mr or radian?

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
which do you like better? Assume the extra 5 pounds on the radian xtsl really wouldnt matter, since the kid is light and will probably make it to at LEAST 5 in either seat rearfacing. And price doesn't factor. And both will "probably" install in the vehicle. Which seat do you like the best?
 
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AtTheSouthDam

New member
Radian.

Have both. I don't like how high the MR sits up and it has a shorter shell. And no RF tether. So I got it because it was cheap and fit better in DH's car. The advantage is the MR fits in more cars.
 

BookMama

Senior Community Member
Love the My Ride, :love:, hate the Radian. (Unfortunately, the arrival of DD2 made 3 Radians necessary in my sedans. :rolleyes:) The My Ride installs like a dream compared to the flesh-ripping RF beltpath of the Radian, not to mention the unforgiving recline.
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
Love the My Ride, :love:, hate the Radian. (Unfortunately, the arrival of DD2 made 3 Radians necessary in my sedans. :rolleyes:) The My Ride installs like a dream compared to the flesh-ripping RF beltpath of the Radian, not to mention the unforgiving recline.

do you actually have both in possession? How much shorter is the MR shell than the radian? i actually think in my car, the radian would be fairly upright, the seats have a pretty wicked incline with a lot of squish....
If it's not that much, i'm leaning towards myride, but don;'t want to miss out on too much height.....
 

TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
I'd say the MR. Why?
  • WAY easier to install than the Radian (think MA vs Radian for install)
  • WAY smoother harness adjuster
  • apparently kids LOVE to be up higher as they can see thing so much better (so says DD coming from a TF) even though I'm not a fan of how high it sits
  • kids LOVE the easily accessible cup holders. Ya, water in one, Smurfs in the other
  • from a safety persective, I like how it encompasses the entire body more than the open Radian
 

BookMama

Senior Community Member
do you actually have both in possession? How much shorter is the MR shell than the radian? i actually think in my car, the radian would be fairly upright, the seats have a pretty wicked incline with a lot of squish....
If it's not that much, i'm leaning towards myride, but don;'t want to miss out on too much height.....

Yes, I own both seats, though it's been a while since I had them next to each other. The height of the MR is comparable to the MA - perhaps a tad shorter. Is this seat for your DS? If so, I really wouldn't worry about height too much. My DD just turned four and is of average height/torso, and she still has at least a good 1" of RF height above her head in the MR.

What vehicle do you have? The Radian installs pretty upright in my 2003 Focus (compared to other vehicles) thanks to the squishy seats, though still not as upright as I normally like for my older RF kid.
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
ya, it's for ds....i have the kia 07 optima.
I'm actually wondering if the TF might be a good choice.....i really like it, and even though it's 35 lbs, for ds, that could easily be 5+ years old, lol. but, I feel like i should hedge my bets with a 40 lb seat.....butthen i worry in the MR, height will get us....lol....overthinking much?
 

BookMama

Senior Community Member
If you do decide to go for the Radian, make sure you try it out first. It's all but unusable as a RF seat in my Escort unless I decide to make the front passenger seat unusable - in order to have the Radian RF in the vehicle, the front seat must be all the way up and bolt upright. That surprised me a little.
 

Maedze

New member
do you actually have both in possession? How much shorter is the MR shell than the radian? i actually think in my car, the radian would be fairly upright, the seats have a pretty wicked incline with a lot of squish....
If it's not that much, i'm leaning towards myride, but don;'t want to miss out on too much height.....

I have both.

Pros for the My Ride: ZOMG so much easier to install. Years easier. You save a lot of swearing and lost skin. For a small kid, you'll easily get to four and well beyond rear facing in it. Super-awesome tantrum-saving cupholders

Cons: The ridiculous rule about losing the shoulder pads after 40 pounds. It's extremely reclined forward facing and very high up. Nothing inherently wrong with that...it just looks strange, kwim? Doesn't have the forward facing room the Radian does.

Pros for the Radian: Height, it really does have another two or three inches overall. Coolness. It has Coolness the My Ride can't hope to achieve. Cool part-names, cool covers, cool chest clip.

Cons: Heavy as heck. Pain to install, even in 'install-friendly' vehicles. That narrow belt path is really irritating. Isn't guaranteed to move from car to car if you need it to be able to do that.

Overall, I prefer the My Ride, basically because it fits so nicely in the van. If I had to be honest though, if I could get a super upright install? I'd get Radian XTSLs
 

NannyMom

Well-known member
I have both, and have been debating which to use outboard for Sofi. I love the My Ride. I love the deep sides. The easy install.

I like the openness of the Radian. Sofi has so much more legroom, because she can throw them over the side. I like the RF tether for an older child. I don't like the openness because is seems like less SIP (which is why I want to get an XT :whistle:).

Sofi was riding in the TF yesterday, and it reminded me how much I like the legroom of the Radin (and she has short legs- 2t pants, 3t tops).
 

TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
Sofi was riding in the TF yesterday, and it reminded me how much I like the legroom of the Radin (and she has short legs- 2t pants, 3t tops).
Well frick, you mean the MR has less leg room than the TF? DD has only ridden in the MR in my parents vehicle, so I haven't actually seen what the leg room is like.
 

Pixels

New member
I own two Radians, a TrueFit, and have played with a MR in my car. In a vehicle with very sloped seats (allowing for upright install) I would get the Radian in a heartbeat. Second choice is TF, and MR is somewhere way down the line unless I truely needed 40 pounds (definite need, not theoretical possible need).

