Travel System / Pushchair Advice

Shoxt3r · 25 April 2019 at 12:13PM

Hi all,

So as part of my other thread about being first-time Mum & Dad I asked about Pushchairs and Travel Systems but feel this is a much bigger topic - hence the new thread

We've started looking at some deals on travel systems - only Halfords and Mothercare so far - but we're already finding some conflicting specifications.

There's one favourite we've found by Joie (the Chrome DLX Stroller & Cot, which we can also get bundled with a Joie I-Level car seat). However, we're confused by some of the terminology and the offers - for example:

the Joie I-Level gives the ability to lie the child seat flat, whereas the base is fixed?
The Joie I-Gemm seems to be the seat that people rave about in reviews but there's no clear comparison between the I-Level and the I-Gemm.
It isn't clear what the difference between Isofix and I-Size is - they appear to be the same thing?
Our car will support both Isofix and I-Size I found out after extensive searching (surprised that no website has a clear guide on what to go for in each situation and why - we guess that a lot of people simply visit a store and ask there instead?)
The Halfords bundle we've found below seems to be a steal...? However, Silver Cross have an Isofix system but it's much more expensive and we can't work out why?
https://www.halfords.com/kids-zone/travel-systems/travel-systems/joie-chrome-dlx-stroller-with-carrycot-and-i-level-travel-system-bundle
https://www.mothercare.com/car-seat-bases/silver-cross-simplifix-isofix-base/560908.html
Joie seem to be the market leaders of in-car safety...?

Any help or advice to point us in the right direction would be much appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

sk240 · 25 April 2019 at 12:30PM

Its an absolute nightmare inst it, i remember getting very confused and im far from stupid.
I also dint find any of staff from the larger chains at all helpful with anything.
I did end up going with a similar set to the Joie set you have linked, and its been great so you wont go far wrong with that.
My brother recently went through the same issue with his little one, and found the smaller independent companies much more knowledgeable....

wootsit · 25 April 2019 at 1:46PM

I am also due in September and we have bought our buggy and car seat. We were bought a Silver across pram that was exdisplay but the reviews on the car seat were awful. We have got the Joie ilevel lie flat car seat and Isofix base pack and I just bought the Maxi Cosi adapters for the pushchair as that allows the car seat to go on a Silver Cross pram &#55357;&#56842;

rach_k · 25 April 2019 at 2:27PM

Isofix is how the seat is fitted to the car - bars that come out of the seat and clip into the car (the other option is by seat belt).

i-Size is a legal standard for car seats that was introduced several years ago. The previous standard is still legal but the old one will eventually stop being made/sold so everything will be i-Size in the future. i-Size covers how the seat fits into the car (always isofix, AFAIK), how the seats are sized, when children are moved to forward facing... basically all of the rules.

SunnyCyprus · 25 April 2019 at 3:42PM

Following on from rach_k's answer... I-size seats are fitted to your child by thier height, rather than weight.

isofix and seat belt fixed seats are chosen according to your childs' weight and age.

I-size seats are fitted to a car using the isofix system, but chosen to suit your child by height.

Shoxt3r · 14 May 2019 at 12:30PM

Thanks everyone for your help!
We've now ordered the Halfords Joie Travel System as we gave it another go while in Mothercare over the weekend and it's still really impressive.

We even managed to get £47 off with a Quidco voucher (valid for a few more days if anyone is interested!) and 5% cashback too - so only £400ish! We are a bit unsure if it includes a footmuff but these are pretty cheap on Amazon or eBay anyway.

https://www.halfords.com/kids-zone/travel-systems/travel-systems/joie-chrome-dlx-stroller-with-carrycot-and-i-level-travel-system-bundle

I'll probably write to Halfords anyway as the in-store/online experience is a bit confusing, plus none of the staff seemed to really know what they were doing when we asked for a demo of how it would fit into our car. Oh well, we got there

Sagaris · 14 May 2019 at 6:14PM

Contact your local council road safety officer and see if they can fit it for you? Please do tell Halfords head office of your experience - they are meant to have trained fitters in every store........ Good luck with your new arrival!

Travel System / Pushchair Advice

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