Diono RadianR100 Convertible Car Seat Review

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program Diono RadianR100 is a great car seat for those who are looking for a car seat that will grow with your child from 5 to 100 lbs. We own the Diono RadianRXT, DionoR100, and the Graco Nautilus 3-in-1, and would have to say that the Diono is our favorite car seat for traveling purposes, but our second favorite car seat for everyday use (mainly because the kids like the Graco cup holders and armrests more on that below). There are many things about this car seat that we love:

1. It's easy to set up and install. While I did need the instruction manual to figure many of the various parts and how to fully assemble the seat, the instructions were clear and the seat took no longer than 15 minutes for me to get set up in house, then another 15 minutes to get it installed into our cars. I did not include the unpacking time for the car seat from the box that's just silly.

2. The Superlatch system is brilliant. With the Graco latch system, you have to shove your fingers into the seat in order to feel the latch system bar, then youhave to push down on the clip to install the latch system, and then potentially pinch your fingers because the clip. When you remove the clip, you have to shove your fingers back into the seat, feel around the evil finger pinching clip, squeeze the clip and potentially pinch your fingers again! With the Superlatch, you just shove the candy bar shaped bar onto the latch in the car until you hear a click. To remove, you push a button the top of the Superlatch, then pull out. This is awesome of epic proportions.

3. The Dionos are amazingly slim. You really could fit three of these seats in the backseat of your car. We have a 2009 Honda Odyssey and a 2006 Honda Accord and three of these seats would fit in the back if we really wanted to. We chose to install the R100 in our Accord along with the RXT, and there's enough room for both our kids to sit back there with our papillon dog in the middle.

4. While we got this car seat a little late for this purpose, the Diono allows for backward facing infants. It comes with head and side supports, as well as a large plastic piece to install under the car seat so it's inclined back for an infant to lie down in. This is great for parents who want to buy one car seat, and one car seat only to use for their child. This may be a con for some parents, as many parents like having the infant car seats to easily remove a sleeping baby from the car without having to unbelt them and potentially waking them up.

5. The thing we love about the Diono Series the most is the convenience of the Diono when traveling by airplane. This car seat actually folds down compactly, has areas on the back for all the components to clip to, has the instructional manual literally tied to the seat, and comes with backpack style straps. My husband or I can carry it through an airport as easily as another piece of luggage, as it's not as cumbersome to lug around as conventional car seats. It's thin and folds down low enough to go through x-ray machines, and not terribly difficult to set up in airline seats. This is probably the best thing about the seat.

That said, here are the aspects of the seat that we didn't particularly like.

1. Set up of the seat is not very intuitive. The Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 is much more intuitive to figure out. I could easily remember how to break down the seat and assemble it without having to consult with the instructional manual. With the Diono RadianR100, I always have to refer to the manual in order to break down and stow the many pieces. I'm guessing this is because it does break down much more compactly than the Graco, as well as has all those different clips to stow the straps for traveling. The instruction manual also does not store well into the seat as the Graco it is simply shoved behind the fabric of the car seat. If not put in well, you can feel the manual through the fabric.

2. The cup holder is poorly designed. There is a single tube of plastic that is keeping the cup holder stuck in the armrest flap of the car seat. My kids can pull out the cup holder, as it doesn't really stay in very well. We decided to not even use it with our car seat.

3. The fabric of the RadianR100 is not as comfortable as the Graco 3-in-1. The fabric and cushioning is thin in comparison, and we were able to feel some of the hidden straps underneath the fabric. We have not had to wash the car seat fabric just yet and I will update my review with the condition of the fabric after a few washes, if it can be removed easily.

4. The armrests are practically nonexistent. If it wasn't mentioned in the manual, I would have guessed that there were no armrests on this car seat. My kids didn't think there were armrests on the seats, either.

In comparison to the Diono RXT, the RXT is a slightly better purchase, but not by much. The fabric in comparison, is much better than the R100. It not only feels better, but it looks a lot nicer than the R100. The RXT also comes with the additional cup holder, a shoulder carrying strap, the infant head and side positioners, as well as head side impact cushions. The structure of the R100 and RXT is pretty much the same, although the RXT does support 20 lbs more than the R100. How much this makes a difference really depends on the weigh and height of your child, as well as the car seat laws in your state. I really don't think many kids will be riding in a car seat up to 120 lbs...I could be wrong, though.

