Car seat good for traveling???

shelbyscout

New member
I am so overwhelmed :eek:

DH and I like to travel a lot including by plane. We always get DS his own seat on the plane so carry our car seat on. We have a Sunshine Kids Radian 80 that we like (folding feature is handy) but it weighs eleventybillion pounds. Other points:

* When not on the plane, the seat will live in either our 2009 Mazda5 or the 2007 Prius
* DS is BIG--at 10 months he's 26 pounds. We want to rear-face as long as humanly possible. He's off the charts for both height and weight.

Any suggestions?
Thanks so much!
 
ADS

Maedze

New member
I love that seat for travel! I would buy the two shoulder straps to make it more airplane friendly. (Wear it as a backpack)

If you're planning to travel in the next two months, I'd borrow an infant carrier or snag a cheap Cosco Scenera, because the one thing the Radian doesn't do well is work rear facing in an airplane seat.

Otherwise, once they're one, direction of the car seat isn't as crucial an issue on the plane as it is on the ground. Use the Radian forward facing on the plane (you'll be thrilled how nicely it fits) and just pack the rear facing boot to use it correctly rear facing in the car. :)
 

Eclipsepearl

New member
I put my Radian65 on a metal luggage cart. Use an extra bungee and it's skinny enough to wheel down the aisle. It's still heavy but I don't even notice since I'm pulling it through the airport.

The FAA recently revised its rules. They are supposed to seat you somewhere that you can rf your son. Try to get bulkhead seats (with the wall in front).
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
We actually bungeed 2 Radians (on top of one another!) to an umbrella stroller this past week, to get them through the airport. I'll post a thread with pics at some point.
 

ilo

New member
We use gogokidz travel mate
travelmate_tn.jpg


Always when we travel ppl come and ask what is it and how can they get one too. Easy to use and you do not need a stroller in the airport at all.
 

chloebeansmom

New member
We just travelled with our Radian and really I couldn't imagine using another seat. My husband wore it as a backpack, I wore DD on my back and we pushed our carry ons in the stroller. It was beyond easy.
 

Eclipsepearl

New member
We use gogokidz travel mate
travelmate_tn.jpg


Always when we travel ppl come and ask what is it and how can they get one too. Easy to use and you do not need a stroller in the airport at all.

It's a good product but super expensive and using a metal luggage cart works just as well! I also could skip the stroller and used the car seat instead.
 

InternationalMama

New member
I don't think I will use a Radian until my LO is 18-24 months, but I'm planning on seeing how it goes. I just really love rear-facing on airplanes. I love them being able to see you. It's so much easier to interact. Plus they can't see what you're watching on the TV screen. :) And I love that they don't lose their toys. Plus I like the RF recline for sleeping and I love it when my LO sleeps on the plane. And maybe it's just my imagination but I think my LO is calmer facing me in that strange environment.

The Radian sounds like a great travel seat, but there are some planes that it absolutely won't be able to be used RF on and even on the ones where it can be used RF in the bulkhead there's no guarantee that you will be placed in that row. (Even if the FAA regulation is read as guaranteeing you that right there still isn't guarantee if the FAs on the flight don't read it that way, which the ones I've talked to on flights I've been on don't.)

I plan to use a lightweight travel seat with the shortest shell that will work for my LO until I either decide rear facing isn't such a great benefit when traveling anymore or I encounter so much resistance from FAs about rear facing -any- seat for him that I give up on it. Some light weight travel seats that get recommended are: Cosco Scenera, Safety 1st Avenue/Uptown, Combi Coccoro and I happen to like my Graco ComfortSport a lot for travel, but it was a free seat for me and won't last as long as the others, especially if your LO is already 26 lbs.
 

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