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Wikipedia:
BabyCenter:
My daughter always rides with us in her rear facing child safety seat (Graco Snugride) and I am most assured of her safety in it rather than in an adult's arms/laps. For those of you who disagree with me, please watch this video:
As soon as she turned 1 (17 months now), I started shopping for a bigger car seat to accommodate her growing height and weight. Another reason for my pursuit was her Graco being US spec model, was cumbersome to install in my car which did not have LATCH/ISOFIX mounting points for the seat-base. So I needed one that can be installed safely and easily using standard 3-point safety belt. I must admit shopping for a child car seat wasn't an easy deal, with limited brands and models available in our country. Many baby products retailers didn't even know what I was asking for (at least in my city). Thankfully the spurt of online sales helped a lot with my research and selection process.
Requirements:
Models Considered:
Decision Process & Initial Observations:
After trying out Luvlap and R for Rabbit brands (thanks to the lenient return policies of various online retailers), I got convinced by the Babyoye Cosmo SP which had a good build at reasonable pricing for what it offers. It had a Made in France label by a company named Team-Tex, sold under Mahindra Retail's Babyoye brand in India. Though it did not have EPS/EPP foam padding (neither did the former brands I tried), its build quality inspires sufficient confidence to take on the job. It has built-in locking clips to ensure a secure fit to comply with my 1 inch movement threshold.
I had to compromise on its brown base color (base is same color across its range) which didn't go well with my car's black/grey seat fabric. At the end of the day, safety precedes looks, so that's how it goes. I must commend the seller for wrapping the carton with lots of transparent polythene paper (the kind used in wrapping luggage at airports), it took more almost 10 minutes to unwrap it. I have mentioned my observations alongside pictures towards the end of this post so as to keep the text short.
Pros:
Cons:
Value For Money Rating:
Overall Satisfaction Rating:
Closing Note:
This car seat will do its duty until my little one turns 4yrs or weighs above 18kg. This will also mandate me to replace it with a better and safer model as she grows out of it. Looking forward to your comments and questions if any. And thanks for reading!
Pictorial Review:
Note: Click on the images to enlarge.
Outer Carton
This is one of the two places where manufactured month/year is printed (on the top left label).
Team-Tex is the actual manufacturer of this child seat. Complies with European regulation ECE R44/04.
Warnings printed in several languages.
Up Close
Front view. It's a light brown shade which doesn't look like it indoors[/B]
Rear View. D9 is the internal model number of Team-Tex. This is the second location of manufactured year. The 6 digit number is unknown. Notice the metal rod running at the shoulder level. There's a similar rod beneath seat cushion as well.
Base View. Appears to be removable, but not mentioned so in user manual. No sharp edges that would damage seat fabric.
Installation warnings and weight limits. The red label holds the ECE certification number. Notice the Made in France sticker.
Warning to not install it in an airbag equipped seat location.
Locking clips to secure seat belt. The blue one is to be used only for rear facing position. Otherwise it lies safely between the two legs of the base.
Maximum and minimum recline angles. Those blue/red dots are part of ECR R44/04 regulation.
Maximum and minimum recline angles - left view.
Recline angle adjustment lever located beneath seat cushion. Just pull upward and slide the child seat up/down. Very easy to use, even with the child seated.
5 point safety harness buckle covered by soft cushion. Press the red button downwards to unlock which triggers few audible double beeps. It is very tight for children to unbuckle themselves easily.
Harness locking pins. Both pins must be paired first before inserting into buckle (ECE R44/04). Again no sharp edges and is child friendly.
Shoulder pads & strap adjusters. Press the white buttons upwards to loosen the straps. To fasten, pull the straps without pressing any buttons. There should not be more than 1 finger gap between straps and the child for a proper fit.
Backside of shoulder pad is made of rubber, yet to find out its real purpose. Front side is padded with slight cushioning. The pads themselves cannot be moved up or down, only the nylon straps move.
Shoulder strap height can be adjusted. Fabric cut outs are neatly covered by rubber like material.
