Baby Travel System - I aint got a clue, been looking and they all confuse me..

[Beancounter1980]

Hi guys,

So, i'm gonna be a daddy....Yay

Now comes the hard part lol. Me and the wife have decided to run the fabia for many reasons. Its reliable, cheap, has four doors and a bit of poke...and it will also help me save money while I get the house up to scratch..

BUT...I need to buy a travel system right?

So. I would like one that is safe. Preferably one that has isofix as it seems a lot more secure, and one that has a base so I can lock and remove the baby at will.

Also the pram has to be able to fold and fit into the Fabia's boot. Another car is not an option here guys...

What do you guys have? and what would you recommend?

Your advice is much appreciated...

Depending on how this thread goes, I will buy one which you guys use most likely...

[kirkvrs]

Congratulations.

When we had our little girl we went for a graco travel system. Not sure exactly which model but suited us great and was fairly reasonable price wise.

It had the base which stayed in car, and seat fitted from base to push chair and vice versa.

Push chair was fine in boot also.

I'd recommend popping to mothercare ( the large branch if one near you? ) as they will test fit the systems in car, and you can check pushchair fits in boot etc. if your like us we did this and made a note of the model we wanted and then found it a lot cheaper online.

Hope that helps, and good luck!

Kirk

[Beancounter1980]

Cheers mate. Was looking at these last night..

Will pop to mothercare this weekend.

[KBPhoto]

SWMBO has a Fabia Mk1 and we found that pushchairs that don't fold wouldn't fit in the boot!

We ended up with a Bebe Confort Loola, which does fold and also allows the seat to be reversed (so the baby faces you) and accepts the whole travel system (lie flat rear seat cot, rear face baby carry seat - Creatis, etc.).

All of which is now up for sale as our boys have grown out of them a while ago.

[@Lee]

I wasn't aware that Fabia's came with ISOFix mounting points? But as mentioned, Mothercare are usually quite accommodating when it comes to letting you 'test drive' the buggies/ push chairs, or 'travel systems' as they're called nowadays!

[KBPhoto]

I wasn't aware that Fabia's came with ISOFix mounting points?

Wife's '03 Fabia 1.4 MPI does have them in the rear. Bit of a pain to get at due to the seat pads, but they are there.

[hap123ciu]

Maxi-cosi Elea and pebble seat with family fix base, didn't try the seat yet but should fit

[ToxicNeo]

Congrats mate - it's the best ever!

We had the Mamas & Papas Primo Viaggio system. Came with a pram base that held the car seat either forward facing or back facing, 2 car bases to secure the car seat, the pram base also becomes a stroller type thing for when little 'un is bigger. Our daughter slept well in it and we found it easy enough to move from pram to car and back.

Good system for us, securecd well using the seat belt - in fact, was a pain to get it on and off sometimes it was that secure! They don't seem to sell them anymore, but we can't get rid of ours!

[John757]

We bought a fairly expensive travel system package for our little one and wish we'd never bothered. We happened to buy a second car seat for his nana so she could take him out, it was only 35 quid and was far better than the one in the travel system, much easier to use and much lighter and less bulky. It seems you pay through the nose and get less. Even the pram bugs the hell out of me after using a friends.

My suggestion would be to look at all prams and car seats and pick and mix the best you find. We don't use isofix and the seat is solidly in using just the seat belt, no wobble. The base is something I wanted the most for ease of use, but there all ridiculously expensive and when you upgrade the seat when they get bigger you generally need a new base too. 6 months on and I don't see any real need for a base, strapping him in using the seat belt takes about a minute if that.

[booke23]

We've got a Maxi Cosi Isofix setup which I use in the Fabia and Octavia, and it's great.

There are lots of different car seat makes and you should have a look and see what you like the look of......but I will say one thing. If you have Isofix points in your car then do not even consider anything other than an Isofix car seat.

Why?.....do a search for car seat crash test videos, and you'll see!

Edited 3 December, 2012 by booke23

[legonads]

We had our little one in July and are using a maxi cosi pebble We didn't go isofix as you need to change it as they get bigger and out grow their seat, weird thing is the seat belt in the back of the Vrs is quite short so he ends up more upright in my car than my wife's Clio.

Mine is an 07 plate but a lad I work with has got an 04 and can't put his car seat in his because the belt is too short!

