radian or frontier?

asch884 · Jan 8, 2010

I need help deciding what carseat to get my son. He is 29 months, 28lbs 35 inches and he had a 14 in torso from but to sholders. He is currently in a britax marathon and evenflow a older one with max weight of 40 lbs he is to tall for the evenflow. Less then one inch above head and his shoulders are above the top slat. So that is the seat I need to replace. He was rf until about 3 months ago. So I am looking at getting either the sunshine kids radianxt that holds up to 80lbs or the britax frontier. Which is better. Why do you like it better. I want something that is going to last me a long time. hopefully until he is 5 or 6 at least.
thanks for all your help

wendytthomas · Jan 8, 2010

At that age and weight I'd rear face him in the Radian XTSL.

Wendy

Maedze · Jan 8, 2010

Definitely the Radian XTSL, because he should still be rear facing, preferably until his fourth birthday

joolsplus3 · Jan 8, 2010

Radian would be the safest choice, because he is well within the limits to rear face, and that is by far the safest way for preschoolers to ride in the car

. It lasts most kids to age 5, petite kids to 7.
Frontier is also nice, if you are not willing to rearface him longer. He does meet the bare minimums of age 2 and 25 pounds to fit in it, and it makes a nice booster seat later. My kids fit in it till 7-8 harnessed and 12 as a booster, it's very tall.

asch884 · Jan 9, 2010

ok, I know the benifits of rf but due to medical problems I might not be able to booster him at 5 so if he is going to outgrow the seat before that is what I am wondering

what are teh lifespans of both seats. Are they both faa approved? I do alot of flying. I know the seat that has the highest harsnessed slots are the regent. but I think that is to much seat for my son.

thanks for any help you can give me

armywife12 · Jan 9, 2010

asch884 said:
ok, I know the benifits of rf but due to medical problems I might not be able to booster him at 5 so if he is going to outgrow the seat before that is what I am wondering

what are teh lifespans of both seats. Are they both faa approved? I do alot of flying. I know the seat that has the highest harsnessed slots are the regent. but I think that is to much seat for my son.

thanks for any help you can give me

The Radian will probably fit him longer than 5 yrs old. I would say much closer to 6 yrs old, if not longer. I just got this seat for my 28 month old who has a torso of 14.5 inches at least. He still has at least 4 inches of shell above his head so he is still rear facing and will probably fit for at least another year. The Frontier has top slots only around an inch higher so it will harness approx. a year more.

The Radians are good for 8 yrs after DOM and the frontier is good for 9 yrs after DOM. The Radian is FAA approved but I can't remember if the Frontier is or not. We have the Frontier as well but it is packed up in a box right now since we don't need it yet. Both seats are really heavy though so they aren't the best choices for airline use. Between the two, I'd say the Radian is a better flying seat since it folds compactly and has carrying straps. For a 29 month old, I would get a Radian, no questions about it

wendytthomas · Jan 9, 2010

The Frontier is FAA approved in harness mode, but not in booster.

It's ok if you don't booster him at five. Most of us here don't. Piper just went into a booster full time at seven. Most of us wait to six or so, unless a child outgrows their harness at five and is ready.

Radians are good for eight years and will harness most kids to six or so. The Frontier is good for nine and will harness most kids to about seven.

Wendy

luvsviola · Jan 9, 2010

I'd get a Radian. I got DD a Frontier at 32 months when she was crammed in her marathon and it was getting passed down, and regretted it. She should be (and now is again) rear facing. The Frontier went into storage and she is now in an XTSL. She'll RF in it for at least another year and is perfectly content.

Radian works well for flying because it folds up and has backpack straps to carry it through the airport. A frontier would be a beast to travel with.

Evolily · Jan 9, 2010

Radian

He should last quite a while in it. Yes, there is a risk he'll outgrow it before he is booster ready, but that's a risk you take with any seat. It sounds like he has a normal sized torso, in which case you will probably make it to around 6 in the seat. Plus the radian does allow you to harness slightly over the top slots, lasting longer for most people.

jujumum · Jan 9, 2010

He should still be able to fit rf in the Marathon at this size. Does he rf in that seat? Here is a thread explaining how to measure height:

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=30201

At this age, I agree with everyone else that a convertible seat is best for your ds to continue rearfacing. The Radians are awesome, but they can be difficult to install at a more upright angle and also difficult to install rf with a seatbelt. Do you have latch in your vehicles?

Other seats that will last a long time rf, and then ff are the True Fit, the My Ride, and the Complete Air. If you don't have latch, I'd recommend that you look at these, too.:thumbsup:

tanyaandallie · Jan 9, 2010

You are just replacing the Evenflo seat, correct? At his size he should still fit in the Marathon as it has tall top harness slots.

If you travel, the Radian would be much easier to deal with then the Frontier. It folds for travel, is more narrow. It is very heavy, though. The Frontier is just a huge beast of a seat. I cannot imagine traveling with it. I know it can be done but I wouldn't want to do it.

The Radian has nice tall top harness slots so he should last a long time harnessed in it.

radian or frontier?

asch884

New member

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor

Maedze

New member

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician

asch884

New member

armywife12

New member

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor

luvsviola

New member

Evolily

New member

jujumum

Well-known member

tanyaandallie

Senior Community Member

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Sponsors

Forum statistics