With each of my children, I have used the infant carrier that came with their pushchairs for the first few months before moving over to a fixed car seat within the car. With Piglet being much smaller than Roo and Tigger she has remained in her infant carrier until recently. That was until we were sent the new Cozy ‘N Safe Merlin Car Seat to see what we thought of it and its different features.
Cozy ‘N Safe Merlin Car Seat {Unboxing Video}
Please take a look at my unboxing video to show you how it arrives…
Cozy ‘N Safe Merlin Car Seat {First Impressions}
With the Cozy ‘N Safe Merlin car seat unboxed and ready to be installed in the car I thought I’d share my first thoughts on the car seat before following up in a month or so with a more in-depth review after we have used it for everyday life and trips away.
Installation
Weighing at 14kg the Merlin is quite a cumbersome car seat. So probably not one that I’d want to move regularly between cars. That being said it is easy to install so it could be done without too much fuss.
The ISOfix fitting makes it a simple plug and play fitting to the car with just the supporting leg to be adjusted depending on the height of the backseat. With coloured indicators, it makes it easy to see if you have everything connected correctly.
Appearance
The Cozy ‘N Safe Merlin is currently available a choice of two colours, red and blue. Whilst I do like the pop of colour from the red, I do tend to stick to black/grey car seats so I’m intrigued to see how well the colour withstands family life. The car seat covers are removable and washable too so this is good to know for when it starts to look grubby etc.
Comfort
Suitable from the birth the Merlin comes complete with a newborn nest insert and additional head support. The nest enables newborns to lay in a more flat position, which feels soft and supportive. This is easy to remove for cleaning or for when baby outgrows it. The deep padding and cosy headrest make the car seat suitable for everyday use as well as longer journeys. The headrest is adjusted by pulling on the handle above it and can be completed one-handed.
The five-point harness has large shoulder pads with a rubber grip underneath to prevent them slipping down. Adjusting the harness is achieved by pulling on the strap at the bottom of the seat unit and by pressing the button and pulling the harness it releases the tension.
Rotation
One of the biggest selling features of the Cozy ‘N Safe Merlin is its ability to rotate 360 degrees. This allows for ease of getting little ones in and out of the car. As well as allowing you to have the child rear facing up to 18kg or forward facing from 9kg-18kg. Rotating the car seat is done by pressing a handle located under the footrest on the car seat. This is easy to complete and the car seat turns smoothly.
Recline
Having used a number of car seats over the past 10 years, one of the features that I have never gotten on with it the recline. Whilst the instructions will tell you it is an easy task, in reality, it is a nightmare and not something that can be done easily, smoothly or quickly. The Cozy ‘N Safe Merlin, however, it like a dream – with a twist knob located on each side of the car seat you simply twist to the desired recline. This can be completed with one hand, and even my 10 year old can do this whilst sitting next to Piglet to alter the recline if she has fallen asleep in the car.
The car seat arrives in the newborn recline (no. 4), to release this you need to press a button located near the supporting leg as well as twisting the recline knob. This then allows you to use the rear and forward facing recline options.
First Impressions
Overall, I have to confess to being rather impressed with the Cozy ‘N Safe Merlin car seat. The rotating feature really does make a difference not only for getting Piglet in and out of the car in tight spaces. It also allows for better adjustment of her safety harness too.
Disclosure: We received a Cozy ‘N Safe Merlin Car Seat FOC for the purpose of review
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