ITEM# 18568

Sunshine Kids Radian 80 SL Convertible Car Seat in Shadow

7
Reviews
This item is discontinued.
Description
Radian80sl is a convertible car seat for rear-facing children 5 - 45 lbs and forward-facing children up to 80 lbs in a 5-point harness. Its steel alloy frame is NCaP crash tested making it the strongest car seat in the world. Our SuperLATCH system ensures the easiest installation possible using the vehicle?s lower anchors up to 80 lbs ? no seat belt required. Radian80sl features reinforced sides and protective ePS foam panels for side impact protection and the SafeStop energy-absorbing harness system for enhanced safety. The low profile offers easy child boarding and its unique design provides more shoulder room yet still fits 3-across in a mid-size car. Memory foam padding for? comfort and the infant support cushions convert into adjustable pillows for older kids. all this and Radian80sl can fold flat for convenient travel and storage.
Product Reviews
4.6
out of 5.0
7 Reviews
Ratings Snapshot
5
4
4
3
3
0
2
0
1
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100%
of Reviewers
Recommend
John
Moody, AL
Verified Buyer
Great product!
January 29, 2012
This product is safe, nice looking, and durable. It is also easy to buckle and stays locked down to your seats.
Pros
  • Safety and durability
Shay
Seattle, WA
Great car seat
January 29, 2012
After lots of research, I bought this car seat as our back up car seat and I love it. I love that it folds so we can easily take it on vacations and I love that it is so narrow. With 3 (soon to be 4) kids in boosters or car seats, space in the car is a premium, so it is nice to be able to fit 3 car seats side by side. And I love that it has a 10 yr life span, vs. the normal 6, so that I can get more bang for my buck. It is nice that you can use the LATCH system in all vehicles over the normal 40 lb. latch limit. It's nice and comfortable and my child seems to fit very cozy in it. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of five is that it doesn't install as tightly as my Britax Marathon does in a car without a LATCH system. A(Britax has the built in locking clips that secure the car seat very tightly with a seat belt and this one does not have that feature, so it is harder to securely fasten it with a seat belt). But, if your car is new enough to have LATCH, it's a great car seat. I ended up moving it to our main car that does have LATCH and moved the marathon to our back up car that does not have LATCH.
Pros
  • very comfortable
  • very narrow (fit 3 car seats side by side)
  • folds for easy travel
  • 10 yr life span
  • can use LATCH until the seat weight limit (vs. the normal 40 lbs)
Cons
  • No seat belt locking system
Irene
Tempe, Arizona
Verified Buyer
Great for small sedan
January 24, 2012
I purchased this seat after extensive online research for a seat that would allow us to have 3 passengers in the back seat of our 1999 Chevy Prizm. We have it rear-facing in the center, and a Britax Roundabout 50 forward-facing behind the driver, and so the seat behind the front passenger is stll usable. We have a child restraint built-in that seat, so we can have an adult or child easily ride there. Hooray! I've heard some say the Sunshine Radian is difficult to install but that was NOT my experience, it was EASY. We do not have latch in my car. I had read online about the trick to twist the buckle near the bight of the backseat so that it lowers the height of that buckle. You must have just the mesh part of the seatbelt going through the car seat, not any of the plastic or metal parts of the seat belt entering the seat belt path through this car seat. Hope that made sense. It took 2 and 1/2 twists. I never wanted to spend this much on 1 car seat, but it was cheaper than buying another car. :) This seat has such a high height limit (most kids outgrow convertible car seat by height first, not weight), I think it will fit my son until it expires!
Pros
  • Narrow seat width!! (yet still roomy enough for the child)
  • High weight limit for rear facing
  • Height range for FF up to 53 in!
  • Cushion inserts for infant/toddler
  • Harness/belts - no twisting
  • Buckle/chest clip - east, audible "clicks"
  • Folds up if you need to carry it
Cons
  • Heavy
  • Price
  • 2010 manufacture date, so we already lost 1 year of its 8 year life
  • Dark fabric color - it absorbs too much AZ sun!
Angela
Hernando, MS
Verified Buyer
Amazing
January 22, 2012
Went from Britax Marathons, which we still love, to fitting all three kids under five years of age across the back seat of our Lexus GX 470. So pleased with purchase!!! Bought three at the same time and don't regret a thing!
Pros
  • Slim profile
briar
utah
Verified Buyer
Awesome
January 16, 2012
I needed the slimmest carseats i could buy and these were it. I didn't have a choice about the accessories or ammenities it offered. Fortunate it is highly crash test rated, you can place the seat forward or rear facing, and its an awesome seat. I hate when buckles are difficult to deal with, and these buckles are great. I needed to squeeze 3 seats in one back seat and these guys made it possible.
Pros
  • buckles easy, kids sleep comfortable in them, their heads don't sag because they are at a recline. I like that they are rear facing at higher weight limit
Cons
  • they are pretty heavy
Sarah
Fort Worth, TX
Verified Buyer
Great Car Seat!
January 5, 2012
I love this car seat. It's not quite as nice as the XTSL (we have one of those too), but my kids LOVE their new car seats, the straps never twist or get caught up, sooo easy to install, the narrowest seat on the market, not bulky, my daughter loves it. We took at 16 hour car trip (each way) over Christmas and my Daughter was never uncomfortable. Can't beat the sale price either! We use this in our 2010 Jeep Wrangler 4-door (not many seats fit well in this vehicle) as well as our 2004 Nissan Maxima. I feel like my child is safe in this seat, as well as comfortable. I like the darker cloth because it won't look dirty or dingy immediately.
Pros
  • Can fit 3 across, will be the last car seat we buy, 5-pt harness up to 80 lbs with latch!
Cons
  • no cup/snack holder
Michelle
Seattle, WA
Verified Buyer
Solid, long lasting seat
December 28, 2011
We got an excellent price on these seats from Albee - MUCH lower than several other sites that usually have good prices. We had a set of Radian 80s prior to this, but had to replace them because we were in a car accident. These seats are very long lasting, as they keep kids safe in 5 point harnesses for a very long time. They're easy to install and take out of the car, as they have seatbelt-like releases on the LATCH attachments. I don't like the new releases quite as much as the older releases - it's harder to reach when it's installed. If you travel by air, get the travel bags for these seats - the seats fold up quite nicely, and even though they are heavy, they are reasonably portable in these travel bags. My son (3) has a little more trouble with buckling and releasing himself into the 5 point harness on this seat, as opposed to the seats we have in another car. My daughter, however, has no trouble with this (since she was 4).
Pros
  • Lasts a long time. Solid construction. Good way to attach and release into a LATCH system.
Cons
  • Buckles can be a little tricky for smaller hands.
Customer Q&A