Anyone else hate Radian's?

[twins+1]

I'll be quick: Got rid of our Rav4 (long story), just got a 2011 Camry. We have two Radian 65sl's and a Chicco 35. All three seats fit with great ease. Except we hate how hard it is to tighten the Radian's. The wife can't even tighten them up. We have taken them out and checked for any obstructions and found nothing. Are the Radian's normally this trouble some or am I just weak?

We have until the end of Jan. to send the Radian's back to Amazon. Anyone know of any other seats that would fit our needs. The twins' are 2-1/2, 35lbs, and just under 40inches tall. Again fit in a 2011 Camry. Thanks again in advance!!

 

[firemomof3]

To tighten the Radians, its a rachet system. So, the easiest way to tighten it is to put your child in the harness, do up the chest clip and then tug-release-tug until it looks like it will be snug and THEN do up the crotch buckle. Make sense?

 

[SignCuer]

I have the Radian 65SL and what I do when they are RF (are urs RF or FF?), after buckling the kid in, reach back to the harness and pull both together until it's snug then pull the adjuster while holding the slack (make sense?) It becomes one smooth tug instead of tug-tug-tug..

While FF, I just adjust once and don't touch it again

 

[cpsaddict]

Yep, that is the exact reason I hate the Radian. I am used to ratcheting adjusters, as that is what is on my older Britax, but the Radian adjuster is so, so, so much harder. If they are rf, you can pull the straps from the back to tighten, but if they are FF, there is not much you can do. I know that one member here had a Keyfit, ff Britax Roundabout 50(may have been the FPSVD, but same shell) and a Radian. You may be able to make d with just one Radian and another different seat.

 

[safeinthecar]

Just as a side note, the weight limit of the Chicco is 30#, not 35#.

 

[jess71903]

ME! I hate my Radian, too, and plan to get rid of it soon. I bet a Complete Air or 2 would work for you if you don't want to mess with the Radians.

 

[cookie123]

Me! I hate the harness adjuster, plus the fact that I can't get a good ff install in my car. And the fact that I can't get a very upright install. I need the skinny part of it though. And in a couple of lbs that will be gone. Matt has almost reached the rf weight limit.

 

[Patriot201]

:shrug-shoulders:I LOVE my Radian. I don't find it difficult to tighten at all. The only complaint I have about it is that the damn stickers won't stay on.

 

[Dillipop]

With my radian, I find it hard to tighten if I pull straight out or up. If I pull it straight to the floor, I don't have any problems getting it tight on the first pull. Rfing with most seats, I find that I have to pull out the slack from behind and hold it tight before pulling the adjuster. The radian is no different.

Good luck!

 

[dawnp15]

Mine is a love/hate relationship i guess you could say. There are many things i love about it and many things i hate about it. I think i tolerate the things i hate because i can't afford other seats right now, and they will keep my kids RFing the longest. I dont seem to have the issue's with my harness adjusters, it's other things like the rfing recline ect....

 

[pepsicola]

I would go to Babies R Us and try the Safety 1st Complete Air before sending back the Radians. You could also try the Evenflo Maestro (ff only), that would probably be too wide for your 3 across but maybe worth a shot anyways.

 

[Holly]

I know that one member here had a Keyfit, ff Britax Roundabout 50(may have been the FPSVD, but same shell) and a Radian. You may be able to make d with just one Radian and another different seat.

That was probably me. When my 3rd was born, we had a radian, fpsvd, and a keyfit. Pics of different set up's are here (thats my car and my car seats, but the tech who helped me posted them) http://www.car-seat.org/showpost.php?p=534399&postcount=160

I couldn't have used any other infant seat, anything else was too wide.
Also, when it was time for the baby to move to a convertible, we chose to go with a 2nd radian and give the baby the fpsvd, but now he has a RA50 (same shell though, same size etc). We could have had 1 radian and 2 Britax seats (marathons, roundabout 50's, etc) but the Britax seats aren't my favorite for ffing because of the huge base and it's easier for my kids to climb in themselves with the low profile of the radian (that and I wanted both of my girls in the same seats to reduce fighting over which seat they get to sit in).

For me, to do 3 across in my car, I HAVE to have at least 1 radian. I don't see fitting 3 seats back there without at least 1. If I wanted to try something else, I'd maybe try the complete air's, they seem like they could be narrow enough, but I've never tried them so I don't know.

I haven't had too much trouble tightening my radians, I pull down, like I'm pulling to the floor, like someone else mentioned, and I also have to do the pull release, pull, release thing until they are tight.

 

[emandbri]

I do wish the adjuster was easier but I don't adjust the straps very often so I'm okay with it.

 

[cookie123]

Yeah, I've given in on adjusting the harness. I just leave it. Matt puts it on and does the chest clip and I do the buckle and we're good to go.

 

[DahliaRW]

I agree that you tighten while unbuckled. Way easier.

I honestly loved my radian in my outback. HATED it in my Sienna. Won't buy another one until they fix the rfing recline issue, which is probably never.

 

[twins+1]

Thanks for all the tips. We are leaving the lower buckle undone and are just adjusting with the chest clip buckled. This works awesome, it seems if everything is buckled and then you tighten, the two buckles are working against each other. Frustration... but it will work.