Our Review of the Sunshine Kids Radian convertible car seat
It's the perfect pairing of safety and convenience—and every parent can appreciate that! The Sunshine Kids Radian is the first and only convertible car seat that can fold to a width of 6 ½ inches!
After years of manufacturing car seat safety accessories, Sunshine Kids' innovative first car seat reflects years of careful research. This seat gets its strength from a full-steel alloy frame, and it can be used in the rear-facing position from 5-35 lbs, and forward-facing from 20-65 lbs.
If you've already been shopping around for car seats, you'll recognize that this 65 lb capacity is much bigger than the 40 lb cap you see with many other seats - in fact the Radian's weight capacity is right in line with top-notch seats like the Britax Decathlon. A higher carry capacity means your child can spend more time in a 5-point harness, and that's the safest bet out there. Plus, the Sunshine Kids Radian has 3" more shoulder room than the Britax Marathon.
Just a few of the Radian's stand-out safety features:
- Energy absorbing EPS foam panels line the frame
- The harness attaches directly to the steel frame for extra security
- With wide, steel-reinforced belt pathways and rounded edges, the Radian is easily installed with seatbelt or LATCH (and easy installation means fewer mistakes!)
- The Radian is one of the only convertible car seats that allows the use of a Tether while the seat is installed rear-facing
- The Radian is also unique in that you can fit 3 Radian car seats across in your back seat.
In addition, the fabrics of the Radian's seat are plush, comfortable, and hand washable.
Bottom Line: The Radian is a great choice for travel. Fold it up; move it from car to car. The Sunshine Kids Radian is even FAA approved for use on aircraft. And hey Mom and Dad, when you're out on business without the little ones, you can always fold it up and toss it in the trunk! One downfall is its weight. Although designed with the traveler in mind, this seat is not lightweight - weighing in at 20 lbs.
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- Champagne
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- Granite
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- Radian installed
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- Installed rear-facing
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- Installed and folded
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- Radian frame construction
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- Radian in use
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- Radian in use
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- Radian folded
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- 3 Radians in one back seat!
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Click here to download instruction manual. (Adobe Reader required) |
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Car seat specs
- Min child weight
- 5 lbs.
- Max child weight
- 65 lbs.
- Rear-facing minimum weight
- 5 lbs.
- Max child weight - Rear Facing mode
- 35 lbs.
- Min child weight - Forward Facing mode
- 22 lbs.
- Max child weight - Forward facing mode
- 65 lbs.
- Max harness weight capacity
- 65 lbs.
- Max child height
- 53"
- Max 5-pt harness child height capacity
- 53"
Car seat dimensions
- Product weight
- 20 lbs.
- Seat Base / Foot Width
- 17"
- Seat height
- 28"
- Interior seat width
- 11.4"
- Bottom to lowest harness slot
- 9"
- Bottom to highest harness slot
- 18"
- Seat weight (without base)
- 20.5 lbs.
- Five shoulder positions and three buckle slots provide the best harness fit.
- Wide belt paths with rounded edges allow easier installation and tightening.
- V-shaped tether can be used rear-facing, LATCH equipped.
- Folds to 6.5" thick for convenient travel and storage
- The only car seat made with a full, steel alloy frame, for incredible strength.
- 4-panel system of EPS safety foam for increased safety, including side-impact protection.
- 3" more interior shoulder width of any car seat in its class, including the Britax Marathon. Its unique design is more than 2" narrower on the outside making it easy to fit 3 seats across.
- 3" longer seat bottom and the forward-facing recline option provides increased comfort for longer rides and more leg support for the older child.
- Cover is hand washable
- Radian is approved for Aircraft Use.
- Product Dimensions Open – 28.5"H x 17"W x 16"
- Product Dimensions Folded – 28.5"H x 17?W x 6.5"D
Sunshine Kids Radian convertible car seat Reviews
All Customer Reviews
- Average Rating:
- Highest Rating:
- Lowest Rating:
- Number of Reviews:
- 84
Love this car seat!
Reviewer: Anonymous , West Valley, NY
Date: May 28, 2009
We are expecting our 3rd child, and needed to fit 3 car seats in our Escape. Needless to say, it has been a challenge. Finally I found this online, and it is great. It was shipped quickly, and we received it in a day. It wasn't too bad to install-I did find that the LATCH shouldn't be used with a child over 45 pounds, so we used the seat belt with a locking clip and the tether. We love the narrow seat base, and my 6 year old loves that he's much more comfortable than he was in the backless booster we had before. And we feel that he is much safer in the 5 point harness now. Also, once the baby outgrows her infant seat, we'll be able to use this car seat rear facing for her. It is an investment well worth the money.
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Very happy with these seats
Reviewer: Lynne , Chittenango,NY
Date: May 26, 2009
We recently purchased three of these to fit across our back seat, two for three year old twins and one for an 11 month old. I had no problem installing them, in either the rear or forward-facing positions. The manual is very clear on installation instructions. I'm very happy to be able to keep my baby rear-facing for a longer period of time, and to keep the older kids in a five-point restraint up to higher weights. We may purchase three more for our sitter's car.
