# Radian or Clek Foonf? RF three yr. old



## Asiago (Jul 1, 2009)

Radian or Clek Foonf? I am hoping for some help.

My car is a Volvo SUV and my son is three years old and 38 or 39 inches and lean and narrow.

I'd like to keep him rear facing as long as possible.

Thanks!


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## greenemami (Nov 1, 2007)

we have a radian that goes to 40 or 45 pounds RF, I forget which. My son is 3+a couple of months, about 37 or 38 inches maybe, 29 pounds. He has tons of room left, no way will he outgrow it RF before he turns 4 (which was my goal to keep him RF).

It does take up a lot of room RF-i.e., I have to keep the passenger seat up pretty far for it to fit, which is not a big deal for me since I rarely have a passenger, but is worth considering if you tend to have tall passengers 

I don't know anything about the Clek, sorry!


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## TiredX2 (Jan 7, 2002)

How lean and narrow?

The tallest rear-facing seat on the market right now is actually the Graco Size 4 Me/ My Size/ Headwise. If your child is thinner, it will fit longer than the Foonf or the Radian (the Foonf has a 43" rear-facing height limit, the Radian a 44" height limit but a 2" shorter shell. Longer torsoed kids will outgrow the Radian starting around 38-39" rear-facing, longer legged kids will get the full 44". With the Foonf, longer torsoed kids have the advantage because it has the taller shell so they'll get to 43" while longer legged kids will have a lot of space over their heads but hit the 43" and have it be outgrown).

What seat is your son in now? How does it fit him (where are his shoulders in relation to the top harness slots, where is his head in relation to the shell of the seat)? A weight (even within a few pounds) would be very helpful when deciding on the seat, as would a shirt size (which will give an idea of torso, or you can measure his torso--- have him sit cross-legged with his back to a wall, measure from the ground to the top of his shoulder).


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## skycheattraffic (Apr 16, 2012)

Greenemami, do you have the angle adjuster with your radian? It's very upright if you use the adjustor and my 6'3" DH has no issues sitting in front of it in our matrix.
I know this is off topic but I love our radian and wanted to mention that it can be very upright and still RF. My 31 lb 35" DD who is tall in the torso still has multiple harness slots to grow into and the 45lb RF limit should at least get her to her 3rd birthday, but hopefully longer.


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## greenemami (Nov 1, 2007)

Skycheattraffic-No, I had no idea there was such a thing! It hasn't been much of an issue for us, but it is so cheap I might just pick one up! Thanks for correcting my misinformation 

I should have mentioned also that my kids are tall in the legs, not torso, and lean as well, so we have tons of room for RF still even at 3+ years old.


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## Asiago (Jul 1, 2009)

Thank you much for the informative replies!
My son is about 34 pounds and he is narrow in the shoulders and hips, size 3, sometimes 4 shirt. He is nearly to the top of the Britax Blvd shell not counting the part that extends up to change the shoulder slots- is that center protective?
However his shoulders are not even close to the upper limit of the slots. His torso and head measures 20 inches against the wall. He seems comfortable in his Britax though lately it is more difficult for me to get him into it, I have to work to physically fold him a bit to get him in. Once in he does seem to extend his legs straight up which he had not done until recently. He has much more leg room though in Volvo versus my husband's Suburu. It's much more difficult to put him in the Suburu.
It is amazing how the same seat is so different in two cars.


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## TiredX2 (Jan 7, 2002)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Asiago*
> 
> Thank you much for the informative replies!
> My son is about 34 pounds and he is narrow in the shoulders and hips, size 3, sometimes 4 shirt. He is nearly to the top of the Britax Blvd shell not counting the part that extends up to change the shoulder slots- is that center protective?
> ...


He's outgrown the Boulevard rear-facing by height then. It requires 1" of space from the head to the top of the shell (not the extendable head-rest).


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## TiredX2 (Jan 7, 2002)

But if his head and torso only measure 20" that doesn't make sense. That is cross-legged and make a pencil mark at the top of the head--- measure from the floor to the mark? When you said "nearly" how nearly did you mean? (It should have a 24" internal height, so a 23" seated height, though I know that some height is lost due to recline).


