Radian 65 or Britax regent?

I am trying to decide which car seat to get for my dd. She is 2 years 3 months, 36.5" tall, and about 30 pounds, with a long torso. I want her to be in a 5 point harness for a long time. We have a 2005 toyota sienna and the car seats go in the second row captains chairs. She still falls asleep in her car seat so I want the seat to be comfortable and not something where her head would be flopping forward.

Also I am expecting another little one this month, is the Britax boulevard a good choice for birth on up?

Please let me know if there are other car seats that I should be considering instead.

Thanks for your help.

Welcome to the boards.

My own daughter moved to a Husky (same as Regent) at 38 inches tall and 35 pounds and did just fine in it. She slept comfortably (meaning, she didn't complain, but her head did slump a bit). However, if there had been a seat out with top slots the height of the Radian at that time, I would have chosen it over the Regent simply because it's smaller all the way around, while still fitting most kids to age 6-8. I can't comment on how well kids sleep in the Radian because mine never has.

At 30 pounds she could still rear-face in some seats, including the Radian. That might be something to consider, as rear-facing is safer than forward-facing. It's tall enough that even long-torsoed kids should be able to rear-face to the 35 pound RF weight limit. Rear-facing is definitely the most comfortable way for car sleepers and young kids to ride because they are reclined (no head slumping).

If she will stay forward-facing, other seats to consider (aside from the Regent and Radian) are the Graco Nautilus (brand-new, in some Wal-Marts now, should be more widely available in the coming weeks), Safeguard Child Seat and Cosco Apex.

What seat is she in right now? Where are her shoulders in relation to the top slots?

You could also consider a convertible seat for her (like the Radian) even if she will be forward-facing, with the thinking that when she outgrows it in 2-4 years and moves up to a booster the new baby could move into the new seat. Great ones are the Evenflo Triumph Advance and Britax Marathon.

My own preference would probably be a Radian, and rear-facing. If forward-facing, I'd choose the Graco Nautilus most likely, unless I was sure I wanted to harness beyond age 6. If that's the case, go Regent.

The Britax convertibles tend to not fit many newborns well because the shoulders are just too far below the lowest slots. Other convertibles have lower bottom slots than Britax (Radian, Evenflo Triumph Advance, Cosco Scenera, Safety 1st Uptown are all good choices for newborns). If you tend to have bigger/longer-torsoed babies a Britax convertible may work, but if slots are TOO far above shoulders (over an inch or so) and/or the harness won't tighten down enough, a convertible won't work from birth.

My daughter has both. She'll be able to use the Husky for a year or two after she outgrows the Radian, but I like both seats equally, for different reasons.

If I have to move the seat more than, say... twice a year, I prefer the Radian. We bought it simply because we couldn't take the Husky on the plane.

She sleeps equally well in both seats - I even took a pic of her sleeping in the Radian because I'd thought she couldn't do it comfortably!

I like having the Radian because while all my kids have outgrown RF, I do sometimes have other kids for babysitting and such, and it's nice to know that if I absolutely had to go somewhere for some reason, I could transport them safely.

I like that the Husky is big enough to last her a good long time, but I also like that the Radian is small enough to transport more easily (and will also last her a decent amount of time!)

The PPs have given good advice. I notice that you have a Toyota, though, and Radians tend to not install well in them. I haven't done one myself, though, so maybe someone else can chime in on that.

The Radian installs in some seating positions in the Sienna according to several entries in the successful Radian installation thread: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=18235 It's a huge thread, but you can search within the thread using the board's search feature for Sienna to find those entries. Success seems to depend on the seating position and if you're using LATCH or a seating position with a more Radian friendly seatbelt where you can twist the buckle stalk (the Sienna's seatbelts vary a bit depending on the row, vehicle seat type and seating location). Others have posted about Radian installs in other Toyota models in that same successful install thread, so it's not necessarily Toyota unfriendly. The persistence of the installer also can make a difference as the Radian tends to become easier to install with some persistence and practice.

That said, I've yet to attempt to install our Radian in my '05 Sienna because we bought it to use in DH's car (formerly an '02 Saturn L100 and now an '08 Scion xB), and we use the Regent in the Sienna.