Our daughter is outgrowing our Britax Roundabout (weight limit is to 40 lbs) and I want to be able to keep her in a 5-point harness for as long as possible. As far as I know, the Sunshine Kids Radian 80 and the Britax Regent are the only seats that offer the 5-point harness up to 80 lbs. Anyone have a preference between these two seats?
Thanks in advance!
E.
I have the Britax Marathon and I love it. It holds them up to 100lbs so I won't need to buy a toddler seat!!
N.
Hi,
We just bought my 4 yr. old daughter the Regent and its great! she has lots of room and little pockets for her things and treats. It is really well made. it sits a bit lower then the roundabout so it has more of a big kid feeling. The same great Britax quality she loves it and is very safe.
J.
We bought the Radian for three of our children about a year ago. We looked at the Britax but it is so big that we couldn't put the kids in our smaller more fuel efficient car. Also the Radian was cheaper. It folds up for airline travel and in our bigger 4 wheel drive Suburban the Radian is not as high off the seat so it is much easier for a short mama to buckle her kids into. Also with the Radian being so small it is great for travel beyond airline. When we go to my in-laws and carseats are constantly changing cars the smaller profile of the Radian doesn't cause people to trip in the entry way where the carseats are sitting. Oh and my 6 year old will still use it (although we ahve a booster too). I think the low tot he seat profile makes it seem much less like a carseat to him.
The only difference between the Radian 65/80 is the weight.
They accommodate the same height. Which is about 48"
SO it's the equivalent to the marathon but can hold more weight (if you get the 80 other wise the marathon holds 65 too).
The SK radian is airline approved, and the tray can come down over their laps.
The regent isn't airline approved (I think every other britax is).
The regent can accommodate up to 52" and 80 lbs.
That being said, We have a britax regent in my car for my 4 year old.
She is 44" and 45 lbs and fits perfect with oodles of room to grow.
I can’t speak for either of these seats specifically but I do have a Britax Boulavard and it’s a great product and my daughter is very comfortable in it. I really like the way the harness is designed and this is the same harness design they use for all of their seats. It has pads to keep it from rubbing on her neck and soft plastic guards that help distribute the force of an impact to prevent injury.
We have the Britax Regent which we got for our son because he is very tall. It is a great big comfy chair - only it is REALLY big. I drive a 2005 Toyota Highlander - basic model, and now I'm 6 months pregnant with twins, wondering how I'm gonna get two more car seats back there.
I do love the chair though, it can hold up to 80 pounds and seems very safe and secure.
Good luck!
I purchased the Radian for my 1 year old. I did so for several reasons:
1. Travels well, was made for airline trave. It folds up and can be put in a carry bag
2. Is compact in width. Does not take up the whole back seat. three people can easily sit in back seat with out sitting sideways.
3. Did research on impact saftey. Radian is made very strong and sturdy out of the best products.
These are a few reason why I liked this car seat. When I was in the proccess of looking I went on several carseat websites and did research. This is the best way for anyone to make the right desision for themselve.
Best of luck
There are a couple new seats that have high harness height/weight limits you might want to check out - they're "combination" seats that have a 5-pt harness and then can be used as a booster after the harness is outgrown:
-Graco Nautilus: 5pt harness to 65 lbs, top slots about 18 or 19", then converts to a good booster (similar to their TurboBooster) that can be used with or without the back. Retails for about $150, currently available at BabiesRUs and WalMart or online
-Britax Frontier: 5 pt harness to 80 lbs, similar top slot heights as Nautilus, then converts to good booster, retails for about $250
Either of these should be able to 1. keep your daughter harnessed until she's developmentally ready to use the seat as a booster; and 2. give you a good booster that will last until your daughter's ready to use the seatbelt without a booster. Also since these seats *look* more booster-ish than the Regent or Radian, when your daughter's in kindergarten she can feel she's in a "big kid seat" and still have a 5-pt harness.