In comparison to the Graco Nautilus, R100 is much more compact, but is more difficult to assemble/break down for cleaning. My kids think the Graco fabric and cushioning is more comfortable, and like the cup holder and arm rests better on the Graco. However, they do like that fact that the R100 is easier to get into by themselves, simply because of the lack of armrests. The R100 fits much better than the Gracos in compact cars.

All in all, I think that the Diono R100 is a fantastic car seat. It feels solid, looks great, and is comfortable for our kids. Highly recommended!

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program We have two Graco Nautilus chairs with which we are extremely satisfied, but subsequently purchased the Diono, which is also great.

The key selling point for both the Diono and the Graco for us was that we can buy one car seat to last our kids all the way to 100 pounds. Otherwise, you end up buying several as they outgrow the different ones. They both work very well for that and have served our kids well from toddlers to little kids to bigger kids.

Admittedly, although we have three car seats to last the kids all the way from birth (for the Diono not the Graco) to 100 pounds, we prefer the classic Graco (or other brand) SnugRide for when they were very, very small because they can sleep in the bassinet, which just clips into the car base that is permanently attached to the car. Very easy to move them into or out of the car without awakening them. However, they grow out of those pretty quickly, then the Diono (or Graco Nautilus) is great because it works when they are reclined or when they can sit up. [Edit: JaneeNoel's comment that that the Diono allows for both forward and rear facing infants whereas the Graco starts at larger, forward facing sizes is absolutely correct. Please see her comment for useful details. Our usage pattern and the general weariness of parenthood with wee ones clouded my memory on the nautilus b/c we always liked using the Snugride for our kids as infants. While the Diono's ability to function for infants is an advantage over the Graco's larger, minimum size requirement, it just doesn't matter to us, only because, in our minds, you can't beat the convenience of a Snugride (or equivalent) for hauling around an infant.]

So ... why did we switch from the Nautilus to the Diono -size. First, the Graco is wider, and includes a cup holder and arm rest that are not removable. The Diono can accept cup holders, but that's not the standard. Couldn't fit three of the Graco's in the backseat of the trusty minivan. Second, the Diono is much, much better for air travel. While the Graco's have fit into the airline seats for us, we stopped taking them because they are so, so hard to carry through an airport while also herding kids through terminals. The Diono folds flat and is relatively easy to take through airports, install into a plane seat (or store overhead), then install into the rental car.

Don't mean to rip on the Graco, because we would give it very high ratings, too. Just saying that if we had considered the possibility of needing to install three kids seats into the backseat AND had known that we'd be flying with the kids two or three times per year, we would have found it easier and safer (taking car seats on vacations) to just spend more for the Diono's (and their removable cupholders). If those aren't really considerations for you, pick based on color or price, and you'll be happy with either.

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I have bought three of these carseats! My husband drives a Toyota corolla and whew we're able to put two of these carseats in the back along with an infant carseats and they all fit. No van for us! There's literally no more room but they are all safely and snugly fitting in there. The third carseats was for my jeep patriot. I already had a normal toddler seat and an infant seat so I only needed one to make it work there. Overally, nice product. I'm happy with my purchases.

Honest reviews on Diono RadianR100 Convertible Car Seat

I have three of these forward facing in the back of Prius. It's a tight squeeze, but everyone is in there safely. This would be impossible without the Radian!

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Okay so this looks like a great sturdy seat for toddlers and up. We bought it for our third child and we have a small backseat (BMW) --this was the ONLY option for three across. We have owned Britax, evenflo, graco, you name it. I have an evenflo in our suv which we love and our one year old is still rear-facing. BUT... despite the installation going okay and the seat being super sturdy the top is so long that there is no way I can keep him rear-facing. It hits the front seat so that a passenger has to be dangerously close to the air-bag. SO, I installed it forward facing. Our son liked it, but there is no side protection at all so imagine your one year old being in a higher version of the backseat. Exzctly--it's like an actual Car Seat with a harness. So, while I imagine this would have been good for our other children (now 5 and 7 and not in these types of seats anymore) it is just not right for our one year old. There is no head support, no support anywhere. It irks me that this is for infants on up. How would an infant possibly sit in this????

Please consider this before buying this as a seat for anyone less than 2 or years old.

UPDATE: Baby is now 18 months old and we started using this seat forward facing. Please don't start writing negative comments about this as it's literally the only seat that will fit our car three across and I have to keep my other kids safe too!

We did use the Snugride 40 but the problem was that it lies the baby down too far and he wanted to sit up. So, that worked for a few months. I love this seat now. I think it's very sturdy, great for older babies and comfortable. Have used it a few weeks now and baby is very happy in it and doesn't complain.