So you’re looking for a baby capsule (infant carrier)- or you wouldn’t be reading this now! You may be wondering, yeah I see all the capsules available to me, but what is the difference, what is the best for me and what is best for my baby? Well, once I did just that! So to help all you others out there, I’ve tried to put together some pointers to get you going in the right direction!
Do You Want A Safe Baby Capsule?
No doubt you’re looking for a baby capsule that is safe. Well, if you didn’t realise already, all car seats, including baby capsules need to pass intensive testing and pass all Australian Standards before they are allowed to be sold in Australia. Actually, Australia has some of the strictest standards in the world, so you know that if you buy from any Australian retailer, you are buying very safe baby capsules and car seats.
Belonging in this space also is that a few baby capsule brands such as Maxi Cosi for example, have an accident exchange service. If you have a car accident, they will replace your child’s car seat or baby capsule with a new one, absolutely free of charge to ensure you don’t use a potentially damaged car seat for your child. This just adds a little more reassurance you are keeping your baby or child as safe as possible around the clock.
Why Are You Choosing A Baby Capsule?
So why are you buying a baby capsule in the first place? It’s likely to be because you want to be able to move them when and where you want, without having to take them out of the baby capsule and disturbing them. This means you are likely to be looking for a compatible pram for it to snuggly fit into. This is called a travel system and is very frequently seen in Tasmania.
Now, if you are keen to choose the pram of your dreams, you may come unstuck. This is because most baby capsules are only compatible with their own brand of pram, really limiting your pram choice. There are three baby capsules sold in Australia however, that fit into a high number of different brand prams. These baby capsules are the Maxi Cosi Citi, Maxi Cosi Mico AP and Nuna Pipa. Your choice of pram will seriously be vast if you are to stick with these three baby capsule brands as they fit over 15 different pram brands (each) available in Australia. This range is huge compared to say to the Britax Unity and Babylove Snap’n Go baby capsules which have very limited options.
Do You Want Value For Money?
Many of you I reckon want good value for money. Baby capsules range in price in Australia. Cheaper ones, such as the Maxi Cosi Citi and Joie Gemm are two of the cheaper capsules on the market. It may depend however, if you are looking for other features in the capsule you buy as to what the price you pay may be. Also if you want value for money, I’d recommend looking at those baby capsules that offer a lifetime warranty. There are only two brands that offer this an that’s the the Infa Secure Arlo baby capsule and the two Maxi Cosi baby capsules, the Citi and Mico AP. Value for money also, in some peoples opinions, would include accident replacement programs of which Maxi Cosi mentioned earlier offer on all their car seats.
Do You Want It To Last As Long As Possible?
Everyone wants their purchases to last as long as possible. Baby capsules are no exception. Hence always look at quality brands such as Infa Secure, Maxi Cosi, Nuna and Chicco for example to ensure your product lasts as long as possible manufacturing wise.
Eventually however, you will need to move on from a baby capsule to a normal car seat. The timing of this will depend greatly on a number of factors best discussed in detail in the article How Long Can I Use My Capsule. Essentially, the lighter the baby capsule, the longer you are more likely to be able to carry it. This is because most people find they stop using their baby capsule because it becomes too heavy. Hence if you start off with a light baby capsule, you can use it for longer as in combination with baby wont be as heavy as one that was heavier to start with. Three of the lightest baby capsules on the Aussie market are the Maxi Cosi Citi, Infa Secure Arlo and Maxi Cosi Mico AP baby capsules.
Do You Have Other Children?
A key issue for many parents is if there are other kids in the family and if they also require car seats. Depending on your car brand and model as well as the number of car seats required in the back seat and how much space extra other than car seat your require, one would be sensible to go for a slimmer baby capsule. The Maxi Cosi Citi is the slimmest available in Australia and is significantly slimmer than any other.
Special Warning
Make sure when shopping at baby shops in Tasmania that sell Britax products that the information you are told is correct. We are informed by the partner of one these particular stores that Britax offers discounts to their baby shop customers for high orders of the same type of car seats such as the Britax Unity capsule mentioned above. This means the information that you are told in store is likley to be biased towards sales of these products and not giving you a balanced point of view.
What’s The Best Baby Capsule Then?
And so we get to the end and you are still wondering which baby capsule is best! Well I am afraid I cant tell you! It really will depend on your own personal requirements, budget and opinion! My pick however, is the Maxi Cosi Citi. It’s one of the cheapest on the market, is super light, has an accident exchange service, is compatible with a huge range of prams, is an easy sell second hand, and according to the baby shops we have called is the most popular capsule in Tassie at the moment! Good luck!
