We recently transitioned both Ryan and Nathan to Diono car seats. I wrote about Ryan’s Diono Monterey XT Booster Car Seat HERE. I’ve always heard such great things about Diono car seats. That’s why I also wanted to transition Nate into a Diono car seat as well. For the past two months he’s been riding the Diono Radian rXT. This car seat grows with your kid – so you literally only need to buy ONE car seat when your baby is born (I’ll wait while you re-read that). It seats rear-facing children from 5 to 45 lbs. and forward-facing children from 22 to 65 lbs. in the 5-point harness, up to 57″ in height. You can then convert it to a booster for children 50 to 120 lbs. up to 57″ in height. To accommodate all three phases while providing comfort to your kid, the car seat has a 12-position adjustable headrest, 5 shoulder and 3 buckle positions. It also comes with a ten year warranty so you can use it with your growing child worry-free. Amazing right!?
Here are some of my quick thoughts on the pros and cons of this car seat… read on to find out if I would recommend it.
PROS
It has a slim design which is great for those with small vehicles – in fact, it allows for three of the car seats to fit in most mid-size vehicles.
It’s built strong and made from high quality materials like a full steel frame and aluminum reinforced sides.
The car seat is easy to install – click the bottom straps into your car’s latch system and attach the rear buckle strap to the clip at the back of the car seat.
I personally love the extra padding around the seat belt part. When my son falls asleep in the car, the seat belt doesn’t dig into his skin.
Some other great features include: Memory foam padding, infant support pillows, expandable sides, and a longer seat bottom that provides extra room and comfort for your growing child. The car seat can be folded flat which makes it a great for traveling or for storage.
CONS
It is heavy due to the steel frame but really, what car seat isn’t? Luckily, you don’t need to carry it around much.
Compared to the booster seat which we have for Ryan, it does take some time to set up out of box and figure out where the straps are. Not long, but it’s not as straight forward.
So would I recommend it? Most definitely! Nate loves it for it’s comfort and the fact that it has a cup holder (his previous car seat didn’t). I love it for all of the safety features; it’s definitely a win-win!
The car seat retails for $399.99 which is extremely reasonable for a quality-made car seat, especially one that will grow with your kid, eliminating the need to purchase any additional car seats down the road.
I love that you can carry it