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## TiredX2 (Jan 7, 2002)

Assuming he is newly 3, 34 pounds puts him under the 75th percentile for weight while 38.5" would put him around the 75th percentile for height (if he is actually 3.5 or closer to 4 those percentiles would change). He would be predicted to hit 40 pounds just after 4, 45 pounds just after 5 and 50 pounds right after 6. Meanwhile, he would be predicted to be 43" and 4.5 years, 44" around 5 years.

So, based on his stats, it *looks* like a higher weight limit seat would gain him time. That said, if he has a longer torso then the height limit of the Radian would be hit before the height limit of the Foonf.


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## Asiago (Jul 1, 2009)

Thank you again so much! He is 42 months of age and you were right the 20 inch measurement was off, he is actually 21 inches and be has about 2 inches left in the shoulder slots but his head is about one inch, perhaps 1.5 from the top of the a shell.


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## brigala (Apr 26, 2010)

It's hard to say for sure, but I think he'd get more use out of the Foonf. If he's under 40" tall but already that close to the top of the Boulevard, that indicates to me that his torso is relatively long. So he may get too tall for the Radian before he reaches the Foonf's stated 43" height limit. A longer-legged child may hit 43" standing height but still have room to grow in the Radian. What size shirt and pants does he wear?


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## Asiago (Jul 1, 2009)

Thanks Brigala, his shirt size (3/4) does tend to be higher than his pant (2/3), due to the length of his arms and torso. We'll likely go with the Foonf. I cannot thank you enough!


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## TiredX2 (Jan 7, 2002)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Asiago*
> 
> Thanks Brigala, his shirt size (3/4) does tend to be higher than his pant (2/3), due to the length of his arms and torso. We'll likely go with the Foonf. I cannot thank you enough!


Just wondering if you ended up with the Foonf and how it worked out


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## Asiago (Jul 1, 2009)

Ah thank you TiredX2! We did purchase the Foonf and have been using it for a week. So far so good. I will follow up with more info.
And I am so sorry I was confused and didn't thank you when I thanked Brigala. You were so helpful to me.


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## TiredX2 (Jan 7, 2002)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Asiago*
> 
> Ah thank you TiredX2! We did purchase the Foonf and have been using it for a week. So far so good. I will follow up with more info.
> And I am so sorry I was confused and didn't thank you when I thanked Brigala. You were so helpful to me.


Please keep us posted! The Foonf is so new, it's nice to hear about kids actually using it (esp bigger kids!). I hope it keeps working out for you


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## Asiago (Jul 1, 2009)

Finally an update.......I really wanted to wait in order to form my opinion.
The Clek Foonf is working out well. It is rear facing in a Volvo XC90. My husband installed it and apparently the instruction manual is vague with tiny diagrams, never the less it is installed and fits well behind the passenger seat. Oh and incidentally, kudos to Volvo, reading my own car manual they actually state "children should rear face until age four" , I had not noticed it in there before.

We chose the color black/drift (which was also the least expensive color) but it seems to collect food and unfortunately there is no washable cover on it. I am glad my son is no longer having potty accidents in his car seat, we are beyond that stage when I was often washing the car seat cover.

It does sit very high, nursing while buckled in can be a challenge for mom.

It does offer my son much more room. His legs seem comfortable, but there is a 'rebound bar' that is in the way of his feet. He doesn't seem bothered by it though. I found the rebound bar concept interesting because we didn't have one with the other seats, though they were tethered.

My son really likes the seat.

The wings and head rest extend upward as he grows and form the protection of a shell, unlike that of the Britix, in which the protection is from the main part of the shell, not sure I am explaining that clearly. In other words the main shell of the Foonf protects his body, the extender his head. The shoulder slits will be a bit of a hassle to manually change as he grows, the Britax was simple in that regard. We only have one more shoulder slot though.

All and all, this seat seems soooo sturdy, heavy and high quality. I know our other seats were decent but this one really seems extraordinary.
Thank you again TiredX2! And Brigala!


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## TiredX2 (Jan 7, 2002)

Thanks for the update. Sounds great


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## marsupial-mom (Feb 3, 2010)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Asiago*
> 
> Oh and incidentally, kudos to Volvo, reading my own car manual they actually state "children should rear face until age four"


Wow, way to go Volvo!

Awesome 

Glad the seat is working out for you.


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## Asiago (Jul 1, 2009)

Thanks!! Yes, it was nice to see that!


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