Chicco nextfit or new diono ranier?

cappleby

I currently have my two year old rf in a britax advocate which I love and am very sad that he has an inch or two before he outgrows it rf (ridiculously long torso on a slightly above average height kid). I went and sat him in a bunch of seats today to try and find a new rf seat for him. Narrowed it down to the nextfit and the diono ones. Both looked like he has lots of room to grow rf. Now it's the trade off between convenience of the next fit's easy install, adjustability etc. vs. the steel frame, rear facing tethering options of the dionos. They are coming out with new seats next month that add lots of side impact protection and new fabrics as well. Any opinions or personal experiences?

bumpuser794640

We have and love the Nextfit, it is very plush and a breeze to install if you're using LATCH, i've heard it is also really easy w/ the seatbelt.

LittleFish1

Steel frame & side impact protection is just a sales pitch. Learned that from Car Seats for the Littles (Facebook group). Graco MySize/other names actually has a slightly taller shell compared to the NextFit & I think the older Radians... not sure how compares with the newer ones. I eliminated the Radian (the older models) from my short list due to the multiple parts plus the potential need of an angle adjustor. The NextFit & Graco MySize/other names that I cannot recall, has only the one part. Friend has NextFit & said was easy to install. My Graco was easy with the Latch. Seatbelt install wasn't as easy.

kmc84

The new radian has the same height limits, but a higher weight limit. Of those two, the Nextfit will absolutely last longer. The longest lasting seats available for ERF (height wise) are the Graco MySize, Graco Size4Me, Graco Fit4Me, or the Graco Headwise. They are all the same basic seat with some cosmetic differences and sold in different stores. Depending on your budget, you could look at the Clek Foonf. On paper the Radian lasts longer, but in real life, the Foonf lasts a bit longer than the Radian.

I personally did not like the ratchet system to tighten the Radian and I did not like the high sides of the Nextfit.

cappleby

Thanks for the feedback! I'm a mechanical engineer so I have a hard time not thinking that the steel frames will be stronger (I realize that all the seats pass the same tests and are all safe and the install and sizing is more important but the stronger materials and extra side cushioning just make me feel better. Not necessarily logical but I like it). I looked at the clek foonf and he also had lots of room to grow into it but it was so heavy and bulky and we are frequent fliers and I can't see myself bringing that seat onto a plane. Good comments on the problems with the diono seats. I was worried about that. I may just have to wait until the new ones come out and go test the install in my car. Thanks again!

kmc84

Most people who have a Nextfit, Diono, or Foonf use it as their primary seat and get a lightweight backup seat to use on the plane when traveling. All of those seats are soooo heavy, so I hear you on that one!

JENandJEH

We have a Nextfit and I love it.  Super easy to install and tons of room to grow.  It's pretty bulky and heavy so I wouldn't use it as a travel seat.  I hear that, even though the Radian folds up, it's still really heavy and not many people care to travel with it.  

cappleby

Yeah we usually take a cart and wheel the seat through the airport. If we don't need a stroller we just take that and it works well because my son likes to sit in it. My problem is that it's not just traveling for fun/visiting grandparents but we will have two moves that require multiple plane trips in the next two years so I just take the seats we have on the plane to move them rather than waiting 6 weeks with a temporary seat. I think we can do it with either the radian or the nextfit since we have been doing it with his advocate but the foonf was just too bulky and heavy. Thanks again for the feedback! I think I'm just going to have to play with them in my car to decide!