Installation:
Notice how the brown shade stands out after installing in a black background. Not cool to look at.
Use only one locking clip for front facing setup. Belt should be pulled tight before securing this locking clip to reduce free play.
No twisting of seat belt behind child seat.
Side profile. Sufficient side protection on offer.
User Manual
Has quite a few pictorial illustrations to prevent wrong installation.
Printed in French and English. This is the English section zoomed in.
User manual storage on the back of child seat. Very well thought out.
BabyCenter:
My daughter always rides with us in her rear facing child safety seat (Graco Snugride) and I am most assured of her safety in it rather than in an adult's arms/laps. For those of you who disagree with me, please watch this video:
As soon as she turned 1 (17 months now), I started shopping for a bigger car seat to accommodate her growing height and weight. Another reason for my pursuit was her Graco being US spec model, was cumbersome to install in my car which did not have LATCH/ISOFIX mounting points for the seat-base. So I needed one that can be installed safely and easily using standard 3-point safety belt. I must admit shopping for a child car seat wasn't an easy deal, with limited brands and models available in our country. Many baby products retailers didn't even know what I was asking for (at least in my city). Thankfully the spurt of online sales helped a lot with my research and selection process.
Requirements:
- Budget: Around ₹ 7000.
- Good instruction manual. I for one, do not trust products with poor/no instruction manual.
- Secure fitment. Should not move more than an inch in any direction after installed in car.
- Decent comfort level for my daughter. After all, she is going to be the actual end user of it.
- Should be fairly easy to install & remove.
Models Considered:
- LuvLap Premiere: This felt like a typical Chinese product. User manual was a joke, sticky seat fabric, unsatisfactory build quality. Initiated a return as soon as I unboxed it.
- Jack N Jill by R for Rabbit: Good fabric quality and comfort level. However, plastics felt nimble and it was loose after installing in my car. Also the diagonal seat belt twists behind the car seat which I believe compromises safety. User manual was provided just for namesake. Sent back to seller.
- Babyoye Cosmo Sp: Saw this in a BabyOye retail store and found the build to be pretty good.
- Graco Coast: Graco is a well known brand in USA but very expensive here in India, probably due to import duties. Also I couldn't find much of their models in my city to try them out.
- Chicco Eletta: Same as Graco.
- Chicco Gro Up 123: Same as Graco.
Decision Process & Initial Observations:
After trying out Luvlap and R for Rabbit brands (thanks to the lenient return policies of various online retailers), I got convinced by the Babyoye Cosmo SP which had a good build at reasonable pricing for what it offers. It had a Made in France label by a company named Team-Tex, sold under Mahindra Retail's Babyoye brand in India. Though it did not have EPS/EPP foam padding (neither did the former brands I tried), its build quality inspires sufficient confidence to take on the job. It has built-in locking clips to ensure a secure fit to comply with my 1 inch movement threshold.
I had to compromise on its brown base color (base is same color across its range) which didn't go well with my car's black/grey seat fabric. At the end of the day, safety precedes looks, so that's how it goes. I must commend the seller for wrapping the carton with lots of transparent polythene paper (the kind used in wrapping luggage at airports), it took more almost 10 minutes to unwrap it. I have mentioned my observations alongside pictures towards the end of this post so as to keep the text short.
- Product Name and Model: Babyoye Cosmo SP (Brown & Beige Color)
- Product Price: ₹ 5200 (MRP ₹7990)
- Bought From: snapdeal.com (Sold by Mahindra Retail who owns babyoye, now merged with FirstCry).
- Nania Cosmo SP Agora Storm
- Nania Cosmo SP Luxe Hatrix Black Years
- Nania Cosmo SP Luxe
- Nania Cosmo Corail Black Group 0-1 - Group 0-1| Birth - 4 Years approx. UK
- Nania Cosmo SP Luxe Group 0, 1 Car Seat
- Nania Cosmo SP POP Pink Group 0-1 Car Seat
- Nania Cosmo SP Group 0+/1 Car Seat
Pros:
- Made in France (or should I say Not Made in China?).
- Well documented instruction manual.
