Reviews for Sunshine Kids Radian 80 convertible car seat
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3 in the Back
Reviewer: Anonymous , Casper, Wy
Date: March 07, 2008
I have 3 kids, 7 and under, and a Prius. I was able to fit 3 Radian 80's in the back of the Prius. It took well over an hour to squeeze all three of those car seats in, and some acrobatics but they are locked in there tight and don't move. My kids like them a lot and find them comfortable. My daughter likes her pink seat. I just wanted to let anyone with 3 kids know you can get 3 Radian 80's in the back of a Prius.
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LOVE IT
Reviewer: Jenn , New Boston, MI
Date: March 05, 2008
We have had our Sunshine Kids Radian 80, for about a month now. We really love this seat. I did months of research on the next seat for my 3 year old who was quickly out growing her roundabout. We chose the Radian over the Regent since the regent can not be used on the plane and over the marathon since the Radian had higher harness slots. We do miss the simple ease of the Roundabouts installation, the Radian is a bit tricky. Once I installed the seat with the seatbelt a few times it is much easier and LATCH is a snap. We just like the harness adjuster, but it is the same as the Marathons, which is just no where near as nice a our Roundabout. We like how low the seat sits, seems safer to us plus it looks more a Big Girl booster. The Radian is heavy, however, it is less bulk so it seems easier to carry than other seats. Sunshine Kids customer service is excellent also. I would buy from EliteCarSeats again and have recomended them to our entire playgroup!
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Great Seat, Fits Well!
Reviewer: Anonymous , San Jose, CA
Date: March 05, 2008
We bought the Radian 80 to replace a seat that had been damaged in an accident (luckily, our child was NOT in the car!). It was time to move to a booster-type seat. We originally bought a different booster seat and were really disappointed for various reasons. I did a lot of research and found a local retailer that carried the Radian 80 so we could check it out in person before ordering here. Our daughter loves the pattern and it's very comfortable for her, even on very long trips. It is very easy for her to climb in and out of without a boost from me. She has been able to fall asleep without slumping using the included pillow. The Radian 80 fits very well in the rear middle seat of our small SUV and allows plenty of room for two adults in the back as well. The seat is fairly narrow and we'll see if we can really use it up to the weight limits. If your child has wide shoulders or is on the husky side, this might not be comfortable for them. There are 4 reasons I'm not giving it 5 stars: it's quite heavy, it look longer than I expected to install, it can be difficult to tighten, and you can only spot clean the cover. In all fairness, I read about these before the purchase, so none of these were a surprise. Overall, we're very happy with the Radian 80 and have already recommended it to friends. As far as Elite Car Seats and their service - they rock. First class all the way.
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great seat
Reviewer: Anonymous , Boulder, CO
Date: March 03, 2008
It's a great seat and we are very happy. We researched seats extensively and this is the 5th seat we've bought. Finally, we've learned enough about seats to have made an informed choice. It's our 7th seat if you count infant carriers/seats. I think the straps could be even longer though! We have a 4 and a half year old who is 44 inches tall and 44 pounds--a little above average size. When he has his winter parka on, the straps are just long enough. What are we going to do next winter? I wanted this seat to last a few years for him. So, i'll have to buy thin coats? Perhaps. But, you guys could make the straps longer. Otherwise, great seat.
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easy to install, great for travel, allows for other carseats in backseat
Reviewer: Anonymous , Atherton, CA
Date: February 25, 2008
We have three of the Radians (the 65 since the 80 wasn't available back then and 2 80's). We love them. They're super easy to install vs. the Britax Roundabout (and I don't think the Roundabout is that difficult), it's great for travel if you get the carry case with it (since it folds up and you can check it in -our Roundabout didn't survive it's 1st check-in), and the bonus for us is we can fit two of these and a Graco Snugride in the back seats of all our cars (MBZ sedan as well as Audi SUV). My kids love them since they can climb in and out by themselves (once you unbuckle them, of course - buckle is nicely difficult for a 4 year old to undo his/herself). Our son has napped in his several times on long car trips and didn't experience any problems in having adequate side-support for his head.
