After a number of blogs, in which I tell how I experience being a daddy, it is now time for something else.
Something which all daddies (2 be) struggle with, is how they should transport their little man/woman. The first choices that you have to make are even before the baby is born. The midwife already told you that, if you are going to give birth in the hospital, you got to have decent transport (a safe baby car seat). Because we already knew that the wife was going to give birth in the hospital, we instantly went looking for the different possibilities when it comes to baby car seats.
At first you know that there is at least one thing you need: a Maxi Cosi. The strange thing is, that everyone instantly has a virtual image when it comes to a Maxi Cosi: you don’t think about the brand at first, but more of the “lay down seat” where your baby will be transported in, in the first few months (eg. the Cabriofix). That this does not have to be the brand Maxi Cosi, you only realize when you start searching for car seats.
The Purchase
During our search, we went looking for different solutions; 1 thing was mandatory, according to us: this was not something we were going to save money on. We decided we were not going to buy a second hand car seat; you don’t know what happened with the car seat (accident, somebody dropped it, etc.). After all this is about the safety of your child. After some investigation and dropping buy different stores, we decided that we were going to buy a Maxi Cosi. Initially, we hesitated between the Maxi Cosi and a Römer car seat where he could sit in from 0-4 years, but the Römer was a seat that was permanently fixed in the car which you cannot take outside the car. This brings me to the demands that we had according to the car seat:
- Safe
- Reliable
- “Maxi Cosi” which we could take outside the car
- Should fit on the Bugaboo stroller
- Decent and easy to secure in the car
The Maxi Cosi + 2-Way Fix matched all our demands for the first months and so we decided to visit a number of stores to see if there were any differences when it comes to the prize. After visiting these stores, we found out that the prices are almost the same everywhere; when it comes to that it doesn’t matter which store you choose to buy the car seat: Baby-Dump, Babypark, Van Asten Babysuperstore are a number of stores which you could visit.
Securing the seat the first time
After we opened the box, the manual was not even necessary; the 2-Way Fix uses the Isofix anchorages in the car. This means that you still need to check if your car has these Isofix anchorages (which you can check eg. on the site of Maxi Cosi).
After you’ve attached the yellow Isofix points to the car anchorages, you can extend the leg until this hits the ground and you’re done.
After the 2-Way Fix is mounted in the car, you can easily mount the Cabriofix to the 2-Way Fix, by just clicking on to it and off you go.
Handling and Durability
The handling of the complete system is ok in general, but detaching the Cabriofix from the 2-Way Fix is not always that easy. As you can see in below image, you have to move the grey bar towards the front seat to detach the Cabriofix. When the Cabriofix is mounted, you have to move your hand in difficult directions to move the grey bar (as you might already expected, the image is the ideal situation, but in real life, the car door is really in the way to prevent an easy detachment…).
About the durability of the 2-Way Fix we were not that satisfied. After a few months the grey leaver could not be moved easily anymore and after a while, the Cabriofix could not be detached at all anymore. When we went back to the store, the system was sent back to Maxi Cosi and was fixed by them without any charges; excellent service I must say!
After this repair we did not face anymore problems, but we were somehow disappointed that 2-Way Fix broke after such a short time.
2-Way Pearl
After our son became approx. 9 months, he did not fit comfortably anymore in the Cabriofix, so we needed to change to its successor. In case of the 2-Way Fix there is not much to choose from: the 2-Way Pearl is the only car seat that can be attached to the 2-Way Fix and can be mounted both forwards as well as backwards.
When it comes to safety (and legislation), the best option is to transport your baby facing backwards as long as possible. Using the 2-Way Pearl this is possible up until approx.. 15 months (depending on your babies growth).
After some more investigation on the internet, we found out that also the prices of the 2-Way Pearl do not really differ in the different stores. But when we went to Baby-Dump, we found out that we were just in time for the “season switch”. The new season just started so the “old” seats were sold for Sale prices. Instead of the normal €299, we only paid €179; a nice saving we had!
We’re now using the 2-Way Pearl for approx. 6 months now, and I have to say, our experience is very good with this car seat! Our son is growing so hard, that we did have to adjust the seat so that he is watching towards the front of the car a bit earlier than the 15 months. Our son doesn’t mind that at all, because he can now see a lot more, instead of only the back seat of the car.
Pro’s and Con’s.
Pro’s
Safe
Easy to use
Lots of different colours available
Cabriofix is easy to mount on the Bugaboo stroller
“Only” 2 seats needed until your kid is approx. 4 years old
Solid and stable
Light weight material
Con’s
Durability
Price
Conclusion
Despite the fact that the combination of Maxi Cosi Cabriofix, 2-Way Fix and 2-Way Pearl is kind of expensive, we would really recommend this. Especially detaching and mounting the Cabriofix was really nice to have in the first months during shopping. The possibility to mount the Carbriofix to the Bugaboo stroller also was a nice pro.
Tips for dads
Despite the fact that the prices seem to be really stable, it can really save you some money to fysically go to the store instead of investigating the internet. The offer in the store is different in many cases and you can save a lot of money if you run into the right discount. The price, for the combination as described, is normally approx. €700. Due to season discounts and flyer offers we only paid approx. €550!