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Axkid Spinkid car seat review: is this the safest extended rear-facing car seat?
Suitable from newborn up to four years old, the Axkid Spinkid is a 180 swivel car seat that supports rear-facing up to four years old. Our busy mum of two, Claire, tested it for two months to see how it performed in daily family life.
By Gemma Wilcock | Last updated Jan 23, 2024
RRP: £399 | Buy now from Kiddies Kingdom
Key specs
Age range: 0-4 years; up to 18kg | Safety credentials: i-Size, R129 European car seat safety standard, force-absorbing technology, rear-facing for longer | Fixing system: ISOFIX | Dimensions: 63 x 44 x 63cm | Weight: 14.5kg | Warranty: Two years
What we like
Supports rear-facing from newborn up to around four years old
Seat turns 180 degrees
Easy five-step installation
Multiple reclining positions for extra comfort
12 different headrest positions for growing children
Made by leading safety manufacturers in Sweden
What we don’t like
Swivel action requires two hands
Buckle is a bit fiddly
Reclining the seat takes up more room in the car
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Our verdict on the Axkid Spinkid
Installation: 4/5
Safety: 5/5
Stability: 5/5
Ease of use: 2/5
Comfort: 4/5
Design: 4/5
Ease of cleaning: 5/5
Value for money: 3/5
If you’re looking for a luxurious and robust padded toddler car seat that's been designed to keep your child safe and comfortable on long and short journeys, the Axkid Spinkid has plenty to offer.
Made by Swedish manufacturers, Axkid, the Spinkid has been designed with safety as a top priority. It supports extended rear-facing (the safest way for young children to travel) until your child is 105cm, which is approximately four years old, and can be used straight from birth with a padded infant insert to ensure your newborn is comfortable and safe on all car journeys.
The seat can be tilted for extra comfort during nap time and the headrest adjusts as your child grows. It's also lined with a luxurious padded fabric which can be removed for machine washing.
The big selling point of the car seat is the 180-degree swivel function to make getting your child in and out easier. However, during testing, we found that this wasn't easy to do with one hand.
Our tester, Claire, says, “This seat was very easy to install and I love that the fabrics can be easily washed in the washing machine to keep it looking clean. The spin feature is fantastic but unfortunately is let down by the positioning of the button to spin the seat, which means you always need two hands - not ideal when you're holding a baby."
She adds, "The buckle is a little fiddly to do up so that adds extra time when getting baby in and out. Despite these flaws, if safety is your priority when buying a car seat, the Spinkid is certainly worth considering. It's well made and seemed very secure and comfortable for my little one.”
Read next: The best car seats for 4-year-olds
How we tested the Axkid Spinkid
Used for two months
Used on both long and short car journeys
Tested with a 13-month-old
Our tester, Claire, is a mum of two and used the Axkid Spinkid with her 13-month-old son for both long and short journeys in her Citroen C4 Grand Picasso. She used it every day for two months for nursery runs, day trips and shopping trips, with the longest journey being three hours in total.
During testing, Claire scored the Spinkid out of five for in a number of different categories including: installation, safety and stability, ease of use, comfort, design, ease of cleaning and value for money.
Axkid Spinkid: What’s in the box?
Axkid Spinkid toddler car seat
Integrated ISOFIX base
Infant insert
How easy is the Axkid Spinkid to install?
The Axkid Spinkid didn't come with a paper instruction manual so Claire had to look up the installation instructions online to ensure she fitted the seat correctly. The information she found indicated that the manual should be in the compartment in the back of the car seat, but when she checked there was just a QR code for the online manual instead.
However, once she'd located the online instructions, Claire found the Spinkid fairly intuitive to install and she was able to set it up in her car without help.
Claire says, “The ISOFIX base clipped in easily and then I just had to adjust the load leg to suit my car. The coloured indicators made it easy to see when the seat was installed correctly. My car has underfloor storage so I had to open the compartment and extend the leg to the bottom of the compartment as per my car's safety instructions.”
Read next: The best 360 spin car seats
Axkid Spinkid: how does it look?
In terms of aesthetics, the Axkid Spinkid got high marks from our tester Claire as the fabric makes it feel very luxurious. The design is simple yet timeless and the seat comes in a variety of colours.
Claire tested the Tar colourway, which is the black version, and she loved the classic design of the seat and that it didn’t show dirt easily. It also comes in Granite-melange (dark grey) and Tile-melange (dark red), as well as a Brick-melange (cream) for braver parents.
Claire loved how padded and comfortable the seat felt. She says, “We've only used the seat in the winter so far and it has kept my son nice and warm in the cold weather. I imagine it could get quite sweaty in the summer but I haven't actually tested it in hot weather yet.”
Is the Axkid Spinkid safe and stable?
Made by Swedish manufacturers, Axkid, this seat comes with incredible safety credentials and has passed the Swedish Plus Test, the most rigorous crash test in the world.
Every component is tested beyond regulations and the Spinkid conforms to the R129 European car seat safety standard, which classifies child car seats based on height, not weight. This means the seat has gone through side-impact and frontal impact crash tests to ensure it provides maximum protection in the event of an accident.
All baby car seats have to be rearward facing for up to 15 months, but the Axkid Spinkid can be used for up to four years or 105cm, so your child can stay safer for longer. In fact, this seat can only be used in the rearward facing position, which is a big plus for parents who need extra reassurance.
