Hi everyone!

Snorris2

New member
My name is Stefanie. I've been lurking for a bit and finally decided to join. I think I could learn a lot from you guys.

I have 2 daughters. DD1 just turned 3 years old. She is 40 inches tall and about 36 lbs. She is currently rear facing in a Radian XT. DD2 is 15 months old, 31 inches tall and about 26 lbs. She is rear facing in a Safety First Avenue. I actually just bought the Radian so I could turn my 3 year old back around. I just learned about ERF'ing not long ago. She did well to the change thankfully. I justified the Radian because I do have a 15 month old that I can pass it down to.

Where would I go from here? My kids are quite tall and heavy for their age. How long do you think my 3 year old will be able to rear face in the radian? Also, do any of you know the measurement to he top slot on the radian XT? I'm scared that she's going to grow out of this so quick and that I'm going to have to buy another seat.

I need some serious help from more experienced people.
TIA!
 
ADS

armywife12

New member
What slot is she using in the Radian and do you know her torso height (butt to top of shoulder measurement while she sits against the wall)? My almost 3.5 yr old seems similar in size. He is 41-42 inches tall and around 39-40lbs. His torso is about 16 inches so it is on the longer side. He was RF in an XTSL until a few wks ago but not because he outgrew it. I just hated the seat and was sick of dealing with it lol. He still had about an inch or so of growing room RF and FF so it would have fit him to around 4-4.5 yrs old. It will fit small/average torsoed children a couple of years longer though. Oh, the Radian top slots are about 17 inches but I think some measure it a little higher than that

Some great FF only seats are the Evenflo Maestro, Graco Nautilus and, (my favorite) the Britax Frontier. The Maestro is about $80, 18 inch top slots, and harnesses to 50lbs. It fits most to around 6 yrs old harnessed and makes a decent fitting booster BUT the booster is quickly outgrown when the harness has been outgrown in height so a high back booster will still need to be purchased afterwards.
The Graco Nautilus is about $140-$170, has 18 inch top slots, and harnesses to 65lbs. It fits most to around 6 yrs old and makes an OK fitting booster for about half of the children who try it so a high back booster may still have to be purchased after the harness is outgrown.
The Britax Frontier85 is around $209-$280, has 20 inch top slots, and harnesses to 85lbs. It has the highest top slots and makes a very tall booster that fits most children very well. It will harness most to about 8 yrs old.

My son has had all 3 of these combination seats and my favorite is the Frontier followed by the Maestro and then the Nautilus.
 

Snorris2

New member
Her torso is measuring right around 15 inches. I've been leaning toward getting her a frontier when she can no longer rear face and pass he radian down to my one year old. I can't believe I bought the radian to find that she only has a little bit f height left in it. She's currently in the next to last slot on the radian. I really thought it was the best seat to get. I wanted to rear face her as long as I could.
 

armywife12

New member
Her torso is measuring right around 15 inches. I've been leaning toward getting her a frontier when she can no longer rear face and pass he radian down to my one year old. I can't believe I bought the radian to find that she only has a little bit f height left in it. She's currently in the next to last slot on the radian. I really thought it was the best seat to get. I wanted to rear face her as long as I could.

Currently, the Safety first Complete Air has the tallest shell so it will RF the longest. My son would have tons of growing room left in the CA and would still be RF in it if he weren't already 40lbs. With a 15 inch torso, she probably has about 1.5-2 yrs left RF in the Radian
 

Snorris2

New member
That makes me feel a little better. So far, I really like the seat. I see that a lot of people here don't like it. Can you tell me why that is? I'm just genuinely curious.
 

armywife12

New member
That makes me feel a little better. So far, I really like the seat. I see that a lot of people here don't like it. Can you tell me why that is? I'm just genuinely curious.

I don't like it because it hasn't worked FF in any vehicle I've tried it in. It gets really tight and won't move side to side but, as soon as I tug on the harness adjuster to adjust the harness, the seat moves forward several inches. I've tried it FF in 4 different vehicles and it has happened every time. I also have a difficult time tightening the harness when it is RF and FF. I don't like how the install is difficult in many vehicles. Others have had issues with using Super Latch. They have had the Latch belt loosen over a short period of time and Radians solution has been to send them a non SL LATCH belt, which doesn't solve the overall problem with SL. The harness seems to fray easily for many ppl. My harness fuzzed really fast but no fraying so far. Overall, it's just more of a pita than it is worth lol. I think there are other issues ppl were having but I can't think of them right now. For those that absolutely need the 45lb RF weight limit, it makes a great seat that I recommend but that is about the only time I recommend it, that and 3 across situations. I did like the seat in the beginning but now it's too much of a headache for us and he is old enough to safely go FF. With more seats being released that last as long or longer both RF and FF, it is definitely dropping on my recommendation list
 

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