Question Has your older child outgrown or dislike the radian XT SL?

I want to get this seat and I am trying to decide between the Radian 60 or the side impact model. I am replacing a MA (which I LOVE), but have been recently talked into Radians...

1) First of all, if it were you, which model would you get?? (and tell me I made the right decision switching to the Radian)

2) I know these seats will last to 60-80 pounds, but in reality, but when did you child grow out of it because of height.... Did you find the wings to be bothersome for the older children?

3) I have a Honda 2006 Ody van, where is do you reccommend me installing the seat with my other sons Regent.

Thanks you!!

Leigh

(mother to 2 wonderful boys...6 yo (55 lbs) in Britax Regent and
13 mo old (27 lbs) in MA

My DS expressed a preference for the Radian over the Decathlon when he was 4 years old. His twin sister also prefers it over the Decathlon. At first, I was concerned how well the seat would last over the long term. However, I really like it much better than the Britax convertible. There is more room in the seat for the child.

My DS is approaching the limit of the Radian. He's about 48in tall and weighs almost 60lbs. I think he is going to outgrow it by height just before he hits 65lbs, but he'll be close to the weight limit of our seat.

We have the Radian 65. Never tried one with the headwings. If I was buying a seat now, I would go with one that has a 45lb rf limit.

HTH

Melanie

First off I think you mean the Radian65. I have had a Radian65, Radian80 and 2 RadianXTs. I like the wings. I was happy with all of my Radians, but I like the XTs the best.

DD1 is 6 years 8 months and fits in the RadianXT still. She has very little growing room in it, she is just a tad under the top slots. She does not ride in a harnessed seat full time any more but rode in hrer old XT the other day because I needed to fit all three kids in Dh's car and the booster was too hard to buckle. DD didn't complain. She has about a 17 inch torso. She is 47 inches and 40.5 pounds. I think most kids will make it to booster age in any of the Radians, so long as they are not all torso. DD does not find the head wings to be uncomfortable but I think she would shortly.

DS is 4 years 9 months and he rides in his Radian XT full time. I don't know his torso height but he is on the last slpt and has about an inch and half until he outgrows it. He is 43 inches tall and about 43 pounds. I think it will last him another 18 months or so and he will then move into a booster full time.

As far as the Radian Xts vs. the 80 or 65 go, I feel it is just preference. I do think the 80 or the 65 would be more comfortable for an older child who it very close to outgrowing the seat or whose shoulder are above the top slot (the Radian allows this, for the top harness slot only). As far as moving to a Radian from a MA goes... I think it is a smart move. I like Radians though. I had an older style MA and I liked it well enough but I prefer the Radian with its lower profile.

I had an 8yr old in the XT today. She's at the limit for height/head, but under the weight limit though I admit I don't know by how much. I'd guess she's maybe 60lbs tops. She loves the wings and sleeps quite nicely in it. Though she has much more room in the Britax Frontier 85 all the way around. She looked BIG in the Radian, but not in the Britax. And she had about 1.5-2" of torso room to grow in the Frontier.

She is a HORRID booster rider, thus why I keep her harnessed in my car. In her moms, she is in nothing.

Here's a pic of my dds. The one in the radian is 10.5 years old, 51-2 inches tall and somewhere around 65 pounds. Dd prefers any harnessed seat over difficult booster buckling.

Megan is 5 (44-45 inches tall and 44ish lbs) and rides fulltime in the Radian XT. The pic in my sig is a few months old, but she still fits pretty much the same. She likes it, finds it comfortable and fits well with a fair bit of growth room in the top harness slot. She does occasionally complain on long drives of her lower back hurting, I think from dangling feet, so I am going to get her something soft to prop her feet up on next time we go on a trip. The side wings don't seem to bother her at all.

Thank you so much for your replys from my post. It has really helped me make up my mind. It is great to see so many older kids in their Radian seats!!

Leigh