Help me pick a convertible for ERF big toddler---Radian, Nextfit, Peg Perego???

U

Unregistered

Guest
I am in need of another seat for our second vehicle --a 2013 Ford Explorer with second row buckets. This will be our vehicle for road trips and vacations so comfort is important.

Child is 2.5 years old. 95+%. 38 inches tall and 37 lbs. Floor to top of head is 22.5 Floor to top of shoulder is 14.5 4t shirts, 3t pants

Currently child is RF in a Radian RXT. I want to continue to RF as long as possible.

I am wondering if the Radian is my best option or if anyone has any suggestions for another seat to look at. I know the Graco mysize/size4me and Nextfit only RF to 40 lbs. Peg Perego Primo Viaggio and Radian go to 45 lbs. I just don't know if three more pounds will get us far in terms of ERF or if the Peg Perego is a seat that will work for us???

Please help me decide......
thanks in advance for any advice and input!!!
 
ADS

Keeanh

Well-known member
I'm not familiar at all with the Peg, sorry. But with a 37lb 2yo, I would definitely get a 45lb RF seat. If you go with a Radian, you can save a bit of $ by getting the 120 rather than the RXT.
 

Brigala

CPST Instructor
Your child is almost exactly the same age/height/weight as mine! And my daughter also wears 4T shirts now. HUGE!

In my opinion, you should stick with the Radian, either the RXT or the R120. The Peg Perego isn't quite as tall so that could limit your rear-facing time. I think if you want to be sure to rear face to age 3+ your best bet is to get something with a 45 lb limit or higher. Those last 3 lbs are just one growth spurt away; it could be another year or it could be two months from now. I know I have a great deal of peace of mind knowing I don't have a 40 lb limit looming over my head. I may not keep her rear-facing all the way to 45, but I know I don't want to turn her before she turns 3 and at this point I think she'll be at least 40 lbs by then.

The other option would be the Clek Foonf. I personally wouldn't trade my Radian for one, but you know, it has its fans. It's pretty expensive, though. Tall skinny kids, especially ones who are long in the legs and will hit the 43" height limit of the Foonf before their heads get too tall for the Radian, will actually have more time in the Radian than the Foonf. Kids built like yours and mine, with long torsoes and a heavy or muscular build, will get more time out of a Foonf. For me personally, though, I don't like how high UP the Foonf sits in my SUV (lifting a 37 lb toddler up above my shoulders and into a car seat isn't easy), and in my Civic it just takes up too much space and I need my teens to be comfortable in the back seat too.
 

Mamasboys

New member
Another vote for the Radian. My DS3 is very similar in size w/ a 13.5-14" torso(current stats in my sig). He's got about 4.5-5" shell height above his head (so 3-3.5" more growth--years of growth for a 2.5-3yo). I've really been pleased with it so far (had it for a few months now). For a frame of reference, the same boy has only 1" to go RF in a Britax RA55, and has just outgrown the Scenera RF(if disregarding the 36" limit).

I think the Peg is a bit shorter in the shell in RF mode, so that's something to consider as well. Otherwise the Foonf if you want to go all out. Taller shell/headrest than the others, plus the 50lb RF limit. Had it been in the budget (and had I convinced DH a 3yo needs a $400+ seat for RF, lol), I would have sprung for it over the Radian.
 

Jeni-GAcpst

New member
I am in need of another seat for our second vehicle --a 2013 Ford Explorer with second row buckets.

Do you have inflatable seat belts? Currently the only convertible seats that are compatible with inflatable belts are Britax. I *think* Chicco NextFit may be okay because the KeyFit is okay, but I have not seen this information specifically in writing.
You could install Radian or other car seat up to 48lbs of child weight with LATCH so that will allow you to RF as long as possible if you do have inflatable belts. After 48lbs of child, Britax may be the only option for now until the child can ride in a booster.

If you don't have inflatable belts, then no worries ;)
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
Thank you all for your responses-I appreciate your time and advice.

We do not have inflatable seatbelts, so that isn't a concern for us when making our choice.
 

Jana

New member
We have a radian and a peg in our two vehicles for our 3 year old. I think he will fit in the radian longer but he still has quite a bit of room in the peg. He is only on the 6th click. I haven't measured him lately but he was around 37" in February. My husband and I prefer the Peg. So does my son. But I'm pretty sure we will be using the radian rearfacing longer than the peg.
 

Persimmon

Active member
For a secondary vehicle and one for road trips I vote another Radian. It is more open than a Foonf and you have a big kid. I think on long car trips your child may appreciate not being so enclosed.
 

CuddlyMonsters

New member
We own both the Radian RXT and the Peg Convertible...

My son who is 87th percentile for height and weight was able to RF in the Peg Convertible at 3.5 years old. He is currently 4 and I don't think he can still fit it RF. You can only use the lower 7 slots when you RF on the Peg Convertible. The Peg Convertible is nice in the sense that is takes up less front to back room than the Radian RXT. Which for us is nice as my husband is tall and needs to drive with the seat all the way back. The seat is quick to install/uninstall. The fabric is nice - if you have a little sweatball the fabric breathes nicely...

Now the Radian RXT - it is much narrower of a seat and sits lower (makes it easy to climb in an out of). It is heavier if you need to move it from car to car - also can be a pain to get a tight install on. The shell is defintely taller on the Radian, but room wise it is similar to the Peg Convertible as it has the headrest that sits in the shell...

I think it all depends on what your preference is and what features are important and fit your needs more...

They are both great seats for different reasons though.

We personally have the 18 month old RF in the Peg Convertible. The Radian is FF in my husband's truck as my two older ones who ride there once in a while can both fit into it with no problems...
 

YouAreTheFocus

New member
My DS has very similar stats, he is 38-39" and 35 lbs, 3T tops & bottoms. I had my heart set on the Peg, I have been searching locally for one to try.

Well, we finally found one today...and, it was beautiful, but there's just no way. Honestly I was stunned when I sat him in it. He had MAYBE 2" overhead :( I then tried him in the Radian RXT, the Graco S4M, and the Foonf, and he had loads of room in all. I haven't found a Nextfit yet.

I really could not believe what a difference it was between the Peg and these other seats!
 

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