Diono Radian carseat

[shamrockshake]

That is the one we have. DD3, who is J's age, sits in it. We just turned her FF a couple weeks ago. It's my favorite seat, though I don't install so I can't say how that goes, but it's so easy to get her in and out of- the buckles are so much easier than whatever britax we have in our other car

[shamrockshake]

Jan 27, 2015 14:08:41 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

I feel bad about making her give her seat to E, even though I'm sure she'd love getting a new one. I have issues.

lol, I am sure she will love a new big girl seat!  mine is ALLLLL about being a "big girl" now and I can sell her anything with "it's for big girls"

[hausmaus]

We have this for DS and have been using it RF since he was 9 months old. The sides did seem really low to me at first, especially since I used Britax seats before, but they don't seem to be a problem. This seat has been a lifesaver since we bought a focus two weeks before I found out I was pg with my third 

[Coopertown]

We have this and love it. It does appear to be more of a booster, but it is definitely solid. We currently have our 20 lb. 18 month old DD RF in it. DS(6) is in a typical booster right next to her. DD loves that she can see out the window better now, and it's much easier to get her in and out.

[dojo]

I have the radian and I love it. H is on the smaller side, but I have never felt uncomfortable with it.

[vaportrail]

I'm glad you posted this because DH and I are debating between this seat and the Maxi Cosi Pria 70.

[Deleted]

We have them for C when we needed to buy new carseats when N grew out of the infant carrier. N got C's old carseats and we got the Radian's for C.

N is now growing out of the other (and they are going to expire soon), and we'll buy the Radian again as it converts to a booster. We're keeping both boys in the 5pt harness as long as possible and C can easily buckle himself in and out.

[Kristinmo]

Jan 27, 2015 14:08:41 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

I feel bad about making her give her seat to E, even though I'm sure she'd love getting a new one. I have issues.

I'm the opposite.  DS is always so excited to get a new "big boy" seat and I feel bad because DD has only gotten hand me downs.

[penguingrrl]

Just a few words of warning on the radian. I have two of them and am not a huge fan. The harness tightening system is a ratchet-style and is really difficult and annoying. And it's useless as a booster for most kids. There's a 50 lb minimum before you can use it in booster mode, but many kids will outgrow the entire thing for height before hitting 50 lbs. My girls both outgrew it at 40 lbs and there was significant period (2 years for my oldest, over a year for my middle) where they were already too tall for the seat but still too light to use it as a booster.

As far as being a good seat for a narrow space, it's fantastic!

[penguingrrl]

Jan 27, 2015 16:05:36 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

Jan 27, 2015 16:00:53 GMT -5 penguingrrl said:

Just a few words of warning on the radian. I have two of them and am not a huge fan. The harness tightening system is a ratchet-style and is really difficult and annoying. And it's useless as a booster for most kids. There's a 50 lb minimum before you can use it in booster mode, but many kids will outgrow the entire thing for height before hitting 50 lbs. My girls both outgrew it at 40 lbs and there was significant period (2 years for my oldest, over a year for my middle) where they were already too tall for the seat but still too light to use it as a booster.

As far as being a good seat for a narrow space, it's fantastic!

Oh noooooo.

I hate this.

Why can't one seat have everything?

I know! I'm still waiting for them to release the perfect seat! When I bought the radian it was the only seat on the market that worked for my tall kids in our beetle (and for a while we had 2 RF in the beetle, which is awesome and damned near impossible), but now that I have a big car I'm cursing the long expiration date since I wish I had an excuse to buy my son a seat that was easier to use!

[penguingrrl]

Jan 27, 2015 16:08:11 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

Jan 27, 2015 16:00:53 GMT -5 penguingrrl said:

Wait, 57" in height is almost 5 feet, right? Did they outgrow the shoulder straps?

They outgrew the shoulder straps. Whether it will get a kid to 57" depends on the kid, but neither of mine hit 45" before going over the top shoulder straps. Technically the radian allows you to use it with shoulders above the top straps until the ears are even with the top of the shell, but I wasn't comfortable doing that. It's the single seat on the market that allows it and it allows that in the US and not Canada but the company won't answer why it's safe in the US but not Canada.

