Car Seats Graco Nautilus vs Sunshine Radian XT vs Safety 1st Complete vs Any Britax

[phonzy]

Super confused dad needs some help....

Need to buy a car seat for my son who is turning 1 next week.... 23lbs - 30 Inches


Stuck between Graco Nautilus vs Sunshine Radian XT vs Britax vs Safety 1st

I am not too concerned about the booster seat that is part of the Graco...

My main concern is safety and transfering it from car to car.. Side impact protection

any other recommendations

[ndondo]

you should look into first year true fit as well

sorry not answering your question
but I read first year true fit is quiet a popular choice for many parents looking for car seat

[Dragon120]

Super confused dad needs some help....

Need to buy a car seat for my son who is turning 1 next week.... 23lbs - 30 Inches


Stuck between Graco Nautilus vs Sunshine Radian XT vs Britax vs Safety 1st

I am not too concerned about the booster seat that is part of the Graco...

My main concern is safety and transfering it from car to car.. Side impact protection

any other recommendations

Bought the newest Safety 1st (air car seat) from Toys R Us. I spent some time researching between this one vs any Britax. I chose this one because of the side-impact 'air' protection. Perhaps I'm naive to believe the hype but it's been a month and my son loves it! The seat feels very soft and comfortable- he falls asleep rather easily (he doesn't do that often when he was on the infant car seat). He's rear-facing at the moment and will continue to be until he's ready for forward-facing.

Very easy to install and looks very stylis (bought the orange and black model).

As for the straps, wife has no issues in adjusting it and it's sturdy enough that my son is unable to unbuckle/remove it. The price tag isn't an issue ($299)- I can't put a $ value to my child's safety- besides, this will probably last him 4 years (that's $75 per year)

Good luck.

[kellya]

Personally I would stay away from the Graco. We have the Nautilus and I haven't been impressed. We have had it for about a year and the red rubber on the buckle is all gummed up and rubbing off. Far more concerning than that is that my son can EASILY loosen his carseat straps. This isn't a concern with our 5 year old as he is old enough to know not to mess with it, however for our two year old this is a definate problem. We were planning on passing the seat onto him when our 5 year old goes into a booster but it doesn't look like that is happening due to this issue. I also don't like how it is so hard to undo the buckle (kind of funny that it is super easy to loosen the straps but extremely difficult to undo the buckle) I know that graco claimed this was done to prevent children from undoing the buckle but as an adult it is hard for me to undo it.

Anyway I'm not sure what the correct choice is but I know personally I would not buy the nautilus again.

Kelly

[lesley172]

I would not recommend the nautilus as it forward faces only. I would recommend you rear face your child as long as possible as it is 500% safer. Please take the time to research extended rearfacing if you are unsure.

The radian xt and complete air will allow you to rearface the longest. They also both have tall shells which means you might make it to booster age in these car seats, saving you money down the road.

[sdw]

you should look into first year true fit as well

sorry not answering your question
but I read first year true fit is quiet a popular choice for many parents looking for car seat

I recentally got a true fit for our 1 year old. I've been quite disappointed with it rear facing as it is very difficult to adjust (the strap to tighten is buried into the seat and is very difficult to accesss). My wife hates it and refuses to use the vehicle it is in. I'm sure this varies depending on the style of the seats in your vehicle - some are probably better than others.

I'm hoping that once we flip the true fit front-facing that it will be better. I'm planning on flipping it pretty soon just because it is so hard to use.

We got a Britax for our other vehicle and was very impressed with how easy it was to install and how easy to adjust, etc. Wasn't as impressed with the price tag, however.

[lesley172]

some good rear facing links to take a look at for those planning on turning their kids forward facing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8gU9zzCGA8

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.aspx

[phonzy]

Thanks for your help....

I think I will forget about the Graco... Rear Facing is safer for the child

Now that changes alot of things. Side Impact Protection is important to me

Here is the options i have for rear facing... Which one would you advise

1. Britax Blvd

2. Sunshine Radian XT

3. Safety 1st Complete

[lesley172]

I would narrow it down to the complete air or the radian. I have a boulevard and I do like it for its ease of installation but it only rearfaces to 30 pounds, not 40 pounds like the the other two seats. Also, it has a shorter shell so it means I might need another seat before my son makes it to booster age as he is quite tall. Plus it is the most expensive of the three seats.

You might want to go and try these seats out in your car as different seats installer easier/harder in different cars. Most stores will let you do this.

[phonzy]

So I have decided on the Radian XT

Here is where I have some ?'s

2009 Model is about $250 - $270 - Rear Facing upto 30/35lbs

2010 Model is about $320 - Rear Facing upto 45lbs

[brendonp]

So I have decided on the Radian XT

Here is where I have some ?'s

2009 Model is about $250 - $270 - Rear Facing upto 30/35lbs

2010 Model is about $320 - Rear Facing upto 45lbs

I have a set of Radian's in our truck - love 'em because they are much narrower then most seats - heavy though, as they need to compensate by using actual steel in the frames rather then just plastic. The narrowness helps as I can easily fold any of the second row seats in our SUV forward (3-way seat split) without having to undue the car seat. I don't have any comments for you on the rear-facing weight limits, but I will say that because these seats are so tall, rear facing behind the driver/passenger will force the front seat forward a fair bit; you may want to test fit if you have any concerns.

In general... these are easily the best thought out car seats I've ever seen (and we own 7 seats + 2 buckets for 2 kids - lots of travelling to relatives in the US/CAN means we leave seats all over the place instead of renting - oddly cheaper then renting, and we get to donate to needy families when were done with them = win/win!); strong, folds flat, wearable as a backpack (uncomfortable, but useful for airports). The latch belts work like normal seatbelt buttons, running through dedicated channels (for easy adjustment), and all the connectors, tethers, etc, etc can be stored in compartments in the back of the seat when using a normal lapbelt, or when travelling. The cover comes on and off easily for washing, yet has never "fallen off" through normal use. We have a mid-size 7 passenger SUV, and I'm changing up the configuration of our two Radians along with a baby "bucket" every couple of days as we re-configure for friends and family.

As I mentioned, the only real downsides are the weight (if you carry 'em alot) and the height when rear-facing; I simply moved ours to the center and let it run between the front seats - naturally this is all vehicle dependant.

I bought them last year ('08) for $200 each from a store in BC; after GST + shipping I paid $500 taxes in; at the time they were only available in the basic tan colored fabric for this price; other colors were more expensive, but as I recall it was almost cheaper to buy 'em in tan and then buy a replacement cover (~$40USD) if you wanted a different color...

[jjtsl]

I too had disappointing experience with the True Fit becoz it was difficult to tighten properly, and imagine having to fight with your carseat everytime you put your baby in, which may be a few times per trip!

Anyway, buying the Sunshine Kids Radian is the best decision we have made, it is sturdy, well designed and easy to use. The best thing is that it is narrow enough that you could put 2 of them into the back of a small sedan, and yet have room for an adult. If we went with a Britax, we would have to get a full size sedan/SUV, or get a minivan just to fit an additional adult, which did not make a lot of sense economically.

[islena]

The Bay has car seats, strollers, etc on sale, 15% off until November 12/09 (tomorrow).

They carry both the Radian XT and Britax seats. I'm not sure about the Graco or Safety 1st.