Seat shopping again; something for my 2nd child. Wife hates our XTSL.

[Dave88LX]

I posted up a bit over a year ago looking for something for my first daughter who was growing out of her Chicco Keyfit seat. After quite a bit of reading and talking to you kind people, I decided on the SunshineKids Radian XTSL.

I originally did NOT like the seat very much at all until I figured out the 'tug tug tug' tightening method, which is completely different from pretty much any other car seat I'd used or played with previously. 'Tug tug tug' works much better with a rear-facing seat since you can pull the straps tight on your own.
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=120513

My wife is not having so much luck with it, always a struggle, difficult to tighten, and I'm not even sure anymore the locking mechanism is working like it should. I see where she's coming from, as I'm having difficulty with it myself. I've written to SunshineKids about it.

Coming up on needing another pair of seats, I'm a bit hesitant to drop another $450-$600 (depending on what deals can be found) on an RXT. Just finished reading the 13 page RXT thread but nothing about it sold me on the seat.

My thread from the last time.
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=115494

So, here we are again.

 

[SusanMae]

Are you planning on keeping your daughter rear facing to the limits of whatever?

I really liked our Graco MyRide. It was used daily RF with our nearly 3 yr old until I crashed it Monday.

Susan

 

[Dave88LX]

Hi Susan,

Had our first daughter RF a bit past 2 years old, and do plan the same with our second.

Wife's car has rear captain chairs (Mazda 5), and my truck is a Dodge Mega Cab, so we've got plenty of room in both.

 

[Patriot201]

If you liked the RNXTSL well enough RF, could you use it RF for your second child and get something like the Nautilus or Frontier XT for the older child, since she is already FF?

 

[Dave88LX]

That's an option. I need to figure out what's wrong with the XTSL in my wife's car though.

Looked at the MyRide today, I wasn't a fan of the tightening mechanism nor was my wife.

Looked at the EvenFlo Symphony 65. Too much going on with that seat. The adjustable shoulder height with no 'set' position kept wanting to move around, and the pull-through-bottom was awkward.

Everything felt right with the Britax Marathon to include the tightening mechanism. Didn't get to try the other 2 higher-priced Britax as my daughter was getting cranky.

Looked at the Graco SmartSeat. Liked the mechanism on it, but everything seemed so busy almost like a Transformer or something. Don't think I need something with a detachable base like it has.

 

[SusanMae]

The Graco is a smooth adjustor...just a solid pull.

The Evenflo seats...the tabs won't move up or down when a child is in the seat and the harness is tightened properly. You may like the knobs on the trimuph advance if you don't like the pull straps on other seats.

The Britax seats have a tug tug tug mechanism too.

Susan

 

[cpsaddict]

The new generation Britax seats have smooth pull adjusters. I have the Marathon 70 and love it. It's super easy to install and use. I used an XTSL and I agree with your wife. LOL! I hated it.

 

[cookie123]

I hated the harness adjuster on the Radian, too. For awhile I did the - pull it tight from the back first, then pull the adjuster strap - manuever. That helped but honestly what worked the best was just leaving it. Matthew got so he could just put the harness on himself and do up the chest clip and I did the buckle. At the end he could do it all himself. No harness adjusting at all. Well, this is the way we still do it, but ff. He outgrew the rf weight limit.

 

[Keeanh]

If you like the Marathon, go for it.

I'm probably gonna get rotten tomatoes thrown at me for this, but I loved the True Fit rear-facing. I had the regular one, which a lot of people despise adjusting rear-facing. But I found it really easy and the nicest of all my seats. I've never owned a Britax convertible, though.

 

[jourdysmom]

I also love the TrueFit both RF and FF. Fits babies from newborn up, removable headrest for RF up to 22lbs for more room...

Easy to remove cover without even uninstalling the seat in case of a mess in it.

 

[NVMBR02]

If you liked the RNXTSL well enough RF, could you use it RF for your second child and get something like the Nautilus or Frontier XT for the older child, since she is already FF?

