Founded in the 30s of the 20th century and headquartered in the United Kingdom, Britax is a pioneer in child safety seats. In 1975, Britax was invited by the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) as a key member to lead the development of the European Child Restraint Devices Regulation (ECE R44), which was published in 1981 as the European standard for car seats. In the face of the cumbersome and error-prone installation of traditional three-point seat belts, Britax and Volkswagen of Germany jointly developed the ISOFIX fastening system, which increased the accuracy of the car seat installation to more than 76%. This fixed system was also included in the national standard "Restraint System for Child Occupants of Motor Vehicles" issued in 2012.
As a major member of the European standard, Britax's child safety seats can exceed the European standard by more than twice the quality of its products. Britax invests more than 100 million RMB every year in the research and development of safety seats, and has one set of high-value crash test tracks in the UK and one in Germany, while there are only 6 similar tracks in the world for safety performance testing of cars and car seats. As a local British brand, Britax is also the first choice of the British royal family, and Prince George and Princess Charlotte have used Britax seats.
Unlike the Cybex and Kiddy, Britax car seats generally use a 5-point restraint for young children, which is designed according to the 5-point harness principle of F1 drivers. For many years, the impact shield camp and the 5-point camp have debated over the merits of safety. The 5-point camp believes that the impact shield is more likely for children to disengage from the car seat in the event of an accident. The front shield camp believes that the 5-point seat belt has the risk of straining the child's cervical spine due to inertial pulling of the head and limbs under the huge impact force. In fact, consumers don't have to worry about this, major evaluation organizations and national regulations have detailed test standards for child safety seats, as long as the product can pass the evaluation requirements, there will be no potential safety hazards.
Since 50% of car collisions are side collisions, and the side of the car does not have an energy-absorbing collapse system like the front and rear of the car, there is only one anti-collision beam, and the protection is weak. In 2013, Britax also promoted the development of the i-size standard, also known as ECE R129. The i-size standard can be regarded as an upgrade of ECE R44, and in terms of safety, a new test for the side protection of child safety seats has been added, requiring that the car seat need to have a special head side protection system.
Britax has developed SICT side impact avoidance technology, which is used in many of its products. At the moment of a side impact, it can absorb a large amount of impact energy, cushion the damage of the impact to the child, and also make up for the weakness of the side collision of the car. However, not all Britax child safety seats are equipped with SICT side impact avoidance technology, and parents are advised to choose according to the word "SICT" in the product. In addition, the Britax seat is filled with the same EPS shock-absorbing material as the racer's helmet, which evenly absorbs the impact energy. In order to prevent the seat from moving or reversing in extreme crashes, Britax has also developed the PIVOT LINK fulcrum connection system and retractable support legs to ensure maximum child safety.
Because of so many technical bonuses, Britax has a good score on authoritative review sites. The Baby Safe series is priced at about 2,000 yuan and is suitable for babies aged 0-15 months. IT PERFORMED WELL ON THE STIFTUNG WALENTEST, WITH A COMPREHENSIVE SCORE OF 1.7-1.9 AND RECEIVED A "SEHR GUT (BEST)" RATING IN TERMS OF SAFETY. In the ADAC 2017 review, the Baby Safe series received a "GUT (good)" rating and a "SEHR GUT (best)" rating for the pollutant index, which is highly recommended.
In the age group under 4 years old, Britax's main series are Trifix, Dualfix and Swingfix, which are priced between 200 and 500 euros and need to be purchased overseas. THE DIFFERENT SERIES DIFFER IN TERMS OF MATERIALS, ERGONOMICS AND THE ADJUSTMENT OF THE HEADREST STRAPS THAT AFFECT COMFORT, BUT JUDGING BY THE RESULTS OF THE STIFTUNG WARENTEST, SEVERAL MODELS IN THESE SERIES ARE HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
The latest model in the Trifix range, the Trifix2 i-Size, launched in 2018, performed well on the STIFTUNG WARENTEST, earning a "GUT" rating of 2.1. The Trifix2 i-Size is suitable for children aged 15 months to 4 years with a five-point harness. The Trifix2 i-Size is compatible with all vehicles as a child safety seat with ISOFIX, Latch or car belt attachment.
The Swingfix series is safer than the Dualfix series, and its Swingfix i-Size and Swingfix M i-Size have been rated "Best of the best" by the STIFTUNG WARENTEST in terms of safety, hazardous substances and difficulty of cleaning. On the other hand, the Dualfix i-Size and Dualfix M i-Size of the Dualfix series have a safety rating of "GUT". In addition, another product in the Dualfix series, the Dualfix Versatile Rider, performed disappointing in the STIFTUNG WARENTEST, knowing that Britax products generally achieve excellent scores of 1.8-2.5, but the Dualfix is only 4.5 points, which is the least recommended model in Britax.
For children from 4 years old, there are many options to choose from, such as Evolution, ADVANSAFIX and KIDFIX. The Evolution and ADVANSAFIX are suitable for children from 9 months to 12 years old, with a 5-point fastening for children up to 4 years old and a car seat belt for children over 4 years of age. Compared to the Evolution, the ADVANSAFIX also has an ISOFIX interface for easier installation. KIDFIX is narrowly applicable and is only suitable for children aged 4-12 years. The KIDFIX performed well on the ADAC, with the entire range receiving a "GUT" rating, while the ADVANSAFIX series received a lower rating than the KIDFIX, only "befriedigend". There are no relevant evaluation materials for the Evolution series at present, so users should choose carefully.
