Another seat for lightweights (Jane Indy Plus)

Member Name: zerub

Product:	Jane Indy Plus
Date:	20/03/09 (130 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: high-back booster for lighter children

Disadvantages: isofix is difficult

This is a group 1-3 car seat - supposedly from 9 months to 12 years.

It is basically a high-backed booster seat. It has IsoFix fittings, it reclines, and the headrest can be raised for older children. You can also detach the back and just use the booster seat.

It is supposed to be suitable from 9 months, because you thread the shoulder seatbelt through a low slot, and lock it into place. This means, I think, that you're not relying on the car seatbelt and the weight of the child to lock the seatbelt in an accident. Usually these seats can't be used until the child weighs 15kg for this reason. However I would not put a 9-month-old in this seat. It is too upright, not supportive enough, and the child could easily get out. Or fall out.

This feature is useful if you have a light child though. Our younger child needed the 9mth-4yrs carseat so we had to buy a new one for the older child. She was old enough to be trusted to use a carseat where she was only held in by the car seatbelt, we knew she'd sit still and not try to get out. But she didn't weigh anything like 15kg and wouldn't for a long time. So we got this seat, and it was a good buy.

Once they are tall and heavy enough, you use the upper seatbelt slot which doesn't lock - it just guide the seatbelt at shoulder height. You can move the headrest up as the child gets taller.

There are dials at the side to move the side wings and the sides of the headrest in and out to suit your child (and your car, if you're trying to fit three seats in!).

There is a handle at the front of the seat that you pull to recline the seat. There are three positions. In practice though, you are limited by the recline of the car's seat. It also tends to move from one recline slot to another if the child fidgets too much. And you can only use the recline if you have fixed the seat using the isofix.

The isofix fittings are difficult to use. It is very hard to hold the sliders on both sides that keep the isofix clips open, and then you have to guide them onto the car Isofix points while holding the seat, and standing in an awkward position in the car. Its not something we wanted to do very often! Now that we have three carseats in, we can't use the isofix anyway as the isofix points aren't close enough to the side of the car.

It is quite heavy when you are taking it in and out of the car. Also the head rest tends to move up (because you pick it up by that part) and the seat base falls down - it is quite inconvenient to carry.

The cover is supposed to be sponge-clean only but it does survive machine-washing quite well.

It is quite well-padded - my daughter says it is comfortable. She manages to sleep in it too.

Summary: good for it's purpose