Avionaut - Pixel PRO 2.0 C

Recommend the Pixel Pro, really great. Do some research for the isofix base, as they don’t work well if the rear seats are sloped

Bear in mind you tend to get echo chambers recommending the same things again and again but a lot of the time the people making the recommendations are either repeating what they see others recommending, they are talking about the one seat they have used with no way to compare it to other options or they are financially motivated (e.g. influencers, retailers). I used to work with car seats and also have gone down many, many ADHD rabbitholes with them over the last ~16 years, so have more knowledge on this topic than most though appreciate I don't know everything. But am happy to answer what I can. **Seats you mentioned** IMO, Pixel Pro is a lovely seat but the Avionaut Cosmo has many of the same features for much less money. The brilliant thing about the Avionaut seats is the positioning of the baby which is achieved with their inserts, which work differently to most baby seats. The Pixel has a more complicated insert which means you can essentially custom fit it to any age/shape of baby and it will always have a perfect fit, whereas the Cosmo insert is simpler, which makes it easier to use. Do you need a 100% perfect fit? Not really. Good enough is OK. Cosmo will give you a very good fit at pretty much any age, which is a lot better than most infant car seats do. I don't rate the Maxi Cosi 360 seat at all. It's fine, but it's nothing special and there is no way that it justifies the price tag. It's a shame, because Maxi Cosi used to be the absolute stand out gold star in infant car seats but their offerings over the last few years have been gimmicky and don't last long enough. Joie i-Level used to stand out from the competition in terms of offering the "lie flat" type seat at a much lower price point than its competitors, but these days it's not the only one on the market and there are options at various prices. It depends what you want really. **General things to note** The vast majority of car seat brands and travel system type prams on the market today use what used to be called Maxi Cosi type adapters or multi-brand/universal adapters. Notable exceptions are Silver Cross, Graco, Ickle Bubba and Hauck. For some prams you can buy two types of adapter, e.g. Silver Cross do an adapter for their own car seats and then a different one for other brand car seats. The Maxi Cosi/universal type has a distinctive shape, the bottom of the adapter is unique to the pram but the top of it will have a sort of 3D "U" shape with the middle of the U filled in. You can learn to spot this. When you see prams with a list of compatible car seats, what that means is that the company have in their factory or marketing office a selection of currently-popular car seats, plus any of their own branded car seats of course. They will test the set up with those models and list them as being compatible. There is no way that any pram company is going to test every single car seat on the market, but the compatability list is much longer in reality. At a bare minimum, if you see an older version of a car seat listed (e.g. Cybex Cloud Z) then a newer version (e.g. Cybex Cloud G) will be compatible the exact same. Also when you see older models (e.g. Maxi Cosi Tinca) newer models by the same brand (e.g. Maxi Cosi Pebble 360) will 99% of the time be compatible. Then you can extrapolate if for example Joie list that their prams take Maxi Cosi, Joie, Cybex and Recaro, but another pram company lists that their prams take Besafe, Avionaut, Maxi Cosi and Cybex, you can see that all these brands use the same system of adapter and should in theory be cross-compatible. There are a few rare cases where seats from a certain brand have an issue with the depth of the hooks or the adapters on certain models but this is very very few combinations. 99% of the time all works fine. (Avionaut work with this type of adapter, so no worries about finding a compatible pram.) You DO NOT NEED to spend upwards of £400 to get a good quality safe high performing car seat. About £150 without base, or £220 with base is about the going rate for the minimum here. IMO, it makes sense to consider whether any features you like (recline/inserts/weight/rotation) is worth whatever extra the cost is. You don't need a base which takes the next stage seat. It doesn't save money (unless you find a fantastic deal) and it's not more convenient. This is a con which only benefits the car seat company. There is one possible exception and that is Besafe Beyond. **Questions for you** You say a toddler car seat, but you're referencing infant carriers. How long are you hoping to use this first seat for? Do you plan on having more children? What do you actually want from a car seat, when you say it's a "good" seat, do you mean safety and quality or something else?

