Sell Me Your Carseat Please!!!! (Big Babe)

[BabySmurf]

DS is almost 1 and 30 lbs, he is also fairly tall (longer torso, rather than longer legs), and is going to outgrow his seat relatively soon.  I'm not sure exactly how tall he is, but he will be too tall for the Britax 55 we have within a few months for sure.  I would like to keep him rear facing for as long as possible (or feasible). 

What do you use? Why do you like it? How big is your babe? Help!

TIA!

[ashleyhaugh]

i know the radian has a tall shell, and rearfaces to 45lbs...my sister had one, and they loved it, until her car got stolen, lol.

i've been off line for a while, and my ds is forward facing already, so im not sure if any new high weight seats have come out recently.

[wehrli]

I just did a bunch of research on convertible careseats and i'm pretty sure the Diono (formerly Sunshine Kids) Radian is the only one with the 45lbs RF weight limit, I don't think there's anything higher than that. but I think there are some others that are up to 40lbs... but I don't think those are as high on the height limits... i've got a tall 7 month old, so I was specifically looking for a high height requirement along with a heavy weight limit to maximize RF for our DS.

found a Radian XTSL on amazon(.)com for $220 free shipping, too! it's arriving today!!!

[BabySmurf]

sounds like exactly what we need!

[ashleyhaugh]

see, ive been offline so long, i didnt even know sunshine kids had changed their name, lol

[BabySmurf]

Originally Posted by ashleyhaugh 

see, ive been offline so long, i didnt even know sunshine kids had changed their name, lol

I actually found it under both names - one was about 280 the other is 220...so I'm not sure what's going on with it, lol!

Originally Posted by wehrli 

I just did a bunch of research on convertible careseats and i'm pretty sure the Diono (formerly Sunshine Kids) Radian is the only one with the 45lbs RF weight limit, I don't think there's anything higher than that. but I think there are some others that are up to 40lbs... but I don't think those are as high on the height limits... i've got a tall 7 month old, so I was specifically looking for a high height requirement along with a heavy weight limit to maximize RF for our DS.
found a Radian XTSL on amazon(.)com for $220 free shipping, too! it's arriving today!!!

I've seen a few negative reviews about their super latch system...can you let me know if you get it to hook in right??
 

[redpajama]

We have a Radian XTSL that my 2-year-old (30ish pounds) rear-faces in.  I drive a Honda Odyssey, and the super-latch was loosening on its own, so we don't use it anymore (just use the seatbelt to belt it in).  My 4-year-old (5 in a few weeks) is forward-facing in a Safety 1st Complete Air.  It rear-faces to 40 pounds.  

I actually like the Complete Air better, I think, and I don't think the 5 pounds is all that big of a deal.  My average-sized almost-5-year-old only recently reached 40 pounds, and my 6.75-year-old weighs 46 pounds.  Even my 2-year-old, who was 28 pounds at 1 year, was only 30 pounds on her 2nd birthday, so a 40 pound RF limit would be fine for us.

I have a 4-week-old who is currently riding in a infant seat (carrier style), and I think we'll likely pick up another Complete Air for her when she outgrows the infant seat.

[BabySmurf]

Originally Posted by redpajama 

We have a Radian XTSL that my 2-year-old (30ish pounds) rear-faces in.  I drive a Honda Odyssey, and the super-latch was loosening on its own, so we don't use it anymore (just use the seatbelt to belt it in).  My 4-year-old (5 in a few weeks) is forward-facing in a Safety 1st Complete Air.  It rear-faces to 40 pounds.  

I actually like the Complete Air better, I think, and I don't think the 5 pounds is all that big of a deal.  My average-sized almost-5-year-old only recently reached 40 pounds, and my 6.75-year-old weighs 46 pounds.  Even my 2-year-old, who was 28 pounds at 1 year, was only 30 pounds on her 2nd birthday, so a 40 pound RF limit would be fine for us.

I have a 4-week-old who is currently riding in a infant seat (carrier style), and I think we'll likely pick up another Complete Air for her when she outgrows the infant seat.

Thanks for the input! I don't think that it's possible for DS to keep gaining the way he has been, lol! So I don't think the 5 pounds is a huge difference either- it's the height that I am most concerned with....and safe straps, lol! i have an older highlander, and terrible luck, so even things that are supposed to be easy are hard.  I'll definitely look into the Complete Air too!

[wehrli]

super-latch: so far, so good... but it's only been a couple of days. I'll keep an eye on it and post if there's trouble down the line.

