I mean it's a great seat b/c it's a HWH seat, but the overall quality was definitley inferior to a Britax IMO. I mean - what's with having to buy all the extra crap (TONGS in particular) to make it a good seat? Why don't they just sell it with the better TONGS now that they know that the original ones suck? The "belly pad" was pretty ghetto compared to a Britax. The harness seemed so thin to me too.
They know people want and will pay for HWH seats. I'm SOOOOOOO curious to know how much it actually costs them per seat. I know $$ goes to more than *just* the cost of the seat, but still!
Going out on a limb here, because I know lately the thing has been to replace every item possible..
BUT, it is a good seat with the chest clip that comes with it, with the buckle tongues it comes with and with the original buckle strap. The majority of people don't replace any of these items.
And IMO, the original buckle tongues really aren't that bad. I got the larger ones, and have been contemplating for awhile putting the smaller ones back on - I think I prefer the smaller ones now that I've used the larger ones for awhile. I didn't have problems with the smaller ones, but got in on the switching them out band wagon because I was worried about twisting in the buckle tongues.
(I have a britax chest clip sitting here too, but haven't had problems with the one it came with & at this point have pretty much decided to not switch it after all.
)
The straps are a different texture, but aren't twisty and are just as sturdy as my MA straps. Although I do agree the belly pad is a bit of a joke - but at least it has one... aside from the MA, none of the other seats available around here have them.
It isn't a Britax - the cover isn't as plush and it doesn't have built in lock'offs, but it is a good quality seat.
In all honesty, the being made in China thing doesn't worry me. All of the components of the seat have specific standards, the assembly is standardized, and ongoing crash tests are done internally. The Radian isn't the only car seat manufactured in China either....
While there are a lot of things about China that can be worrisome, it's important to know that it's more about the individual factory that's selected and the quality control that's done, then it is about what country a seat is produced in. And when it comes down to it, pretty high likelihood that most seats that are made in the US still contain some components that are made in China. I just don't see it as possible to avoid everything that's made in China, and I don't think that just because something comes from China it's instantly poor quality.
I would be curious to know about the cost of the seat, but then again, how do you factor in the expenses of seat design, pre-production testing, certification expenses, and ongoing product development & confirmation that it continues to meet standards?
When I deal with the Radian, it feels like a $250 seat. When I deal with an EB 3in1, it feels like a $40 piece of crap that sells for $200. :twocents:
