Tried more convertibles today!

MelodyoftheForest

Active member
Well, I finally got down to try some different seats in my car that are not available at my BRU and thought I'd share my experiences! (I would highly recommend Our Baby Our World in Wallingford, CT.) As reference, we drive a Chevy HHR and are 5'7" and 5'8" tall. Baby is about 17 lbs, 9 months old, average height. All were tried RF.

I had high hopes for the Fllo, but it was too big for our car. I might have been able to put it behind the passenger, but not with the headrest extended much. It blocked my view in the center with the headrest up, and would not fit behind the driver, especially at the full recline. Also, to achieve the under 22lb recline setting, I would have needed a pool noodle. It did not have any foam piece in the seat pad, which I didn't think was right. Otherwise, it fit the baby well and installed easily with the seatbelt.

Next I tried the Radian. I think the RXT? The highest end model of the last generation. It fit with a little room to spare behind the driver with the angle adjuster. The install was surprisingly easy with the seatbelt, but I did not try it FF. The latch plate was totally in the rounded part of the belt path. Is that OK? The downsides were that the baby would not be able to see out the window, and the harness would not tighten down enough on her. Does it have any way to make the harness smaller?

Then I threw the Pria 70 in there. It installed quickly and easily and fit easily behind the driver at a proper recline. I did not put the baby in it, but the harness got plenty small by the looks. I have previously put her in the Advance Air 65 and she fit fine even without the infant padding, so I think that would work. The downside is the fabric may be a little too plush and make her hot. And the 40" RF height limit.

At BRU I had found the NextFit cramped and the Boulevard CT difficult. I would get the Symphony in a heartbeat if it had taller RF limits, and I liked the Advance Air (yes that actually fit!).

Any feedback y'all can provide?
 
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JlynnB

New member
Not sure about the RXT, but I got the R100 for DS and the harness pads were huge and I couldn't tell if they might be part of the problem getting the harness tight enough. Diono sent me a shorter harness and smaller harness pads to help with fit.
 

MelodyoftheForest

Active member
So I rediscovered that the new Pria 70 has wicking fabric. It also has the easy cover when it comes to removing and washing it. That height limit would quite possibly get V to 4 RF, but it's holding me back from loving the seat.

The Fllo is supposed to have more than thin batting in the seat pad, right? I liked so much about it, I kind if want it play with it again and see how it does behind the passenger as far as fit and visibility goes.
 

jwilliams

New member
The Fllo is supposed to have more than thin batting in the seat pad, right? I liked so much about it, I kind if want it play with it again and see how it does behind the passenger as far as fit and visibility goes.

The seat pad is, at first, shockingly firm. It comes off as being a piece of hard, light foam with lightly backed fabric around it. No complaints from the seat's occupant in my car, however, and goodness knows she would let me know.

It's interesting that the Safety 1st seat fit at the full recline but not the Fllo.
 

aporthole

Active member
What exactly do you mean by "difficult" regarding the Boulevard ClickTight? I've tried all the same seats except for the Pria. We had a NextFit for a year but sold it in favor of the Boulevard CT. I also recently tested out a Radian RXT as well as a Clek Fllo. The Boulevard CT is by far my favorite.
 

MelodyoftheForest

Active member
The seat pad is, at first, shockingly firm. It comes off as being a piece of hard, light foam with lightly backed fabric around it. No complaints from the seat's occupant in my car, however, and goodness knows she would let me know.

It's interesting that the Safety 1st seat fit at the full recline but not the Fllo.

I knew that it would feel firm, but it was harder than the back of the seat and only had polyester batting under the fabric cover from what I could see. I am hoping/assuming it got taken apart and put back together wrong or it is a quirk of the floor model. Thank you for confirming there should be a foam piece in there. I thought so!

As for the size, let me explain the circumstances better now that I have a real keyboard! The Advance SE Air+ at the more reclined level line fit behind the passenger seat with me in it comfortably, but much closer to the dash than usual It did not fit in the middle because it hit the corner of the driver's seat. I think it might fit in the center in the more upright setting. I tried the Fllo in the center and it also hit the corner of the driver's seat, but in the more upright setting. I did not try it behind the passenger. I guess I was disappointed that the Fllo didn't fit better since it is billed as Clek's compact convertible, and I would have had to use a noodle to get the proper recline.

What exactly do you mean by "difficult" regarding the Boulevard ClickTight? I've tried all the same seats except for the Pria. We had a NextFit for a year but sold it in favor of the Boulevard CT. I also recently tested out a Radian RXT as well as a Clek Fllo. The Boulevard CT is by far my favorite.

As far as the CT, I found it too finicky. It took a few tries to get a good install RF, but not too bad. When I tried FF, it took many tries and me trying to figure out exactly how long the belt needed to be. It would have taken less time and energy for me to do a traditional belt install, so I wasn't impressed.
 

jwilliams

New member
I knew that it would feel firm, but it was harder than the back of the seat and only had polyester batting under the fabric cover from what I could see.

Here's a picture of my Fllo seat. I just happen to have my seats in the house so I can clean the car. I'm kind of thinking the one you saw was normal. You can see batting from the bottom.

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MelodyoftheForest

Active member
Thanks! What if you undo one or two of the clips that hold the fabric on? Do you see foam then? It seemed odd that the seat was harder than the back. The back had a firm but cushioned feel, like what you describe in the seat.
 

MelodyoftheForest

Active member
I just looked at the Fllo again online and discovered that pool noodles are not ok. With the ARB, it says to just adjust where it sits on the back of the seat and that a gap under the recline foot is allowed. Also, the seat is allowed to be more upright before 22lbs as long as it is not more upright than the recline line for larger children. This makes me so happy! http://clekinc.com/support/documents/clekus000073/
 

jwilliams

New member
Thanks! What if you undo one or two of the clips that hold the fabric on? Do you see foam then? It seemed odd that the seat was harder than the back. The back had a firm but cushioned feel, like what you describe in the seat.
From top to bottom, the seat is fabric, some sort of fluffy batting, then the black foam/plastic structure. So, no comfort foam.

I had a real OMG moment of terror when I got the seat due to its firmness. But apparently sitting on it is perfectly fine for a child, because it's been nothing but love for "my gray seat!" since we got it in January.
 

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