Evenflo Secure Kid 400 is here...

KaysKidz

Senior Community Member
Evenflo Secure Kid 400 is here...More pics on pg 2

(more pics on pg 2) And I don't know if I like it. I mean, I like it in theory...but I don't know if I'm going to LIKE it. I've tried all 3 kids out in it (sorry no pics) and they all had their chins on their chests from the head rest. :( :( :( Now, it's just 'puffy' padding, nothing structurally to push it forward, so I hope once it's installed and they actually put some weight against it, it won't be so bad...but for now, in the house, I'm not liking it liking it. Otherwise, I like it. LOL

I'm off to play with the install. Man, those latch connectors are a BEAST. I'll report back in a bit with some kidless install pics. Kid pics will come tomorrow.
 
Last edited:
ADS

KaysKidz

Senior Community Member
OK, I'm back. And I lied. I had to grab a kid out of bed for pics. ;) LOL...he was not sleeping, and it didn't bother him one bit to sneak out for a few more minutes! LOL

Anyways, this is my tiny 31lbs 4.5yr old (he normally rides in the Radian). I did end up moving the harness up a slot after I tried him in it, but by then I had stuck him back in bed. LOL (he was pretending to sleep in the pics to get an idea of head slump). I will say this, if you don't have reclining seats...I would probably not go with this as it's likely going to be necessary in order to prevent head slump.

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He has about 4" of torso room to grow in the harness. And at his rate of growth, he'd be 7 before he'd be heavy enough to use it as a booster.
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With the head rest all the way up. Plenty of room to grow.
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And where he'd use the head rest.
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The biggest downfall to the seat is the tether is too short. I got a rock solid install with LATCH, but could not connect the top tether when routed over my head rest. I then moved it center and got a really nice install with the seat belt, but I couldn't fit the Radian next to it. The Radian fits awesome next to it when the Radian is in the center...but not the other way around. Granted, it was 9:30 at night and I didn't put a whole lot of effort in to it.

I will get pics of the other 2 kids tomorrow.
 

momtoo3

Well-known member
Gah!!! I really wanted this seat for ds3 but was worried about head slump. Now I am really worried.
 

Irishmama

New member
Thank you for the pictures! Very helpful.

And that kid has some gorgeous eyes! How do you ever say no to him? :)
 

KaysKidz

Senior Community Member
Looks pretty good. :p Call Evenflo tomorrow for a longer tether.

Ohhh, good to know about the tether!

I think I like it. But I have reclining seats. I don't think I'd like it if it were more upright. I don't think I'd like it in my 3rd row where it doesn't recline. I may try it just for giggles, but not tonight.

The fabric is nice...the white trim is a leather like fabric, so while it is white (or really light grey?) it should wipe up pretty easy. DS loved it.

I'm certain I could never get 3 of these across. Two, no problem if they were both outboard. Three, not likely. The latch connectors are interesting. I liked not having to cram my hands in there trying to tighten it down. But it did not go in snug in 10 seconds like they advertise. I had to put all my weight into it several times to get it to retract enough for it to be rock solid. But it's a pretty cool feature.
 

KaysKidz

Senior Community Member
Gah!!! I really wanted this seat for ds3 but was worried about head slump. Now I am really worried.

I can try it another day in another spot that doesn't recline (or in dh's truck when it gets out of the shop...it's got really upright seats)...with a model...so you can see the difference.
 

cookie123

New member
I'm not too excited about the seat. I finally used it for Matthew today - to McD's and back! I was so frustrated trying to get the harness straight after Mc D's that I finally let him go with one of the straps twisted. He was part of the problem. So determined to do it himself! I hate that continuous harness. Duct tape might help!

He liked it though. He's on the second to the top slots. The harness seems really short. Not much strap left after it was adjusted.

I liked the Sure Latch. It didn't take much to get it in and tight. It will be way easier to get out. The latch hooks are in there kind of deep and I was having trouble getting the regular latch free.
 

Ladyl

New member
I'm trying to get an idea of the harness height. What slot is your ds normally use in the Radian?
 

Judi

CPST/Firefighter
When you have a reclined seat, or when the latch is buried, that latch doesn't work as intended.
 

KaysKidz

Senior Community Member
Here are more pics of the other 2 kids. Kaylee is 30lbs and 2.5yrs old and Patrick is 40lbs and 4.5yrs old.
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What is left of the adjuster strap (shown against a paint stir stick)...this is with a 30lbs kid. That's it.
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Shown with the stick in the slots below Ricky's (2nd from the bottom I think). Pretty sure she'd be about even.
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And now for Patrick. These were all taken with the head rest in the most upper position. Or at least the most upper I could use due to my head rests in my car. I don't think there was a higher setting though.
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Showing how much grow room he has to the top slots. Would be interested to see if he had enough harness to use it for long.
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Kaylee would likely need the slot below Ricky...and Patrick would need the top slots. If I had to guess, Patrick would make it to 6 in the harness IF it is long enough. I was not going to uninstall it to try it out. There is NO way a kid will get to 65lbs in this harness. It's way too short. I don't think Evenflo increased the harness length at all when they upped it from 50 to 65lbs because I think 50lbs is still far more realistic for this seat. And for my kids, that will be fine as they will outgrow it in height before ever getting close to 65lbs.
 

Dorothy

New member
While it looks cool, the possible had slump issues make me wary. :-( Guess we will just have to wait for some long-term use reviews...

Sent from my phone using the app :)
 

KaysKidz

Senior Community Member
Just curious, did you try the belt fit as a booster with Patrick?

I did, but because the Radian is next to it (and the Evenflo is currently latched in), I could not get it buckled to test it out. I need to rearrange everybody again so I can get Kaylee back rf'ing...but for the moment, I can't get a rf'ing seat next to it. I need the weekend to play car seat. LOL
 

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