The Radian has more shell height than the MR by several inches. I'm not sure how many, but it's definitely a visible difference when I put DD in the seats. Traveling with the Radian is so easy, I can't imagine not having one if it was at all possible. Have I mentioned the higher shell height? Without measuring or having the seats side by side, I felt like the MR was closer in shell height to the ComfortSport than to the RN/TF.

When I first got the TF, I didn't love it, but it's growing on me. It does have a taller shell than even the Radian, though of course the 35 pound RF limit. It sits low to the seat like the Radian, and most importantly for me, more upright and leaves more room for the front seats.

I didn't buy the MR but had it in my car. It sits up so high and has high sides, and I wasn't sure I could put a child in the seat (outboard, 4-door car) through the opening. It was insanely wide with the double cupholders, and wouldn't install properly in the position I wanted it. To be fair, I haven't found anything that will work there, and I've tried several things.
 

BookMama

Senior Community Member
Well frick, you mean the MR has less leg room than the TF? DD has only ridden in the MR in my parents vehicle, so I haven't actually seen what the leg room is like.

I don't have a TF, but DD just turned 4 and has plenty of leg room in the My Ride. :thumbsup:
 

Maedze

New member
Well frick, you mean the MR has less leg room than the TF? DD has only ridden in the MR in my parents vehicle, so I haven't actually seen what the leg room is like.

The MR has loads of leg room. It also has a wicked high shell, which doesn't make it as easy for an older kid to drape her legs over the side.
 

emandbri

Well-known member
The radian has much more leg room than the my ride.

Here is Elizabeth in the my ride and she is in the radian in my siggy.

DSC02398.JPG


I've had the opposite experience with fitting. It is a bit hard to get the radian installed but I am not happy at all with the install of the my ride in my sienna or camry rear-racing for forward facing.
 

NannyMom

Well-known member
Well frick, you mean the MR has less leg room than the TF? DD has only ridden in the MR in my parents vehicle, so I haven't actually seen what the leg room is like.

I'm not sure which actually has more leg room. But I have no qualms with the leg room of the TF or MR, except that after being spoiled with the legroom available in the Radian. Now I have to move her feet if I need to adjust the harness :eek:

Here are some pics on my blog if you want to compare legroom. The MA, Uptown, TF, MR, and Titan are all in the center of my Sienna. The Scenera was outboard in an Impala, and the EFTA is outboard in a Durango. The time spans about a year (I think all the pics are labeled with approx month), but she's wearing 2t pants in all of them. She can wear the same pants this year as she did last year.

ETA: I also like the harness adjuster on the MR more than the Radian. It's much smoother. MomBoss is currently using my Titan because she hated the Radian. But I'm trying to talk her into a MR for huge BabyS (that can share clothes with my 3 year old :whistle:)
 

Spam

New member
I've owned a MR (debating on getting another), have a TF and TFP, and am awaiting the arrival of a RN80 (had a 65 before). I :love: our tfs, but Austin is currently 31.5lbs so I'm pretty sure I'm going to need the 40lb option of a different seat, unless he stops gaining weight :rolleyes:
TF- pros for me-tall shell, love the arb, no rethreading the harness
cons- 35lb rf limit, buried harness adjuster on regular tf

MR- pros- super easy to install, 40lb rf limit, looks super comfy, AWESOME cupholders
cons- high sides could eventually get in the way of leg room (if A ever grew legs), no arb or rf tether makes me a little nervous about baby hitting back window of DH's truck.

RN- pros- super low sides for easy loading and unloading, 40+lb rf limit, very strong frame, loads of leg room
cons- super low sides don't appear to offer a lot of sip, heavy, install is a pita, no cupholders at all

Well, this is just for me, and I can never decide what I like best, I think I should just own all of them so I can swap them out every other week :cool:
 

firemomof3

New member
I had a MyRide for a while and own 2 XTs and I prefer the XTs because; can be tethered rf which is huge for me, has loads of leg room rf, is easy for my kids to in/out, installs nice and upright ff (I hate how reclined the MyRide is ff and would personally never use it ff).
My XTs install great in my Sedona, but if you have a vehicle that isn't "Radian friendly" then I would go with the MyRide or Complete Air.
 

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
My Ride.

The Radian is the only seat that my daughter has ever had troubles sleeping in or complained about being uncomfortable in, and the only seat that my dh has outright said he hoped wasn't going in a vehicle because he hates it.

Dd hates it because of lack of head support when she wants to sleep - she's used to the head rest of the Nautilus to rest her head, and dh hates it because the harness is so difficult to tighten. I can't say I'm that fond of it either - as far as I'm concerned you should not have to exert more force tightening a harness than you do installing the darn seat. I do think that new seats have a slightly easier to adjust harness, but I tell you, the one we have... not so good. I:thumbsdown:

I've had the My Ride in a few vehicles rf'ing now and it has been an easy fit in them all - one of them had LATCH anchors that were raised about 4 or 5" up from the seat bite - something that would cause compatibility issues with many seats, but the MR installed snugly there.

Ultimately, I think the smooth harness adjuster is the biggest winner from the parent perspective, and kids love the cupholders as they get older. Combine that with easier installation and being able to be pretty darn confident that you can go from vehicle to vehicle without having to worry about whether or not the seat will install, and the MR definitely comes up way above the Radian.

I am curious about the rf'ing install problems in the Sienna and Camry... both of those vehicles are pretty easy in terms of car seats, and I've encountered nothing odd in the fit of the MR that would make me foresee any type of incompatibility there... :confused:
(I will say just for the record that I'm somebody who doesn't care an iota about a rf'ing tether, so that has absolutely zero impact on my views.)
 

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