Convertible car seat for tall infant (?Diono)

v1cky84 · Jul 29, 2014

I'm looking into purchasing a convertible car seat for my 8 month old. She is in 95% percentile for height & 70% percentile for weight. I'm willing to spend up to $300-400/seat. I'm looking for a convertible car seat that will last us the longest, both in RF & FF mode, and possibly as booster in the future too. I was considering getting the Diono Rainier but I'm open to suggestion. What do you think? Your suggestions and feedback are appreciated. TIA.

nataliem257 · Jul 29, 2014

v1cky84 said:
I'm looking into purchasing a convertible car seat for my 8 month old. She is in 95% percentile for height & 70% percentile for weight. I'm willing to spend up to $300-400/seat. I'm looking for a convertible car seat that will last us the longest, both in RF & FF mode, and possibly as booster in the future too. I was considering getting the Diono Rainier but I'm open to suggestion. What do you think? Your suggestions and feedback are appreciated. TIA.

Graco 4ever sounds right up your alley. It lasts longer RF height wise than the Diono (it only goes to 40 lbs RF but it sounds like she'll height will be more of a concern), has 18" slots for FF which will make it last longer FF than the diono, and from what I've heard makes a great booster as well (which the Diono does not).

1mommy · Jul 29, 2014

Note that for $100 you can get a Evenflo SureRide, that will not last as long RF (only to 40 inches tall) but once FF, it will last longer with 19'' height of straps, and then you can buy a nice dedicated booster for under $100. So an all in one won't necessarily save you money, and you may find yourself wanting a new seat in a few years after years of crumbs and dirt have accumulated on the car seat, or your child may beg you for a "big boy/girl" seat and want to pick it out themselves.

v1cky84 · Jul 29, 2014

@nataliem257 & 1mommy: thank you for the suggestions. I'll look into them.
The reason why I considered the Rainier is because i've read so many good reviews on the RXT in the past and the Rainier is supposed to be the newer, improved version of RXT.

Anyone else? I'd love to hear more feedback/suggestions. There are so many options to choose from. I'm sooo confused!!! many thanks in advance!!!

nataliem257 · Jul 29, 2014

v1cky84 said:
@nataliem257 & 1mommy: thank you for the suggestions. I'll look into them.
The reason why I considered the Rainier is because i've read so many good reviews on the RXT in the past and the Rainier is supposed to be the newer, improved version of RXT.

Anyone else? I'd love to hear more feedback/suggestions. There are so many options to choose from. I'm sooo confused!!! many thanks in advance!!!

The Ranier is a great seat -- I have my very tall 2 year old in an rxt in a 2ndary car, you can't beat their leg room! The low profile for loading larger toddlers in and out is also very nice. I didn't mean to sound like I was dogging it, only that it's not the longest lasting seat (but it does last a long time) and the booster function is pretty useless. Alot of people prefer dedicated HBBS anyway at that stage because they're lighter and less bulky. If the booster function isn't a deal breaker I would also look at the nextfit, it's taller than the Radian and super easy to install.

v1cky84 · Jul 29, 2014

I see...the generous leg room and low profile were what got me interested in the Diono. I would like to keep her RFing as long as possible. I also like the fact that it has steel frame...it gives me the impression that it should be stronger in withstanding impact.
Seems like there isn't much reviews on the Rainier & Graco 4ever yet because they are both so new. The ones I read on both of them are positive reviews, though...so it makes it all the more confusing on which one I should get. I also considered the Chicco Next Fit but it seemed so bulky. Any thought?

We also have cars with smaller back seats (Lexus IS300 & Nissan Frontier Crew Cab) and we plan on installing it in the middle. Not sure if that makes a difference in terms of which seat I should get. I'd prefer to get a seat that takes up less space.

How long did your RXT last for your baby? Do you find the headwings of the RXT shorten the duration of its usage because of the shoulder hitting the headwings? Thank you again.

nataliem257 · Jul 29, 2014

v1cky84 said:
I see...the generous leg room and low profile were what got me interested in the Diono. I would like to keep her RFing as long as possible. I also like the fact that it has steel frame...it gives me the impression that it should be stronger in withstanding impact.
Seems like there isn't much reviews on the Rainier & Graco 4ever yet because they are both so new. The ones I read on both of them are positive reviews, though...so it makes it all the more confusing on which one I should get. I also considered the Chicco Next Fit but it seemed so bulky. Any thought?

We also have cars with smaller back seats (Lexus IS300 & Nissan Frontier Crew Cab) and we plan on installing it in the middle. Not sure if that makes a difference in terms of which seat I should get. I'd prefer to get a seat that takes up less space.

How long did your RXT last for your baby? Do you find the headwings of the RXT shorten the duration of its usage because of the shoulder hitting the headwings? Thank you again.

My 27 month old still has tons of RF room left, and she's In the 90% for height. It will last almost all kids till 3 RF, most to 4. The head wings getting in the way comes more into play with FF, and I have heard that they do take a bit of harness height away once your child gets to the upper limits because of shoulders hitting the headwings. You would definitely want to get the angle adjuster which significantly reduces the front to back room it takes up. As for steel vs plastic, there are some schools of thought that think that plastic might be just as good or better than steel in a crash because of the give of the plastic absorbing energy better, but no one really knows. Are you planning on buying 2 seats, one for each vehicle? The install can be tricky with the Dionos, and they're quite heavy, I wouldn't want to move them on a regular basis. someone else might join in with experience with installing the seats in your vehicles specifically.

digweed · Aug 21, 2014

v1cky84 said:
I see...the generous leg room and low profile were what got me interested in the Diono. I would like to keep her RFing as long as possible. I also like the fact that it has steel frame...it gives me the impression that it should be stronger in withstanding impact.
Seems like there isn't much reviews on the Rainier & Graco 4ever yet because they are both so new. The ones I read on both of them are positive reviews, though...so it makes it all the more confusing on which one I should get. I also considered the Chicco Next Fit but it seemed so bulky. Any thought?

We also have cars with smaller back seats (Lexus IS300 & Nissan Frontier Crew Cab) and we plan on installing it in the middle. Not sure if that makes a difference in terms of which seat I should get. I'd prefer to get a seat that takes up less space.

How long did your RXT last for your baby? Do you find the headwings of the RXT shorten the duration of its usage because of the shoulder hitting the headwings? Thank you again.

What did you end up going with? We have an IS300 as well and I'd be curious to see pictures installed - we too are trying to stay in the middle seat.

thanks
john

v1cky84 · Aug 23, 2014

digweed said:
What did you end up going with? We have an IS300 as well and I'd be curious to see pictures installed - we too are trying to stay in the middle seat.

thanks
john

We ended up buying the graco4ever cause it is more likely that we would be able to use it in booster mode. It also ended up cheaper than the diono cause we bought the seats with 20% coupon plus $25 mail in rebate. We have only installed it in the nissan middle seat. We plan on installing it on the IS this weekend. I'll post pictures once we have it installed.

Convertible car seat for tall infant (?Diono)

v1cky84

New member

nataliem257

New member

1mommy

New member

v1cky84

New member

nataliem257

New member

v1cky84

New member

nataliem257

New member

digweed

New member

v1cky84

New member

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Sponsors

Forum statistics