The Radian Convertible Car Seat...who uses one?

[vermontgirl]

Hi there, 

I am trying to figure out a good carseat situation for my three children (one due May 3) , The Radian looks like a great seat, and it looks slim. 

Does anyone have experience with this seat? I am thinking that I could put my four year old daughter in a forward facing Radian, the newborn in a rear facing Radian and move my almost 7 year old into a backless booster. He is in a huge Britax booster with a back at this point. 

I have a Toyota Camry, which has a slightly roomy backseat and I really don't want to have to get a larger vehicle. 

So my questions are about safety and also why you like the Radian, or why you do not like it. Any better suggestions? 

Thanks!

[greenemami]

I have one that I really like! It has been easy to use and comfy.  My almost 3-year-old is still RF in it with no problem and it has been easy for me to install.  It was expensive, but we needed it for 3 across too and it was the only seat I could find that had even a chance of fitting. 

I did not use the radian for a newborn, so I don't know how that would fit-I think my son was about 1 when we first purchased it. 

If it will fit, I would suggest putting the RF radian in the middle, as that seems to leave the most available room, especially shoulder room where you might have trouble fitting the other two seats next to each other.  I drive a Toyota Matrix, which is probably smaller than the Corolla, but I was not able to fit a booster or other convertible seat well in the middle with the radian outboard.  I never tried it with another radian though, so maybe that would work better? I'd be interested to hear about it!

[sere234]

My 2 yo is in a Radian and I think it might be a good fit for a newborn. You can adjust the straps to fit a pretty tiny kid. I haven't actually tried it but it looks like it would work well!

[nia82]

My tall 4.5 year old DS is rearfacing as well as my nearly 2 year old DD both in Radians. DS has has the older version, the XTSL. DD's newer RXT comes with better fabric and a huge body cushion for newborns. The seats are very slim indeed. If you want to rearface both younger ones, you can easily do so right next to each other. We drive a Siena so space is no issue.

[DahliaRW]

The main issue you'll have with a radian and a newborn is that you have to have the seat reclined to 45 degrees (so the newborn can breathe properly) and it is tall, so it will take up a bunch of room front to back.  You'll want to make sure you can try it out in your car so that you know if that will work or not.  Depending on the year of your camry, it may not be able to touch the front seats (check the airbag and child restraint sections of your car's manual to find out if it can touch or not).

[LeighPF]

The Combi Coccoro is also as narrow as the Radian (we have both) but the front to back footprint is tiny. It also has a great newborn cushion and fit Bee great. Fit my kids RF until past two (36 inches, 35 lb?). Super light weight so we love to travel with it. 

[mama2soren]

Originally Posted by DahliaRW 

The main issue you'll have with a radian and a newborn is that you have to have the seat reclined to 45 degrees (so the newborn can breathe properly) and it is tall, so it will take up a bunch of room front to back.  You'll want to make sure you can try it out in your car so that you know if that will work or not.  Depending on the year of your camry, it may not be able to touch the front seats (check the airbag and child restraint sections of your car's manual to find out if it can touch or not).

Yes to this.  Having the Radian at a newborn angle would likely make one of your front seats unusable.  I'd also recommend looking into the Cocorro for the new baby.  It takes up about as much front to back room as an infant seat, perhaps even less.  While it won't last as long as the Radian (it's much shorter, so outgrown sooner by height), it will last most average sized kids close to 2 years RF.  When it's outgrown, install your middle child's Radian RF at a more upright angle for your youngest and replace her seat with a booster or a narrow FF harnessed seat like the Maestro.

[quantumleap]

We had a newborn in a radian (RXT) in a smallish station wagon without any trouble. Well, without any trouble aside from the fact that the passenger had to sit with knees nearly touching the dashboard! You can get an angle adjuster though (we need to do this!), which is some sort of magical thing that decreases the front to back measurement. We love these seats. Our dd was just recently turned to ff in hers, and only at her request (she's 4, and 30 lbs, so still has lots of rf life, but I thought 4 years was enough). It is super slim! 

[mama2soren]

The angle adjuster is great, especially for smaller cars, but it definitely can't be used with a newborn.  The seat must be at 45*.

[quantumleap]

Ah, there you are with further information! ;) We don't need it for a newborn, but I had no idea you couldn't use it with a wee one, so thanks for that info! I was hoping it was going to be the solution to the OP's queery though.

[Skippy918]

We have the angle adjuster and the package said age 1 and up.

[llwr]

I've been looking into the radian for a newborn as well. 

A couple of things I've come across:  Maybe someone could confirm these?

1.  I seem to be finding that the r100 doesn't come with the infant insert.  Is this true?  And sunshine kids used to sell it separately as Comfy Soft, but it seems as though it's harder to find since they switched to Diono.  My kids are little, so I was hoping to save some money since I really don't need a higher weight limit.

2.  The straps are hard to adjust.  I typically loosen every time because it's so much easier for me to get on and off their shoulders.  So if this is true, it's a concern for me.  Has anyone had this experience?