Babyoye Child Safety Car Seat Review


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Wikipedia:
Child safety seats (sometimes referred to as an infant safety seat, a child restraint system, a restraining car seat, or ambiguously as car seats) are seats designed specifically to protect children from injury or death during collisions.
BabyCenter:
Because car seats are expensive, many parents choose not to buy one. However, studies clearly show that car seats are the safest option for your baby and toddler when travelling by car. In fact, in many countries it is mandatory to use a car seat.
My daughter always rides with us in her rear facing child safety seat (Graco Snugride) and I am most assured of her safety in it rather than in an adult's arms/laps. For those of you who disagree with me, please watch this video:

As soon as she turned 1 (17 months now), I started shopping for a bigger car seat to accommodate her growing height and weight. Another reason for my pursuit was her Graco being US spec model, was cumbersome to install in my car which did not have LATCH/ISOFIX mounting points for the seat-base. So I needed one that can be installed safely and easily using standard 3-point safety belt. I must admit shopping for a child car seat wasn't an easy deal, with limited brands and models available in our country. Many baby products retailers didn't even know what I was asking for (at least in my city). Thankfully the spurt of online sales helped a lot with my research and selection process.

Requirements:
  • Budget: Around ₹ 7000.
  • Good instruction manual. I for one, do not trust products with poor/no instruction manual.
  • Secure fitment. Should not move more than an inch in any direction after installed in car.
  • Decent comfort level for my daughter. After all, she is going to be the actual end user of it.
  • Should be fairly easy to install & remove.

Models Considered:
  • LuvLap Premiere: This felt like a typical Chinese product. User manual was a joke, sticky seat fabric, unsatisfactory build quality. Initiated a return as soon as I unboxed it.
  • Jack N Jill by R for Rabbit: Good fabric quality and comfort level. However, plastics felt nimble and it was loose after installing in my car. Also the diagonal seat belt twists behind the car seat which I believe compromises safety. User manual was provided just for namesake. Sent back to seller.
  • Babyoye Cosmo Sp: Saw this in a BabyOye retail store and found the build to be pretty good.
  • Graco Coast: Graco is a well known brand in USA but very expensive here in India, probably due to import duties. Also I couldn't find much of their models in my city to try them out.
  • Chicco Eletta: Same as Graco.
  • Chicco Gro Up 123: Same as Graco.

Decision Process & Initial Observations:
After trying out Luvlap and R for Rabbit brands (thanks to the lenient return policies of various online retailers), I got convinced by the Babyoye Cosmo SP which had a good build at reasonable pricing for what it offers. It had a Made in France label by a company named Team-Tex, sold under Mahindra Retail's Babyoye brand in India. Though it did not have EPS/EPP foam padding (neither did the former brands I tried), its build quality inspires sufficient confidence to take on the job. It has built-in locking clips to ensure a secure fit to comply with my 1 inch movement threshold.
I had to compromise on its brown base color (base is same color across its range) which didn't go well with my car's black/grey seat fabric. At the end of the day, safety precedes looks, so that's how it goes. I must commend the seller for wrapping the carton with lots of transparent polythene paper (the kind used in wrapping luggage at airports), it took more almost 10 minutes to unwrap it. I have mentioned my observations alongside pictures towards the end of this post so as to keep the text short.

  • Product Name and Model: Babyoye Cosmo SP (Brown & Beige Color)
  • Product Price: ₹ 5200 (MRP ₹7990)
  • Bought From: snapdeal.com (Sold by Mahindra Retail who owns babyoye, now merged with FirstCry).
Me being a Curious George, headed to Google.com to search for the manufacturer's profile and products. This same model appears to be in the European entry level child seat market with the Nania Cosmo SP branding with several fabric designs and add-on's. I could not find any complaints/issues/recalls for this model on the internet which was a good sign. Here are some online links of the EU/UK models:

Pros:
  • Made in France (or should I say Not Made in China?).
  • Well documented instruction manual.
  • Locking clips to secure using car's seat belt mechanism.
  • Convertible: Can be used rear facing (infants) and forward facing (toddlers above 15 months or 9kg).
  • Five beep-beep alerts when the 5 point harness is unbuckled. Handy to deal with naughty kids who messes with the buckle.
  • Reclining Adjustment. It is also easy to change the recline angle even with the child seated.
  • Removable & Washable fabric material (hand wash only).
  • Side impact protection.
  • 4 levels of shoulder strap height adjustment.
  • Conforms to ECE R44/04 regulation. All the car seats I tried had this label, makes me wonder if it isn't as good as it sounds.

