Radian vs Frontier vs. Nautilus

U

Unregistered

Guest

• May 8, 2008

• #1

I finally need to get my oldest son out of the Roundabout. He's 40 inches and 38 lbs. But I'm torn between 3 seats and I'd love your opinion.

Radian vs Frontier vs Nautilus?

I love how skinny the Radian is, but I've heard it can be too tight in the crotch and I'd have to order online (no stores around here seem to carry it, so I can't try him in it).

Frontier and Nautilus both change to a booster which is cool. The Nautilus is cheaper, but we have a grandma willing to buy the seat, so price really doesn't matter

The big thing is that we do need to switch our seats into other cars sometimes. Which is easier to take out and install?

What have you heard? Thanks!
Jacqui

 

firemomof3

New member

• May 8, 2008

• #2

We have the GN and love it. Its very easy to install and switch from car to car. I haven't had any experience with the Radian or Frontier but I'm sure someone else will chime in

 

A

AmRo

New member

• May 8, 2008

• #3

I think the Nautilus is a great option. But we've had one for a few months, so I am favorably biased towards the seat!

The top harness slots are comparable to (if not slightly higher) than the Frontier, so you'll get as much growing room (torso-wise) out of both. It installs like a dream with the lap/shoulder belt in all the cars I've tried it (a Scion xb, a Prius, a Civic, and a Malibu). The harness is super easy to adjust too.

The harness/high back booster has a 6 year expiration, but the low back booster is good for 9 years, so the seat will last for a very long time. It can also be LATCHED (both lower anchors and top tethered) in booster mode to secure the seat into the car - the lap/shoulder belt would of course be restraining the child. My son loves the cup holder and the cubbies. I have been very impressed with the quality and ease of use of the Nautilus.

I just cleaned the cover for the first time last night, and it was super easy to take off and then put back on!

 

BW1426

Well-known member

• May 8, 2008

• #4

I love my Radian. It depends on whether or not you will be installing with LATCH or a seatbelt. The radian can be a tricky install with a seatbelt--there is definately a learning curve to getting a tight install in a timely fashion.

What vehicles will you be swapping the seats in between? And, will you ever need to get 3 seat across in any of the cars?

 

U

Unregistered

Guest

• May 8, 2008

• #5

Thanks! You guys are fast. We'd be swapping usually between my 2004 Explorer and hubby's 2008 Fusion. Someday we might need 3 across, but not for at least 2 years.

I thought you couldn't use LATCH after 40 pounds on the Radian?

 

Heather98012

New member

• May 8, 2008

• #6

My dd is 41.5" & 38 lbs....we found the Radian narrow. It fit her now but left zero growing room.

I didn't like the Nautilus. For the price, it's great....but I just am not a fan of Graco. I thought the harness adjuster was difficult, the fabric seemed like it wouldn't wear well, & overall I thought it was kinda flimsy.

I bought the Frontier today....they JUST arrived today. I was going to buy 2, but they wouldn't give us a discount (only for actual twins...what do they care if I am buying 2 for my dd...one for each car?!). So, we got one. It felt way more substantial than the Nautilus & way more user friendly. Haven't installed it yet, so can't comment on it.

Good luck!!

 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus

Staff member

• May 9, 2008

• #7

Unregistered said:

Thanks! You guys are fast. We'd be swapping usually between my 2004 Explorer and hubby's 2008 Fusion. Someday we might need 3 across, but not for at least 2 years.

I thought you couldn't use LATCH after 40 pounds on the Radian?

Click to expand...

The LATCH weight limit varies by vehicle manufacturer. Your Ford vehicles have a 48 lbs. child weight limit for installing with the lower LATCH anchors according to this chart from the LATCH manual:
http://www.saferidenews.com/pdfs/pg_126_max_wt_07.pdf

Fords are also nice in that they have a 60 lbs. weight limit for the tether anchor. It's also important to note the LATCH manual recommends continuing to use the top tether due to the safety benefit of reduced head excursion - details of the recommendation can be viewed at: http://www.saferidenews.com/html/LATCH_P49.htm The limit for using the lower anchors should absolutely be followed, though, and thus you would need to use a seatbelt installation for kiddos weighing 48 lbs. and up in the Explorer and Fusion.

 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician

• May 9, 2008

• #8

I think I'd go with the Nautilus...easiest to install, way more growing room than the Radian, and actually I've never heard of a complaint with the harness adjuster (the strap between the legs to tighten it... not sure if that's what Heather was saying was bad? I know the harness is a little more challenging to get adjusted up and down inthe shoulders, though).

 

U

Unregistered

Guest

• May 9, 2008

• #9

Sounds like the Nautilus is the way to go. I'll going to BRU to try him in it this weekend and then see what kind of deal I can find online.

 

N

NOAHSMOM

New member

• May 9, 2008

• #10

We bought a Nautilus in Feb. from Burlington and my son likes it and has had no complaints. I recently moved that into his dad's car and bought the one from BRU for my car. He has commented many times about how soft the harness pads and sides are on the new one. It took forever for me to change the crotch strap on the second GN though and it was weird because I had no problem with the first one. The harness adjuster takes no effort at all to tighten and the seat is heavy and sturdy. So far the first GN has shown no wear or tear. I have not experience with a radian or a frontier. In my situation my son needs two seats (joint custody), so I cannot afford $600 for two frontiers so I did not even consider them.

 

Heather98012

New member

• May 9, 2008

• #11

I dunno...maybe the floor model at BRU was broken, but the straps did NOT adjust smoothly at all.

My dh was leaning more towards the GN, due to price (although it's not an issue for us, he's just being cheap...LOL!), but the moment he saw the Frontier in person, he said "This makes the other one look really cheap." So, we bought one Frontier yesterday for my car & are ordering a second one in red for dh's car.

 

bombedier

Senior Community Member

• May 9, 2008

• #12

NOAHSMOM said:

It took forever for me to change the crotch strap on the second GN though and it was weird because I had no problem with the first one.

Click to expand...

I had the same issue with moving the crotch strap on the GN - It took forever and was really difficult on the first. Then I seemed to have found a little trick (don't ask me what it was) which made the second one I installed easier.

 

S

sfeitler

Member

• May 9, 2008

• #13

Heather98012 said:

I dunno...maybe the floor model at BRU was broken, but the straps did NOT adjust smoothly at all.

My dh was leaning more towards the GN, due to price (although it's not an issue for us, he's just being cheap...LOL!), but the moment he saw the Frontier in person, he said "This makes the other one look really cheap." So, we bought one Frontier yesterday for my car & are ordering a second one in red for dh's car.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't be surprised if it the floor model was mis-threaded.

I've had a Snugride, a ComfortSport, a Marathon, a Radian, a Graco Cargo, and a Nautilus. The Nautilus is at least as easy to adjust as the Snugride was. Far easier than a Marathon or Radian. And I don't remember what the CS and Cargo were like.

-Sarah