OK so if you want to use the infant seat up to around a year, then you need to look for one which has a height limit of 80cm or higher. The ones which are up to 75cm don't usually last you the full first year. It's not the end of the world if it doesn't, a lot of people like to switch to a more upright seat (still rear facing) at about 6-9 months when the baby wants to sit up more. But if you do expect to use the car seat on the buggy quite frequently or you want to travel with the baby then it is annoying if it ends up being outgrown sooner than you would have liked, and particularly if you've paid a lot for it I always just think it's annoying if it doesn't last. TBH, it becomes a bit annoying and impractical to keep using it too long after the first year because their legs get long and hang over the end, they are low down in the car which frustrates older babies, and they get too heavy to carry far anyway (but I found it OK to carry it for a moment to click into the pram frame). BUT it's always nice to have it as an option even if you do switch to a more upright seat for the toddler stage. And if you do have a second child later, it's useful if the first child doesn't need to vacate their car seat too quickly. I personally don't see any utility at all in the 360 bases for infant seats, except for the use case where you go specifically for a longer-lasting infant seat like Cybex, but you do intend to leave it in the car 90% of the time and only occasionally lift it out, because it's really helpful to have them turned towards you to get the strap length and their head tilt right. It's just you don't need a spin for this if the seat is in your house. I think a base in general is nice, not sure it's worth £100+ extra - my husband did think it was worth the extra. It makes things quicker when you have two children, and some seats are really not designed with seatbelt fitting in mind. In fact the Pixel Pro got marked down on the ADAC test recently because they said the belt fitting was too fiddly (it scored top marks when used with the base.) The Cosmo has a much better designed belt guide for seatbelt fitting. Britax and Maxi Cosi are also designed well for belt fitting. If you have two cars and one car is used only occasionally, then it makes sense to have a base in the main car and seatbelt fit in the other car. Beware a few seats (including Joie i-Level) cannot be fitted without the base. There are recommended time limits for car seats, as others have said. IME it's not a problem at all to stick to these, I was clockwatching more in the newborn phase but we didn't leave the house much in the first weeks anyway. Once they are older, it's quite natural to want to get them out of the seat every couple of hours anyway for a feed/play/stretch/cuddle. When these systems were first marketed there was a lot made of the fact that the car seat works as a rocking seat when in the house or an inclined seat - I remember a lot of babies being fed solids in them in the 00s, which barely anybody does now anyway because we don't wean them when they are so young they need to be reclined any more. I did used to let my babies finish a nap in the car seat if they were within the ~2 hour limit (once over 4 weeks) and sometimes it's helpful to get the baby ready first and then the seat is a way to contain them while you get everything else together but other than this we didn't use the car seat in the house at all. All infant carriers broadly are safe. If you look at the consumer crash tests like Which? (who buy this data from ADAC so you might have heard of that organisation) you'll see it's extremely rare for an infant seat to fail the test. In terms of crash safety they really haven't changed very much in the last ~25 years (except that the side wings got much deeper about 10-15 years ago, which is good) - that is generally a sign that the design of the infant carrier seat is already extremely good at protecting babies. It's most likely the fact that they are always rear facing and they all have the same seatbelt path with the wrap around the back or a base with a support leg. You might get some which perform better or worse on side impact testing, but all the current ones on the market conform to the newer R129 regulation which has a side impact test anyway. Even if you got the cheapest, most basic, old fashioned design you can be assured it has good crash safety, as long as it conforms to the correct EU safety standard (apparently there are some sketchy travel systems sold very cheap online, which don't conform to safety regs - avoid those!) The big change within that time is really the design of the inserts. Car seats in 2010 were basically empty bucket seats maybe with an upside down U cushion for the baby's head, so newborns used to look totally lost in them and sometimes could go into a dangerous chin on chest position, which can impact their breathing, which is one reason to limit time in car seats. These days the better seats on the market have foam sculpted inserts to flatten out the seat a significant amount for newborns, and some have cushioning which reduces the width of the seat and keeps their body and head cradled. Headrests can be hit and miss - most have these, they do have a positive effect on side impact protection, and they are good in that they make it extremely easy to find the right position for the straps since you just slide the headrest up and down, but some of them are designed well and support the head whereas some seem to push the baby's head forward. There isn't really a good way to evaluate this without an actual newborn to test them with, although you can peer at marketing photos and reviews. If you have an independent nursery retailer near you, the staff there tend to be good and you could ask them what their experience is. You don't necessarily need a seat which "reclines" or lies "flat" if the inserts are well designed, but the reclining ones are one method of doing that, and some of them do give a much better position when used on a pushchair, so can be helpful if you think you'll use the seat on the pushchair a lot. You do sacrifice a little bit of crash safety (not enough to worry about) and a fair amount of room in the car if you use the reclined mode. Note also, that even the "lie flat" don't take you past the max 10 degree incline recommended for safe sleep, so a car seat shouldn't replace a pram bassinet totally, but the guidelines/concerns about time limits are really based on the older style less well designed seats. The risk is not 0 in a well fitted car seat but it is much reduced (and it is low in the first place. Don't get caught up in worrying about the car seat as long as everything is properly fitted following the manual.) It is worth checking a couple of things about your car - do you have hollow storage boxes on the floor, check your car manual as sometimes you can't put a car seat base leg on the box lid. And how sloped are your back seats. If they are very tilted back, combined with a rear facing seat the baby can end up with a very steep angle. Some newer cars have started to lift up the isofix fixing points to counteract this tilt, but if your isofix is low down and your seats are tilted, you might want to look for a car seat where you can adjust either the recline of the seat or the angle of the base. If you will regularly fit the seat in a car with seatbelt, it's worth testing this before you buy too - occasionally you run into an issue like the seatbelt being too short or the buckle stalk is too long so it interacts with the car seat plastic or metal parts, which is not allowed. i-Size is supposed to have done away with fit lists, but it is still worth doing a trial fit if you have the option at all. I am very very out of date on prams and I was never fascinated by them in the same way as car seats - so my only real advice here is to identify some models you like the look of, what I did was go to a big store and try some out, then go onto websites that have a decent selection but not thousands of prams and sort by price and find the cheapest possible thing at full price which will do everything you want it to do (for me this was Joie Chrome I think - IME Joie products are the best of the budget bunch, they tend to be made a bit better in exchange for being a bit less fashionable, which I didn't care for anyway.) Plus a couple of models which you like but which cost a bit more where you can keep an eye out for deals, and then I had a sort of super wish list of models I liked a lot but couldn't afford new, and kept an eye out on local second hand sales. IME the bundles are usually overpriced because they are throwing in extras that you don't necessarily need. You want the official rain cover and official cosy toes/footmuff **if** they have dedicated fixing points. If they don't, then a universal one is fine. For popular pram models you can often get third party compatible ones which work just as well. You can't safely add a third party footmuff or liner to a car seat, though. Only the official accessories from the manufacturer which have been crash tested with it. A matching changing bag and so on - fair enough if that's something which appeals, personally I think it's an excuse to charge a lot. Pram parasols are the most useless thing on the planet. Price up what you would have bought anyway and make sure you aren't overpaying. Graco and Joie are the same parent company and some of their newer models look extremely similar. TheStrollerWorkshop on Youtube is a pram/pushchair repair business and they do some really helpful reviews and overview videos. Would recommend watching them.

