Backless boosters are totally unsuitable for many younger children and, whilst high-backed booster seats are better, they are still not as good as those that come with a 5-point harness that can be used until your child is older.
But, which harness to booster should you buy if you don’t drive around in a massive vehicle?
Not everyone has the luxury of driving their children around in a large mini van or SUV.
If you do own one of these very large vehicles, then you probably don’t need to worry about finding the best narrow harness to booster car seat for your children. You will be able to simply look at the entire range of seats on offer in the normal manner, and make a choice according to whichever seat seems to be the best.
If, however, you own a small vehicle or drive a normal sized family vehicle but need to fit 3 seats in a row, then you will definitely need to take account of the seat width when making a purchasing decision.
The Narrowest Harness to Booster Car Seats
If you are looking to find the narrowest harness to booster car seat on the market today, then look no further.
There is only one series of harness to booster car seats that can comfortably fit 3 in a row within a standard sized family vehicle, and that is the Diono Radian R100, the Diono Radian R120, and the Diono Radian RXT.
All 3 of these harness to booster seats measure just 17 inches across at their widest point, which is at the head/shoulder area.
To give you some idea of just how narrow the Diono Radian seats are, here are the width measurements of a few of their main competitors:
- Britax Pinnacle – 22.5 inches
- Britax Frontier – 19 inches
- Britax Pioneer – 19 inches
- Diono Rainier – 18.5 inches
Now, a couple of inches difference might not seem like much to worry about if you only need to fit a single seat in your vehicle, but if you need to install 3 of them it can make a massive difference of 6 inches or so. This can quite simply make the difference between being able to fit 3 across in a row and not being able to fit them in at all.
So, the Diono Radian series of seats are by far the narrowest harness to booster seats on the market.
The great news for those parents and other caregivers who are looking to buy narrow harness to booster car seats is that the Diono seats are not just narrow, but they are also great seats in their own right. So, you do not need to make any safety and convenience compromises in buying these narrow seats.
One other bonus with these seats is that, although they can be used as harness to booster seats, they are also suitable for use from birth as a convertible car seat. So, they could be the only seat that your child needs to use right the way from birth to the a time when they no longer need to use a child car seat at all.
The Diono Radian RXT is the top-of-the-range model and has been one of the most popular seats on the market for many years. There are no signs of it being discontinued any time soon.
But, there are 3 seats in the Diono series of 5-point booster seats and they are all slightly different.
Which one should you choose?
The Diono Radian R100 vs R120 vs RXT
Lets start by looking at the features that are common to all 3 of these seats, before then considering what makes each one different from the others.
All 3 of the Diono Radian seats come with:
- 17 inch width
- Steel alloy frame and aluminium reinforced sides
- Energy-absorbing EPS foam and Side Impact Protection
- SuperLATCH installation
- Rear-Facing Tether Capability
- SafeStop Energy-absorbing harness
- Machine washable seat cover
- FAA approved for aircraft use
- Folds flat for easy carriage and storage
- 10 year product life
The Diono Radian R100, R120 and RXT seats have all received “Best Best” evaluations from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
So, all 3 of these seats come with excellent safety features, but what are the important differences that you ought to consider before making your purchasing decision?
The main differences between these Diono harness to booster seats are as follows.
1. Infant Body Support Cushions
Only the Radian RXT and the Radian R120 come with infant body support cushions.
Obviously, if you are just looking to buy this seat as a harnessed booster, this probably means that your child is already well beyond the stage of using an infant body support cushion!
If, however, you are looking to buy one of these seats for use form birth, this might be a relevant consideration.
2. Child Height & Weight Limits
You should always double-check the User Manual to ensure that you comply with the full requirements, but in summary, the child height and weight limits for these seats are as follows.
Diono Radian R100:
Rear-facing from 5 – 40 lbs & 44 inches & child’s head at least 1.5 inches from top of seat
Forwards-facing in harness from 20 to 65 lbs & 57 inches or top of ears above top of seat
Forwards-facing using seatbelt from 65 to 100 lbs & 57 inches or top of ears above top of seat
Diono Radian R120:
Rear-facing from 5 – 45 lbs & 44 inches & child’s head at least 1.5 inches from top of seat
Forwards-facing in harness from 20 to 80 lbs & 57 inches or top of ears above top of seat
Forwards-facing using seatbelt from 50 to 120 lbs & 57 inches or top of ears above top of seat
Diono Radian RXT:
Rear-facing from 5 – 45 lbs & 44 inches & child’s head at least 1.5 inches from top of seat
Forwards-facing in harness from 20 to 80 lbs & 57 inches or top of ears above top of seat
Forwards-facing using seatbelt from 50 to 120 lbs & 57 inches or top of ears above top of seat
So, the Diono Radian R120 and RXT models have exactly the same height and weight limits.
Whilst the height limits on the R100 version are exactly the same as the other 2 seats, the weight limits are significantly lower.
For this reason, I highly recommend the R120 and RXT versions if you don’t want to have to buy another traditional booster seat further down the line.
3. Adjustable Headrest
As you can see from the images above, the Radian RXT model is the only one that comes with a 12-position adjustable headrest.
Since there isn’t a huge price difference between the R100, R120 and the Radian RXT seats, I would definitely choose the Radian RXT. I consider that the additional adjustable headrest (with its protective head wings) is worth the extra money on its own.
Check Latest Prices of the Diono Radian RXT Seats.
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