RF in Radian for how long?

[AislinCarys]

I was hoping for some help from some of you who have experience with the Sunshine Radian (I've got several friends who've got it, but, as it has only been in the country for 2 years or so, nobody with an older child).

We've got a Brio Zento, when DD was born, the only carseat in NZ that rf past 12 kg (26.5 lb)! Unfortunately, she is now 3, and 5 cm (2 inches) from the top of the shell.

So we're hoping to sell the Brio Zento, and looking at the Radian. We tried DD in it today, and tried it in the car at the shop. There aren't really any car seat techs here, just sales people, and they know very little about car seats. So it seems the top slots are quite a bit higher than the top slots on the Brio Zento. And I think the shell is about 7 cm taller (not counting the insert thingy on top - the salesperson told us that that can be extended and it counts to the top of that - is that really correct?). DD wasn't really cooperating, so it was hard to see how much shell was left above her head exactly, but it seemed to be at least twice as much in the Brio, possibly three times as much, not counting the thingy on top.

The Brio Zento's shell is 22.5 inches, The Radian 25 inches. DD is only barely 95 cm (95 cm=37.4 inches), and very much proportional. (Brio Zento is supposed to last 'til about 110 cm, I know it doesn't really matter, but t matters in comparison with the Radian, which is supposed to last 'til about 125 cm).

So with a child who is slightly below average height, for a girl, and very proportional, but at below 95 cm has grown out of the Brio Zento, how long might the Radian work for us? DD has followed her curve, just below the 50th percentile, since she was 6 months old, by the way.

Also, the salesperson told us that once DD has grown out of the Radian, we can turn it forward and use it as a booster, and then it doesn't matter if she is taller than the shell. Is this true?

Would be grateful for any help!

[indie]

Unless the Radian is different there, no, you can't use it as a booster. My oldest daughter forward faced in the Radian at age 6 and she is taller than average. My five year old daughter could still rear face in our Radian XTSL (the one that goes to 45 pounds) except I moved her brother into it.

I think you'll need to consider weight for than height for how long it will last rear facing.

[AislinCarys]

Weight is really not an issue as our DD is very light-weight, she weighs about 13 kg (28.7 lb)!

The Radian is imported from the US (NZ tests no car seats, they accept American-tested, EU-tested & Australian-tested seats). It is the Radian XTSL.
Edited by AislinCarys - 4/22/11 at 7:30pm

[alegna]

I am pretty sure the radian would have lasted my dd to well past 4 rf.  Probably to 5yrs old.  Once ff they can use it until the tops of their ears are even with the top of the shell OR they outgrow the strap height.  Standard strap height ff is considered outgrown when their shoulders are higher than the straps.  The radian allows use until the shoulders are an inch above the strap slots- some parents are comfortable with that, some aren't. 

Try installing it in your car before you buy it.  It can be a tricky (or impossible) install.

Hope that helps!

-Angela

[an_aurora]

The wings on the Radian don't go above the shell, so what you see is what you get.  

Doesn't the Brio Zento allow the child's ears to be even with the shell RF?  Most Euro seats allow that versus the inch of hard shell rule that US seats have.  Definitely look in the manual; if that is the case, you'd have more room in the Zento than in the Radian.

With the Radian, you cannot use it as a booster.  It does have nice tall top slots but if you get a model with wings, you really can't use the seat much above the top slots, since the shoulders will run into the wings and be cramped.  

[leighi123]

My ds is 36" or so tall, and 26lbs, and he has a good 6" of shell above his head.   Thats 5" to grow, which is 10" or more in overall height growth.   With his rate of growth, he will be RF for a loooong time.  

It does turn forward facing and makes a harnessed forward facing seat (my version goes to 80lbs), but it does not make a booster (a booster is a seat where you use the car's seatbelt to restrain the child, the booster just positions them)

[MariesMama]

My DD is 3 and 41", above the 97th percentile for height, and she still has a LONG way to go RF in the Radian.  I prefer the 80SL over the XTSL, and I have both seats.  I'm not a huge fan of the headwings.

Be aware that the Superlatch is not really compatible with all vehicles.  You may have to use a seatbelt to get a secure installation in your car.

[AislinCarys]

Thanks all.



I've been checking on the Swedish sites (in Swedish, but I'm Swedish, anyway), and can't find any evidence of this "until the ears are level with the top of the shell" with Scandinavian seats, except posts on internet forums, several of them claiming to have been told that in the shop (so were we a year ago, in Sweden, I just assumed they were confusing rf with ff rules - they also insisted it was fine to use the Acta Graco Duflex, which only rf and is a booster ff, on an aeroplane ).

I've checked the manual, but it is very sparse with info about how to fit the child in it, so I e-mailed Brio for their recommendations. Hope to hear back from them after the holidays. DD is less than 2 inches from the top of the shell now, and we'd really like her to rf for another couple of years, if only possible. She's really quite small for her age (she's generally considered tall, but that is just because she's so slight/skinny). If we could choose we'd have her rear-facing to about age 7, and then put her in a good high back booster, provided she sits well in it.

an_aurora mentioned the wings (head rest?) on the Radian, and that they'd be in the way of the shoulders, which would limit the length of use. We didn't notice that when we tried it, and I thought the head rest moved higher, but might have got that wrong. This trouble with the wings and shoulders, is this common? I hadn't heard that before.
Edited by AislinCarys - 4/24/11 at 3:03pm