Awkward Size for Radian XT?

newbiema · Dec 26, 2009

Hello! I just purchased a Radian XTSL. I originally bought a TrueFit, but I haven't yet returned it... I am still on the fence about which one I like. The Radian is nice because it is slender and RFs to 45lbs, but the TF looks like a little better fit for my son, but not so much better that it would be a deciding factor...

Anyway... when I tried my 11 month old son in the XTSL, he seemed to be at an awkward height. He is too big for the infant insert, but he wasn't tall enough for his head to be level with the head wings, even when they were set at the lowest level. I wouldn't mind just having him use the infant headrest alone, but there was no way to attach that to the seat without the entire insert.

So, for those of you who have an XT/XTSL, what did you use when your kids were at that "in between" size? Is it even safe to use the seat w/o the infant insert before DS's head is level with the head winds? TIA!

aja · Dec 26, 2009

i assumed it was fine to use it without the sip wings or the infant insery since the radian 65 has neither of those, ya know? my 10 month olds are at the same in between stage but our radian is an extra seat for us at the moment so i just haven't used it for them

i'm sure a tech will chime in.i'm curious now too.

armywife12 · Dec 26, 2009

I do not have this seat but I am almost positive that the headwings cannot be used until the child is over the third harness slot. Until that point, the headwings must be at it's tallest position. So, small children will not be using the headwings anyways until they are over the third harness slot so it should be fine that your child's head is not up to the headwings yet. It should be addressed in the manual but I'm not sure how it is worded since I've never played with the seat. Owners should chime in soon

ketchupqueen · Dec 26, 2009

The infant head/body support insert is not mandatory. It is optional for kids up to 30 lbs. If desired you can instead put the body pillow portion in to use as a head pillow; this usage has no weight limit. (If you do that you can thread the straps through the harness slot above and tie them to secure it.) The insert is for comfort and to improve fit on newborns/small infants, not for safety. There is nothing unsafe about using the seat without it for an infant who fits without it.

newbiema · Dec 26, 2009

Ok, that does clear some things up :thumbsup: I haven't actually opened up the Radian or read the manual yet, so pretty much everything I know about it came from playing with it in the store for about 10 minutes. The salespeople at the store didn't know alot about carseats, so they weren't very helpful.

Yeah, I definitely don't think DS would fit in the Radian with the infant insert... It is already pretty narrow. It is weird though, because the TF's insert says it is only usable up to 22lbs although it still looked like DS would be pretty comfortable with that in... o well.

But yeah, I am very indecisive. I think I might start a new thread to get final opinions on the two seats (I don't like cluttering existing threads with OT questions).

Awkward Size for Radian XT?

newbiema

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aja

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armywife12

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ketchupqueen

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newbiema

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