If there’s one thing I’m frantic about as a parent, then
it’s ensuring my children are fully protected when it comes to car safety. The
standards have changed with regards to the use of car seats since I had my
first baby. It is now recommended that children stay rear facing for as long as
possible. I was kindly offered to review a car seat from
KiddyUK for Ophelia which I couldn’t wait to
try out.
We were sent
the Evo-luna i-size with ISOFIX base in the colour stone which costs £359.99. We’ve had it for quite a few
months now so we’ve given it a good test for the purpose of this review.
The Evo-Luna
i-size provides the maximum protection for a newborn baby and then up to the
age of around 15 months old. It has unique lie-flat technology which enables
the seat to be moved into two positions which are upright or lie-flat.
There are 5
different shoulder height positions so that the car seat can be adjusted and
grow with your baby. It has a one pull adjustable 3 point harness to ensure the
perfect fit every time it is changed. There is an inlay in the chair to support a newborn's head. If you have a premature baby there is
also an inlay available to make the car seat suitable (how clever is that?!).
The car seat has
been awarded a Best Buy by Which after it achieved the highest ever score for a
car seat in that group category.
When the seat
arrived we were blown away by how smart it looked. You don’t think of a car
seat being nice to look at but this one has a great design. I always have
people commenting and asking about it whenever we are out and carrying it
around.
We chose the
colour stone which has a pop of colour on the inside and lining. There are lots
of colours to choose from such as pink, blue, walnut etc. There is something to
match any car or pram. There are also some fantastic new colours released with onyx black being my favourite pick.
Picture taken from the Kiddy Uk website
The seat
feels very well made. It feels robust. The materials are good and the fabric is
soft. There are also cushioned pads on the shoulder and crotch area. The cover
can be removed and machine washed (always a bonus).
When Ophelia
was younger we used the lie flat position most of the time. We loved this
feature as it was the safest position for her to be in. This allowed her neck
and head to be inline and therefore kept her airway open. This position also
gave the best support for her developing spine and joints.
The ISOFIX
base was easy to install. The prongs simply clipped in. The car seat is then
very easy to put in and out of the base. To insert you simply place it on the
base. To remove, you pull on a lever and lift. There are also indicators on the
base to show you that the base and seat are installed correctly. This has been
far simpler than our old car seat and base from a different brand.
The seat is
great value for money for the longevity it can be used for. Ophelia is now 1
years old and we will still be able to continue using it for some time. The
base can slide back and forth so you can position the car seat so that your
child’s feet aren’t touching the rear car chair. This allows them to remain
comfortable in the seat as they grow older and bigger.
One of my
favourite parts of the car seat is the hood. It covers Ophelia well and
protects her from the sun and wind. It extends quite far, so much so that we
haven’t had to use any sunshades on our car window.
My only
criticism is that it is quite heavy. It is a lot heavier than any car seat
we’ve used before. However, I think this is a small price to pay when you know
the car seat is robust and has the highest safety.
The car seat
does fit a wide variety of pushchairs such as Icandy, Bugaboo, Joolz and many
more. You can check on the website for a full list. Unfortunately, it didn’t
fit ours so we couldn’t use it as a travel system which would have been handy
with the car seat being so heavy.
Another point
to mention is that you can’t strap the car seat into the car. It has to be used
with the ISOFIX base. This was never a problem for us but if you are planning
on using the car seat in a relative or friends car, you would have to have the
base.
Overall, we
have been so pleased with our Evo-Luna i-size. We can’t recommend it enough. We feel better knowing that Ophelia is
rear facing for longer. We’ve been so impressed the brand that we are looking
at getting one for Eva. We’ve got our eye on a Cruiserfix. She’s 4 in the new year so this one would be perfect for her age.
