Question Poll: 80SL or XTSL

Which Radian?

  • Keep the XTSL

    Votes: 10 52.6%
  • Keep the 80SL

    Votes: 7 36.8%
  • Flip a coin

    Votes: 2 10.5%
  • Other

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    19

Brigala

CPST Instructor
I was able to score an 80SL and an XTSL on Strollers.com. The 80SL is here, and the XTSL should be here later today. I keep going back and forth on which one I want to keep and which one I want to sell on Craigslist. I've posted about this before, but now I'm doing a poll. Please list your reasons why.

I have a 10 month old daughter currently riding in an XTSL in my Honda Civic. I also have a Complete Air SE which is currently in use for an older child who will be outgrowing it soon. If I ignore the level-to-ground line, it installs nicely in my Suburban but I'll probably prefer to use the Radian there most of the time.

Which Radian would you keep, and why?

Here's a picture (taken just last week) of my daughter in her current Radian.
picture.php
 
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Maggie

New member
I have an 80SL and really like it. I'm not a huge fan of the XTSL. The setup with the wings and younger kids just doesn't sit well with me. Also, the few I've played with, it's nearly impossible to adjust the wings.
 

Brigala

CPST Instructor
Yes, I go back and forth on the head wing issue. The fact that I have a CA may be a point in favor of the 80SL. When she's finally FF someday, if I feel I need her to have headwings in both cars, she can use the CA.

That said, I had SK replace the head wings on my XTSL and they're not nearly as hard to adjust as they were when I had the defective wings on there.

My biggest unknown here is how comfortable she'll be in the XTSL once she's tall enough to use the head wings RF. I have used the XTSL FF with the wings, and RF essentially without the wings (they're moved up out of the way), but never RF with the wings. I've heard some people say they can cause head slump for RF kids and may be uncomfortable? How common of a problem is that?

And if I keep the XTSL, if I have a problem with the head wings, can I just take them out and store them until she's ready to FF?

Husband leans toward keeping the XTSL because it's Bentley and he's not a big fan of the Primrose cover on the 80SL, but I like the Primrose so I think that ends up being a tie vote. On the other hand, if I have two XTSLs, I'll probably pick up an extra cover on the swap and it would be nice to have a spare cover that would fit either seat (in case of cleaning emergencies) rather than needing two different spare covers.

Argh. Would I be a total freak if I made a complete pros / cons chart and assigned points values to each thing and determine my choice mathematically?
 

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
I think you would... but the kind of freak who fits in perfectly at c-s.o. :p

I have an 80SL and have never minded the lack of wings. I got a 65 with the sale, am using it FFing, and am wishing I had them. Go figure. (In other words, I am no help!)
 

Brigala

CPST Instructor
I think you can use an xtsl cover on an 80sl (parental decision, of course)

I've been wondering about that. What about an 80SL cover on an XTSL (without the head wings). I've seriously been wondering about removing head wings for situations in which they're just not "working" for you. I should ask SKJP about it, huh?
 

KaliShanti

New member
I LOVE my XTSL. My daughter has used it since about 10 months and she is 19 months old now and just starting to use the headwings for sleeping etc. I would keep the XTSL.
 

Kac

Ambassador - CPS Technician
I love my Radian 80SL. J is 4 years and 2 months and is just under the top slots (if he rode FFing). I do think that the head wings would start to bother him. He is FFing in his Marathon and just under the top slots and he complains about his shoulders hurting because it is tight.

I :love: my Primrose cover.
 

Brigala

CPST Instructor
The poll isn't helping much so far. It's neck and neck!

The XTSL arrived. Here's a picture. I'll be using the seat for a while with a 5 y.o. in this configuration. When she outgrows the seat, I'll move it to the other car for my daughter and discontinue using her infant seat.

picture.php

picture.php


Maybe I can make a case with DH for keeping both seats for a while. If I did, I could discontinue using the infant seat now. She has room to grow in it, but she's getting to the point where she really just prefers the Radian. I don't think she likes the confined feeling she gets in the bucket. It's an age thing, not a size thing. She only weighs 17 lbs and she's in an Onboard Air in the other car.

I don't think he'll go for that, though. The 5 year old (who is his granddaughter but she is with us during the day almost every day) is going to outgrow the seats by height as soon as she hits her next growth spurt, and judging from the way she's gaining weight right now that's going to be soon. If I keep all three seats, that will mean I'll have three Radians and a Complete Air... roughly twice as many car seats as I actually need.

Then again, we haven't totally ruled out the possibility of one more baby in our future, and the boys are getting up to the age where they might start having kids soon... :p
 

msg221

Well-known member
I will be trying to make that decision after my XTSL comes tomorrow! I have a friend that is willing to buy whichever one I don't end up keeping.
 

gsdguenter

Well-known member
Just curious, is the XTSL allowed to be that much off the seat? It's hard for me to tell from the pic if the base is at least 80% on the seat.

On topic though, I :love: our XTSLs and really like the head wings, so that's my vote.
 

Brigala

CPST Instructor
Just curious, is the XTSL allowed to be that much off the seat? It's hard for me to tell from the pic if the base is at least 80% on the seat.

On topic though, I :love: our XTSLs and really like the head wings, so that's my vote.

It never occurred to me to even think about it. Does the manual specify how much needs to be on the seat?

I'm fairly sure it's more than 80% on the seat and it's only a small amount in that one corner where the seat curves around that there's overhang. But I'll need to go out and look more closely to be positive.
 

Holly

New member
I don't like the headwings, they bug me, so I'd pick the 80.
I have a radian 65 and then two 80's (one is SL one is not).
I just my most recent one last week, and I LOVE it!
I'm irritated enough by the wings that I'd go out of my way to buy one without them.

I do love the girly covers though. I have a flora and a petal cover on my regular non XT or XTSL seats and they fit well. I have a thread about it with pictures on here somewhere, it's titled "more pics of XT covers on non XT models" or something like that.
 

Brigala

CPST Instructor
I'm starting to lean toward keeping both for now, and deciding later after I've had a chance to develop a strong preference. :p

I can use both in the short term. My husband says if it were him, he'd sell one now while it's new-in-box, but he'll probably not do much worse than roll his eyes at me if I don't sell one.
 

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