Anyone Using the Sunshine Kids Car Seats ?? What Do You Think of It??

We have and use Sunshine Kids Radian 65. Although my daughter had clearly outgrown her Graco before she turned 1, we were still using it until her 1st birthday, when we could feel a little safer switching her to forward facing.

We drive an awful, ancient Geo Prizm. To fit the Radian 65 into our car, we really NEEDED to do forward rather than rear-facing (due to the height of the seat back), and we had to install it behind the passenger seat, rather than in the middle (although it is narrow, it might not have easily fit in the middle, and it would not have been easy to secure with its anchors/tethers in our ancient vehicle).

That said - we love it! As does our toddler (now 15 months old). It's easy to remove and install, and it has not simply decided to fold shut on its own! (That would be a serious safety hazard.) I think it's a great seat, and I look forward to taking it with us as we travel to Chicago next week.

I think the biggest concern is the right fit for your child. If you have a wider kid, it might not fit as well for as long as you'd like (narrow car-seat). And while my daughter is really big (between 75th and 90th percentile on the charts), it seems clear to me that she should be able to use this seat until about that 65 pound mark (although, depending on how long that takes, she might be getting to be a big girl, who needs an older kid booster seat -- we'll cross that bridge later.)

We have the Radian 65 in one car and a Britax Boulevard in the other. We bought the Radian mostly because we thought the folding feature would be nice for travel. It does fold well, but the seat is SO HEAVY that it really doesn't make it any easier to travel with it. Folding when you don't want it to is definitely not a problem, the mechanism is made well so that it locks very firmly into place when it's ready to be used as a seat. The Radian has a very good manual with lots of pictures, but it can still be a little tough to get installed, depending on the car. We were able to install it rear-facing in a Hyundai Elantra though. The only real problem we have had with it was the chest buckle broke (after about 2 years of use), but the company replaced it for me very quickly. However, if I had it to do over, I would buy another Britax - it's easier to get installed and removed, and my son is more comfortable in it.

HI there: I recently discovered the Radian seat myself - we bought it so that I can install 3 car seats in the back of my Camry for when my 3rd arrives in Nov. :) Anyhow, because this seat is for my almost 4 y.o., I can't comment on the rear-facing install of it but heard because it's a tall seat, it takes up a lot of room rear-facing. Though I would suspect, so does a lot of the other ones with a higher weight-limit.

It takes a bit to get it to fold, so it shouldn't collapse and fold on itself. At least it has not happened to us at all. :)

You can check www.car-seat.org for some more info on it - esp. re: if it will fit in different cars. But I got mine on Target.com and since you can return it to the store, you can buy it to try it out and return it if it doesn't fit. :)

This is a heavy seat so switching it between cars might be a pain but other comparable car seats with similar weight limits are also just as heavy. Hubby didn't have trouble installing it foward-facing at all in our Camry.

It is definitely a narrow carseat but my preschooler doesn't mind and fits with plenty of room, even around the shoulders. [He seems very comfortable in it, though misses the freedom of the booster with just a chest strap instead of the 5 point harness]. From what I've heard, it's narrower in width but wider inside where the person actually sits, does that make sense? So, in our book, it's definitely worth the investment, though definitely check it out in person first! Hope this helps!

We have it and moved our son into it before his first birthday - so he was rear facing initially in it. I've had no problems with it. I find it easy to fasten and the seatbelt covers (for around the neck) are great. The straps are a little narrow, so the covers keep his neck from getting red marks. He seems to really enjoy it & looks like he lounges in it. Because the sides are low, he often kicks his 1 foot out to the side - a real couch potato!

I see that you decided not to go with the Radian, but for other's reference:

I have 2 Radians (a 65 and an 80, they're essentially the same seat, but I got a fantastic deal on the 80 and couldn't pass it up, lol). Our Radian has only been rear-facing and we've never had an installation issue. I *personally* don't find it any heavier than a Britax seat. They're less bulky than a Britax (we also have a Marathon that lives in my car full-time, the Radian is for my husband's) There is NO WAY that the seat will fold up when you don't want it to. It's impossible, really.

I've traveled with the Radian, and loved it. It installed amazingly on the plane, and in the car that we used when we landed. I wouldn't see a problem installing it in the cavalier - it's great with LATCH.

The shell is on the tall side (which I think is fantastic since it'll have more use that way in the long run). Because he's 7 months, you'd be able to install it a little more upright (it's a little more difficult with the rear-facing boot on the radian, but not too much) so that you would have more room for the front-seat driver/passenger.

My two cents. your mileage may vary ;)