... I've admitted before that Im very keen on baby equipment and I had always know that my mum had a Silver Cross Pram for me, so hearing the name made me think 'yeah, this is a brand to respect' We chose a Silver Cross Ventura carseat for one of our cars and a Graco for the other. If we were ... Read review
Advantages: Sturdy and safe Disadvantages: You cant buy a base for this model
...that my mum had a Silver Cross Pram for me, so hearing the name made me think 'yeah, this is a brand to respect' We chose a Silver Cross Ventura carseat for one of our cars and a Graco for the other. If we were going back in time we certainly wouldnt buy two infant carriers, but we were a little clueless!
Of the two that we had the Silver Cross Ventura was by far my favourite. There are many reasons for this, but above all I found ... ...despite these.
Silver Cross
+++++++++++
I am quite sure that many people reading this will have heard of Silver Cross. They have manufactured baby products for almost 150 years and quite a few of us will have been pushed around In one of the huge Coach Built Prams. In recent years they have had a huge makeover and are climbing back to the top of the baby equipment market where they used to have precedence. If ... more
When we were first having our child, I was blinded by the range that was out there. It was very hard to decide what would be best to spend money on and it all seemed so expensive. I've admitted before that Im very keen on baby equipment and I had always know that my mum had a Silver Cross Pram for me, so hearing the name made me think 'yeah, this is a brand to respect' We chose a Silver Cross Ventura carseat for one of our cars and a Graco for the other. If we were going back in time we certainly wouldnt buy two infant carriers, but we were a little clueless!
Of the two that we had the Silver Cross Ventura was by far my favourite. There are many reasons for this, but above all I found it very warm and snuggly for a newborn. It does have its issues too, but I found myself inclined to chose this over the Graco despite these.
Silver Cross +++++++++++
I am quite sure that many people reading this will have heard of Silver Cross. They have manufactured baby products for almost 150 years and quite a few of us will have been pushed around In one of the huge Coach Built Prams. In recent years they have had a huge makeover and are climbing back to the top of the baby equipment market where they used to have precedence. If you look at the most searched prams section of Ebay at the moment you will see Silver Cross is ranked second after Mamas and Papas, and I am very sure it will continue to get more popular.
The Ventura ++++++++++++
The Ventura is a Group 0+ Carseat. This means that it is suitable from Birth. It will safely hold a child up to 10kg. We moved our son to a forward facer at 10 months as he was a large and sturdy child, but we could have probably gotten another few weeks from it. There is much information to show that rear-facing is best for babies so this roomy carseat is good for getting a little extra use from your investment.
It is available in all of the colours available in Silver Cross Pushchairs. This is because they can be installed onto the frame of the buggys by a hook system.
Colours for 2007/2008 ++++++++++++++++
Cargo: A dark grey and black seat with fleecy lining. I love this one- It has a little logo which says ‘precious cargo on board’ How apt is that for a newborn!
Pistachio; This is the one we had- it is the Dark grey and green colourway with little circles all over the hood. It is one of the most common ones.
Apollo: Blue and Grey with little odd shaped squares all over.
Zest: Grey and Lemon colour way- you can view this on their website.
Flash: Grey and Green colourway- also available for viewing on the website.
There are also the colourways: Sienna (brown) , Vintage (Beige), Shoreline (Im not sure of the colour exactly but I think there is a blue stripe on the apron)
Accessories and Appearance +++++++++++++++++++++
My main reason for liking this over the Graco we had was the lovely muff that was attached to the front to keep the baby warm in the car. We had not been told at the time that this should not be placed on the baby in the car as it obscures the view of the three point harness, but it should be kept in mind.
To fit the carseat in the car you have to remove the hood, this is a bit of a pain but in general the carseat is so simple to instal so it is a little fault.
Fitting the Seat +++++++++++++
It is deemed to be a universal carseat which means it should fit most cars although I would strongly suggest you fit this carseat into your car before purchasing. It fits very neatly into our Vauxhall Astra but was not a good fit at all for our Fiesta- it is big and too bulky for the belt to go around safely.
