Harmony has a New Seat

Harmony has come out with a new seat which looks just like the Defender 360 but with a bright red cover and deeper head wings (& double the price). This sounded great to me (except the price) but I couldn't even find the seat on their website to compare against other seats in its class, so I emailed the company. I had also asked why I hadn't been able to get the Defender lately, I've looked at least twice a week for the last 6 weeks.
This is what they had to say:

Thank you for your interest in the Harmony Defender!

The Defender is exclusively sold at Walmart.com and due to its recent popularity - they have been running out quite often. We are shipping them new stock all the time and you should see some available soon…

However, if none are available - we would be happy to quote shipping you one directly. Kindly provide your full mailing address, and we can send you a price to direct ship units to you...

Yes – the SECURE Commander is our product and is exclusively sold through specialty stores. It includes higher-end fabrics, extra foam and has outboard Side Impact Protection. Unfortunately, the price is due to the channel it is sold thru…

Best regards,

HARMONY CUSTOMER CARE

I would say that the specialty stores have a pretty high profit margin on this seat since it is basically the same as the defender (mind you I don't even know the dimensions on this seat yet, so it may be wider, at which point you can by a steel reinforced frame seat for cheaper). With its head wings, cushion and cover I would pay maybe 40-50 dollars more than the Defender, but that's it.

I do have to commend Harmony's customer service, I have contacted them a couple of times regarding different things and have received prompt responses. They sent a longer crotch buckle with no questions asked. If your rider has thicker legs you will need this, or if you are getting up to the higher harness positions you will need this as well. This last email I sent to them was on a Saturday, early afternoon, and they responded to me the same day. I was impressed.

So if anyone is in the market for a narrow combination seat capable of 3 across, or an easy to use, inexpensive combination I would still recommend trying to find the Defender before forking over the extra cash for the Commander. PS the Defender is a great for people who have to adjust the harness a lot due to different riders (ie. Grandparents or child care).

The Commander has been on Amazon for at least a year- but I've yet to "meet" one in person or even hear of someone choosing to buy one.

Just FYI, the Defender is back in stock on Walmart's website for $85 with free shipping.

How comparable is the Defender to a forward facing Radian? Not so much width, but overall "bulkiness" or bigness? DH prefers our Radian to the Pria because of the lower profile, but I hate not having the Radian when J2 demands the blue seat. I was contemplating a Nautilus for DH's car until he said that's still too bulky. But I've never seen a Defender in person to know if it's also "big".

The Defender is pretty similar to the Radian in slimness, profile, lack of bulk. It is about half inch wider but sits low to the vehicle seat and is overall low profile.

As far as bulkiness I would say the back of the Defender is a little bit bulkier. I hope you can picture this... the seat back of the radian places the child about 2 inches from the vehicle seat back where the Defender places the child about 5 inches from the vehicle seat back. The extra depth is due to the belt path. The raidan's belt path comes through the child seating area where as the Defender has a more defined belt path. It is still open like the raidan but independent of the child seating area. Hope that makes sense.

Width wise it is about the same. I have used both and love them about the same although the no re-thread harness may have won me over to the Defender.

Thank you both! Now to get DH to actually buy it

I use a Defend occasionally when transporting a cousin and I use a radian RXT with my son. It is about the same width, similar low profile for easy boarding, but yes it is a little deeper front to back than the radian. It has a nice long seat pan for children to grow into when they hit booster time. The install is pretty easy and have gotten great installs in several different vehicles. Compared to the nautilus it isn't as bulky because the cup holder comes out from the front of the seat and is not molded into the width of the arm rest. Lets face it the Nautilus's arm rests are ridiculous! The Nautilus's I am familiar with also require the seat to be uninstalled to adjust the harness, the Defender is a no rethread and can be adjust while it is still in the car *Big Bonus*. I have heard that New Nautilus's will be no rethread but have NOT confirmed that through any reliable source.

For the price, the Defender is a great option, its far better than a lot of low cost seats with a lot of higher end features for a near Cosco price. Be warned though that it does not have the nice push on style LATCH connectors, it is the hook style.

Mine is onboard for getting one for Grandma's car now because I told him it was going to be a hundred and now its $85!!! And grandma Can't mess up this install, which makes him happy.

Good luck with your convincing. (show him the price of other seats that have the same weight limits and a no rethread harness, he may hop onboard pretty quick)