Hi all - am preparing to join this group in June with my first baby. Parents who live in London and don’t have a car, how do you take taxis/ubers with your baby? Do you carry a car seat around with you? I was looking at options but most car seats seem to have a separate base or need to be strapped with seatbelt. Is this too much of a faf if you don’t own a car? Can’t see taxi drivers being very happy with the setup wait.. Nuna seems to have a car seat with integrated isofix (PIPA Urbn) which might be easier to install, but don’t think that’s compatible with my strollers (I’ve been given a bugaboo dragonfly and a yoyo3). Any advice v much appreciated! Edit: thanks very much for all recommendations! I’ve decided to purchase the Avionaut Pixel Pro 2.0, which happens to be compatible with both Bugaboo Dragonfly (using the maxi cosi seat adaptors) and the Yoyo3 – Avionaut confirmed by email and I’ve also tested this. So travel system in order 🙌🏼

Hello - yes, used the bugaboo dragonfly maxi cosi car seat adaptors and the yoyo3 car seat adaptors and they fit with the Avionaut Pixel Pro 2.0!

I believe the Pixel Pro works with any universal adapters for a travel system. You don't need isofix either, you can seatbelt it.

I didn’t use it much when she was first born, however now she’s three months I clip the car seat into the stroller more. I have an incredibly curious and nosy baby and she gets frustrated with how little she can see when she’s in the carry cot. You don’t need to buy a “travel system” though. We have a silver cross pram/stroller and just clip our car seat (Avionaut pixel pro) into it using the universal adaptors. Car seats vary a lot in terms of quality and actual safety so I recommend you look at their ADAC scores before buying one.

Get the pixel, you won’t regret it. No need for isofix though if budget is an issue, belt installation is just as safe as long as you do it correctly and it’s easier to swap cars if needed. There are prams/adapters that work with it but you shouldn’t be using the car seat on a pram base for extended periods any way so don’t totally rule out other prams!

