Joie Gemm review

Being a socially conscious company all the Joie products are green and produced in the most environmentally friendly way possible. Joie says that they “use solely top-of-the line components 100% manufactured in our state-of-the-art factory in the UK.”

With a great collection of buggies, car seats, highchairs, soother seats and travel cots, the British brand custom tests it merchandise at its “in-house, government-certified, advanced technology, crash test facility to ensure precision engineering” - impressive stuff!

The Joie Gemm is the companies’ Group 0+ car seat; it is suitable from birth to 13kg, which works out at around 12-15 months depending on the weight of your child.

It is sold on being sturdy, very modern and the brand’s next generation car seat.

Style-wise Joie has created the Gemm only in black, which is smart and certainly a classic, but lacking in the imagination department.

But the cleverest thing about it is its curved base, you can rock your baby to sleep – perfect!

What’s in the box?

• Joie Gemm car seat

Any additional extras?

• Meet Group 0+ car seat base - £50

How does it fit in the car?

It is easy to install, but if, like me, you have two or more little uns, installing a car seat becomes pretty routine.

And the Gemm is no different; it pretty much fits the same way as my pervious seats.

The chair can be fitted in with its own ISOFIX base (sold separately) or fitted with your car’s three-point seatbelt.

Is the Group 0+ seat portable?

Not as portable as I’d like - it must be said that it is very heavy in comparison to the other car seats I have used (Silver Cross Simplicity and Maxi Cosi Pebble).

On the plus side the Multi-position, ergonomic carry handle with TPE overmold is as comfortable to use as it sounds! And although it felt quite weighty it didn’t hurt my hands or arm when carrying my little girl.

What do you think of the car seat’s safety features?

The Gemm has side impact technology for ultimate protection from a collision and has undergone rigorous safety tests, which gave me great peace of mind.

The 5-point safety harness is secure, but it is also meant to be easily adjustable with one pull and we didn’t find this to be the case.

In fact we are still trying to figure out how to elongate the straps, to fit our seven-week-old daughter, who is tiny.

Is it travel system compatible?

Yes, the Gemm car seat attaches to all Joie pushchairs to form a travel system without the need for car seat adapters.

It also attaches to other popular pushchairs on the market by using - bizarrely enough - a Maxi-Cosi car seat adapter.

How comfortable is the Joie Gemm?

Very comfortable, it comes with all the cushions that you could possibly need including a cosy newborn pillow as well as padded harness cushion and a lower buckle cover.

My little one’s as snug as ever in the seat, and as a bonus, the parts are all machine washable, which is vital as all parents know about the it is going to get vomited on, no matter how hard you try to avoid it.

MadeForMums verdict?

The Joie Gemm infant car seat is the ‘Rolls Royce’ of its kind.

If you are looking for a car seat with all the mod cons and like the idea of a rocking base, this is the one for you.

However if you want a simpler, lighter option it would probably be best to keep looking.