Also you could put both RNXTSLs in your car (one RFing and one FFing). Then get new seats for your wife's car. I love our Frontier85 but the Nautilus is very nice too.

I think the Graco Myride has the easiest adjuster of any of the seats I currently own. I have a boulevard 70 too and it works okay, easier than the XTSL I have but the Myride is still easier.

 

[TXDani]

I have my 7 month old in a Recaro ProRide and it has a smooth adjuster. I have really fallen in love with his seat after putting it in my car permanently a few weeks ago.

 

[Dave88LX]

RE: Recaro ProRide...I have read on here that it's a reworked Signo, with the same narrow and shallow leg dimensions. Did you find this to be true?

Good point on taking both the XTSL's for my truck. If my wife can't adjust it properly, she's better off not having it in her car. Still need to talk with SK about it. I did some messing around with it, and it's not working like it should be.

 

[ks227]

The current Britax convertibles have a very smooth harness adjuster. The straps are also very non-twisty, which I freely admit I've been spoiled by.

We liked my Boulevard 70 so much that DH got one for his car and my parents got a Marathon 70 for when DD rides with them. My FIL has a Symphony 65 and the harness adjustment is different re: where the slack is pulled through, so it feels really weird to strap DD into the seat. I do like the Symphony - it's just different.

 

[NVMBR02]

Good point on taking both the XTSL's for my truck. If my wife can't adjust it properly, she's better off not having it in her car. Still need to talk with SK about it. I did some messing around with it, and it's not working like it should be.

Yep, I would call Diono (formally known as Sunshine Kids) about the adjuster. If there is nothing caught it could be the adjuster just got gummed up somehow. I am not sure if you allow food/drinks in your car. We don't generally but the adjuster on one of my Radians wasn't working right but I gave it a slightly more forceful pull and now it is working fine again, I am fairly certain there was just some gunk built up. Another member of the board had a similar problem with her Radian, I know she called Diono, but I am not sure what the resolution was.

 

[tanusscott22]

I'm going all in with TF rec. I love them so much I have a TF, two TFP, and the TFVia infant carrier. Sure it's only got a 35# rf limit, but the snap off cover, belt lock offs, no rethread harness height adjustment, and removeable headrest, are all AWESOME. My 2 1/2 year old is only 27lbs, so the 35# weight limit works for us.

 

[Dave88LX]

Nah I don't let them eat in the cars. Well, I don't; I can't speak for what my wife does. I spoke with Diono. They said if it's locking and not slipping then it's not a safety concern, and being over a year old it's out of warranty so they can't really do anything that way. They did offer to give me 25% off the new seats and a discount on the shipping though. I'm just going to take it apart I guess and see if I can get it fixed myself. PITA. I will probably just pick one up for myself, and get my wife the Britax somethingorother, I haven't looked at them all yet.

 

[mcrmama]

One of my Radians was having trouble adjusting for a bit. I just took it out of the car and fiddled and got it moving smoothly again. Other than that I have not had any issues adjusting it. I adjust it regularly and find it works well. That being said, I just got a Marathon 65 for our new van as I'd heard the Radian didn't install well in the position I wanted my son, and I was amazed how easy it was to install. We went for a ride last night to try it out and my 18 month old fell asleep in it. I guess he liked it.

 

[Dave88LX]

Well I'm at a slight crossroad here. More than likely going to end up with a Britax Boulevard CS for my wife's car.

For mine, I see the XTSL's for sale at JustKidsStore for $220. Speaking to Diono and due to the issues I have with my current XTSL, they offered 25% off a new RXT, so that would most likely be $340 (MSRP) - 25% = $255.

XTSL for $220 or RXT for $255 + ship. Hmmm.

 

[cupcakepirate11]

the new britax's are all the same minus the headwings,

I ended up getting a marathon myself instead of a boulevard since they are basically the same seat.
i LOVE my cowmoo seat it has been installed in many many cars and has never had an issue! I am not a huge fan of the adjuster i pull the back of the harness and then the strap much faster