racesmom
Senior Community Member
I am looking to move my almost 5 y/o out of his Wizards. He's just at or slightly above the top harness setting, 17" torso best I can measure, 46 lbs. His Radian XT arrived today. It took a little work, but installed solid in the center lap belt of my '95 Saturn. My question is about how long ds can realistically use this seat. I know SK says it can be used until the tip of the ears are above the seat back. Has anyone used it that long? Is it comfortable? It looks like the top slots are set in further than the others, so I'm wondering how comfortable that could be with the slots below the shoulders???? Once installed it looks like he only has about half to 3/4" before his shoulders are above the slots, and maybe double that for his ears.
At $280 I need this seat to last as long as possible!
My other dilemma is I have to be able to get three seats across since I do day care. That makes a Regent out of the question. I wasn't thrilled with the GN since the booster doesn't seem very tall, and he'd soon be out of the harness by height. I tried the Frontier (bought for my mom's car) and couldn't get it tight (didn't try *too* hard) and it's pretty wide for three across (maybe do-able, but tough). I also have a teen (15.5) that rides in the rear, if we don't have dc kids, and he sometimes has a friend with him. By keeping Zane in the middle that frees up the shoulder belts. My thoughts are to keep Zane in the center harnessed as long as possible, then use the center Radian for dc kids, and put Zane outboard in a good SIP booster.
Here's a couple pics I snapped tonight. It was getting dark and colder, so I just clicked and we came inside. I'm not sure they accurately show his size, but it'll give you an idea. I can get better pics tomorrow, if needed.
Give me your educated guess on how long he can safely and comfortably use this seat. Thanks so much!!
As a total side note, Rio isn't really red, it's more of a dark magenta.
At $280 I need this seat to last as long as possible!
My other dilemma is I have to be able to get three seats across since I do day care. That makes a Regent out of the question. I wasn't thrilled with the GN since the booster doesn't seem very tall, and he'd soon be out of the harness by height. I tried the Frontier (bought for my mom's car) and couldn't get it tight (didn't try *too* hard) and it's pretty wide for three across (maybe do-able, but tough). I also have a teen (15.5) that rides in the rear, if we don't have dc kids, and he sometimes has a friend with him. By keeping Zane in the middle that frees up the shoulder belts. My thoughts are to keep Zane in the center harnessed as long as possible, then use the center Radian for dc kids, and put Zane outboard in a good SIP booster.
Here's a couple pics I snapped tonight. It was getting dark and colder, so I just clicked and we came inside. I'm not sure they accurately show his size, but it'll give you an idea. I can get better pics tomorrow, if needed.
Give me your educated guess on how long he can safely and comfortably use this seat. Thanks so much!!
As a total side note, Rio isn't really red, it's more of a dark magenta.