Britax Frontier vs. Sunshine Radian

lincoln64

Hi - I'm in the market for a booster five point harness car seat for my son.  I'm thinking of either the frontier or radian.  Any suggestions?  Pros/Cons? 

Right now we have the Britax Boulevard and I HATE it!  The straps constantly twist.  Do the straps twist on either of those?

gimmietimmies

I've never had the straps on mine twist (I have both). But if you're looking for a seat for a four year old, you're better off with the Frontier, it lasts longer as a booster. The Radian is a fantastic car seat, not fabulous for it's longevity as a booster. I do know older kids that would still fit it as a booster, but my 6 year old is too tall for it and my 4 year old is not far behind. They can both sit harnessed in the Frontier. It is wider, but it's a great seat.

SortaCrunchy

I agree with PP. If you're looking for a FF harness + booster ( with no need for a RF seat), then go with the Frontier. The Radian is great at RF and FF with the harness, but it's pretty so-so as a booster. The booster mode is outgrown at the same time as the harness is outgrown, and the min weight for booster use is 50 lb.

rcbuko

We have both car seats and like them both.  The Radian that we have can be used up to 80 pounds and my four year old who is in the 50th percentile for both height and weight will be in it for awhile.  

We have the Frontier in our Honda Odyssey and it fits great even though it is such a large seat.  The Radian is in our Subaru Odyssey and sits next to another Radian which is currently rear facing.  Once baby number three gets big enough, we will buy a third Radian and have three seats across the back seat.  There is no way we could do that with the Frontier in the back.

We haven't had any problems with straps twisting with either seat.  It really depends on what your needs are for the seat.  If you have a taller or huskier child, I would go with the Frontier.  If you have a small car, I would go with the Radian.  

NicoleWI

I have a Britax Boulevard and an Advocate and have never had problems with the straps twisting. I also have a Sunshine Radian and a First Years True Fit. All were top rated but by FAR, I prefer the Britax seats. I don't love my Radian even though it's supposed to be awesome. We have a lot of trouble keeping it solid in our car.  We also had a lot of trouble adjusting the straps, b/c I think the angle was a little off...but it was really a pain until we got it fixed.