We were offered the opportunity to trial and review the Ferofix which has been in daily use for the past month.
Until its arrival, we were using two seats from other makers; the cheap and cheerful Britax Adventurer and the pricier Cybex solution X for various reasons. The school runs and the odd short range shopping trips were perfectly adequate for both the Britax and the Cybex whilst the long journeys were mainly served by the Solution X due to its ISO capability and sturdier build (at the time of purchase, the sheer number of safety accolades plastered around the seat did persuade me in a big way to choose the solution X). Now, you may wonder why we are discussing seats of other makes when this is meant to be a review of Ferofix. The one underlying issue with both the other seats was after the initial settling in period and use; we found a number of reasons why we did not like the seats especially when our son wanted to rest. The Adventurer did not give the required confidence for use in long journeys whilst the solution X proved just too uncomfortable (in a way, one of the reason why it was chosen in the first place was also its downfall it was just too rigid) - we often caught our son wriggling, moving and more worryingly loosen the seat belt so that he can find a comfortable position to rest or sleep
. Consequently, we were in the market for a better seat and when we were presented with the trial opportunity, we were only too happy to oblige.
Upon opening the packing, our initial thoughts were how compact it appeared and the strange resemblance to seats from younger age groups. What we mean by strange resemblance is that the seat is extremely well padded all around similar to infant seats and with flexible sides that we have not come across before. Influenced by the early research on the internet, we must admit that we were expecting quite a sizeable seat but it was not the case. Installation was straight forward with simple to follow instructions that we have come to expect of Maxi-Cosi (we have had the Cabrio, Cabrio fix and the Tobi). During installation we realised that the ISOfix arms were individually adjustable and had some trouble securing them in place as every time we attempted to lodge connector onto the ISO point the arm simply retracted. However, once we got the hang of it we soon felt that it was in fact a good design choice as it enabled the mounting of connectors much easier and quicker than we were used to with the Cybex solution X mentioned earlier.
Now to the use, and incidentally the seat arrived a day before we set off on our half term break. This gave the opportunity to see the Ferofix in use in the most demanding scenario i.e. a 5 hour drive and at the same time keeping the little one from complaining. To our relief, his initial feedback was a big grin and thumbs up but then came the big question, why are you putting me in a baby seat? Cue my initial thought of it resembling baby seats. Once past the initial Q&A, he soon settled in and found the flexible sides amusing and comfortable. For us, they felt sturdy enough to support him yet flexible enough to make it non-restrictive. But the actual penny drop moment came when the journey took its toll and he slipped into sleep without any complaint or disgruntlement that we had become accustomed to, that we were onto a winner here. This positive experience continued throughout our travels. There was a small issue of the recline feature but it did not deter from the overwhelming positives this seat was oozing. The recline capability of the seat appeared somewhat limited to the type of car seats (perhaps manufacturers is more apt) that it can be used. Whilst it was impossible to use in our leather seated family car, this was not a problem with our 3 door hatch-back with simple layout and fabric covered seats. But this was just a small niggle; the practicable and accommodating design of the Ferofix meant that we did not require the recline feature in our family car but were simply trying to put it to good use in order to give an informed view.
In general use, we found the seat cover well capable of handling spills and dirt. We have not had a reason to remove and wash but when needed a simple wipe up or shampooed water was more than sufficient to shift any stains or residue. We had opted for intense red and the colour was equally impressive in appearance as was in withstanding dirt from daily use.
Some other useful features that we have not gone into detail but are worth mentioning:
- Slimmer but perfectly adequate base makes it easier to run the seatbelt to secure the child with no hassle and less time consuming
- Shoulder belt slot that helps keep the seat belt in a safe position and avoids cutting into the neck
- Big chunky head rest that is safe as well as comfortable for the child
- Clickable and fully individually adjustable ISO connector mechanism saves time and makes removal and mounting of the seat a breeze
To summarise, Maxi-Cosi must be commended for coming up with such a well thought out product that seems to tick all the right boxes in the short time that we have been using the Ferofix. It gave us indispensable assurance and confidence whilst allowing our son to enjoy his journeys in relative comfort. In terms of adaptability, we would choose the ISOfix variant any day despite the relatively higher cost in comparison to its non-ISO sibling. For us; the safety, security and the ease of use that is on offer far outweighs the premium it introduces to the retail cost. Speaking of retail cost, without knocking our previous seats or their manufacturers, we would gladly admit that £150-£175 would be well spent on this product even if we had to pay for it.
All in all a great product boasting practical design and assurance to parents whilst providing the means for absolute comfort those little precious ones in our life thoroughly recommend
.