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Great Car seat
Reviewer: Anonymous , Fairfax, VA
Date: February 22, 2008
I bought this seat so my 3 year old would stay in a 5 pt. harness as long as possible. So far, she likes how comfortable the chair is and it looks really slick in the car. Plus, she has more leg room now that the seat is lower to the ground (unlike others). Easy to install and the size is perfect if you want more room in the back seat of the car. I can actually fit three people (including her) back there now. Worth the money for the quality too.
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The Best!
Reviewer: Andrea , Puyallup, WA
Date: February 15, 2008
I have had this carseat for about six months for my two year old. I drive a Scion xA which has a tiny backseat and my daughter has long legs. This seat still gives her plenty of leg room. I would recommend it to anyone!
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GREAT but not for Volvo
Reviewer: Anonymous , ballston spa, ny
Date: February 14, 2008
this is a fabulous comfy well made heavy seat. I am so sad. i cannot get it to fit firmly in my XC70. the headrests do not move and there is no way to use the top tether. I would love for them to have the same top tether system that Britax uses. that would solve a great deal of the problem with immobile headrest.my son loves it tons. he started to cry (3 1/2) because it may go back!
there is really not a car seat out there(i have been through tons and returned atleast 6 now) that fits well in the Volvo and is safe like these are. What are we to do?? My son is very tall and skinny so our Marathon is on it's way out which is so sad.
i would buy this car seat for any other car. i would also use Elite a gazzilion times over. they were so very helpful.thank you!
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Good & Bad
Reviewer: E. Moose , Seattle, WA
Date: February 14, 2008
I chose this seat because I already have a Britex Diplomat for our car which we generally like, but I wanted a seat that is different for our minivan since we had more room in the van.
PROS:
This seats folds up and comes with a strap for carrying it.
It installed easily with much less effort than my Britax.
The straps really don't twist and the chest clip is huge/sturdy and easy to use.
Previous problems with short crotch straps have been solved with 3 crotch slots to choose from and you can buy an extra long strap from Sunshine Kids if your child needs it.
You can easily buy new covers for the seat if yours gets too gross over time.
The seat has a handy emergency card that you can fill out with your child's info so in the event of an accident, the paramedics/hospital will know how to get your kid's medical records, etc.
The seat has a low profile when installed forward facing. It doesn't have a huge base, which means you can fit three seats across a bench seat and it looks more like a booster seat for bigger kids.
The seat has a tether that can be used both forward and rear facing. As a result, this seat is SOLID when installed.
CONS:
This seat is heavy. I'm a relatively big guy and since the seat folds up small, I'd prefer compact and heavy over light and awkward.
This seat is huge! I have it installed rear facing in a 2007 Honda Odyssey Touring Minivan with the middle row captain's seat on the passenger side, installed in the middle position. In this position, I have to have the front passenger seat moved up slightly and I still have to pull the front head rest up all the way to prevent the Radian from hitting it. My dad (whose 5'11") rode with me and said he felt his seat was far enough forward to become uncomfortable. So, that means that if you are planning on installing this in your Ford Focus in rear facing mode, you might want to consider the shorter Radian 65. I can't say that the goddess of car seat nirvana won't make things work out just right so you can fit this in your sedan, but I wouldn't count on it.
This is the biggie! The straps are extremely hard to tighten the last little bit. Some reviews I've read on the seat postulate that it's because the straps rub on the automobile seat. I've examined the seat closely and what's happening is the metal clip where the shoulder straps join to the tensioning strap gets caught up in the sharp turn between the back of the seat and the bottom. The straps tighten fine until the clip reaches that curve and then they just won't get any tighter. As I said earlier, I'm a relatively strong guy and the first time I tried to latch her in, I pulled on the strap so hard that I actually drew blood on my hands from gripping the strap. Even then it wasn't tight enough (I'm not talking about trying to strap my daughter in for a space shuttle launch, just the normal snug fit recommended). For the interim, I solved the problem by just pushing on the metal clip from behind the seat as I pull on the strap. It tightens nicely and it is easy to do. Unfortunately, this is only possible because she's in the rear facing position, so I can reach the back of the seat. When we switch to forward facing, I'm holding out hope that she'll be big enough that the metal clip won't need to make that bend around the bottom of the seat to tighten the straps
In general, I recommend this seat and I'm happy with it. I certainly hope Sunshine Kids listens to parent reviews and addresses this in short order! It seems they have been responsive to feedback in the past since they appear to have fixed the crotch strap problems some have had.
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