When you set the seat into your car you simply use the lap belt part to rest above the child’s legs. There are Blue coloured Routings for this. Then you use the long part of the belt to slip around the back of the car seat. This then slips into the blue routing at the top of the carseat (facing outwards to which ever side you have chosen to install the seat)
If your car has airbags and you are placing the carseat in the front seat then you should always have the airbags deactivated. We have never used our carseat in the front so we did not have an issue with this but it is well worth taking in to account.
When the seat is in place you click the carrying handle into the car-position which is to the front, facing the back seat of the car. This way in case of accident the car seat will have an anchor so to speak and the baby has an extra point of safety.
Fitting the Baby ++++++++++++
The baby sits underneath the straps and is fastened by the harness. This is a three point harness and is very simple to clip together. I also find that it is extra sturdy when you give it a good tug (I like to be thorough with safety equipment)
The seat arrives as new with a Head-hugger to keep baby’s head safely in one place as a new born. This is very soft and so is great for a newborn. New research shows that babies should not be left to sleep longer than 90 minutes in a carseat due to the angle of their back, so when you are taking a journey with your baby remember to take decent breaks to let your child stretch. The head rest and support are removable as you child gets older so that the baby can have more space to grow.
Cost ++++++++
You can find the Ventura retailing anywhere from £65 for previous seasins colours to £89.99 which seems to be the RRP. It could be worth shopping around or buying as part of a travel system as you will probably get a better deal that way. You can purchase the ventura at many shops such as Mothercare and from many independant baby stores.
What I didn’t like about my Ventura ____________________________
1) You have to remove the hood to install the carseat 2) You cannot get a base for this model, a base would be very handy 3) It does not fit smaller cars very well
Why I loved by Ventura _____________________________
1) It is such a roomy car seat 2) The finish and quality is second to none 3) It ‘feels’ safe 4) It is lightweight 5) It is easy to install
So as you can see I think this is a great first stage carseat and would be happy to recommend it to anyone.
Advantages: Fits onto all Silver Cross Pushchairs, light, easy to use Disadvantages: No ISO fit, canopy is not the best fit.
We bought the Silver Cross Ventura Car seat to go with the Silver cross Pram we bought for our baby girl. The car seat fits onto the chassis of all Silver cross prams, making it a really nice travel system too. Makes it much easier when you are going out into town, as you don't have to take the pram body, just fold the chassis up and stick it in the boot of the car! The Ventura Car seat comes in all the same colour ways as the prams do, so it matches ... ...Ventura from a local stockist. Silver Cross have a list of these on their website (www.silvercross.co.uk). It seems to be a growing list, as when we first went to look at them towards the end of last year, there was only one stockist in the city. Now I see that Toys R Us have started stocking some of their pushchairs... The ventura costs around £70 although we got ours a little cheaper as we were buying the whole pram system at the same time. It ...
lebel 02.09.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Silver Cross Ventura
Advantages: Attaches onto silver cross chassis', compact, easy to fit Disadvantages: Quickly outgrown, No Isofix version available
I purchased the Silver Cross Ventura Car Seat whilst pregnant after noticing one being pushed around a shop attached to a chassis. I considered this to be an excellent idea for short shopping trips in busy stores without having to lug around a huge heavy pram. Fantastic for those clothes stores that never seem to give you enough space to get past displays!
Design - Modern Sleek and Stylish design and available in 6 different designs and colours:
... ...is an easy to adjust silver handle which goes over the car seat which is easy to and manouvere. One position for carrying, one for rocking, one for whilst in transit and one for positioning the car seat still on the floor to prevent movement.
If you also possess a newer style silver cross pram then the car seat can be attached to the chassis making it a very lightweight and compact travel system. It is recommended though that you do not do this ...
rainy100 09.02.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Silver Cross Ventura
Advantages: safe and easy to use Disadvantages: Can be a little awkward carrying
...reaction was I wanted a Silver Cross - if it was good enough for me as a child it was good enough for our child.
I went to my local John Lewis' as they were the closest store to supply Silver Cross although MOthercare and ToysRUs are now stocking some of the silver cross systems.
Silver Cross are predominately pram/buggy designers and thefore only have the one car seat however this does fit on any af the chassis' in the SC range.
