Yes you can use it without the base. I cant get mine out and its not even in the car, lol. Its sitting here on my bed and its like its been superglued which is fantastic in an accident, but not so good for my mental health right now. I nearly threw it across the room before, so am going to put it away now and leave it for DH to deal with. Its got to have something to do with those black things on the side, but mine is not budging.