Sunshine Kids Radian 80SL Car Seat

Abby's Mommie from PA              August 2nd, 2009
We did a TON of research before buying the next seat to keep our daughter safe for the next ump-teen years. We wanted to get her a seat that was comfortable for her while providing the maximum safety that was available. We debated between teh Radian 80 and the Britax Marathon. We ended up with the Radian for many reasons. The higher weight limit on rear facing position (40 lbs) was huge for us, as we will be RF for as long as possible. Also, we had to have a seat that was somewhat easy to travel with as our families are out of state and we travel multiple time a year. The Radian is FAA approved, but also folds for easy carrying and has straps (we bought the extra strap) that turns it into a backpack! How cool is that?!?! No need for special straps and carrying bags for airport travel! The cool max fabric is great! It keeps the heat away from our daughters delicate skin...no worries about a very hot seat or a sweaty baby!! We have a 2008 CRV and it only fits in the center poisiton RF and we had to scoot the passenger seat froward a little to accomodate, but it is not terrible. Once we turn her FF, the seat will fit perfectly in any position. Installation was easy (LATCH is the best invention ever!!!) and the guide provides good illustration on how to adjust the straps and accessories for the best fit for your child. We highly recommend this seat!!

Aimee Hare from Pine Mountain,GA              June 17th, 2008

I did a lot of research before purchasing this seat.

After reading reviews, looking at specs, reading saftey crash info, reading all sorts of info available on the net regarding safety, consulting my Mechanical Engineer husband and watching youtube childseat crash videos I decided on two goals.


My goals were:
1. 5-point until daughters were big enough for a regular seat belt.
2. Baby turned around backwards for as long as possible.



OK, I came to find out that this left 2 choices...

There are only 2 on the market that met my goals: Sunshine Kids Radian 80 and a Britax seat that does the "5-point- to-80-lbs" as well. That all! This really narrowed the field.


These are some of my thoughts...

I wanted a 5-point seat for my 5-year-old. (I bought a booster and took it back...I just didn't look like it provided much protection in a crash.) I went to the youtube videos and watched crash tests and that just blew my mind. There was no way, after watching those test crashes, that I was putting her in a booster.

I also have a 20-month-old. I was not ready to turn her around, but she had reached the weight limit for her infant seat. After watching the youtube videos, I was convinced that backwards was better hands down. I hear that the Britax is really nice but that it is really large.(I read this over and over on different websites from different reviewers, but I have never seen one myself). I have 4 children. I HAD to have something that would allow for other passengers to fit comfortably. Well, that closed the deal for me.

I had one more reservation:
I had not actually put my daughter in it. I was hoping it was padded well (5-yr-olds need a little more comfort than a 20-month-old with a diaper). I'm leary of buying without seeing, but I just decided that it would cost about the same to return it as it would to drive to Atlanta to see one. (I live about 2 hours from Atlanta, GA...the location of the closest Radian 80) So I bought 1 (not 2) and planned to return it if it was not what was advertised. If it was what I was expecting...I would buy #2.

Now that I have it, I will be buying #2 soon. I will buy from Baby-Earth again. They had the best price and the delivery was on time.

Pros and Cons:

PROS:
1. Of course, it meets my saftey needs.
2. It had all that the advertising promised.
3. It is seriously heavy and feels solid. This is a Pro for me, but might be a Con for someone who plans on moving the seat frequently.
4. Though safety was the deciding factor, an added bonus is that the Princess seat cover is really pretty...my 5-year-old loves it.

[I will describe the Cons in detail because I think everyone likes to be well informed. Though I describe them in detail, they were obviously not important enough to me to change my decision. I am very pleased with my purchase and will be purchasing another within a week.]

CONS:

1. I had difficulty using LATCH. This is more of a problem with my car company than the carseat. Currently I am using it with a seatbelt. I plan on visiting my car dealership to get it hooked up with LATCH. The youtube video about the little boy who died in a car wreck really brought to my attention the LATCH issue. I had no idea that seatbelts sometimes didn't work. LATCH can only be used up to a certain weight (in your car manual) so it is not a cure-all, but I would like to use it...now that I have become aware of the benefits.

2. Facing backwards, it would only fit in the center seat of my Ford Expedition. The tilt on the seat, when rear-facing, is supposed to be 45 degrees. This is not possible if the driver seat or passenger seat need to be able to be pushed back (My husband is 6'2"). The reason it is not possible is because the seat is so tall, but the height is neccessary to accomodate the children "up to 80 lbs". I am OK with that because I know she'll turn around soon enough. It fits fine into any seat position when turned around forward-facing.

3. The storage on the back of the seat (the latch and tether belts, and the safe-stop belt are highly visible in the rear-facing position. Not a deciding factor, but it would be nice if they were restrained by a net or something. They swing off the back because the seat is tilted back in this postion.

4. Cover is NOT machine washable. This is not a big deal to me. My children are not allowed to eat in the carseat and only have water when in the car. This greatly reduces the number of seat cover washings needed. Crumbs can actually be a saftey issue if they get in the buckle area. I just avoid the mess and the safety issue by keeping food and drinks (other than water) out of the child areas.

***Baby Earth's ad says it is machine washable, but it is not. I'm sure this was just an oversight. The seat says it is not machine washable and Sunshine Kids Juvenille Products says "no" also. They said it IS WASHABLE just not machine washable. You can wash it in the tub with laundry detergent, rinse, and hang to dry.

Aimee Hare
Pine Mountain, GA

VB from Keller, TX              March 6th, 2008
I just received this seat the other day and right out of the box....I love it. Easy to use, easy to install, doesn't take up my entire back seat and this thing in sturdy! My daughter is very comfortable in this seat. I did a lot of reasearch before making this purchase as I am a true Britax lover. My roundabout has been wonderful. When my now 4 year old grew out of her Britax I moved her into a big girl booster before discovering the safety dangers of doing so. I quickly put her Britax back in the car and set out for a 5 point harness booster. My first thought was the Britax Regent but, after seeing one in person I couldn't believe how HUGE it was. It would have taken up most of my back seat. The Radian surpasses crash test standards and is only 17 inches in width. The fact that is goes from 5 pounds to 80 pounds in a 5 point harness sold me. Keep in mind though....this seat is a monster in weight. I could barely carry it to the car because I have back problems. I don't intend on moving it around too much so the heavy weight is not an issue for me.

P.S. I ordered this seat from baby-wise.com with free shipping and received the seat the following day! Great!