The phil&teds cocoon travelfix is an extendable high-back booster seat, which can accommodate your growing child from preschooler to the age of 12 (or until he or she rebels).
The cocoon’s longevity should be a strong selling point with the law change on November 1, which will make it compulsory for all children to be buckled up in a car seat or booster until their seventh birthday – two years longer than under the old law. Seven and eight-year-olds will also be required to use a child restraint if there’s one available in the vehicle. Drivers who don’t comply could be hit with fines of up to $1000, which would buy a few booster seats.
But over and above the threat of a fine, with five children injured or killed in car crashes on New Zealand roads every week, it seems like a good investment.
I’m liking
It really was sooo easy to install. OK, I must admit I didn’t actually install it myself. I get an allergic reaction to instruction manuals (I get all pink and blotchy and start seeing red whenever I read a phrase like “Insert part 5e into slot y while depressing the widget located on the plane marked g – see diagram page 15”) so I delegated the job to my husband.
In fairness to phil&teds, their instructions are perfectly clear but Dion didn’t even need them, because the seat practically installed itself.
The cocoon travelfix has an in-built ISOFIX base, which snaps to the anchor points in the backseat. Not every car has these anchor points, and they’re not necessary for the safe use of the seat, but they do minimise the possibility of incorrect installation.
I’m also loving phil&teds’ trade-marked SideShell protection – wings made of shock-absorbing foam, which protect the head and neck in a side impact crash and also make a nice comfy headrest. They really should be standard issue in every seat in the vehicle, with possibly the exception of the driver’s seat, because peripheral vision is quite handy when you’re driving.
I’m sure my son will like the recline mode “for ultimate comfort”, and the removable cup holder, which will hopefully reduce the need for me to take one hand off the steering wheel to rummage blindly around the floor searching for an errant drink bottle.
Things that made me go hmmmm
Since it’s a phil&teds product, it also looks good, upholstered in stylish black premium PU leather fabric, which claims to be durable, breathable and easy to clean. Some bicast leathers (being mainly polyurethane) do crack and split with age and constant wear, so time will tell whether it’s still looking good after my son has been massaging biscuits and spiky plastic toys into it for a couple of months. Black really does show the biscuit crumbs.
The conclusion
Super-safe, stylish, comfortable and easy to use. What’s not to love? The phil&teds cocoon travelfix gets five stars from Harold (2 1/2).
