Sorry for the redundancy for those of you who have replied and helped me in my other threads. I need to make a decision very SOON, and I am still very indesicive at this point, so please help and post a vote what you think would be the best for my situation.
I am shopping for my 3 year old who weights 34lbs (70 percentile)and 37(15 percentile) inches tall. His marathon has been passed down to his 5 months old brother. I have a Honda Pilot SUV(8 passenger seats). It is down to between Regent or Radian. I bought a Radian65 and was going to return it due to the difficulty and installation problem- there's front-to-back movement if I pull the edge of the bass forward, side-to-side is solid. But as I was about to send it off, I gave a last try and had a tech checked on it, and she said it was a very good installation. She told me to ONLY grab the seat at the belt path to check the tightness, and not to pull at the bass - in that case, it was a quite tight. In fact, I am getting better at it now, it doesn't take too long and my fingers didn't hurt much now.
Advantages for radian are: 1. about $140 cheaper. 2. I can actually fit comfortably in between Radian and MA. With the Radian in the center with MA on the driver side ourboard, I am able to fold down the passenger side outboard seat to allow third row access, which will be convinient when my parents come. 3. I already have the seat. No returns, save some hassle. 4. I could use it on an airplane although we really don't travel very much and the seat is so heavy to even carry it onto the plane.
Disadvantages: 1. Narrow seat, so I am not sure if it will be too snugged for my son in a couple of years. I looked up the growth charts for boys, and if my son is consistent with his growth pattern, he could ride in Radian until he is 9. Anyone with older kids are still able to fit in Radian comfortably? 2. Might need to buy another seat once my son outgrows it, not sure. 3. It is harder to install, although I seem to start to get a hang of it. I haven't tried on any other cars yet, might be a problem.
Advantages for regent are: 1. higher weight and height limit, will last longer. Probably don't need to buy another seat afterwards. 2. I like the side pocket that my son can put his toys in rather than throwing them on the floor. 3. Very spacious and comfortable. 4. Easier installation. Britax has good CS and reputation, and my MA is very easy to install.
Disadvantages: 1. More expensive and I have to wait another 2-3 weeks or more to get the color of the seat I want. 2. Very big, so no third row access. I was able to fit in the center seat with Regent and MA RF both on the outboard, but not sure about if I could still fit with both of them FF. And for sure, I can't fold down the passenger side seat.
I don't travel very much, once to twice a year on the airplane, and we don't move carseats very often.
Please help me decide!! Thank you so much!
I am shopping for my 3 year old who weights 34lbs (70 percentile)and 37(15 percentile) inches tall. His marathon has been passed down to his 5 months old brother. I have a Honda Pilot SUV(8 passenger seats). It is down to between Regent or Radian. I bought a Radian65 and was going to return it due to the difficulty and installation problem- there's front-to-back movement if I pull the edge of the bass forward, side-to-side is solid. But as I was about to send it off, I gave a last try and had a tech checked on it, and she said it was a very good installation. She told me to ONLY grab the seat at the belt path to check the tightness, and not to pull at the bass - in that case, it was a quite tight. In fact, I am getting better at it now, it doesn't take too long and my fingers didn't hurt much now.
Advantages for radian are: 1. about $140 cheaper. 2. I can actually fit comfortably in between Radian and MA. With the Radian in the center with MA on the driver side ourboard, I am able to fold down the passenger side outboard seat to allow third row access, which will be convinient when my parents come. 3. I already have the seat. No returns, save some hassle. 4. I could use it on an airplane although we really don't travel very much and the seat is so heavy to even carry it onto the plane.
Disadvantages: 1. Narrow seat, so I am not sure if it will be too snugged for my son in a couple of years. I looked up the growth charts for boys, and if my son is consistent with his growth pattern, he could ride in Radian until he is 9. Anyone with older kids are still able to fit in Radian comfortably? 2. Might need to buy another seat once my son outgrows it, not sure. 3. It is harder to install, although I seem to start to get a hang of it. I haven't tried on any other cars yet, might be a problem.
Advantages for regent are: 1. higher weight and height limit, will last longer. Probably don't need to buy another seat afterwards. 2. I like the side pocket that my son can put his toys in rather than throwing them on the floor. 3. Very spacious and comfortable. 4. Easier installation. Britax has good CS and reputation, and my MA is very easy to install.
Disadvantages: 1. More expensive and I have to wait another 2-3 weeks or more to get the color of the seat I want. 2. Very big, so no third row access. I was able to fit in the center seat with Regent and MA RF both on the outboard, but not sure about if I could still fit with both of them FF. And for sure, I can't fold down the passenger side seat.
I don't travel very much, once to twice a year on the airplane, and we don't move carseats very often.
Please help me decide!! Thank you so much!