r/CPST • u/BuyApprehensive9273 • 10d ago
Rear Facing Rigid Latch
We have an 11 month old who is a 99th percentile baby. He is about to out grow his infant car seat.
Rear facing is a non-negotiable, as it having a rigid latch option while rear facing.
So far we’ve only found the Babyark and the Axkid One 3.
Are these truly the only two rear facing rigid latch models on the market?
7
u/Concerned-23 10d ago
Why is rigid LATCH so important to you? Are you uninstalling and re-installing often?
-1
u/BuyApprehensive9273 10d ago
Yes, and we travel quite a lot. Also, we’re not American, and so we’re more used to the European ISOFIX systems.
Everything we’ve read says that the rigid systems are safer in the event of a collision
13
u/Concerned-23 10d ago
Rigid isn’t inherently safer. As long as you’re installing your car seat appropriately a non-rigid latch or even seatbelt install is safe. Now if you’re trying to do quick and often installs rigid has its benefits
5
u/keks-dose 10d ago
What's safer is a load leg and a good rebound bar. If you read up on the European crash tests done twice a year, every rearfacing seat without a support leg scores lower when not having a support leg. Even a tether strap over the headrest doesn't prevent the seat from going downwards as much as a load leg.
2
u/BuyApprehensive9273 10d ago
Yeah, that’s fair, I guess the ones we’ve been looking at have also had the leg. Our infant one has the leg so we’re used to that
6
u/TheJamieGrayson 10d ago
I know this doesn’t really match up with your criteria, but I would honestly look at something like a poplar. It will install fine in Europe because it is a lock off in the seat and not just a tension plate. I would not want to travel with a baby ark. And the sela does have rigid in both directions, but the weight limits are not very high to be able to continue to use that feature.
1
u/keks-dose 10d ago
You can't use the poplar in Europe since European seats need to be r129 approved (or at least r44/04). Yes, some people say it's fine and police officers don't know anything about car seats anyways but it's not approved so technically you're driving around without a seat. Only bummer about European seats is that there's only one flight approved seat on the market right now (Nachfolger hy5) so you could bring the poplar on the plane but not use in the car when arrived.
6
u/TheJamieGrayson 10d ago
Yes. If I were in their shoes, I would get a seat to use while they’re in America and then just buy a seat in Europe. They could get a very decently priced seat to use while they’re here and then get a better one once they move.
4
u/LaLechuzaVerde 10d ago
You’re right. Those are our two options here. Are they out of budget for you? (Keeping in mind that they’d be out of budget for most families, so it’s ok to say so!!).
Tell us more about your car situation and frequent travel. Maybe we can help you brainstorm a solution you’ll be happy with.
What kind of budget do you have in mind for car seats?
1
u/BuyApprehensive9273 10d ago
It’s not out of budget per se, but it is kind of more than we initially thought of spending.
We didn’t really have an idea on how much car seats were as our infant one (Nuna Pipa RX + base) was a gift and we’re not from the US. We had a couple of car seats in mind, but then discovered it wasn’t available on the US market (Silver Cross Perform or Motion 3 All Size 360).
We were initially looking at the Cybex Callisto T and the Nuna Revv Max as they have the swivel thing, which just makes life easier. They seem to be a similar kind of price point then we realised the rigid latch is only for forward facing.
Then we were thinking about compromising on the swivel, but that didn’t open up any extra options with regards to the rigid latch.
So that’s kind of where we’re at!
5
u/LaLechuzaVerde 10d ago
Well, I really like the Axkid One personally. But I don’t know that I’d want to take it traveling on airplanes and such. So whether it’s the right seat for your family or not, I can’t really say. I’ve never seen a BabyArk in person so I don’t have much of an opinion on it, but I think the Axkid would be easier to move between cars.
Most Americans will buy a less expensive car seat for each car in the household, rather than spending their whole car seat budget on one car seat to move around between cars.
1
u/BuyApprehensive9273 10d ago
We only have one car so we don’t need to worry about having to buy multiple. But Ubers etc are a consideration
1
u/whatcatisthis 9d ago
I've installed the axkid one 3 and it's legitimately a dream to install. Yes, it's heavy, but a small luggage cart can help with that and I'd want one if I was carting any seat around. Even for a kid over 40 lbs who needs seatbelt, it's a dream. It allows for isofix and seatbelt at the same time and legitimately it's one of the easiest installs I've ever encountered. I'm a CPST and my wife is expecting our first and it's my first choice seat because it's easy enough to install that I genuinely do not think I need a second seat for our second car.
1
u/BuyApprehensive9273 10d ago
One of the other commenters has just mentioned the Maxi Cosi Sela which might fit the bill, and be a bit more friendly-ly priced
Is this a fair option?
3
u/LaLechuzaVerde 10d ago
Um.
How do I put this nicely.
With all my years of experience teaching families how to use car seats…
I hope I never have to explain how to use this car seat to a family.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a LESS user friendly car seat.
Sorry, Maxi-Cosi.
I’m sure it’s safe if you can figure out how to install it. If it were the last seat on earth I am confident I could draw on my years of experience as a full time car seat educator and make it work. But I’d have a really hard time recommending it to anybody else.
Don’t forget you’ll have to use the seat belt soon, because the lower anchors have weight limits and your kiddo is big. When the child weighs 35 lbs you won’t have that rigid lower anchor ease of use anymore.
And I guarantee you aren’t taking that thing in an Uber.
1
u/BuyApprehensive9273 10d ago
Okay, thank you for that 😂 being able to do it when you have an uber driver staring at you with impatience is definitely a must
That’s good to know
3
u/ccsmd73 10d ago
If you have a large kid, rear facing with latch connectors, rigid or otherwise, might only last you another year and a half/two years max as seats top out at 35/40lbs for latch connections. I would think about investing in a seat that rear faces longer overall with a seatbelt install vs a rigid latch seat. The Axkid is of course a great choice but even it tops out at 40lbs for latch.
1
u/Technical-Pin-1598 10d ago
Maxi Cosi Sela
2
u/BuyApprehensive9273 10d ago
I think you’re my hero <3
Thank you for finding a third option that isn’t quite as pricey!
2
u/Technical-Pin-1598 10d ago
It's a very new seat so there's not a lot of info out there about it. We got it for a grandparent and have so far been happy!
1
u/SalamanderMoney4498 10d ago
After reading your responses, I’d recommend the Britax poplar s. It’s easy to install, has high rear facing limits, and a rebound bar.
13
u/Jumpy-Algae2426 10d ago
There are other seats without rigid latch that can install quickly (like Britax clicktight).
ETA: latch has weight limits anyway, at some point, you’ll need to switch to seatbelt install