The concept:
Once you get to car seats for older children (from about 15kg in weight, or around 3 to 4 years of age – go by weight not age as all children grow at different speeds) you forgo the bulky car seats where children are held in by complicated harnesses.
All of a sudden, car seats at Group 2+ begin to look more like an extension of the normal car seat. They are intended to offer better height so that your child can still see out of the window but not be so penned in, they allow the normal car seat belts to be used, but with hooks and extra seat lift, so that the adult belt cuts across your child's body at the correct level.
The Hipsos not only adds height to the seat as your child grows, it can also widen so that larger children don't feel too enclosed, but younger children can be fitted snugly.
The Bébé Confort Hipsos Safe Side seat in action:
Fitting the Hipsos is easy and the instructions are simple and clear. As with most Group 2 and 3 car seats it fits with the regular car seat belt in the back of your car, but the way in which this one is attached firmly to the seat works very well – not only is the belt looped into the side of the seat at the top, it is then threaded through a clip just below your child's head, making sure that the seat belt is taut enough and also that the belt does not cross your child's body too high. This is especially useful with a smaller child. (And our three-year-old took great pleasure in making sure we'd rememebred this extra safety clip!)
Ease of use / safety
As with most car seats of this kind, you can simply position it where you want it to go on the back seat of your car, then use the seat belt to loop through at the top, down, under the opposite side's arm rest and into the regular seat belt clasp. (Follow the instructions carefully and make sure you remind yourself of them if you need to take the seat in and out at a later date.)
The wide base of the seat made it sturdy and even Eleanor felt reassured by the seats ample presence, falling asleep on many journeys and without her head ever lolling forward – which can happen with some car seats even when fitted properly.
However, we have a Group 1 seat and another Group 2/3 seat in the back of our car which meant this one was a squeeze. It was a surprise as our backseat happily took two Group 1 seats and our son's Group 2/3 before and the Group 1 models seemed larger. If you have a regular car (ours is NOT a 4x4 or a people-mover!) then do bear that in mind if you have to fit three children in.
The cover of the seat is a stylish and cosy material that's easy to clean. It comes in lots of wonderful colours or style sporty black if you prefer. The full range of colours: BB Red, BB Blue, BB Grey, Oxygen Black, Square Abyss, Square Pink, Optic Red, Optic Velvet (dark blue).
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The ThinkBaby verdict
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This is the most flexible and sturdy car seat we have found so far, but its wide base does put us off as we only have a regular four-door car and it needs plenty of room.
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Usability: | 5/5
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Quality: | 5/5 |
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Value | 5/5 |
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