*Thank you to KiddyUK for sending us the car seat to review. All our opinions are our own*
I'm sure being heavy isn't actually a bad thing as you probably feel more protected with it, and that it's of a higher quality. Such an important thing to invest in a good quality car seat x
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more x
DeleteThis looks like a great seat but very expensive!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a good car seat. Although a big problem i see with them is that no matter how tight you do the straps the kid can get out of them. My friend has 3 kids and all of them have managed to get out of it. Problem is you can't watch the road and the kids at the same time. She's nearly had an accident a few times x
ReplyDeleteOh this looks great. I love the fact you can lay it down. We had to move more daughter up car seats quickly as she was a chunk and tall! This would have been perfect 😊
ReplyDeleteFortunately we haven't had that problem with this seat. We do however with my eldest daughters car seat x
ReplyDeleteThe car seat looks very comfy. I like the look of it.
ReplyDeleteOh I love the colour of this car seat, it looks brilliant - really comfy. x
ReplyDeleteIf there is one thing guaranteed to confuse the life out of me, it is car seats. So many must have's and so many options!
ReplyDeleteWay too many x
DeleteI love the picture of your little one in it, she certainly looks happy. It sounds like a good solid car seat, just what you want!
ReplyDeleteThis is a fabulous, detailed review! I am like you - when my kids were in car seats I panicked so much about making sure I had the right one for them and that they were safe!
ReplyDeleteSeems like this seat has everything needed. It looks good and is practical. The extra weight tells me that the manufacturers have not cut corners when designing and building this product
ReplyDeleteLovely review Kerry. This looks like a lovely car seat. I particularly like the colour you chose for Ophelia. It is expensive but you get what you pay for.
ReplyDeleteWe had to move Alex into a bigger seat at 9 months old as he was too long for his baby seat and at 3 years old he is still rear facing in my car (the one we use the most). Safety is do important where our children are concerned x
We've definetely had good use out of this x
DeleteLovely review Kerry. This looks like a lovely car seat. I particularly like the colour you chose for Ophelia. It is expensive but you get what you pay for.
ReplyDeleteWe had to move Alex into a bigger seat at 9 months old as he was too long for his baby seat and at 3 years old he is still rear facing in my car (the one we use the most). Safety is do important where our children are concerned x
This seat looks great :) Little one is too big for this now, but certainly worth a look if we decide to have number 2! Great to know it is so safe and secure x
ReplyDeleteFinding the right car seat is horrendous with so many on the market, so it is good to see a detailed and positive review of this one. I'm often shocked at the price of them, but when you consider how long it will last for, and the fact that your child's safety is paramount, there is no arguement with figures. Looks like a very sucessful design.
ReplyDeleteYes that's what I think. They may be expensive but aslong as they last and your child is safe that's the main thing x
DeleteA good car seat is so important. This one looks and sounds very practical. I remember when it came to choosing car seats for Blake how scary it is when u don't know much.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely name, Ophelia! I don't have kids but sounds a practical car seat.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I'm also quite frantic when it comes to car seats. The way I see it is I can't control what others do on the road but I can ensure my child is safe. As much as car seats are expensive, I think it's definitely worth paying.
ReplyDeleteBaby looks relaxed and happy, I believe that car seat is really comfy:)) But the most important is the fact that your little one is absolutely safe!
ReplyDeleteI am actually on the hunt for a new car seat and this suoonds ideal and right up my street, I was a tad frantic a frst, but safe to say youve helped my anxiety. x
ReplyDeleteLindsey
www.londonmumma.com
Aaaah we also love our Evoluna! Ours is the Zebra print. It'll be a sad day indeed when Pickle outgrows it.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a fabulous car seat. It is so hard deciding what to get these days
ReplyDeleteLovely review, it looks like such a comfy yet safe car seat. We had the Stokke one and my goodness, it was heavy... it sure felt safe though!
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a great car seat. An issue I had with premature twins was having to find inserts for car seats and buggies so they didn't slip out of either. This is definitely a plus feature :-)
ReplyDeleteWe really struggled with finding the right car seat for our two - this looks like a fab option x
ReplyDeleteOoooo love this review - We were looking at the Kiddy to go with our Hybrid pushchair but not sure if its compatible.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing this.
Charlotte x