Pics of our Radian Upgrades!

I switched out the buckle tongues and the chest clip tonight.
I ordered a longer crotch strap too, but I'm not using it yet, the original length is still perfect for us.
I took pics of my 2 year old who primarily uses the seat, and of my 12 month old who has ridden in it about 3 or 4 times.

The original tongues and chest clip arent really that bad on either of them, I could have probably used them both longer before needing to use the britax clip, but the SKJP clip did pull the harness a little funny on my 2 year old. It's harder to see in the pics, but when buckled, the strap under the clip would wrinkle a bit and make it harder to tighten the harness good enough.
the sideways pic of her shows that wrinkle better than the other pics. Oh, and in the before pics, I also have a Dry seat in the seat, but I forgot to put it back on for the after pics.

Here is Hannah before:








And After:









I am loving the fit of the harness now! The straps are still right where they should be on her shoulders, and she has more room around her neck, even though it didn't bother her much before.
I love how the harness sits across her abdomen! It is so smooth and I can get it tighter now too, and it just fits so much better!
I love the buckle tongues too, they make the hip area smoother and the strap doesnt fold over on itself anymore!

Here is Abby in the seat before, she had a great fit and didnt really need an adjustment:








And after, she still has a good fit, but it seems the crotch stap might come up a little higher than it did the first time, but I also dont have the dry seat underneath in the after pics, and if she was going to be riding in the seat, she'd need a further back crotch strap position too.





Overall, I'm glad I changed it! I think it will make it easier to get her harness tight over her coat (a thin fleece/nylon coat).
And I wanted to change the buckle tongues since we'll be needing this seat for quite a few years and the harness cant be replaced, so I want to make sure I'm taking as much care of it as I can, even though it hasn't started to fray yet.

It was Super easy for me to get the clips and tongues off and the new ones on too! I was prepared for a fight, but it was so fast and easy! Maybe because I read all the tips beforehand!

I changed all that too on mine, I love the wider buckle tongues and the Britax clip

I changed it all before we used it, still have not used it. I need to put it in Dh's car which I am not looking forward too. I hope I get a good install.

THANK YOU!!!!! I felt like I really flubbed by not doing the before-after pics on the same day with Leah. (adding thread to favorites for future reference...)

It's as if the Radian clip works great for the narrow curves of babies, but as a child gets older, it makes the straps uneven and tight around the neck.

Perhaps they should look into supplying two chest clips for their seats?

Thanks for posting, Holly. I'm am kicking myself for not taking before/after pics of my DS in his Radian. Your Radian now looks just like mine... Britax clip, wider buckle "tongs", and Dry Seat. Like you, I'm holding off on replacing the crotch straps because the existing straps fit my 2yo just fine for now.

The changes definitely make a world of difference!

Hey, you know what I just noticed, look at how Hannah has her legs in the pics where you can see them. She is RF in the car, but if that position was uncomfortable for her, why would she sit with her legs like that when she didn't have to if it was not comfortable for her?

Folded up legs IS what is comfortable for her, she CHOOSES to sit that way even when she has more room! I think it's so stupid that anti RF people think they must be so uncomfortable like that, she loves sitting like that!

I really love the way the IMMI clip makes the straps lie. My next thing to do is get the wider buckle 'tongs'.

I'm not sure I care for the longer crotch strap though. Hmmm. Maybe on a much older child (older than five or six?). It seems to me that the larger clip brings the hip straps up over the hips and onto the abdomen, rather than riding low on the pelvis.

Thanks for the comparison pictures. Our new Radian should be here in the next day or two, and I'll be ordering new buckles tongues ASAP. I'm tempted to order a Britax chest clip as well, but we'll see how the original one works first. Great pictures!

ThreeBeans said:

I'm not sure I care for the longer crotch strap though. Hmmm. Maybe on a much older child (older than five or six?). It seems to me that the larger clip brings the hip straps up over the hips and onto the abdomen, rather than riding low on the pelvis.

Click to expand...

I still have my original crotch strap on there and it seems to be doing that. More for the baby, but a little bit with my 2 year old too. I'm not sure if it's just the picture or because I didn't have the dry seat on there or if the tongues somehow do that? I'm not sure. I have the longer strap but I dont plan on using it until she is 5 or 6 (if she needs it then).

I don't think the longer strap poses any danger, and I'm sure it's been tested. When rearfacing, it doesn't matter at all (forces on the child's back, not on the harness until the less forceful rebound), and when forward facing, the bulk of the crash force is on the shoulders...ie, it really doesn't matter how long the crotch strap is, the seat will perform just as well either way . (I find it far easier to buckle a longer one, so I'm using it for convenience...)

I put her in the seat again to check what was making the hip part ride up more on her abdomen, and I realized I should have had the crotch strap in a further back position. I had it on the furthest out position and it needed to be on the middle position.
I fixed it and took another pic. It fits better now!