Experts in child transportation, KIDDY, have produced a world first. The only lie flat i-Size infant carrier car seat in the world. We've taken a closer look to what it offers to the world of child car safety.
Quick Summary: This ground breaking, lie flat i-Size car seat excels when it comes to safety and gives great peace of mind that your little one is well protected when travelling. The KLF means that parents on longer journeys are no longer confined to the usual 2 hour rule of an infant being in a car seat and makes a great option for use as a travel system.
Whats good?
- Lie flat
- Compliant with new i-Size laws
- Individual and striking design
- Side impact protection
Whats not so good?
- Cannot use the carry handle in lie flat position.
We all know that lying flat is the safest position for baby to travel, so it was great to hear of an i-Size lay flat car seat.
The KIDDY Evoluna i-Size is in essence similar to its non-i-Size sister, the Evo-lunafix but has been tested and approved against the new i-Size regulations.
It is not compulsory for all car seats to be i-Size compliant, but they are easier to fit correctly (which can lead to them being safer), tested to a higher standard and eventually will take over from the current ECE R44 regulations.
It’s great the Evoluna comes as a complete package. The base and the car seat are provided in the box so that there is no need to purchase the seat and base separately.
The beauty of this latest offering from KIDDY is that parents needing to use their car seat out of the car and part of a travel system are able to do so without the time limitations which are advised for use with regular infant car seats. The lie flat seat allows infants to travel with no restrictions to their airways and with a straight neck and back, allowing for normal growth and development of the spine and other vital organs.
The seat itself clicks on and off the base with ease. To clip it on just push it into place on top of the base and the green indicators will show. To remove it from the base, just pull the clearly labelled button at the back of the base, near the top of the anchor arm. The seat comes off with ease and very little jiggling and wriggling is required which is great when baby is sleeping and you don’t want to wake them.
It’s certainly an eye catching car seat. The hard moulded shell feels super safe and is available in some of the most gorgeous bright colours we have ever seen on an infant carrier. The shell has a side impact protection shield on either side which is a reassuring safety feature and reduces the space between the seat itself and the vehicle door.
The seat is supremely padded and comes complete with an infant head-hugger to keep that heavy head of your newborn still and safe. It’s then removable when your child reaches the appropriate height and age.
The real party trick of the seat is of course its ability to lay flat with KIDDY’s patented lie flat technology (KLF). When the carry handle of the seat is in the upright position, the seat is in its ‘seat’ mode. To adjust the seat to lie flat mode, you press the buttons on either side of the carry handle hinges and rotate the handle down to the back of the seat. As you do this you will see the sliding motion of the seat which flattens out considerably. This action is great, but we did find that in order to carry the seat, you need to adjust the handle back to the upright position. This in turn slides the seat back to its seating position, meaning your newborn’s position is altered and they become slumped for the short while you need to carry it. It would be a great addition to this seat to allow it to be carried in the lay flat position also.
The harness buckle is robust and easy to clip in and released with one singular press on the large red button in the centre of the buckle. The beauty of the harness height adjustment on the Evoluna i-Size is that there is absolutely no requirement to re-thread harness straps through fiddly little holes. The harness height adjust is so simple to use. Just open the back of the car seat shell and you will reveal a clever ring pull. Twist the ring pull and move the bar up and down the latches to achieve the right harness height for your baby. It takes just seconds and will save a lot of hair pulling!
The seat has a sun canopy which gives ample protection from bright rays that may shine through your car windscreen. This is also great if you plan to use the seat on a pushchair base as it offers the same protection many pushchair sun canopies would.
Speaking of travel systems, the base clips onto a range of pushchairs and can be used in the seated or lay flat position whilst clipped onto the pushchair base.
Our verdict…
This ground breaking, lie flat i-Size car seat excels when it comes to safety and gives great peace of mind that your little one is well protected when travelling. The KLF means that parents on longer journeys are no longer confined to the usual 2 hour rule of an infant being in a car seat and makes a great option for use as a travel system.
The large price tag of the Evoluna i-Size may be of a shock to some but considering the base is included in the box, it still works out cheaper than many other i-Size systems where the base needs to be purchased separately. After all, you can’t put a price on safety.
The seat can compromise the leg room in the front seat when used in the lay flat position whilst in the car, but still only takes up the width space of a regular infant carrier, which is great news if you need to transport three children across your back seat. It would also be a great addition to the seat if you were able to carry the seat from place to place when it was in the lie flat position, as at present this is not possible.
Overall, the excellent safety innovations that this stylish shell contains combined with the fantastic lie flat feature which not only keeps baby safe but allows them to develop and grow in as natural a position as possible, makes the KIDDY Evoluna i-Size one of the safest and easiest to use car seats out there.
