Got an e-mail from Russ at SKJP about non removable harness on Radian

Yesterday I e-mailed Russ about the non removable harness on the Radian. I was basically just trying to figure out what would happen if the harness got damaged before expiration since it can't be replaced, and asking if they would be improving the design.

This is what I wrote to him:

Hello!
I have a Radian 65 that will be a year old next month.
I love everything about the Radian except the non
removable harness!

The Radian doesnt expire for 8 years right?
I know at least 1/2 way through it's lifespan (if not
sooner than that) I will want to replace the harness.
In the year I've had it, my daughter has already
thrown up on it twice, plus the every day wear and
tear it gets, and grime in general.

What happens if the harness got damaged and could not
be used anymore (Before the seat is expired)?
Would I just be out of luck and have to buy a new
seat, or does Sunshine Kids replace the whole entire
seat?

When I want to replace the harness, I'd gladly pay for
a new harness, so I'm not trying to get a free seat,
I'm just wondering why the Radian was designed this
way, and if there will be any change in design in the
future?

I do love the Radian a lot, but I think of the non
removable harness system as a major design flaw, I
think that needs to be changed!
The non removable harness is the only thing stopping
me from buying a 2nd Radian for my other child.

Thank You

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This is what he wrote back to me:

Holly,

Thanks for your email. I'm glad that you love your Radian seat so much!
Because of the nature of Radian's extended life, very high capacity and
the extremely high level of performance to which it was designed (see
attached files) we were concerned about the liability of a parent
replacing the harness straps incorrectly. But your point is well taken
and we are looking into that for the future.

I know your seat is only a year old, so if in a couple of years you
decide you really want to replace the harness straps, you can send the
seat back to us and we will do it for you.

FYI - the straps can be cleaned pretty easily with mild soap and water
-
rubbed on the straps and rubbed with clean water to rinse, and even
deodorized with baking soda dissolved in warm water.


Best regards,
Russ

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So, it sounds like if I really want my harness replaced some day, I can, but I have to send it back to them and they will do it for me. That sounds like a lot of work though, and I don't think I'd want to ship the seat more than I'd have to, since ups can be rough with packages.
I hope they really do improve the design in the future.

He also attached this crash test performance thing too, I hope I attached it right.

In the meantime, hope you don't need to drive anwhere WITH your child.

Wait, so we can use mild soap and water on the harness?

mommy2env said:

Wait, so we can use mild soap and water on the harness?

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Thats what I was wondering too, I thought all soaps were a no no.
Yesterday I cleaned my straps with baking soda and water, but I looked in the manual and it also says mild soap and water is ok.

Britax allows "mild soap" and water, as well. It's not like soap is going to eat the straps.

How (or where) is the harness attached to the seat exactly? I've been wondering this...

Namegirl said:

How (or where) is the harness attached to the seat exactly? I've been wondering this...

Click to expand...

I don't have any pics handy right now, but the straps are basically bolted to the plastic seatshell, kind of where the sides meet the bottom of the seat....pretty much the hip/thigh area.

Holly - That pdf file you attached was pretty interesting. You may want to make another thread based on that file alone, as I don't see it on their website anywhere. Might be interesting/useful info for some people who may not otherwise read this thread.

I just took some pics of where the harness attaches at the bottom of the seat (My cover was already off since I just washed it, so I didn't have to strip it down just for this.)

Basically they are just bolted to the bottom sides of the seat.

Thank you so much for the pics!

ccjones said:

Holly - That pdf file you attached was pretty interesting. You may want to make another thread based on that file alone, as I don't see it on their website anywhere. Might be interesting/useful info for some people who may not otherwise read this thread.

Click to expand...

How do I use the same attachment in another post?
I clicked on the little paper clip attachment thing and it wouldnt let me upload it again, and it didn't have anything to click on to use the attachments I already have uploaded.

You should just be able to copy the link (right click on it) and paste it into a new thread. It won't appear as an "attachment", but it should work just the same.

The non replaceable straps is the main thing reason we don't love Radian. It would be a perfect seat for our SN DS but we have to be able to replace straps often. Britax is super easy and has sent us probably a fourth of the straps for free.

I closely examined my short strap radian and I don't believe the harness is actually bolted to the seat. The problem is that the metal plates that the harness is attached to slip into that slot that you see the similar way that you see with buckles that can be repositioned.

The area where the metal plate slips into is so small, that it'd be nigh impossible for a person to manually turn the piece of metal to get it back out of the seat shell.

When I looked at mine, I came to the conclusion the only way to truly replace it would be to cut the strap and then the metal piece from the original harness would remain trapped in that tiny little area, but you'd just slip the metal plate through the hole and turn it sideways to lock it in.

Soooo, my guess is that at the company headquarters or factory or something they're designing a special tool that will allow them to maneuver that metal plate to remove it from that tiny opening.

That's my guess anyways.

And way cool about the NCAP doc that was attached. Based on that diagram, while testing the seat with an 85lb dummy with NCAP standards, it was only 1" over the max allowed excursion for a seat that was top tethered. Considering the additional force and everything that was involved, a smaller child would probably have come in within the tethered standard even though the seat wasn't tethered.

I've always wondered if the purpose of the safestop is to purposefully increase head excursion on smaller kids whose necks may be less able to withstand the increased load that might be applied from a severely reduced initial excursion like the Radian has... these results make me think that's all the more likely the reason for the safestop - and the reason why it's not used when the seat isn't tethered, because it's not needed then. :thumbsup: