As every parent would know, the safety of our children is paramount when we bring them out with us for a drive. Particularly for the young ones, a robust, secure, and comfortable child booster seat is a must-have to guarantee their safety. However, with so many booster seats out there that you could pick and choose from… What truly separates the great ones from the ‘merely’ good? Well, perhaps BeSafe could make the choosing part easier on you, with their new and upgraded BeSafe Flex FIX 2, iterating on a previously award-winning design.
We’ve actually covered a couple of BeSafe child seats in the past. So, be sure to check those out if you’re looking to better understand why BeSafe has become such a trusted brand for child seats. Granted, there is one key difference! Those other two child seats that we covered were made for younger children, as young as 6 months old. What we’re looking at here, with the BeSafe Flex FIX 2, is the step up from that. It’s normal that as your children get bigger, they’ll need a larger child seat. Plus, they’re now ready to sit front-facing in the car instead of backwards.
As such, the BeSafe Flex FIX 2 that we have here is made for children aged from 4 years old and up. Specifically, the folks at BeSafe have designed this front-facing booster seat to support kids as old as 12. That said, it ought to be with your family for a long, long time. If you currently own the BeSafe iZi Flex FIX i Size – which I discussed in a previous review – then the Flex FIX 2 ought to be the natural path forward for your children as they’re growing out of it.
Modular, Robust, And Comfortable Design
First up, before we discuss my honest thoughts on the BeSafe Flex FIX 2… It’s worth taking a look at its really clever design and construction.
Design-wise, as you can imagine, the Flex FIX 2 is incredibly modular. Remember that this booster seat is made to accommodate your child as they’re growing at an accelerated pace. To be specific, it’s anywhere from 4 to 12 years old. As your kids grow bigger, this seat can grow with them. One such example is the Flex FIX 2’s neat headrest design, with its superb protection and adjustability. There’s a fair bit of movement up and down with the headrests, too. I also love just how easy it is to recline the seat. It’s handy for when your kids get sleepy on a long drive.
Interestingly, having it reclined isn’t just good to ensure that they’re able to get uninterrupted sleep, either. In its reclined position, it actually helps to improve your child’s safety. It does this by making sure that their head and torso can stay protected in the seat. Another notable aspect of the BeSafe Flex FIX 2’s design that sets it apart from other child seats on the market is the ‘SIP’ (‘side impact protection’) bars. You can find these on the side of the seats, but these are there to give additional side impact protection for your kids.
Keeping All Your Children Safely In Place
Alternatively, given how bulky these SIP bars are… If you want to, you can remove some of them to accommodate a third booster seat in the back of your car. Of course, this is going to depend on how and large your car is. Still, it’s a nice option, nevertheless. It’d be nice to sleep in the Flex FIX 2, I reckon. It’s made of recycled, breathable fabric material, keeping your kids cool on a hot summer’s day. Another awesome bit of kit that you’ll find in a lot of BeSafe seats is their ‘PAD+’ padding. These are installed over the seat belts.
When the seat belt buckles over your kids, this padding offers extra chin and chest protection, while also giving your children a softer, more comfortable surface to rest on. Additionally, one other of BeSafe’s signature design tricks is their shoulder and lap belt guides. Respectively, the lap belt guide ensures that your seat belt is always correctly positioned. Plus, it prevents your kids from sliding forward and going under the belt. Meanwhile, the shoulder belt guide makes it easier to position your seat belt, and you can do it more precisely.
Ease Of Installation And Great Use Of Space
When you’re trying to install the BeSafe Flex FIX 2 into place, the ISOFIX mounts have red and green guides. This way, you could more easily see whether it’s locked in properly. Once you have it aligned, just plug the seat in and then pull on it tightly until it clicks into place. Still, if you’re ever unsure about how to install the Flex FIX 2 right, BeSafe does include a handy little QR code on the side of the seats for the official installation video. I’m going to leave that video here, so you can have a look at how straightforward it is to install it in your car.
Once it’s been installed, in my Jaguar I-PACE at least, all of the seat’s controls are very accessible. Thankfully then, I’m able to easily make adjustments on the fly, like moving the headrests up and down. Speaking of, you might be able to tell in some of these pictures that the BeSafe Flex FIX 2 fits perfectly within one, singular rear seat of my car. With that in mind, I’m quite confident that I could realistically fit three of these back here. The seat itself is a relatively low-profile one, as well. This is especially useful if you have a smaller car or a tighter back seat.
Remember To Buckle Your Kids In Safely!
Ultimately, installing the BeSafe Flex FIX 2 is superbly easy. This is because the seat itself, and the accessories that go with it – such as those SIP bars or the PAD+ padding – click nicely into place. Of course, fitting your children into the booster seat itself is just as important as installing the actual seat to maximise your children’s protection and safety. Therefore, make sure that you’ve buckled them up properly. Crucially, those seat belt guides are pivotal, such as how the lap belt guide pulls the belt tight between your child’s leg, providing a secure anchor for them.
This alone should handily prevent your kids from flying forward should there be a collision or a hard stop. Aside from that, it also takes away some of the slack from your car’s seat belt by pulling it down. The PAD+ padding cushion is made from a stickier, rubberised material. This should stick to your child’s clothing slightly and keep them in place more securely. As such, it’d be a good idea to check that before you drive off. And, in making sure your kids are buckled in place correctly. Once that’s done, you can bet that it’ll keep them safe!
The Best Child Booster Seat For The Money?
Depending on which one of the five colours you could buy the BeSafe Flex FIX 2 in, the price for one of them here in the UK ranges from around £199 to £239. For how much you’re getting, that’s a fantastic price that’s too much of a bargain to ignore. While there are an abundance of other great options out there besides… For all the comfort, safety, adjustability, and convenience that it offers in return, this new and upgraded BeSafe FLEX FIX 2 is one of the best booster seats out there that you can get for your kids (over the age of 4).
