Bebe Confort Iseos Car Seat

...is a blue oval, with bebe confort written in squiggly letters on 2 lines, and a picture of an elephant's face in the top right hand corner


The Car Seat
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As I previously said it faces both forward and rear.

When rear facing, it is a Group 0+ car seat and is suitable for babies who weigh between 3 - 13kg or are 6-15 months. As with all car seats, this should not be used ...
...this is depending on colour too. They seem to be available from Babies r US, Halfords, John Lewis and other department stores. There are also many online stores, just do a search on google. Bebe conforts Website does not give any prices.



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Ooooh what a big baby you have! You must feed him too much? His daddy must have been a big boy? hmmm that a bit of personal question isn't it?

Anyways I suffered all this because I had one of them cute chubby, sturdy babies and outgrew his 1st car seat before he was the required "9-12 months". Come on not even a year old and already revolting against rules!! SO I had a little dilemma on my hands, I was short of cash, and always am being a single parent, I needed a new car seat as his poor legs were getting squashed against the seat all the time, but going by the words of "experts" his neck wasn't strong enough to be in a forward facing car seat. So what do you do? You go out and buy a BebeConfort Iseos that’s what. The answer to your dreams! A seat that both forward and rear facing, suitable for your little bundle from the age of 6 months.

Let me tell you the basics first of all:

Bebeconfort
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They make all sorts baby related from highchairs to playpens, intercoms to prams, changing units to baby carriers. I'm sure you get the drift. They also operate in many countries including, England, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Holland!

Their brand motif is a blue oval, with bebe confort written in squiggly letters on 2 lines, and a picture of an elephant's face in the top right hand corner

The Car Seat
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As I previously said it faces both forward and rear.

When rear facing, it is a Group 0+ car seat and is suitable for babies who weigh between 3 - 13kg or are 6-15 months. As with all car seats, this should not be used rear facing in a front seat if there is a passenger airbag activated. You need to buy a separate head hugger if you use the seat like this.

When forward facing it is a Group 1 car sear, is suitable for babies who weigh between 9-18kg or are 14 months to 4 years old.

One of the main selling points of this car seat is not just the fact it can face both ways but by the fact that it expands to cope with your growing child. As your child grows, the sides of the chair move outwards by turning a dial. Quite simple really. So you your child should not be squashed by it.

We actually picked this car seat because of the amount of padding it has. It’s not hard, its nice and squidgy. Well padded it is!

Straps
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As with all seats it has 3 height settings for the straps, and it also comes with two sets of strap covers. The smaller ones are for when the seat is rearward facing, these are just made out of a soft fabric with a bit of cushioning. The ones that are used for the forward facing are chunkier, I would describe them as similar to the covers you see in rally cars, they also have a rubbery bumpy covering on the back. This is to cushion the child in case you crashed.

Fitting
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The seat comes with easy instructions, and there are colour coded arrows on the seat to aid you. If you are using the seat as rear facing, before you buy you need to make sure that your seat belt is long enough to go round, as many don't. I can tell you for a fact that those with a 1994 ford fiesta can't use them! So make sure you try in your care before you buy. To fit the seat in, it is pretty similar to fitting your previous car seat.

Forward facing is a bit more fiddly in my view. You pull the seat belt through underneath the seat and clip it. It then needs to be secured by the stopper and also needs to go through another fiddly "thing" on the side of the seat at the top on the side of the seatbelt (ie the side of the seat closest to the door. Once this is all done correctly the base doesn't rock at all.

It can also be noted that these seats cannot be fitted with just a lap belt.

Reclining
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Just a turn of a knob that’s on the front of the seat, however if you’re going from fully straight to fully back, your wrist will ache after a while. It’s not quick, but as they claim it is pretty smooth!

Safety
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The car seat has special impact sides, including the "wings" at the top of the seat. These mean they are very safe if you have a side impact crash. In 2003 GMTv in conjunction with Which! conducted a study on car seats and the Iseos came top. I was quite surprised, as I hadn't known it was that safe!!

Accessories
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On 2004 models you can buy hoods for the seat which can be used rear of forward facing to protect your bundle of joy from the blinding sun (do we get any of that here?). They also do a heat resistant cover, which reminds me of tin foil, to try and keep the seat cool whilst the car is in the sun (the baby is not in it!!!).

Colours
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There are lots of colours and whatever your taste from purple to pillar boxes red, checks, stripes your taste is catered for. Most are two tone, and are actually done quite tastefully.

MY OPINION!!!!
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This is my favourite bit!! I’ll just tell you like it is!!

Fitting the car seat is a pain, if you are looking for a car seat that you can swap between cars all the time. This is not ideal. The major problem I find is the clicker thing, you know where you wedge the seat belt in. It is just so hard to do up.

It’s very very bulky and has a big base. So it does take up a lot of room especially as the child gets bigger and you expand the seat. Effectively your car goes from being a 5 seater to a 4 seater. . On the plus side, your baby gets a good view out of the window. Its not really good for smaller cars such as a Fiesta, thank gawd I got a Focus now, When its forward facing in the back because its so bulky you have to have the front seat pulled forward quite far as your kids legs get squashed (and that even if the seats not reclined), and in small cars there is less leg room!

And the straps, my boys sits in his seat, and at time looks sooooo uncomfortable in them I want to rip them off and throw them in the bin. I know they are like that for safety sakes, but there’s no way they can be comfortable for your wee one.

Expandable base? Not really, the sides just tilt out..so if their bum gets bigger, the actual “bum” space doesn’t get any bigger!

Well, would I recommend?
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I probably would, depending on the circumstance and the individuals lifestyle. For safety is up there at the top. But for comfort? Those large straps are such a downfall, of what is a bulky car seat, but could be usable too.

I’m personally on the look out for my next car seat, James doesn’t like it anymore, I’m not keen on it, and personally I think there are some car seats out there that are a lot better.

COST & AVAILABILITY
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At the moment they are retailing online between £105 and £150, this is depending on colour too. They seem to be available from Babies r US, Halfords, John Lewis and other department stores. There are also many online stores, just do a search on google. Bebe conforts Website does not give any prices.

 

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