For me it’s just one more thing to move unless you pay for two! The pixel seat is so light and it takes like 30 seconds to do the seatbelt so maybe the time difference is negligible

A pram isn't a safety item. You want the bassinet to be certified for safe sleep as some babies sleep great in the pram. You want UV protection and for it to be easy to navigate on the terrain you're gonna push it on. Otherwise, it's a pram. Any will do. The car seat is a safety device. You need to invest more in safety items imo as it will save your baby's life should an accident occur, or as I tell my patients (midwife), you just need to brake a little too hard and baby could suffer serious injuries. The best of the best infant carrier is the Avionaut Pixel Pro. The Avionaut Cosmo is a great budget option. Isofix is not safer than belting in the seat but it is more convenient (I actually found it more hassle whereas my partner loved having the isofix base). I regret buying a whole travel system. So expensive and we bought a cheaper stroller which we now use all the time. If I could rewind time, I wouldn't have got sucked into buying a big bulky travel system.

Avionaut pixel pro is the lightest car seat and one of the most highly recommended for safety, I think it should also fit on your pram so may be worth looking at.

Try and find an independent car seat shop that specialises in extended rear facing. They will know what is best and give you lots of options at different price points. The gold standard in infant carriers seems to be the avionaut pixel pro or cosmo. In terms of the buggy go to JL and try them out!’

Came here to recommend the same seat for the same reasons. OP, please consider safety over all else, I didn't know any better with my first. There's so much bumf and options out there. (Which? Are not a trusted resource when I comes to safety equip just in case you rely on them as I did).

Id definitely recommend trying to find an independent car seat retailer near you and not going to John Lewis or Mamas and Papas. This is what most people (I did and all my friends did) first time round but they're not experts on car seats, they're just people that work in a baby shop.

Generally a lot of seats which come with travel systems and thought to be less safe. They obviously have to have a minimum safety to be sold. When we researched we found a very small number of car seats are really made for newborns so went with the avionaut pixel pro 2 which has newborn inserts (we’re likely to have a tiny baby so kinda needed this).

For car seats, while basically all infant carrier are safe in crash tests because they all have the same basic concept, not all are supportive for newborns and especially tiny and premature babies. They can put babies in a chin to chest position which can restrict my their airways. And some seats have really bulky inserts which fit a newborn well but have an awkward transitional stage where they’ve outgrown the inserts but don’t fit properly in the seats. Some of the more supportive ones are Avionaut Pixel/Cosmo; BeSafe Go Beyond; Britax BabySafe; Maxi-Cosi Cabriofix; Cybex Cloud Z. You can sometimes get these seats in bundles.

Avionaut (for newborn) or Axkid belted seats have been my go-to in my 2015 110. We have been working with an ERF specialist and currently have two toddlers in Axkid minikid pros and those things are bombproof 👌

I want to reiterate what so many have said, 0-12 car seats are a gimmick, you won't get a safe and supportive fit across all stages and they won't be tested to the best standards available. There are Facebook groups dedicated to the safest car seat and to be honest it is definitely one of the things that you're better off spending a bit more on, rather than bottle warmers and travel systems and stuff, as your child's life could literally depend on it. Brands like Axkid and Avionaut have a stellar reputation. We went with an Avionaut infant seat and the fit for the baby is superb compared to what my older kids had, no head flop or anything.

In all honesty, you’ll probably hate the heavy travel system after a year to 18 months. The coasatto plans are fine, it’s just the car seat that’s the issue. Definitely try out some prams in store and try some of the lighter travel systems, that are easy to operate. You can find some great offers on FB marketplace if you’re not wanting to spend a lot of money on something you may not like! You’ll probably want a compact stroller at some point and that again depends on what you need. Autofold and lightweight is the way to go. The avionaut car seats for little ones is great.

We have an Axkid Minikid and really like it, the Avionauts are also great. Or if you have a big car, the BeSafe stretch is very long lasting and has lots of recline options - it is bulky though!

We just got our first car seat Avionaut which goes with a Nuna travel system. The thing to understand is many car seats use universal or Maxicosi adapters to put their car seat onto the stroller. Regarding how useful it would be, ideally the car seat should mainly be only used in the car and a carry cot or a lie flat stroller should be used outside. We figured that for quick grocery run or something else ( within the 2 hour car seat time limit), it would be useful to have the option to attach it to the stroller