Question Please help me decide!

NorthCaliMom

New member
Hi! I have been stressing about a convertible car seat for a week now and would love your help. My 12 mo. old dd has outgrown her Britax BSafe and it caught me off guard! She is 23lbs. 31", ~85%. We have a Suburban and the convertible car seat wouldn't be moved much. I have already ordered 3 (!) seats (pria, nextfit, pavilion) but I don't think any of them are it. We live about 5 hours from a baby superstore. After extensive research my head is just spinning. These are my priorities:
1. Safety - Some seats are safer than others, granted they all meet the minimum standards, but this is our baby and the safer the better!
2. RF with good legroom well past 2yrs - (I realize that lack of legroom isn't a safety issue) The Peg Perego might be good for this reason bc it looks like an easier seat to sit cross cross in, kind of flatter rather than bucket shaped?
3. The ability to clean it all out if it gets puked on - I was feeling pretty good about the nextfit until I read a review from a mom who wasn't able to really clean it out after her kid got sick in it, and it looks like the straps aren't replaceable to boot. Yuck.
4. Easy to install - well at least not an arduous ordeal. I'm petite and I want to be able to install this by myself, with no help from hubby. Lockoffs are a bonus.
5. Budget - If I'm going to spend boku bucks on a seat with a hefty price tag - like the foonf - then I can only really justify it if I never need to buy another seat or booster. The seat won't be used for multiple kids. This is dd#3 (The older girls are 9 & 6. The 6y/o is in a britax highback booster.)

Of the seats I've bought I'm concerned that the pria would be on the chintzy side and not as safe as I would like, but that's just hypothesis on my part. Also, the head wings look claustrophobically ginormous, and the installation might be a bear. Cleaning out the nextfit after a GI issue concerns me, it looks like the back is enclosed, there's no way to really get it clean; and the shoulder pads being so close together seems potentially uncomfortable and the fabric tearing out long hair doesn't sound good either. Lastly, it's pretty high sided and it looks like I'd have to really work to get the baby in there. The britax would be fine except for the legroom. With all three the sides are pretty restrictive for sitting cross cross.

So I've been considering the peg, radian, or possibly the foonf. But I'm open to any and all suggestions! With the radian I was reading earlier today that kids grow out of it faster than some other options -but I haven't checked that and it doesn't seem right to me - also, I was concerned that maybe it was too open??

Sorry for any typos - I'm writing from my phone. Thank you tremendously for your help!!
 
ADS

mommyfrog

Active member
I'd look at the Radian too. My youngest rear faced in his Radian until four years (older 40 pound limit) and my niece rear faced in her's until five years when she started kindergarten. She actually still fit rear facing, but needed to be able to get in and out easier at school drop off time.

I've installed in three different Chevy SUVs with no problems. Mine was an older Suburban and the seat was installed in the middle of the middle row. The seat could still flip forward to allow access to the third row. My sister had a newer Suburban and a newer.....whatever the slightly smaller style is.
 

NorthCaliMom

New member
Thanks so much for the replies! One question with the Radian, would the head wings adjust low enough to provide protection for a 1 yr old? I *thought* I read that they were only good for the mid to taller end of the seat.
 
Thanks so much for the replies! One question with the Radian, would the head wings adjust low enough to provide protection for a 1 yr old? I *thought* I read that they were only good for the mid to taller end of the seat.

Excellent question :)

It all depends on how tall your child is in their torso (sit her against the wall and measure from her bum to her shoulder). The head wings can be used when the child is on the third slot (and for rear facing, the harness straps must come from at or below her shoulders). I would imagine for the average child it is around 1.5-2 when they can use the head wings. The head wings are a nice idea, but in a properly installed rear facing car seat, your child is already so, so protected, regardless of the presence of head wings. Her head, neck and body will be pushed back into the shell of the car seat in a collision, and she will be protected by the side walls of the car seat (which are steel in this case).

I've attached a link to Dionos website where, on the left-hand side, you can see photos of the "skeleton" of the car seat. I have two that do not have head wings, and I use them without worry :) .

http://us.diono.com/convertible-to-booster/radianrxt
 

Olga

New member
I think the Radian is great for leg comfort for older kids because of the low sides on the seat. My leggy 3 year old can hang her legs over the sides, cross them, stretch them out on the back of the car seat, or just scrunch them up. She definitely doesn't run out of room.
 

NorthCaliMom

New member
Lots of love for the Radian! :) Great thoughts on the head wings, thank you. Any input on comfort level FF? Has that been an issue for anyone?

Also, am I right in that the other contenders (pria, pavilion, nextfit, peg) wouldn't get us much past the 2yo mark RF? Are any of those worth a second look? Maybe I was too quick to dismiss them as good options...

Thanks a ton, I have been absolutely obsessing!
 
Lots of love for the Radian! :) Great thoughts on the head wings, thank you. Any input on comfort level FF? Has that been an issue for anyone?

Also, am I right in that the other contenders (pria, pavilion, nextfit, peg) wouldn't get us much past the 2yo mark RF? Are any of those worth a second look? Maybe I was too quick to dismiss them as good options...

Thanks a ton, I have been absolutely obsessing!

No problem! We all obsess over this decision, so you're one of us now haha. Welcome to the Dark Side!

The Pavilion (or Boulevard, Advocate, Marathon (all have the same shell)) will get your average child to about 3, sometimes less, sometimes more. They seriously lack in leg room. The Pria is a great option, although not as much leg room as the Radian, NextFit or Peg, but it is less expensive.

The NextFit is loved around here because it has a fair amount of leg room and has a tall shell for rear facing and good weight limits. It still does not have the same amount of leg room as the Radian in most people's eyes.

The Peg may look very similar to the Britax convertibles but children tend to make it much longer in them rear facing. They also provide more leg room and have a taller shell for rear facing, and a higher weight limit.

Basically, with the exception of the Britax in some cases, the Peg, Radian, Pria, NextFit should get your child to at least 3 rear facing. It comes down to what your budget is and how well each individual seat fits in your vehicle and fits your lifestyle. If you find the method of tightening the Radian to be tedious, you may want to look at something else. If you find the leg room of the Pria to be insufficient, you may want to look at something else.. etc.

Is there a BuyBuyBaby or Babies R Us local to you? They should have most, if not all of these seats for you to get your hands on and try your child out in (I recommend bringing a special treat for a well-behaving test subject ;) )
 

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