Defrost
Moderator - CPSTI Emeritus
We just got back from our trip, and I got some pics of dd in her Radian on the plane.
My thoughts on the Radian:
It installs quite well on the plane, though I did find it went better when I had the recline-thingy down. It's literally made for planes, the fit is just perfect. DD loved it, and loved being able to use the tray-table. The flight attendants either ignored it or were curious about it; one said she'd heard of them but hadn't seen one yet and liked the way it folded. Another just wanted to make sure it had the FAA sticker because he'd never even heard of it! It installed well with LATCH in the Saturn Vue we rode in when we got there, too, plus it left plenty of room on either side for the other passengers, which was important because we needed to fit 3-across comfortably.
Complaints: Holy crow it's heavy. Dh carried it for the most part and didn't complain, but we had five different plane rides total for this trip and by the last one I was damn sick of hauling it around! It needs a bag like the ones they have for Britax seats, I forget the name but the bag has wheels. Even with the carry-strap on the Radian, it was just so heavy to lug around, and since I was the one installing and un-installing it, I wound up carrying it a few times.
Also, I had trouble at first getting it to stay folded. That was really annoying, but then I realized I wasn't releasing the harness and it quit unfolding while we were carrying it.
Lastly, I was about ready to pitch that SafeStop. DD is right at the weight where it's required with LATCH/tether, but you HAVE to take it off otherwise. So it went: drive to airport with SafeStop; remove SafeStop on the floor of the airport to use on plane; install SafeStop in the dark in the back seat to use in car; remove SafeStop on the floor of the airport to use on plane; install SafeStop to use in car for the ride home. Ugh!
Overall, though, it worked perfectly and I'm very pleased I bought it for the trip. Here's the pics!
My thoughts on the Radian:
It installs quite well on the plane, though I did find it went better when I had the recline-thingy down. It's literally made for planes, the fit is just perfect. DD loved it, and loved being able to use the tray-table. The flight attendants either ignored it or were curious about it; one said she'd heard of them but hadn't seen one yet and liked the way it folded. Another just wanted to make sure it had the FAA sticker because he'd never even heard of it! It installed well with LATCH in the Saturn Vue we rode in when we got there, too, plus it left plenty of room on either side for the other passengers, which was important because we needed to fit 3-across comfortably.
Complaints: Holy crow it's heavy. Dh carried it for the most part and didn't complain, but we had five different plane rides total for this trip and by the last one I was damn sick of hauling it around! It needs a bag like the ones they have for Britax seats, I forget the name but the bag has wheels. Even with the carry-strap on the Radian, it was just so heavy to lug around, and since I was the one installing and un-installing it, I wound up carrying it a few times.
Also, I had trouble at first getting it to stay folded. That was really annoying, but then I realized I wasn't releasing the harness and it quit unfolding while we were carrying it.
Lastly, I was about ready to pitch that SafeStop. DD is right at the weight where it's required with LATCH/tether, but you HAVE to take it off otherwise. So it went: drive to airport with SafeStop; remove SafeStop on the floor of the airport to use on plane; install SafeStop in the dark in the back seat to use in car; remove SafeStop on the floor of the airport to use on plane; install SafeStop to use in car for the ride home. Ugh!
Overall, though, it worked perfectly and I'm very pleased I bought it for the trip. Here's the pics!