Convertible Car Seats

[blackberry16]

We are getting ready to move DS from a bucket seat to a convertible car seat. Our friends and the consumer reports I've read recommend Britax and Diono as the safest brands. I'm leaning towards the Diono Radian RTX. Anyone have it? Thoughts? Other car seat brands that you like?

 

[Miscka]

We love our Britax boulevard but a lot of it depends on your vehicles. I googled and found that it was best for our smallish car, and now that we are expecting #2 we actually have to switch to the Diono bc the Britax won't work alongside our bucket infant seat. I believe BRU and BBB will allow you to try seats in your car to see what works. Good luck!

 

[Logan Sapphire]

We have both Radians and Britaxes and I much prefer the Radians- taller shell, which allows rear facing longer and a narrower and lower profile, which makes getting kids in and out much easier. I wish we had just gone with the Radians to begin with.

 

[blackberry16]

We love our Britax boulevard but a lot of it depends on your vehicles. I googled and found that it was best for our smallish car, and now that we are expecting #2 we actually have to switch to the Diono bc the Britax won't work alongside our bucket infant seat. I believe BRU and BBB will allow you to try seats in your car to see what works. Good luck!

Thanks for the tip about BRU, I think we will go over there this weekend and test some out!

 

[blackberry16]

We have both Radians and Britaxes and I much prefer the Radians- taller shell, which allows rear facing longer and a narrower and lower profile, which makes getting kids in and out much easier. I wish we had just gone with the Radians to begin with.

Thats good to know. I believe that a child can use the radian longer than any of the comparable Britaxes so I'm leaning towards it.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

We have both Radians and Britaxes and I much prefer the Radians- taller shell, which allows rear facing longer and a narrower and lower profile, which makes getting kids in and out much easier. I wish we had just gone with the Radians to begin with.

Thats good to know. I believe that a child can use the radian longer than any of the comparable Britaxes so I'm leaning towards it.

You can also use a Diono angle adjuster under the RFing seat, which "props" up the seat and gives the driver or front passenger more room. Another plus is that depending on the model of Radian you get, you can use the Super LATCH for 65 lbs or more. Some people don't feel comfortable with that and just LATCH to their car manufacturer's specs, but it's there as an option.

I will say that the model we have (R100) doesn't have the headwings, which is better for us overall, but has proved to be more of an issue when we take long car trips, b/c there's much less seat for the kids to rest their heads against.

 

[Munchkin]

I posed this question to trustworthy pscope parents a while back, and on their advice purchased 2 Diono Radians for our son. I liked the steel support and more narrow frame. They fit well into both my husbands Corolla and my Outback, but only with a side install. I tried a center install in my car and I thought there was too much wiggle.

In general I like them, although DS (19 mos) disassembled the cup holder in 2.3 seconds and was promptly chewing the metal post. I wish the cup holder weren't removable because he actually likes to use the cup holder on his stroller and high chair. The one on the car seat is apparently just too tempting to pull apart. We used the foam angle thing so we can slide the passenger seat back and his head definitely falls much more forward while sleeping than it did in the bucket. I figure that he will only be rear facing for about 5 more months and then that issue will be null.

In terms of safety/security I am happy.

 

[lliang_chi]

BB, I'm in the same spot you are, baby on the verge of outgrowing the infant car seat. We're going with Diono RXTs in each of our cars. Haven't made the purchase yet, but will soon. I looked at both Britax and the Diono, had the technician put them both in our Civic. I put DS in both of them and that's what sealed it for me. With the Diono he still had a little bit of room to grow with the seat in a rear facing position. With the Britax his feet were already against the back seat and he's only 6 months old. The Britax had a lot of great features, and fantastic reviews and safety ratings. I'd suggest you try putting them in your car and putting your LO in it to see which works best for you.

 

[CDNinNYC]

Have a look at the Clec Foonf. Highly recommended by "The Carseat Lady" here in NYC.

 

[blackberry16]

BB, I'm in the same spot you are, baby on the verge of outgrowing the infant car seat. We're going with Diono RXTs in each of our cars. Haven't made the purchase yet, but will soon. I looked at both Britax and the Diono, had the technician put them both in our Civic. I put DS in both of them and that's what sealed it for me. With the Diono he still had a little bit of room to grow with the seat in a rear facing position. With the Britax his feet were already against the back seat and he's only 6 months old. The Britax had a lot of great features, and fantastic reviews and safety ratings. I'd suggest you try putting them in your car and putting your LO in it to see which works best for you.

We went to BRU today and they didn't carry any Diono car seats but I think we are going to order one anyway. Getting two of them is not really in our budget right now so we are going to get a Cosco for my car. It's safety ratings are almost as high as the more expensive ones. DS will only be in it two times a week for 30 minutes each so I think we will be ok. Plus, my cousin has a Cosco for traveling since she thinks her Diono is too heavy for travel. I take DS out of town five or six times a year so it will be nice to have a car seat that I can handle by myself.

 

[lliang_chi]

BB, lucky you have the option to just buy one. I'd love to only have to spend on the Diono once, but E is in either car equally so to be safe, we really have to buy 2. I haven't thought of buying another seat for travel.... Has anyone heard of using the car rental's seat?

FWIW, Albee Baby is having a sale on Diono and Britax for 25% off. So Dionos are $259.99. I don't know if they ever go on crazy sale.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Check out Kohl's too; they run good deals on Radians. We bought our two using their BOGO 50% off and also got $70 in Kohl's cash.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I have the Britax Boulevard 70CS, however I think we're going to end up ordering a Radian Diono RXT in the next couple of days and use the Britax as our second seat. After looking at pics of kids in the Radian vs. the Britax, the Radian just seems more comfy. And my baby is long. She'll be 7 months this week and hit the 29" mark, so I moved her into the convertible a couple of days ago. Her feet nearly touch the back seat already in the Boulevard.