- Locking clips to secure using car's seat belt mechanism.
- Convertible: Can be used rear facing (infants) and forward facing (toddlers above 15 months or 9kg).
- Five beep-beep alerts when the 5 point harness is unbuckled. Handy to deal with naughty kids who messes with the buckle.
- Reclining Adjustment. It is also easy to change the recline angle even with the child seated.
- Removable & Washable fabric material (hand wash only).
- Side impact protection.
- 4 levels of shoulder strap height adjustment.
- Conforms to ECE R44/04 regulation. All the car seats I tried had this label, makes me wonder if it isn't as good as it sounds.
Cons:
- Cumbersome to adjust shoulder harness height. Thankfully, we don't have to change it often.
- Questionable manufactured date (old stock imported to dump on us ?).
- No serial number (Most western countries track & recall car seats).
- No EPS/EPP foam for added safety (found in Graco, Chicco and the likes).
- Shoulder pad has a rubbery material on the backside which comes in contact with child's shoulder. I feel this might cause discomfort, only time will tell.
Value For Money Rating:
- 9 out of 10. This is definitely a VFM product, considering the rocket high prices of Chicco, Graco and the likes.
Overall Satisfaction Rating:
- 8 out of 10. I reduced 1 mark for its brown base color, which is an uncommon seat fabric color in our country. Another mark reduced for not clearly marking the date of manufacture and serial number for tracking purposes.
Closing Note:
This car seat will do its duty until my little one turns 4yrs or weighs above 18kg. This will also mandate me to replace it with a better and safer model as she grows out of it. Looking forward to your comments and questions if any. And thanks for reading!
Pictorial Review:
Note: Click on the images to enlarge.
Outer Carton
This is one of the two places where manufactured month/year is printed (on the top left label).
Team-Tex is the actual manufacturer of this child seat. Complies with European regulation ECE R44/04.
Warnings printed in several languages.
Up Close
Front view. It's a light brown shade which doesn't look like it indoors[/B]
Rear View. D9 is the internal model number of Team-Tex. This is the second location of manufactured year. The 6 digit number is unknown. Notice the metal rod running at the shoulder level. There's a similar rod beneath seat cushion as well.
Base View. Appears to be removable, but not mentioned so in user manual. No sharp edges that would damage seat fabric.
Installation warnings and weight limits. The red label holds the ECE certification number. Notice the Made in France sticker.
Warning to not install it in an airbag equipped seat location.
Locking clips to secure seat belt. The blue one is to be used only for rear facing position. Otherwise it lies safely between the two legs of the base.
Maximum and minimum recline angles. Those blue/red dots are part of ECR R44/04 regulation.
Maximum and minimum recline angles - left view.
Recline angle adjustment lever located beneath seat cushion. Just pull upward and slide the child seat up/down. Very easy to use, even with the child seated.
5 point safety harness buckle covered by soft cushion. Press the red button downwards to unlock which triggers few audible double beeps. It is very tight for children to unbuckle themselves easily.
Harness locking pins. Both pins must be paired first before inserting into buckle (ECE R44/04). Again no sharp edges and is child friendly.
Shoulder pads & strap adjusters. Press the white buttons upwards to loosen the straps. To fasten, pull the straps without pressing any buttons. There should not be more than 1 finger gap between straps and the child for a proper fit.
Backside of shoulder pad is made of rubber, yet to find out its real purpose. Front side is padded with slight cushioning. The pads themselves cannot be moved up or down, only the nylon straps move.
Shoulder strap height can be adjusted. Fabric cut outs are neatly covered by rubber like material.
Installation:
Notice how the brown shade stands out after installing in a black background. Not cool to look at.
Use only one locking clip for front facing setup. Belt should be pulled tight before securing this locking clip to reduce free play.
No twisting of seat belt behind child seat.
Side profile. Sufficient side protection on offer.
User Manual
Has quite a few pictorial illustrations to prevent wrong installation.
Printed in French and English. This is the English section zoomed in.
User manual storage on the back of child seat. Very well thought out.