When out and ... ...and hey presto.
Cost wise they are about £70 but you can get discounts if you are buying a full travel system and more and more outlets are now selling them including, as previously mentioned, Mothercare and ToysRUs.
More information can be obtained from the Silver Cross website. ...
DKtheDJ 23.11.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Silver Cross Ventura
Advantages: comfy for baby, secure in car Disadvantages: heavy, bulky, hard to get in car
...seat as I had the Silver Cross 3d, so I wanted to use car seat as part of the travel system.
This car seat is very heavy, so moving it in and out of the car can be hard work. I have another car seat which is much lighter.
Very tricky to attach into the car with the seatbelt, especially if you have short seatbelts, cars with longer seatbelts make it alot easier.
It is quite noisy, what I mean is, if my baby fell asleep in the car, and I wanted ...
amsmae2009 10.11.2009
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Review of Silver Cross Ventura
Advantages: Use with Silver Cross chassis, hard-wearing, easily adjustable Disadvantages: Can be heavy!
...seat as I had a Silver Cross Classic Sleepover, and was very glad I did. It clips onto the chassis for short trips out, and comes with a very snuggly cosy toes and sun/wind/rain canopy, together with a 'headhugger' for small babies. The straps are easily adjustable and nicely padded, and can be removed for washing. The cover can also be removed for washing. The straps can be adjusted to a second setting as your baby gets bigger. The seat can be used ... ...say that the seat seemed heavy to carry (but that could have been my baby!) so I always used it with the chassis rather than just hooking it over my arm as I've seen some Mums do with their baby carriers. The main thing I've liked about this seat, apart from the ability to use in conjunction with the chassis for my sleepover, is that it has worn incredibly well and still looks lovely after daily use. It is easy to strap into most cars (although Volkswagen's ...
EmmB 04.06.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Silver Cross Ventura
Padded
Ease of cleaning
Safety
Ease of installation
Value for Money
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Advantages: Pram/Pushchair and travel system, compact fold without removing seat Disadvantages: No rear facing pushchair, shopping basket difficult to access
portions and putting on the pram liner it becomes the pram. The liner is very padded with a mattress in the base and plastic shapers round the edges. These plastic shapers and mattress are both removeable which make the liner washable. The liner has a padded pelvic harness which helps keep the baby feeling secure and in position. The downside is that it isn't very big and my son outgrew the pram part at around 12/13 weeks.
Removal of the pram liner and a few other small adjustments means that with the SilverCrossventura car seat, it can be used as a travel system.
Other points
Shopping basket, the shopping basket is difficult to access and I would release one of the catches to give myself a bit more room to put things in then do it back up again. Though I rarely used the basket for more than a couple of items anyway.
The handles ...
Advantages: Seems very sturdy, compatible with many strollers Disadvantages: Expensive, dodgy sweaty fabric
the sides and a purple colour in the main insert. When my son got warm he left sweat marks on the sides of the seat. Although these were easy to clean it was still a bit strange that the fabric wasn't breathable. However in the defence, the durability of the fabric was top-notch. It's only got a few bobbles on it and has seen two babies already! I didn't find the same sweat issue with my SilverCrossVentura car seat, but it really wasn't anything to worry about two much. You can remove the cover for cleaning. It's not that difficult.
At the moment the main colours for 2007 are:
Black Reflection (mega popular where I work!) It is black insert colour, with a silver black side
Red Flame Reflection (As above only red)
Deep Red: Red insert with Black at the sides
Penguin: Black outsides with grey inserts
Indian Spice: Brown at sides ...
The Ventura Infant Carrier offers the very latest in side impact technology for your baby. The deep padded sides and softly cushioned head support give all round protection and support. The Ventura s fitted with TMS harness technology which allows one pull tightening to help ensure correct adjustment In order to maximise the flexibility of your Ventura Infant Carner it can be quick fitted to all Silver Cross pushchairs to convert into a travel system. The Ventura Is supplied complete with sun canopy and padded apron, to ensure baby comfort and protection when used in conjunction with your pushchair ax a travel system.
