- Rear-facing: 5 – 40 pounds; Forward-facing: 20 – 65 (53″) pounds in a 5 point harness
- Steel frame folds flat for travel and storage and rubber bottom grips for no-slip installation
- SuperLATCH installation up to 65 pounds no seat belt required with SafeStop energy absorbing harness system
- Fits 3-across in a mid-size vehicle and offers more shoulder space
- Energy absorbing EPS foam panels and reinforced sides for side impact protection; sits low on vehicle seat for easy child boarding
Product Description
Sunshine Kids Radian65SL is a convertible car seat for rear-facing children 5-40 lbs and forward-facing children up to 65 lbs in a 5-point harness. Its steel alloy frame and SuperLATCH system are NCAP crash tested, making it the first car seat to allow lower anchor installation up to 65 lbs – no seat belt required. Sunshine Kids Radian65SL features reinforced sides and protective EPS foam panels for side impact protection and SafeStop®, an energy absorbing harness … More >>
We bought this for air travel and for a small Subaru wagon after our daughter was spilling out of her infant seat. It has many installation options, so you have to find the right one in the manual. There are little quirks that you can’t gloss over, e.g. you have to use the safestop accessory in forward facing <40 lb installation. The LATCH system works fine, and I finally figured out that the "top tether" in my cargo area wasn't just some random tie down. I tried to mount this seat rear facing at first, but there was NO way I was going to get a passenger in the front seat, because it was slid all the way up.
For air travel, I think we need a seat belt extender because if you cinch the aircraft belt in the forward facing path, you’ll never be able to release the seat belt. While the baby loves it, it is very heavy to lug around the airport and you can clock people with it if you’re not careful. We bought the bag for it, but it’s completely unsatisfactory. Sturdier sewing is essential and wheels would be nice.
Rating: 4 / 5
I like this seat very much. It is narrow and takes up less space then the bulky seats. I have only used it facing forward. It is easy to install although I had a little trouble with the superlatch at first. It was sticking for some reason and did not latch properly. My kids have both fallen asleep in these seats and they seam to have enough support.
Seat does fold easily but is heavy if you are going to be carrying through airports.
Rating: 4 / 5
What I like:
- Super sturdy, love the steel frame
- low (no more knocking my child’s head into the car on accident)
- very tall, the height limit will allow me to use this seat for a very long time
- multiple settings for shoulder straps and lap latch
- my daughter is very comfortable in the seat
Cons:
-not the easiest to install (not hard, just not as quick as the britax I own)
- would not fit rear facing for us since we have multiple children and would not go in the middle (since my daughter is 2 this is not an issue for us)
- I would not put a little baby in it
I eventually plan to buy another one for my son. Great seat!
Rating: 4 / 5
I have a 2005 Acura TL and a 2010 Honda Accord and the car seat back is too long so it won’t work rear facing. When the car seat is rear facing it lays on top of the front driver and front passenger seat. I am installing the rear facing car seat in the middle backseats. So when your driver memory seat moves it won’t move because the car seat is holding down from the pressure of the tether strap. It would be great if the Radian car seat back wasn’t long. Oh and the car seat is heavy. I am not sure how the lady in the picture is holding it with one hand.
Rating: 3 / 5
If you have an average-to-smaller vehicle, need to take your carseat on a plane, or have lots of patience (for the frustrating belt system), get this car seat.
PROS:
*Strong, safe (and heavy) metal frame. To me, its weight is proof of it’s superior quality, but my wife is always surprised at how heavy it is.
*Folds for easy transport (well, easy if you can secure the belts and can comfortably lift and carry a 25 lb seat).
*Plenty of rear-facing legroom for our 17 month old (compared to the Recaro Signo G2).
*Sleek, slim design makes it easy to get kid in and out, and for adults to sit on either side.
*Supposedly the only car seat tested to have no hazardous chemicals present in the fabric.
CONS: There seems to be a problem with every belt on this seat:
*When transporting the seat, the LATCH belt slides out, forcing you to try to re-thread it through the thin passageway in the bottom of the seat, which is quite difficult, unless you’re Houdini. It should be permanently attached (like on the Recaro).
*LATCH belt is attached to another belt that dangles and gets in the way when trying to fold or unfold (and latch) the seat.
*Very difficult to adjust the shoulder strap height (unlike Recaro’s very convenient knob). On the Sunshine Kids, the metal bracket should be a T bracket, with one belt on each stem, but it’s more like a J. It’s not easy to get the belts off the stem when you need to adjust the shoulder strap (strong needle-nose pliers help, but it shouldn’t be this difficult). Also hard to cram the belts back onto one stem.
*When rear-facing, most of the unused anchor belt is just hanging off the back as you can’t shove the whole thing in the little plastic pocket. Unsightly (which doesn’t really bother me), but gets in the way and the metal buckle clanks against the seat, although only when car is in motion.
*When rear-facing, the unused Safe Stop belt also has nowhere to go, although the manual says to put it in the same pocket in which the anchor belt doesn’t even fit. Also clanks around when driving.
*The crotch belt… if you can somehow fit your hand through the above-mentioned LATCH belt passageway and successfully unhook and adjust the crotch belt, just move it to the furthest position so you never have to go through this process again.
*Not a very tight fit (too much play) in the rear-facing position, again, compared to the Recaro, which doesn’t even budge.
*The belt that keeps the seat in the closed position (for transport) “stows” in the seatback, creating a hump behind your baby’s head or back.
*I sent Sunshine Kids a simple question from their Customer Support page, but they never responded. I’m glad to see another reviewer had better success on the phone.
*A popular consumer reporting periodical and the NHTSA rate this very poorly for “ease of use.” I would definitely agree.
Rating: 3 / 5