HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Before I start I must apologise for the lateness of this review. I know I talked about it in November – but sadly life came in the way, so what can you do.
BUT here it is! And I am hoping that 2020 will treat us better than 2019, it was indeed not a good year for me and my family, so here’s to a new year and new adventures!
Thank you so much to BeSafe for sponsoring us with this car seat so that we can give you all this honest review of it!
BeSafe izi Twist B i-Size
Technical information
Approved: UN R129 (i-Size)
Stature height: 40 – 105 cm
- Stature height with Baby Shell™: 40 – 87 cm
- Stature height without Baby Shell™: 61 – 105 cm
Max. weight: 18 kg
Age: approx. 0 – 4 years (Disclaimer)
Direction: Rear facing
Installation: ISOfix
Car seat weight: 15 kg
W x D x H: 44 x 73 x 50 cm (with headrest in lowest position)
Seat height with headrest in highest position: 62 cm
User Manual – Instruction Video by BeSafe
Price: The Starting price is £499 for Black Cab fabric, £519 Melange fabric and £529 Premium fabric.
Now that you know all the specs of the car seat (hehe) let us get on to some of the things that are very new in the car seat world and that I was intrigued by:
The BeSafe Universal Level Technology™
It’s got a bit of a fancy name to it – but it does the job very well. In short terms, it’s basically a spirit level on the base of the seat. It’s not a new technology in that sense I have seen several seats in America who has this or a different form of “leveller” – but it’s not a common thing on our European market, and most importantly, it’s something I have begged for, for years!
This type of technology does help quite a lot. Not only with instalment to make sure that the infant has the correct angle because we know the base is “level” – but it should also help a great deal in cars that have steep back seats or very low isofix points.
I was told by the BeSafe rep that the base is allowed to move off the vehicle seat, and is tested that way, to ensure that the spirit level is correct.
We call this “floating isofix”, but what was interesting was that she also told me the front of the base (closest to the front seat) is also allowed to be raised off the vehicle seat to ensure a correct fit.
This really does make installing easier and I was ensured that the seat is tested and approved this way.
Baby Shell™ and Newborn Hugger™
The other thing that probably makes the seat stand out a little is the “baby shell”. Now, this would be the hard shell we see inside the car seat.
From BeSafe:
The BeSafe Baby Shell™ is a one-of-a-kind baby insert that provides an ideal sitting angle custom-made for babies, which is identical to the angle in baby car seats. By consisting of not just cushion inserts but instead a whole outer shell that also contains the Dynamic Force Absorber™ in its side wings, the Baby Shell™ adds an extra layer of side impact protection to keep babies safe.
The additional Newborn Hugger™ that is placed inside the Baby Shell™ has a combination of soft materials on the sides of the baby and a cleverly placed wedge to keep newborns snug and supported and allow them to lie even flatter by lifting their back instead of the bottom.
Leo 10w was very comfortable
For this review, I borrowed a small person. Isn’t he adorable?! Since my own children are too big for this seat I was lucky enough to have a friend who just had a baby, that way I could get an even better look at the seat.
Dolls only give me so much. hehehe
Small tip: It’s preferable to not use hooded jackets etc in the car seats. This is because the hood would need to be pulled up, which can make the infant overheat on a long journey – and if not pulled up it will scrunch up behind the head, tipping the infants head forward, which would cause “head flop”. This isn’t dangerous in babies over 6-months-old who do not have a medical condition to breathing – but it can make them irritated and parents tend to not like the look of it. So best to just skip the hood all together.
I found fitting Leo into the seat easy. What I will say though is that when you have bought this car seat (or any BeSafe seat) make sure you loosen the straps fully- turn the shoulder pads over and you will find that they are connected with velcro.
In most cases, you will need to strip them off the velcro and move them down a little from the default manufacturer position. Not every time of course, but it’s worth knowing about so that if you are having issues with the harness not sitting properly on the baby/child – this is what will usually solve the issue.
The head hugger is movable, you can move it up and down slightly. Since Leo wasn’t a newborn (10 weeks old) I had to move it up a little for him. This is very easy and you simply pull it up before you put the baby in.
Did it take up a lot of space?
One of the most common myths we have in the ERF world is that people believe ERF seats to take up so much room in the car, that you can’t fit a person in front of it.
It doesn’t help that this is also a common myth told to parents by many shops that are not specialists in ERF – I mean even the famous ADAC has this as a “problem” on their review of ERF seats – even our English “Which?” mentions it.
And lets not even start on the myth of where do their legs go…
But does it really take up that much space?
The short answer is: No & Yes.
What can I say – it differs from seat to seat! Isofix is known for taking up more space than a belted ERF seat, simply because you can not adjust it the same way, so this leaves less room to “play with”.
But does this particular seat take up a lot of space?
No, I don’t think it does. To test this out I put my 6f5″ hubby in our front passenger seat. Now, we no longer have a large car.
We have an Opel Vectra hatchback 2004 (or for the Brits reading: Vauxhall Vectra).
That’s not a huge car, it’s a hatchback. And though he wasn’t super comfy – he had no issues sitting there.
Also, note that the car seat is on max recline – and fitted for a newborn. As the child grows the recline would be less, and that would give more space in the front.
NB! I must point out that if you can not fit a rear-facing car seat in your car – you can not fit a forward-facing car seat in your car. You might not be able to fit this exact car seat in your car – but believe me, there are options on the market now and I can almost guarantee you that there will be an ERF seat that fits your vehicle!
It swivels!… But is that really needed?
Everyone that knows me and my views will probably tell you that I don’t particularly like swivel car seats. I do find it to be a gimmick that is more coveted by parents than are really needed.
As the child grows it also stops being something you would really need to use. Most children from age 2 and up are perfectly capable of getting into their ERF car seat on their own, in fact, I would highly recommend that you let them climb in as this helps boost their confidence, helps their motor skills and so forth.
That’s not to say it’s not a useful tool for anyone or any child. There are circumstances where this is indeed useful, maybe even medically needed, so the fact that we have swivel car seats on the market is not a bad thing.
I just happen to not be a serious fan of them. But that’s my personal opinion. Others might disagree, which is also OK.
Is it hard to install?
No, I found it easy. The isofix arms will easily pop out when you press the little buttons and the arms were easy to drag out further.
PS: Don’t forget to push the car seat towards the seat back after you click in the isofix! You will hear a ratcheting sound.
Also, the leg will keep beeping until it’s installed correctly, make sure it’s green all!
Last thoughts
All in all, I was surprisingly happy with this BeSafe car seat. And though I am not normally a fan of spinning seats (as I have mentioned above, hehe) I did like this one.
The spinning seats are very popular and having more PLUS tested ones on the market is only positive. However, the price definitely puts it in its own bracket!!
I do however not recommend these type of seats for children over the 50th percentile. But for the dinky ones they can last the entire RF period.
If you have a child over the 50th percentile, I would recommend looking at 25kg ERF seats.
Therese has completed the ‘Advanced Child Car Seat Training Course’ at TRL (Transport Research Lab) and is a CPD accredited car seat expert. She blogs about in-car safety, car seats, tips, reviews, giveaways and advice. She’s a mum on a mission to change the law and raise awareness. She is also a breastfeeding advocate and gentle parenting promoter who loves cloth nappies, baby-wearing, BLW and co-sleeping/bed-sharing.