The car seat is fitted with ISOFIX and has a five-point harness, which is fiddly to secure but, once fastened and tightened, kept our tester Claire's son comfortably in place. She says, “It can easily be loosened with the button on the front, and then tightened again by pulling the strap between your child's ankles, but that doesn't help with the buckle itself, which I found to be quite difficult to connect together and click in - not great if you're in a rush. Once done up, my son seemed to be quite happy and comfortable in the straps.”
During testing, Claire also checked how sturdy the Spinkid felt and if there were any loose parts that could pose a danger. It scored top marks in all safety areas and she was very happy with how safe and secure her son felt in the seat.
“As a parent, safety is more important than anything else. The Spinkid is made with a premium harness and safety system from the Swedish technology provider Holmbergs. It also features force-absorbing technology. Thankfully, I haven't tested this car seat in a crash but I feel comfortable that it's offering the best possible level of protection for my son.”
What's the Axkid Spinkid like to use day-to-day?
The Axkid Spinkid has been designed with busy family life in mind with a 180 swivel seat, easily adjustable height and various recline options.
At just 44cm, it fit easily into the back of our tester Claire’s seven-seater Citroen C4 Grand Picasso. There was space for someone to sit in the middle seat, even with her two-year-old daughter’s Graco Turn2Me 360 spin car seat (with a width of 54cm) also installed in the back - however there would be less space in a smaller car.
The seat wasn’t tested in other cars and, with a weight of 14.5kg, it’s not a seat you would want to move between cars anyway. The integrated ISOFIX base also prevents you from being able to use it on a plane for family holidays.
Although the seat has been designed to make getting your baby in and out easier, the 180 swivel action didn’t live up to expectations for Claire. “A huge flaw with the design of this car seat is the positioning of the button to rotate it. You need two hands to press the button and turn the seat at the same time, which was a nightmare when I had my son in my arms. For me, this makes the spinning feature almost pointless. This was a big disappointment,” she says.
However, Claire loved that her son could stay rear-facing and used a mirror attached to the seat to help her see him during car journeys.
Read next: The best car seats to take on the plane
How comfortable is the Axkid Spinkid?
Whether you’re making long or short journeys, comfort is key when it comes to a car seat for young children, especially if the journey falls around nap time. Our tester Claire’s son travelled in the car for a mixture of long and short journeys and was comfortable throughout.
There’s plenty to adjust on the Axkid Spinkid to allow for more room for your child to grow comfortably. The headrest can be adjusted to 12 different heights and the Spinkid’s Advanced Sleep Well System allows it to be angled by up to 42 degrees by pressing a button underneath the seat. The rebound bar can also be adjusted to offer an additional 7-degree angle so you can get up to 14cm of leg room.
An extended rear-facing seat does mean there's less room for longer legs, which could limit how long you use the seat for. Claire says, “Despite this, I'm happy to have my son rear-facing for as long as he is comfortable.”
The seat’s infant insert allows you to use the Axkid Spinkid with a newborn, however Claire found it still fitted her small 13-month-old. She removed the newborn head support as she felt it was pushing his chin towards his chest when he slept, but he managed to fall asleep when the seat was both upright and reclined.
She says, “He was much more comfortable sleeping in the car once I'd reclined the seat, but to do that I had to move the driver’s seat forward. There is much more room in the rear footwell of my car than most others, but it still didn't have enough room for the driver to sit comfortably while the Spinkid was reclined.”
What’s the Axkid Spinkid like to use with a newborn?
As Claire’s son was 13 months during testing, we weren’t able to test the Axkid Spinkid with a newborn, however the infant insert makes the seat safe and comfortable for newborns.
“My son was in an infant car seat for the first 12 months as it paired with my travel system so this is his first permanently installed car seat,” Claire says.
Read next: The best lie-flat car seats
Is the Axkid Spinkid easy to clean?
The Axkid Spinkid received top marks for ease of cleaning during testing. Thanks to the dark fabric colour, it didn't get stained or show any marks.
However, Claire liked that the fabrics could be easily removed and washed in the washing machine at 30 degrees. She says, “The fabrics, and the seat itself, certainly seem to be robust as it still looks as good as new after almost a month of daily use.”
Does the Axkid Spinkid offer good value for money?
There’s a lot to love about the Axkid Spinkid. The luxurious padded fabrics and tilting seat make it a comfortable ride for your child and our tester’s toddler had no issues sleeping while on the move.
This car seat is also exceptionally safe, offering extended rear-facing capabilities until age four, which many car seat safety experts like Good Egg Safety say is the safest way for your baby to travel.
Made by Swedish manufacturers, the safety credentials alone make the Axkid Spinkid a worthy investment, however one of the main features, the swivel action, lets it down and made our parent tester question whether it was worth the £399 price tag.
She says, “I was personally disappointed with the spin feature on this car seat and the fact that it requires two hands to use it. I do like the Spinkid's safety credentials and would be willing to pay more for that safety reassurance, but I wouldn't bother getting a spin car seat in the future if the spin couldn't be operated with one hand.”
About the author
Gemma Wilcock is a freelance writer and copywriter. After working on women’s weekly magazines for nine years, Gemma turned to freelance writing to fit around family life, writing for a range of online and print publications, charities and small businesses.
She loves writing about subjects that will be helpful to parents, including recommending the top products to help parents in their day-to-day lives.
As a mother of two, she knows how important online reviews are when it comes to making the right purchases so she's passionate about researching and recommending products that will make parents' lives easier.
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