Until its arrival, we were using two seats from other makers; the cheap and cheerful Britax Adventurer and the pricier Cybex solution X for various reasons. The school runs and the odd short range shopping trips were perfectly adequate for both the Britax and the Cybex whilst the long journeys were mainly served by the Solution X due to its ISO capability and sturdier build (at the time of purchase, the sheer number of safety accolades plastered around the seat did persuade me in a big way to choose the solution X). Now, you may wonder why we are discussing seats of other makes when this is meant to be a review of Ferofix. The one underlying issue with both the other seats was after the initial settling in period and use; we found a number of reasons why we did not like the seats especially when our son wanted to rest. The Adventurer did not give the required confidence for use in long journeys whilst the solution X proved just too uncomfortable (in a way, one of the reason why it was chosen in the first place was also its downfall it was just too rigid) - we often caught our son wriggling, moving and more worryingly loosen the seat belt so that he can find a comfortable position to rest or sleep
. Consequently, we were in the market for a better seat and when we were presented with the trial opportunity, we were only too happy to oblige.Upon opening the packing, our initial thoughts were how compact it appeared and the strange resemblance to seats from younger age groups. What we mean by strange resemblance is that the seat is extremely well padded all around similar to infant seats and with flexible sides that we have not come across before. Influenced by the early research on the internet, we must admit that we were expecting quite a sizeable seat but it was not the case. Installation was straight forward with simple to follow instructions that we have come to expect of Maxi-Cosi (we have had the Cabrio, Cabrio fix and the Tobi). During installation we realised that the ISOfix arms were individually adjustable and had some trouble securing them in place as every time we attempted to lodge connector onto the ISO point the arm simply retracted. However, once we got the hang of it we soon felt that it was in fact a good design choice as it enabled the mounting of connectors much easier and quicker than we were used to with the Cybex solution X mentioned earlier.
Now to the use, and incidentally the seat arrived a day before we set off on our half term break. This gave the opportunity to see the Ferofix in use in the most demanding scenario i.e. a 5 hour drive and at the same time keeping the little one from complaining. To our relief, his initial feedback was a big grin and thumbs up but then came the big question, why are you putting me in a baby seat? Cue my initial thought of it resembling baby seats. Once past the initial Q&A, he soon settled in and found the flexible sides amusing and comfortable. For us, they felt sturdy enough to support him yet flexible enough to make it non-restrictive. But the actual penny drop moment came when the journey took its toll and he slipped into sleep without any complaint or disgruntlement that we had become accustomed to, that we were onto a winner here. This positive experience continued throughout our travels. There was a small issue of the recline feature but it did not deter from the overwhelming positives this seat was oozing. The recline capability of the seat appeared somewhat limited to the type of car seats (perhaps manufacturers is more apt) that it can be used. Whilst it was impossible to use in our leather seated family car, this was not a problem with our 3 door hatch-back with simple layout and fabric covered seats. But this was just a small niggle; the practicable and accommodating design of the Ferofix meant that we did not require the recline feature in our family car but were simply trying to put it to good use in order to give an informed view.
In general use, we found the seat cover well capable of handling spills and dirt. We have not had a reason to remove and wash but when needed a simple wipe up or shampooed water was more than sufficient to shift any stains or residue. We had opted for intense red and the colour was equally impressive in appearance as was in withstanding dirt from daily use.
Some other useful features that we have not gone into detail but are worth mentioning:
- Slimmer but perfectly adequate base makes it easier to run the seatbelt to secure the child with no hassle and less time consuming
- Shoulder belt slot that helps keep the seat belt in a safe position and avoids cutting into the neck
- Big chunky head rest that is safe as well as comfortable for the child
- Clickable and fully individually adjustable ISO connector mechanism saves time and makes removal and mounting of the seat a breeze
To summarise, Maxi-Cosi must be commended for coming up with such a well thought out product that seems to tick all the right boxes in the short time that we have been using the Ferofix. It gave us indispensable assurance and confidence whilst allowing our son to enjoy his journeys in relative comfort. In terms of adaptability, we would choose the ISOfix variant any day despite the relatively higher cost in comparison to its non-ISO sibling. For us; the safety, security and the ease of use that is on offer far outweighs the premium it introduces to the retail cost. Speaking of retail cost, without knocking our previous seats or their manufacturers, we would gladly admit that £150-£175 would be well spent on this product even if we had to pay for it.
All in all a great product boasting practical design and assurance to parents whilst providing the means for absolute comfort those little precious ones in our life thoroughly recommend
.