[BabySmurf]

Thanks :)

[Ola_]

We have a Radian too (plus a couple of other seats that are our "travel seats") and I love it.  It's very comfy, nice and tall like others have said - which may be needed if DD takes after my height (I'm 6' tall).  The only thing is that because it's nice and tall you need a good amount of space to install it rear-facing - we put it in the middle position so it has extra room between the back of the front seats (hope that makes sense), or you can move one of the front seats forward to get it to fit (i.e. if you have more than one RF seat).  Our car doesn't have latch so we use a lap/shoulder belt for our install and it's in there pretty solid.  Took a bit of time the first time (that was also our first ever attempt to install a carseat though!) so don't plan to do it in a rush or anything.

[BabySmurf]

Originally Posted by Ola_ 

We have a Radian too (plus a couple of other seats that are our "travel seats") and I love it.  It's very comfy, nice and tall like others have said - which may be needed if DD takes after my height (I'm 6' tall).  The only thing is that because it's nice and tall you need a good amount of space to install it rear-facing - we put it in the middle position so it has extra room between the back of the front seats (hope that makes sense), or you can move one of the front seats forward to get it to fit (i.e. if you have more than one RF seat).  Our car doesn't have latch so we use a lap/shoulder belt for our install and it's in there pretty solid.  Took a bit of time the first time (that was also our first ever attempt to install a carseat though!) so don't plan to do it in a rush or anything.

That's good to know about the size! We would be able to have it in the middle position, so it should be okay,but definitely something to keep in mind!!
 

[IzzyTheTerrible]

Evenflo Symphony 65!!

It's amazing.  It's rear facing to 40 pounds or until they grow out of it.    It's extremely comfortable for him with plenty of leg room rear facing which is one of the reasons we got it.    There's tons of removeable cushions and the headrest extends so that it's not needlessly bulky rear-facing, so it's still good for a smaller vehicle.    It's a cinch to adjust and took my husband and I less than 5 minutes to open, adjust and install it (Babe in hand!). 

It then switches to forward facing up to 65 pounds, and then a booster up to 100 lbs (without having to change anything except that you use the seat belt rather than the harness).

The cover is completely washable.  The side impact head protectors are squishy and not at all "blinding."  It's super easy to get him in and out of, and really easy to adjust as needed.   Worth every penny!

[BabySmurf]

Originally Posted by IzzyTheTerrible 

Evenflo Symphony 65!!

It's amazing.  It's rear facing to 40 pounds or until they grow out of it.    It's extremely comfortable for him with plenty of leg room rear facing which is one of the reasons we got it.    There's tons of removeable cushions and the headrest extends so that it's not needlessly bulky rear-facing, so it's still good for a smaller vehicle.    It's a cinch to adjust and took my husband and I less than 5 minutes to open, adjust and install it (Babe in hand!). 

It then switches to forward facing up to 65 pounds, and then a booster up to 100 lbs (without having to change anything except that you use the seat belt rather than the harness).

The cover is completely washable.  The side impact head protectors are squishy and not at all "blinding."  It's super easy to get him in and out of, and really easy to adjust as needed.   Worth every penny!

you sell this one well!
 

[Maedze]

The Evenflo Symphony 65 is a reasonable seat, but it won't last as long by height in rear facing mode as may be needed by a tall child, and definitely is not the only seat you'll ever need (kids outgrow the booster by height several years before they're safe to be in a seatbelt alone.)  Not that there's anything wrong with having to buy another seat, just a lot of parents aren't aware of the limitations of so-called three-in-ones. 

For such a big kid, my first choice would definitely be the Radians with the 45 lb rear facing maximum.

[BabySmurf]

Originally Posted by Maedze 

The Evenflo Symphony 65 is a reasonable seat, but it won't last as long by height in rear facing mode as may be needed by a tall child, and definitely is not the only seat you'll ever need (kids outgrow the booster by height several years before they're safe to be in a seatbelt alone.)  Not that there's anything wrong with having to buy another seat, just a lot of parents aren't aware of the limitations of so-called three-in-ones. 

For such a big kid, my first choice would definitely be the Radians with the 45 lb rear facing maximum.

thanks! this is kind of what i have been finding as i've been searching online...i think my best bet is to see how long i can keep him in the one i have, and go from there.  i bought the one i have knowing that he would probably grow out of it much before he "should" have, but my old car was small, and he outgrew his infant seat... he really CAN"T keep growing at this rate, right!!!??