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Sunshine Kids Radian. Posted by Snowmobile [Email]  (#686)  [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Snowmobile) on Thu, 13 Jun 2013 03:00:21
In Reply to: Question to the parents here. Which baby car seat?, Pyrrhic   [Profile/Gallery]
, Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:34:01
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First off, if you only have 1 car seat in the car and it is rear facing, put it in the middle. If it is tall, it's going to be a pain in the neck, but the middle of the back seat is the safest part of the car. Also, you may find that even a tall baby seat nests *between* the 2 front seats. Note also that there is no requirement to actually use "latch". It is only safer in that it is easier for people to use (so statistically safer because statistically fewer people screw up the install - don't do that).
Another tip is if to have the front seat backs fairly vertical (ie not very reclined) if you are comfortable with that. I'm 6'1" and had minimal trouble with rear facing car seats, but I have my seat low with the back set more like a desk chair than a lazyboy.
It looks like you are from Germany. Many here are from North America so your rules may be different! Here we are rear facing from birth to about 1 year. Few kids stay rear facing longer. I know the Swedes would like them rear facing until 5 years or something. It is safer in an ideal world, but completely impractical imho. So from the North American perspective, start with a bucket until they are too big for that. Way easier to manage than a big seat. Ours outgrew those in 6 months. Then we got a seat to last to a booster (about 5 years). The time rear facing between 6 months and 12 months will be unpleasant (in terms of the car seat, especially if it is tall). My advice is suck it up, it's only a few months, kids grow up fast! enjoy it! if you want something specific for 6-12months, and then resell look for the shortest car seats. Eg Britax makes Marathon (as a tall seat) and something else 3" shorter (I forget the names right now)...
In terms of choosing a seat for 6months - 5 years, if you only plan on having 1 kid, all of this matters less. Once you have 2 or 3, it makes all the difference... Width is a far bigger problem than height! We started off with a Britax Marathon and it is safe but huge (wide). When our second child arrived we sold the marathon and bought a radian. It is at least as safe as the marathon, but narrow enough that we can fit 3 across the back of a c900 (narrower than the 9-5). Or 2 and a reasonably comfortable adult. This is very useful!
The other advantage the radian has over the marathon is the useful age range. Here, they are both rated for up to 65lbs (in USA, 80lbs both), but the radian sits lower and has a taller back so it can accommodate a larger child. The car seats with 5 point harness are safer than boosters (as long as they fit), so it is good to keep them in the 5pt as long as you can manage. My oldest is 7 now, tall for his age but still not 65 lbs, and in a pinch (eg forgot booster) still fits in the radian. There is no way he would fit in a marathon even 2 years ago (tried this in a friend's car). Basically marathon works very well for fat younger kids in minivans or SUVs... so perfect for many North American families! (but not for us)...
One other thing I like about the radian vs other seats is it has a steel frame (vs plastic) so it should last longer (before expiry) and also it will actually fold for travel... one downside is it is heavy... also fairly expensive (same as marathon), but both are worth the cost vs the cheapo seats...
in terms of fitment in the 9-5, the centerlines of the outer seats in the 9-5 are more inward from the doors than in the c900. As a result there is probably 5-6" of gap between the side of the radian and the door. In the c900 it is more like 2-3". As a result, the middle position in both cars is about the same width with car seats installed (c900 is a narrower car). This gap makes the 9-5 safer in a side impact. A marathon will fit better in a 9-5 than a c900, however, it will encroach more into the middle than the radian. I have sat between a marathon + booster in the back of a friend's Jeep Grand Cherokee (huge back seat) on a 4 hour drive and it was torture (and I'm skinny).
We currently have a britax parkway booster (for 7 year old) and a radian (for 4 year old) in our 9-5 and the same setup in a c900 and regularly take an adult in the middle of both cars.
(interestingly, when it comes time to get a booster (5years+), Britax Parkway is narrower and fits well... the sunshine kids monteray is too wide (for fat kids)... go figure!
oh, it looks like sunshine kids is now called "diono". See link
good luck!
->Posting last edited on Thu, 13 Jun 2013 03:19:57.
, Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:34:01
, Thu, 13 Jun 2013 05:27:48, Thu, 13 Jun 2013 03:00:21 <-- Viewing This Message, Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:17:57
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