Cybex Cloud Z Review

Quick Summary: As far as infant carriers go, the Cybex Cloud Z does it all, and more! It has all of the features that you would expect from a car seat from birth, including the latest safety features and functions to make life easier. All of the test results from Which? and ADAC give it ‘Good' ratings and commend it for giving excellent crash protection. We love the lie-flat recline as it means that baby is safer and comfier if kept in the car seat when you are out and about. It also takes away another worry or pressure from new parents thinking about how long they have been in the seat when sleeping. No-one likes to wake a sleeping baby!

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If you liked the Cybex Cloud Q, then you will love the Cloud Z! As well as being 15% lighter, the Cloud Z is used with the modular Base Z which has an innovative rotating mechanism, making it the only infant carrier currently available with this feature. Outside the car, the lie-flat position allows your baby to sleep in a comfier and safer position with no time limit.

Installation

To comply with the i-Size or R129 regulations, the Cybex Cloud Z should be used with the Base Z. To install the base, you first need to fold out the load leg until it locks into position. Next you need to release the ISOFIX connectors on each side by squeezing the front and back buttons and push them as far out as they will extend. Sitting the base on the vehicle seat, line up the connectors with the ISOFIX points in your car and push on until you hear a click and the green indicators on either side show. Then the base needs pushing as far back as it will go so that the brace is touching the vehicle back rest.

Finally, adjust the load leg. The button on the front of the leg allows it to drop down into the footwell of your car. Once extended enough, the middle colour block on the top of the base will turn green and the alarm will stop. This alarm is designed to carry on beeping if the base is not installed correctly. It will also later alert you if you go over really rough terrain and the leg becomes dislodged.

Once the base is installed, you can add the infant carrier on to the base! This can take a little while to get used to as you need to place the back of the seat over the raised section on the base and onto both locking bars. After a few go's you'll know the position it needs to be. The swivel base must be in the side loading position or rear facing position. When travelling, the Cloud Z's handle needs to be in the upright position. The seat should also be in the sitting position rather than reclined as it cannot be fitted on the base whilst in the lie-flat position.

The last thing to do is pull the linear side-impact protection panels out from the side that is closest to the vehicle door. The yellow arrow tags just underneath are a great reminder to do this! Thanks to this side-impact protection and the car seat's flexible shell, the first impact forces of an accident are reduced by up to 25%, channeling them away from your child.

Although it sounds like a few stages to complete, it is actually very quick and easy to fit the three points of the base into the car, and then pop the Cloud Z on top! To remove the car seat from the base, pull the button at the front of the base and lift the Cloud Z up.

For regulation purposes, it is better to use the Cloud Z with the ISOFIX Base Z, but it can also be fitted in to the car with the vehicle's seat belt. It uses the same method as other infant carriers, with the lap belt over the child's legs and through the blue belt guides. Once tightened, the horizontal part of the belt has to be passed around the back of the seat and through the blue belt guide and tightened again. You will also need to pull out the side-impact protection panel from the side that is closest to the door. The same as when used on the base, the handle needs to be in the upright position and the seat up in the sitting position rather than being reclined. Being in the reclined position actually locks off the belt guides to make it more obvious that it can't be fitted this way. 

Day to day use

The Cloud Z has lots of great features that make day to day life with a newborn easier! It can be used from birth up to 87cm, which is around 18 months depending on the child. Definitely the longest lasting infant carrier that we have come across!

The Cybex Cloud Z has recently been awarded a Which? Best Buy Award. They rated it for having excellent overall crash protection, a spacious seat, practical features, is easy to install, is simple to use, has good instructions and clear warnings and is travel system compatible. It has also tested very well in the ADAC Car Seat Test with a Good (1.7) rating, where they found that there is a very low risk of injury in both side and head on collisions and it was easy to install and use.

Getting in and out of the car with a tiny newborn or toddler can be tricky, especially if you have limited room in the car park. We love the fact that the Base Z has 180 degrees rotation! The Cloud Z is currently the only infant carrier that offers this swivel feature on a modular base. To spin the car seat, there is a grey and green button on either side to slide, you only need to use the buttons closest to you though. It's quick and easy to do and makes a big difference to getting your child in and out of the car. Thanks to clever technology in the base, the infant carrier can only be spun to face the door and back to rear-facing. This is called Driving Direction Control and prevents the misuse of the car seat, which can so often happen.

Research has shown that newborn babies shouldn't be left in their car seat for longer than 30 minutes, due to the scrunched, upright position that they are kept in. This can cause increased heart and breathing rates and lowered blood oxygen levels. The Cloud Z helps babies and eases parent's worries by giving them the option of a lie-flat position when out of the car, so when you use it on your pushchair chassis as part of a travel system or while out and about. It's quick and easy to make this transition with the button on the back of the seat. It does need to be reverted back to the seated position in the car though and won't attach to the base or allow for seat belt fitting when reclined.

As the Cloud Z is compatible with universal adaptors, it will fit on most pushchairs. Just make sure that you have the correct adaptors and check the pushchair or car seat compatibility list to see if it has been safety tested.

To help keep baby shaded in the car or when you are using it on your pushchair, it comes with a large hood that is independent of the handle. With a solid edge, it keeps a nice shape and can be pulled far over the child. The stretchy fabric offers good protection and is UPF 50+ rated.

Inside the seat is a removable newborn inlay that has to be used until the baby is 60cm. It has more padding and so offers more protection to a small newborn baby.

A three point harness is used to secure the child in the seat. The harness is integrated with the headrest so can be adjusted in height with one movement. Just pull the ring at the back of the headrest and move up or down! Couldn't be easier to move through the 11 different positions.

There is the option to add on a SensorSafe clip to the harness for an extra £50. This clever little clip just threads onto the harness and is designed to alert the parent to potential dangers to the child while they are travelling in their seat. The SensorSafe connects to your mobile phone with Bluetooth and will set off an alarm if the child unfastens their harness, takes their arms out of the straps, gets too hot or cold, is in the seat for too long, or is left unattended!

When your child outgrows the Cloud Z infant carrier, you can continue to use the Base Z with the next stage car seat, the Cybex Sirona Z. This seat can be used from 45-105 cm, up to a maximum of 18kg - so around birth to 4 years old. We love that you can use the car seat rear-facing for the entire time that you use it. Alternatively, you can also forward face after 15 months. The Driving Direction Control is also used on this seat. It ensures that the forward-facing position is not used before the child is at least 16 months old and 76 cm tall by detecting when the harness is moved up into that position, before allowing it to rotate forwards. The base makes it really easy to use with the same swivel feature that you use with the Cloud Z. To make the child comfortable and to grow with them, it features a 12-step adjustable headrest and 5 reclining positions.

Conclusion

As far as infant carriers go, the Cybex Cloud Z does it all, and more! It has all of the features that you would expect from a car seat from birth, including the latest safety features and functions to make life easier. All of the test results from Which? and ADAC give it ‘Good' ratings and commend it for giving excellent crash protection. 

We love the lie-flat recline as it means that baby is safer and comfier if kept in the car seat when you are out and about. It also takes away another worry or pressure from new parents thinking about how long they have been in the seat when sleeping. No-one likes to wake a sleeping baby!

The fact that this is the only infant carrier that fits on a swivel base is also a massive plus and USP for it. Being able to swivel the seat to the car door makes it much easier to get baby in and out. You can then continue to use the base with your next stage car seat, the Sirona Z.

It looks great too - modern and an almost futuristic shape, but with comfort and safety for the child considered first.