Cons:
  • Cumbersome to adjust shoulder harness height. Thankfully, we don't have to change it often.
  • Questionable manufactured date (old stock imported to dump on us ?).
  • No serial number (Most western countries track & recall car seats).
  • No EPS/EPP foam for added safety (found in Graco, Chicco and the likes).
  • Shoulder pad has a rubbery material on the backside which comes in contact with child's shoulder. I feel this might cause discomfort, only time will tell.

Value For Money Rating:
  • 9 out of 10. This is definitely a VFM product, considering the rocket high prices of Chicco, Graco and the likes.

Overall Satisfaction Rating:
  • 8 out of 10. I reduced 1 mark for its brown base color, which is an uncommon seat fabric color in our country. Another mark reduced for not clearly marking the date of manufacture and serial number for tracking purposes.

Closing Note:
This car seat will do its duty until my little one turns 4yrs or weighs above 18kg. This will also mandate me to replace it with a better and safer model as she grows out of it. Looking forward to your comments and questions if any. And thanks for reading!


Pictorial Review:
Note: Click on the images to enlarge.

Outer Carton
This is one of the two places where manufactured month/year is printed (on the top left label).
A0 Barcodes.jpg

Team-Tex is the actual manufacturer of this child seat. Complies with European regulation ECE R44/04.
A1 Made in France.jpg

Warnings printed in several languages.
A2 Warnings.jpg

Up Close
Front view. It's a light brown shade which doesn't look like it indoors[/B]
B1 Front View.jpg

Rear View. D9 is the internal model number of Team-Tex. This is the second location of manufactured year. The 6 digit number is unknown. Notice the metal rod running at the shoulder level. There's a similar rod beneath seat cushion as well.
B2 Back View.jpg

Base View. Appears to be removable, but not mentioned so in user manual. No sharp edges that would damage seat fabric.
B3 Base View.jpg

Installation warnings and weight limits. The red label holds the ECE certification number. Notice the Made in France sticker.
B4 European Certificate.jpg

Warning to not install it in an airbag equipped seat location.
B5 Airbag Warning.jpg

Locking clips to secure seat belt. The blue one is to be used only for rear facing position. Otherwise it lies safely between the two legs of the base.
B6 Locking Clips.jpg

Maximum and minimum recline angles. Those blue/red dots are part of ECR R44/04 regulation.
B7 Right View & Recline.jpg

Maximum and minimum recline angles - left view.
B8 Left View & Recline.jpg

Recline angle adjustment lever located beneath seat cushion. Just pull upward and slide the child seat up/down. Very easy to use, even with the child seated.
B9 Recline Adjuster.jpg

5 point safety harness buckle covered by soft cushion. Press the red button downwards to unlock which triggers few audible double beeps. It is very tight for children to unbuckle themselves easily.
B10 Harness Buckle.jpg

Harness locking pins. Both pins must be paired first before inserting into buckle (ECE R44/04). Again no sharp edges and is child friendly.
B11 Harness Locks.jpg

Shoulder pads & strap adjusters. Press the white buttons upwards to loosen the straps. To fasten, pull the straps without pressing any buttons. There should not be more than 1 finger gap between straps and the child for a proper fit.
B12 Shoulder Cushions.jpg

Backside of shoulder pad is made of rubber, yet to find out its real purpose. Front side is padded with slight cushioning. The pads themselves cannot be moved up or down, only the nylon straps move.
B13 Cons Rubber Shoulder Cushion.jpg

Shoulder strap height can be adjusted. Fabric cut outs are neatly covered by rubber like material.
B14 Shoulder Strap Height.jpg

Installation:
Notice how the brown shade stands out after installing in a black background. Not cool to look at.
C1 Install - Front View.jpg

Use only one locking clip for front facing setup. Belt should be pulled tight before securing this locking clip to reduce free play.
C2 Install - Locking Clip.jpg

No twisting of seat belt behind child seat.
C3 Install - Left View.jpg

Side profile. Sufficient side protection on offer.
C4 Install - Right View.jpg

User Manual
Has quite a few pictorial illustrations to prevent wrong installation.
D1 User Manual Full.jpg

Printed in French and English. This is the English section zoomed in.
D2 User Manual English.jpg

User manual storage on the back of child seat. Very well thought out.
D3 User Manual Storage.jpg
 
Thread Starter #4
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my baby is going to be three months old, should i also be looking for child seats or wait for 6 months.
Infants can ride in a rear facing car seat right from day 1. Please make sure to buy one which supports her age/weight group (Group 0 in your case).
 
Thread Starter #6
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After 2.5 years of abuse, I guess my child seat is starting to give up. The foam/sponge padding on the inner side of fabric has worn out. It started to disintegrate into powder and is peeling off on its own. Need to check if this material can be bought separately and stitched to the fabric which is still in good shape. Any thoughts guys?
1560447206961.jpeg
 

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