At 51" now my oldest hasn't fit even by the top of ears metric in at least 2 years. But my girls also have long torsoes.

[penguingrrl]

Jan 27, 2015 16:15:44 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

Jan 27, 2015 16:10:46 GMT -5 penguingrrl said:

They outgrew the shoulder straps. Whether it will get a kid to 57" depends on the kid, but neither of mine hit 45" before going over the top shoulder straps. Technically the radian allows you to use it with shoulders above the top straps until the ears are even with the top of the shell, but I wasn't comfortable doing that. It's the single seat on the market that allows it and it allows that in the US and not Canada but the company won't answer why it's safe in the US but not Canada.

At 51" now my oldest hasn't fit even by the top of ears metric in at least 2 years. But my girls also have long torsoes.

Hmm, that is interesting. I agree it doesn't seem like it would be safe.

I'm not sure how J's doing on height right now, but in the past she's been pretty average. She's below avg weight right now for the first time ever. (Thanks, toddler pickiness.. sigh..)

In that case it should get her to a safe booster age without question (my kids are all like 95th percentile on height and the girls have long torsoes; ironic since I'm just a hair over 5'). But you will almost undoubtedly have to buy a dedicated booster at that point. If it weren't for the ratchet-style harness I would be totally happy with this seat, that's the one big complaint I have with it. But if you're in a warmer climate where you don't need a thicker shirt, fleece lined jeans and thick fleece one day and just a t-shirt and regular jeans the next it probably won't be a huge deal. I don't mind the seat when it's regularly over 60, it's just when it goes from 10 to 45 in the same week and I constantly have to readjust for different fleece thicknesses that it's awful.

[penguingrrl]

Yeah, getting three across a small car will mean making some big sacrifices. When I need to tighten a FF radian I brace the seat with my knee to tug. It sucks for that.

The harmony defender is actually the same width. It's a FF harness to booster and has tall top harness slots as well. It's not as plush and cushy as a britax or radian, but might be a good idea to check out.

[Deleted]

I just got a Diono Rainier with my free Sears gift card (finally pulled the trigger last night)!

My co-workers love their Dionos because of the low sides, which make it easy for their kids to get in and out sans assistance.

They actually got their Dionos after having had Britax seats before.

[penguingrrl]

Jan 27, 2015 21:25:21 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

Jan 27, 2015 17:48:33 GMT -5 penguingrrl said:

Yeah, getting three across a small car will mean making some big sacrifices. When I need to tighten a FF radian I brace the seat with my knee to tug. It sucks for that.

The harmony defender is actually the same width. It's a FF harness to booster and has tall top harness slots as well. It's not as plush and cushy as a britax or radian, but might be a good idea to check out.

Thanks, I will look into that one!

ETA: um.. is it this? Because HELLO $90. www.walmart.com/ip/Harmony-Defender-360-3-in-1-Convertible-Car-Seat/22796374

Yes, that's it! And up, only $90!

[gretchenindisguise]

We have a radian for L and got them for A too. We've been pleased with them. Our biggest complaint is getting it in/out of the car but we don't do it often.

[Deleted]

We have an R100 and an RXT and love them both. He's only two, so still rf, but they have been great for us. I like having straps that are difficult to adjust because I set them at a safe setting and they can't be needed with easily. It's great for knowing if his clothes are too puffy and others can buckle him in without me stressing too much.

[Deleted]

Jan 27, 2015 17:51:32 GMT -5 @misoangry said:

I just got a Diono Rainier with my free Sears gift card (finally pulled the trigger last night)!

My co-workers love their Dionos because of the low sides, which make it easy for their kids to get in and out sans assistance.

They actually got their Dionos after having had Britax seats before.

This was us as well...N is in the old Britax, C in the Radian Diono.  Because C is on the small side, we are getting new Radians to replace the soon to expire Britax instead of a booster seat only for C.