Car seats at the Kind & Jugend fair in Cologne

The huge German baby fair Kind & Jugend just finished this weekend in Cologne and CarSeat.se was of course there. A few quick observations:

• The focus on rear facing seat continues. This was very clear by looking at Britax and Maxi Cosi

• Only one new seat this year, Triofix Recline, which is in reality an update of the previous seat

• Most beautiful seat was without question the Britax Trifix Limited Edition. Fantastic looking and only 500 seats made.

 

Some of the new seats which arrived this year were shown during last years fair. Those include Britax Max-Fix, Britax Dualfix and Axkid Minikid. One seat shown last year, Maxi Cosi 2Way, will arrive during this fall. The new Izi Plus was of course also in the BeSafe area.

This year we basically had one new seat which was not brand new and instead an improvement of a previous model. This was Klippan Triofix Recline which added adjustable angle to the seat.

The new recline function makes Triofix far better. The seat is the most compact rear facing seat on the market and can be used 9-36 kg and used rear and forward facing with Isofix or seat belt. In other words a very versatile seat.

Triofix is super compact and fits equally well in tiny cars such as Nissan Micra and large cars such as BMW 750. Previous downside was that the seat could be a little upright in some cars. Triofix is still super compact but can now be used with sleep position. It will then then need a little more space but is still very compact.

We will have Triofix Recline in stock on October 6 2013. Pre-orders can now be done in our online store here.

Britax showed their new Britax Max-Fix and also Dualfix and of course also some forward facing models. More information on those seats in a previous article here.

There was more information about the Swedish Plus Test in the Britax corner. A total of nine seats have now passed the Plus Test, three of those by Britax (Hi-Way, Max-Way and Max-Fix). More will be written about the Plus Test shortly but we can in say that the testing criteria is by far the strictest of any car seat standard. This is also why only Swedish rear facing seats pass since they can handle the enormous forces. What happens to the foreign seats? They end up in pieces on the floor after the Plus Test.

I saw the limited edition Britax Trifix and told Britax I must have one. Don’t care if it’s forward facing:-) It’s just too beautiful. Black shiny seat shell which looks like carbon fiber. Hand stitched leather fabric with soft pieces in the right places. Only five hundred seats made. Each with its production number hand stitched in the fabric. Nicely done, these will be sold right away.

Lots of interesting discussions with the people from Britax. They have a wide variety of seats in every category and are doing really well.

Maxi Cosi showed off the new 2Way seat which is compatible with the new I-Size standard. A seat similar to the new Dualfix, it can be used both rear and forward facing. An interesting detail is that the seat is mounted on a separate Isofix base.

We currently have many parents who use Cabriofix or Peeble infant seats with an Isofix base. With the new base the infant seats and 2Way will fit on the same base. A great option for those who start with infant seats from Maxi Cosi and want to continue with the same brand and Isofix.

Information about the new I-size standard and the benefits of rear facing were also heavily promoted.

Axkid showed off their new Minikid which is lighter than Kidzone/Kidzofix but still has the automatic head support and self adjusting tether straps. The Minikid is one of only four seats which have passed the Plus Test up to 25 kg.

Axkid showed off the second most beautiful seat at the fair. A Kidzofix with hand made leather fabric. Not practical but beautiful.

Besafe had the new Izi Plus on display although focus seemed to be mostly on the older X3 models. The new Izi Plus is a far better seat with adjustable recline, easy installation and a built in support leg. It has also passed the Plus Test up to 25 kg.

Overall another interesting fair in Cologne with lots of focus on rear facing seats:-)