Pram wise we got a bugaboo bee it packs down really small & it's light as well so better for my wife to lift, the woman in John Lewis said its the only one small enough to go in a mini's boot.

Mothercare advice is good we found a large one on a retail park & they let me try the pram in my boot for size!

Congratulations!!

[ste372]

congratulations pal

my little boy is due in a week. we have gone with the oyster travel system with a maxi cosy car seat.

the oyster is really good folds down so small and everything is one touch to take off/put down. got to think bout that as you will have child in one arm fighting the contraption with the other

cant comment on how it fits in the fabia as that is long gone but missus has a 6n2 polo not a problem getting everything in

[Beancounter1980]

UPDATE:

So I have decided on a FamilyFix base from Maxi-Cosi and at first we will have a pebble carseat from Maxi-Cosi..

For the buggy we have decided on a mothercare one. Its a new one they call the "Orb". I think it may have been called the "Spin" or summat beforehand.

Cheers. Been looking at estates - Volvo and BMW....just cant justify it yet and really really dont want to spend more money for the sake of a car. Plus i love the Furby more than i hate it!

Edited 2 January, 2013 by Beancounter1980

[booke23]

So I have decided on a FamilyFix base from Maxi-Cosi and at first we will have a pebble carseat from Maxi-Cosi.

Excellent choice. We have the previous version to the familyfix.......the isofix base is excellent as is the car seat.

[MattH]

Firstly congratulations!

As a father of two I am happy to give my advice.

For my son (first born) we had a MaxiCosi car seat. This car seat has an additional accessory base that can be easily installed into the car making it a one click in and out with the car seat while the base stays put. To go with this car seat we had a Bugaboo pushchair. The above car seat can be attached to this pushchair with adaptors. So when using the car seat with this pushchair you only need to carry the pushchair frame and adaptors (small) in the boot.

For our daughter we had a Mamas & Papas Skate with the Primo Vaggio car seat.

For my experience both of these were top notch. They are a little pricey to get new but should be plenty floating around on eBay if you are not to worried (we weren't lol) This car seat also has a base accessory that enables you to leave it installed in the car to make a one click system.

That's about all I think lol.

Hope it helps.

[grr666]

I'm assuming this is for use in the rear seat?

If not do you have an airbag off keyswitch in the glove box like

my Fabia used to have?

[grr666]

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/260698-bebe-confort-baby-travel-system/

Just seen this in the classifieds... Any help?

[KBPhoto]

It's me that's selling them so I might be biased in what I say...

They are very good. My only real 'complaint' is that the Lola pushchair is fairly sturdy / heavy and doesn't fold easy with the push chair still attached.

It is very easy to separate them before folding though.

The Windoo was excellent for transporting a newborn in the back of the car as they lie flat, are strapped in and the 'cot' can be lifted out straight into the Lola or used as a cot whilst visiting family.

The Creatis is the next stage up but can be used with newborns but only really for shorter journies. I think the recomendation was up to an hour at the time we bought it.

I can remember whether this goes in the front or not. I think it does but obviously with the airbag turned off.

My wife has a Fabia Mk1 and these all fit in her car quite easily and was one if the reasons we went for this range.

The Lola seat can be turned to face forward or backwards (towards the parent) which is great for interaction with your baby and another reason we chose this range.

If you have any questions or want to see it all, PM me.

Hopefully an honest opinion and not a sales pitch.

[JakeSVRS]

Weve just got a car seat that stays in the fab and a pram that fits nicley in the boot (even with my sub in there!)

[Tarmine]

We bought a Hauck Travel system, winnie the pooh from toys r us. He's the closest one I can find on their website

http://www.hauckuk.com/uk-collection/shop-n-drive/shopper-shop-n-drive.64.1.1.1_info.html

Doesn't have isofix though.

Its a car seat suitable from birth to 13kg and a buggy suitable from birth to 3 years. Car seat fits fine with the seatbelt in the fabia and the buggy fits in the boot on it's side (granted it wouldn't leave much room to pack our belongings for a holiday), I would definitely echo going into a store to try out different car seats and buggies with the car, even if you then later buy online instead. Our little one is due at some point this month, I'm sure I'll have more of an idea of what we like once we start using everything.

and congrats!