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Great investment
Reviewer: Anonymous , Lake in the Hills, IL
Date: March 19, 2009
I purchased three Radian 65 seats last year. I run a home daycare so I have a variety of sized children that may use these carseats. I totally love them. I have all 3 installed in the back bench of my minivan. They are heavy, however, if you're not removing and reinstalling them every day it's worth it.
I love the fact that I can fold them and store them when not in use. This has helped a great deal with the space issues for my daycare items. The children in my care sit comfortably in them.
When I first got them it took me a little while to figure out an easier way to install them. I have found that if I install the far right one last they all fit nice and tight. I cannot comment on the latch system as my minivan is not equipt with it. However, I no longer have any issue with installing. I love the fact that there's hook-loop closures to cover the belt openings so the kids can't play with them.
I have used the both for rear facing and forward facing in the van. Both ways work well.
I refer my clients to this carseat (and the Radian 80) when looking at replacing their carrier carseats. It's worth the investment since children are required to be in a safety seat until 8 years old in IL. It's much safer for the 5pt harness than a standard booster seat and shoulder belt.
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GREAT CAR SEAT!
Reviewer: Monique , Fitchburg
Date: January 12, 2009
This is one sturdy car seat! It's a little heavy, but it's not like we take it in/out often. We bought these car seats because we need to fit 3 across in the backseat of a small car...it worked! I read complaints that the seats are so hard to install. There is a great book with pictures, so it's really easy to install if you take the time to read the instructions. The seat is so adjustable...i can't imagine a kid it won't fit perfectly! It is a solid seat.
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This is a great carseat!
Reviewer: Anonymous , Missoula, MT
Date: August 28, 2008
I bought this for my daughter when she turned 3 and outgrew her Britax. It was recommended by the person who does car seat installations in my town. I love the fact that it keeps bigger kids safe in a 5 point harness. My daughter is now 5 and has no problems with comfort or fit. We recently took a long road trip and she made no complaints about being in her seat all that time. It is a heavy seat and would be difficult to haul around but we don't take it anywhere. The sturdiness, quality and safety of this seat far outweigh any negatives. We got a very tight fit in 3 different vehicles (grand am, taurus, van). It did take a bit of work to get it tight but it does't move an inch! I would definitely recommend this seat as far as the forward facing capacity goes.
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Sunshine Kids Radian convertible - great seat
Reviewer: Anonymous , Groton, CT
Date: August 24, 2008
My husband and I just purchased 2 Sunshine Kids Radian 65 convertible car seat so that we would be able to fit 3 car seats across the middle row of our Honda Pilot. We previously had 2 Britax Marathon seats which are great seats, but too big to fit 3 across 1 row.
With a third child on the way we need to fit an infant carrier between the 2 other car seats. We easily fit a Graco infant carrier and base between the 2 Radian seats. Much to our relief we do not have to buy a bigger car.
The Radian 65 fits very securely, in fact it doesn't move at all and it only took me 10 minutes per seat to fully install. I really didn't notice a drastic weight difference between the Radian and the Britax. I probably wouldn't have noticed any difference at all if I hadn't read so many reviews that mentioned how heavy the Radian is.
My twin boys seem very happy in their new seats and I'm sure we will be buying a third Radian as soon as we outgrow the infant carrier.
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Great, Great Seat
Reviewer: Anonymous , Ashburn, VA
Date: July 25, 2008
We bought two of these seats for our twin boys when they outgrew their infant seats. We could not be more pleased. These seats are not quick to install but once done the seats don't move an inch. We really love that the seats have such a slim profile. We can fit both seats and an adult in the back seat of our Dodge Magnum. We are ordering two more for my husband's car!
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LOVE IT!!!
Reviewer: Melodie , Riverview, FL
Date: June 27, 2008
This is a wonderful car seat! It's so sturdy, I feel so safe with my daughter in it. It is as easy to install as any other carseat I've ever owned, and I get a good tight fight every time, even without LATCH! With the high weight and height limits of this seat, my daughter could possibly fit in this seat until 2nd or 3rd grade.
The only drawback to this seat is that the heavy weight of the steel frame makes it a bit difficult to move from vehicle to vehicle. So, I'm just going to buy another one so that I won't have to move them anymore.
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Loved this seat until...
Reviewer: Anonymous , Madison, WI
Date: June 03, 2008
We bought 2 of the Radian 65 seats for my then 3 yr old son (one for each car. We loved the seat because it was narrow and had a high wt. / ht. limit with a 5pt harness. Shortly after purchasing, we found out we were having twins (a boy and a girl). Once the twins grew out of their infant carriers, we decided to use our Britax Roundabout (used initially for my older son) and one of the Radians for the twins. With 3 kids, we wouldn't be able to travel with them all except in the van. In the rear facing position, it is VERY difficult to tighten the straps. The front of the carseat butts up against the van seat. SInce you have to pull the tightening strap down to tighen the 5pt harness, I have to squeeze my hand between the carseat and the van seat. Again, it is VERY difficult. My daughter is very petite and I could not get the Radian tight enough to have her in it, so she uses the Britax. My younger son does better in the Radian, but it is still difficult to get the straps tight enough. My husband has a really hard time and most of the time I'm the one who has to tighten it. It would be better if the tightening mechanism where similar to the Britax in that you can tighten the 5pt harness by either pulling up or down on the strap. Either way, we do like the seat, but I would not recommend it if you want to use in the rear facing position.
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