Transition from 5-point to booster

[sewaneecook]

DS1 just turned 5 at the end of June and he also recently had a growth spurt.  He's not tall for his age, but I think his torso is long for his height and he's nearly outgrown the 5-point harness on the Radian XT that we have.  I don't want to take him out of the harness, but it's obviously not safe if he's too tall for it.  What Booster would be a good fit?  Or could he use the Radian as a booster?

[cameragirl]

Britax makes boosters with 5-point harnesses that are good up to 100 lbs. We chose to go that way because I feel safer with her in a harness. We've got firefighters in the family, and they highly recommend Britax. The cost is higher, but the seat will last her a very long time.

[sewaneecook]

I had thought that the Radian was going to last us since he's not that big.  Do you know the height restriction on the Britax boosters?  Before I knew any better I turned him to FF at 2 because he outgrew the height of his seat for RF.  I had thought this was going to be the last seat I had to buy him since he was still well under the weight limit (he's just over 40 lbs.).  I will buy him a new seat if it's necessary, but I really want it to last more than a couple years like his first 2!

[sewaneecook]

I just looked on the Britax website and realized they have a GREAT feature that tells the seat's seated to shoulder height limit (which is much more telling than just general height!).  I bought the more expensive Radian because it fit to 80 pounds with a 5-point harness.  Now I'm very frustrated because the cheaper MyRide65 (DS's car seat in DH's car) has a full 2 more inches of the seated shoulder height.  I wish all websites had this information on each car seat to get a better idea of how long it will last.  I guess we'll be swapping the car seats in our cars once he outgrows the Radian height. 

What difference does the 80 pound limit make if the height will be outgrown LONG before then?  So very frustrating.

[Maedze]

Whoa...no, they do not!  The Britax Frontier 85 harnesses to 85 lbs, and that is the highest harnessed weight of any commercially available Britax harnessed seat (it works as a booster to 120 lbs).

However, seats are outgrown by height as well as weight, and most kids will outgrow the Frontier 85 well before they reach 85 pounds or anything even close to it.

If you have the old style Britax Frontier, be aware that the harness only goes to 80 pounds, and the top harness height is a good two inches shorter than the 85.

As an aside, firefighters do not know anything more about child passenger safety than the general public, and Britax brand is no safer than any other brand.   There's nothing *wrong* with Britax products, but they aren't 'better' than other seats. 

Originally Posted by cameragirl 

Britax makes boosters with 5-point harnesses that are good up to 100 lbs. We chose to go that way because I feel safer with her in a harness. We've got firefighters in the family, and they highly recommend Britax. The cost is higher, but the seat will last her a very long time.

[Maedze]

The My Ride does not have a 2" more on the Radian.  In fact, the top My Ride position is probably about 3/4" of an inch LESS than the Radian. 

If it's helpful to you, the Radian (unlike other seats) allows you to continue to use the five point harness feature *over* the top slots as long as the child's weight is within the weight limits, the tops of the child's ears are below the top of the shell, and the child's height is under 53". 

You absolutely CANNOT use the Radian as a booster.  It is a harnessed seat only.  

If you wish to buy a new seat to keep him harnessed longer, the Britax Frontier 85, the Recaro Prosport and the Graco Nautilus are all options, and they all convert to decent boosters.

Harnessed seats in general tend to have inflated weight limits.   This is partially to avoid a seat that catastrophically fails one pound over a 'realistic' weight limit, and partially a nod to the obesity crisis.  Unfortunately, there *are* 65 pound four year olds out there, who need harnessed seats. 

Originally Posted by sewaneecook 

I just looked on the Britax website and realized they have a GREAT feature that tells the seat's seated to shoulder height limit (which is much more telling than just general height!).  I bought the more expensive Radian because it fit to 80 pounds with a 5-point harness.  Now I'm very frustrated because the cheaper MyRide65 (DS's car seat in DH's car) has a full 2 more inches of the seated shoulder height.  I wish all websites had this information on each car seat to get a better idea of how long it will last.  I guess we'll be swapping the car seats in our cars once he outgrows the Radian height. 

What difference does the 80 pound limit make if the height will be outgrown LONG before then?  So very frustrating.

[chickabiddy]

Maezde is, of course, correct that there are no seats (except special needs seats in the $1000 range) that harness to 100#.  (And physically and developmentally typical kids would not need to or benefit from harnessing to 100#, anyhow.)
 

Originally Posted by sewaneecook

What difference does the 80 pound limit make if the height will be outgrown LONG before then?  So very frustrating.

The 80# limit is misleading and unnecessary, IMO, but the 80# seats also rear-face to 45#, which might be a reason to purchase a Radian 80SL or XTSL instead of the 65SL.

[sewaneecook]

I did call Radian yesterday and found out that the shoulders can be above the highest point (they are the only seat where this is allowed, I think).  I also found out from that conversation that there is another notch that part of the headrest is covering, so there is a taller slot for him. 

[chickabiddy]

Oh, that makes sense that you were missing a slot, because a MyRide is *definitely* not 2" taller than a Radian!