width is 440mm at the widest point, which puts it in the slimline category. Looking at the seat this measurement is either on the arms or wings, the base seems to be narrower again (possibly 380mm?). The slimmest seat I am aware of is the Infasecure Quattro, which is 420mm at the widest point. Wide seats are around 480-550mm width.
Thanks,
I actually just bought it. I don't know if they accept returns but we have another baby coming in a few months, we can use it for him if it's too narrow for our daughter. Also, with the third child coming, a narrow seat was going to be a must.
I'll see how we go.
Cheers
Hrmm no safety test on this one yet. Don't know much about this brand. Infasecure often have their Ascent model on sale for about $20 more with free installation at Toys r us. The infasecure is also quite well rated for safety.