Question 2014 forester, radian?

Hi,

I'm a newbie here. I just bought a 2014 Forester this week and am carseat shopping.
*I have a 4yr old who is FF in an Evenflo Triumph.
*I have a 1yr old who is RF in a Snugride 65 (its the bigger snugride,i think 65 is the number).
*We plan to have one more baby down the road in 18mo or so.

We're ready to move 1yr old into a convertable seat and need to buy one that fits well in the 2014 Forester. We'll continue to have him rear facing until at least age 2.

Ultimately, we're hoping to be able to have three across (by this time, 4yr old will be 5.5yrs and maybe ready for a booster, 1yr old will be 2.5 and able to FF). So, I have been looking at the Radians, figuring that I might as well get the radian now if I have any hope of a successful 3 across in the future.

Anyone have luck with the Radian rear facing in the 2014 Forester? Do i need to buy the angle adjuster (and am I correct that the AA can be used rear facing?)? An alternative would be to RF the Evenflo Triumph for my 1yr old and put my 4yr old FF in the Radian (or other new seat). Thoughts?

What is the main differences between the three Radian convertable seats? Are there any other slim options that would fit better in the Forester?

Thanks in advance!

Hi, welcome to c-s.org.

You are correct that the AA is for use in a rear facing Radian. In fact, it can only be used while rear facing. While I don't have any experience with a Radian and a Forester, hopefully this will bump your thread up and some one who does have the experience will come along.

(Oh and I'm betting your snugride is a 35, they don't go to 65lbs )

Hi and welcome!

Just a few thoughts to ponder for you...

The National Highway Safety Administration recommends rear facing as close to age 4 as possible because the bones in the neck are immature still past age 3, which greatly increases the chance of paralyzation or internal decapitation for a front facing child.

In tight side by side situations it's often easier to harness a child as long as possible rather than make room for them to reach the buckle in a booster.

Your oldest may be close to outgrowing the triumph by height. How much room is there above shoulders to the top of the harness track? Would it make more sense to pass the triumph down to baby and buy a front facing combo harness to booster seat? If so, I'd recommend a Harmony Defender. The top harness slot is about 2" (two years growing room) higher than the triumph and then it becomes a highback booster as well as a no back booster when the child's ears go above the shell of the booster. It's also the narrowest combo seat.
Buying a radian for the oldest is a possibility, but you'd be wasting half a seat since you won't be using it rear facing and the booster option may as well not exist (50lb minimum to use booster and booster is outgrown at the same time as the harness)

The radian is a great choice for 3-across situations because it's so slim. But Subarus and rear facing Dionos have a history of not playing nicely together. The install can be done with a little patience and the angle adjuster makes a world of difference. I'd probably try for the radian on the passenger side with the angle adjuster. Center with radian may require you to twist the female end of the buckle to get a good install.

Another seat to possibly consider is the Graco Size4Me aka MySize 70 aka HeadWise. It's a narrow, compact seat with a tiny base and flared shell that 'puzzles' nicely next to others. By 'puzzling' we mean that two seats side by side take up less room together than each measurement separately due to the way the curves compliment each other.

Harmony Defender is only at Walmart, but you should be able to find the Graco seat at BuyBuy Baby or Babies R Us and they let you try in your car for free.

I don't know off the top of my head if a snugride fits well next to a Size4Me but I'd be willing to give it a try - especially if you have BBB/BRU near you to try.

If the snugride doesn't fit with the Size4Me or Radian, I'd recommend a Combi Coccoro. It's like an infant seat without a base: fits 3-33lbs rear facing (plus up to 40lbs forward) and is super compact both side to side as well as front to back. It also puzzles perfectly with a rear-facing size4me so you'd have even more room to maneuver the buckle when your oldest is ready for a booster.

The difference between radians is this:
R100 is base model - RF to 40lbs
R120 is R100 plus comfort foam and infant insert and cup holder and RF to 45lbs
RXT is R120 plus head wings
They all have the same height and footprint in the car.

We'll help you figure this out

I have a Forester, and until recently had a Radian RXT in it. Used it rear facing until late May, then switched it FF, then sold it to a good friend who needed a RF seat for her Outback. I loved it. It really took up minimal room side to side. I could have done 3 of them across quite easily or two Radians and a Combi Coccoro. I am sure there are other combinations, that's just the ones I have experience with. Harnessed for sure, as the buckle is really, really, really hard to reach with 3 across, so booster would be difficult (that's the most polite word for it). I didn't love the Radian FF, but loved it RF. We had it installed behind the passenger seat with angle adjustor (AA), but I was also able to put it RF in center with or without AA.

Hope that helps!

Hi - how were you able to install the radian rear facing?

The 'feet' have nowhere to go, as there's no crease/crevasse in the fabric.

Mike

The feet sit on the bottom of the vehicle seat, up against the back of the seat. Take a look at this thread:

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=247150

They are discussing a different vehicle, but the seat geometry is similar to the Forester. There is a picture of what the Radian looks like sitting on the seat before being installed with the seat belt/LATCH. That should give you a good idea of how to install it in the Forester. This is how I've installed RF Radians in my Forester. I had two RF Radians in my Forester at one point

awesome, thanks.