Radian Premier - more padding in seat?

[tiger926]

We have 2 Radians (grey short strapped & the brown fabric) - terrible experience with the whole short strapped fiasco made us decide never, ever to purchase anything from them again. Fast forward to now and we've been desperately waiting for the Graco Nautilus or new Britax for a higher harnessed seat for our tall almost 5 year old daughter. We absolutely had to have a seat for my hubby's van as she had outgrown her seat, so we bought a Britax Parkway booster as she didn't fit in any other seats besides Radian as she has a long torso. She has been riding very well in it, but we want her harnessed for as long as possible, so this is just a short term solution, and she knows this. The Radian is in my van, and so she rides in both seats.

We are driving to Florida at end of month, and I'm thinking that her Radian (we have the brown suede like fabric) is not going to be as comfortable and may be quite hot as well. I have read through tons of posts on this board about the differences between the regular Radian and Premier and I still can't tell if the actual seat padding is more deluxe on the Premier, or, are people referring to padding as meaning the body pillow inserts that come with it? What exactly is everyone referring to by 'padding'?

Can anyone who has a both of these seats, or, knows if the seat padding in the Premiere is actually more cushiony?

I have to order this online as there are none in my city - I am really frustrated as I would like to try out the Graco Nautilus, but I'm not sure that it will be a higher harness, and who knows when the heck it is going to show up in Canada? The new Britax also sounds great, but again, we need it now.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Tiger :)

[unityco]

I've had both a 65 (Grey, was it Granite or Manhattan?) and a Premier (Supercool.) I don't find the Premier to be any cushier than the 65. :twocents:

[tiger926]

I've had both a 65 (Grey, was it Granite or Manhattan?) and a Premier (Supercool.) I don't find the Premier to be any cushier than the 65. :twocents:

I read several posts that said they felt the Premier was more cushiony or had extra padding. I am so confused?

Thanks for your opinion - we are looking to get the Supercool pattern. Hopefully, more people will answer my thread and we can get a few different opinions.

Thanks, Tiger :)

[unityco]

I read several posts that said they felt the Premier was more cushiony or had extra padding. I am so confused?

Yeah, I've seen that a lot too, but I can't say I find it to be the case personally. Good luck!

[CDNTech]

I have both the Granite and the SuperCool and find the SuperCool slightly more cushy in the bum area than the Granite (not including the inserts here). This was especially noticeable to me after a few months of both seats being used continuously. When both covers are off, I can physically see more padding in the bum area of the Supercool... now, it's still not enough for a long trip... my kids will still complain after being stuck in the same seat for 6 hours. :D

The SuperCool is also *much* cooler for traveling in hot weather. :)

[tiger926]

I have both the Granite and the SuperCool and find the SuperCool slightly more cushy in the bum area than the Granite (not including the inserts here). This was especially noticeable to me after a few months of both seats being used continuously. When both covers are off, I can physically see more padding in the bum area of the Supercool... now, it's still not enough for a long trip... my kids will still complain after being stuck in the same seat for 6 hours. :D

The SuperCool is also *much* cooler for traveling in hot weather. :)

Thanks! This is a big help. We may just order this seat as the champagne gets pretty hot. I so wish Nautilus & new Britax were out so I could compare all of the seats together - grrr!!! Could you remind me again as I'm taking care of both kids today and baby and I are under the weather:

1. Nautilus (if Canada gets it) - harnessed seat comparable to Radian - what is harness height?
2. Britax - harnessed & booster combo? - what is harness height?

Will Radian still be the highest harnessed seat here? Thanks, Tiger

[CDNTech]

Thanks! This is a big help. We may just order this seat as the champagne gets pretty hot. I so wish Nautilus & new Britax were out so I could compare all of the seats together - grrr!!! Could you remind me again as I'm taking care of both kids today and baby and I are under the weather:

1. Nautilus (if Canada gets it) - harnessed seat comparable to Radian - what is harness height?
2. Britax - harnessed & booster combo? - what is harness height?

Will Radian still be the highest harnessed seat here? Thanks, Tiger

1. Nautilus (from pictures I've seen) looks like it has a good extra inch of growing room over the Radian... doubt we'll get it here anytime soon. :(

2. Britax combo should be arriving this summer (fingers crossed) according to rumours and will be comparable harness height to Regent... so two inches (?) more growing room over the Radian. Again... all total speculation since we haven't actually seen the seat yet. ;)

[abemom2]

I have gone on 4 long trips of 8 hours each with my DS in the Radian from Canadian Tire. (The $99 sale) The grey material. He was comfortable, and really enjoyed the seat. He did not complain, and didn't look like he was sweating. We make very few stops on the way. 2-3 bathroom stops. So he's pretty much sitting straight through. This week we'll be taking our next long back and forth trip.

[mama2three]

We've done a 20 hour trip with our 6 year old in her princess Radian (20 hours there, 20 hours back). She complained a bit, but so did my kids in Marathons and my husband sitting in the passenger seat. ;) We were in Florida and she didn't complain about being hot, but I would expect that to be one of the hotter seats.