Joie Matcha Spin SI
A versatile 3-in-1 rotating car seat, the Joie Matcha Spin SI stands out for its 360° swivel, built-in lock-off, and solid safety features that make daily use and installation easier. It’s a great fit for families prioritizing convenience and longevity, though it may not be ideal for tighter three-across setups or air travel.
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Our Review of the
Joie Matcha Spin SI
A versatile 3-in-1 rotating car seat, the Joie Matcha Spin SI stands out for its 360° swivel, built-in lock-off, and solid safety features that make daily use and installation easier. It’s a great fit for families prioritizing convenience and longevity, though it may not be ideal for tighter three-across setups or air travel.
A 3-in-1 car seat that can be used rear-facing, forward-facing, and in high-back booster mode
Stand Out Features of this Car Seat
Swivels
The Joie Matcha Spin SI swivels 360 in the rear and forward-facing modes. It can also be swiveled in high-back booster mode, up to 180 degrees. The swivel function is very easy to use, and the seat turns smoothly. The child's body faces the car door when loading and unloading, making it easy to buckle up. "
Lock-off
The Joie Matcha SI features a LockTight belt tensioner and seat belt lock-off. It helps you get a tight installation and locks the seat belt.
Anti-Rebound Bar
An anti-rebound bar (ARB) is built into the seat. The anti-rebound bar is an added safety feature for rear-facing that can reduce the secondary movement of the car seat, called rebound, during a crash. When a collision occurs, the car seat will move forward, towards the front of the vehicle, and rotate downward. As we all know from high school physics, every action has an equal and opposite reaction — so after that initial movement, the car seat will rebound, or “bounce back” towards the backrest of the vehicle seat. The ARB minimizes this bounce-back effect, helping limit the car seat movement and your child inside it! ARBs may also limit the side-to-side rotation of the car seat in a side-impact collision. Overall, it’s a great feature on a rear-facing car seat!
Seat is Good for You If:
You want a swivel car seat.
There are many swivel seat options on the market now, including 2 other Joie models: Chili Spin SI and Pepper Spin SI. This one swivels in all 3 of its modes (rear-facing, forward-facing, and high-back booster). The top tether cannot be used rear-facing, so when you want to use the seat forward-facing, you will need to reinstall the seat.
You want a car seat with a seat belt lock-off.
If you have an older vehicle (made before 1996), which would not have locking seat belts, the lock-off on this seat would make it easy to use in your vehicle. But this seat belt lock-off makes the seat easy to install in general.
Use Caution if:
You need to fit 3 people in one row of the vehicle.
The Joie Matcha SI is 18.8" wide. This means it will not fit in most 3-across situations. If you have a very wide back seat, like the 2nd-row bench seat in the Ford Expedition, it may work as one of the seats. But the swivel function likely would be unusable.
Quirks to be Aware of:
Side Impact Bolster
The side impact bolster must be used until the child is 40 pounds.
Child Fit Information
Installation Information
Airplane Use
This seat is not approved for use on an aircraft.
Check out our full list of car seats for Airplane Travel here: FAA Approved Car Seats.
For help with all things airplane travel and car seats, check out our newest resource: Safe in the Sky.
SITS Bottom Line
The Joie Matcha Spin SI is a versatile swivel car seat that rotates 360° in rear- and forward-facing modes and 180° in high-back booster mode, making loading and buckling much easier. It includes helpful installation features like a LockTight belt tensioner and seat belt lock-off, along with an anti-rebound bar for added rear-facing safety. The magnetic chest clip is convenient for caregivers while helping prevent toddlers from unbuckling. However, at 18.8" wide, it’s not ideal for 3-across setups, and it cannot be used on airplanes.
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Specifications
Joie
Product Information
Weight: 29.2 lbs
Width: 18.8"
Highest Harness Height: 16"
Rear Facing Limits
Height: 43"
Weight: 4-40 lbs
Head Height Rules: at least 1″ below the top of the headrest
Lower Anchor Connectors Weight Limit: 35 lbs
Forward-Facing Limits
Height: 49"
Weight: 30-65 lbs
Head Height Rules: ears must be below the top of the headrest
Lower Anchor Connectors Weight Limit: 35 lbs
No Back Booster Limits
Highest Belt Guide Settings
18"
High Back Booster Limits
Height: 57"
Weight: 40-100 lbs
Head Height Rules: ears must be below the top of the headrest
Other Important Details
Newborn Fit
have not seen any newborns in it yet
Expiration Limit
10 years
Crash Replacement Policy
replace after a moderate or severe crash
Harness
no-rethread
Lock-off
yes
Vehicle Seat Protectors
This brand allows a thin towel