So, as some of you may be aware I am a complete advocate of Rear facing, all the way to 25kg, no less.
Over the past few years we have tried, tested and loved many 25kg rear facing seats with our son, Archie.
We have recently changed Indie over to the Diono Radian 5 which is a birth-25kg seat. The fact it is suitable from birth stood out to us straight away.
When it comes to buying your first car seat when you're expecting 99% of people will be recommended a capsule car seat and then move on to a 18kg rear facing seat only to realise at approx. age 3.5/4 that they then need to purchase another seat that rear faces and is harnessed to 25kg to avoid having to use a high back booster and seatbelt. I know I fell into this trap when Archie was little.
With the Diono Radian 5 you can skip all of this and have the one seat from birth the whole way to approx age 6 (25kg). This is one feature I absolutely love about this seat, along with many other things such as;
The memory foam inside the seat makes it super comfortable for Indie to sit in, this also acts as extra shock absorption if we were to be in a collision.
It is very slimline and with our older son Archie being in an ERF seat also, our back seat space is already taken up a lot, with the Diono it means we can still fit a passenger in the back middle seat which is fab!
It is Aircraft approved!! With me being from Ireland and taking flights home at least once a year this is a super handy feature for me, it means I know her car seat will not leave my sight and also can be used on the aircraft, freeing up my hands for Archie and also putting my mind to ease knowing Indie is secure and safe as can be.
The seats frame is made of steel, if this doesn't reassure you for your child's safety then what will?
The Diono Radian 5 folds up to make storage no issue, perfect for people who cannot keep their car seat installed at all times.
The Radian 5 is installed using 3 things, a seat belt, a tether strap that secures to the seat in front and also a rear facing attachment which "hooks" under your seat back. For me having a seat with more than just a basic seat belt installation or isofix, gives me so much peace of mind. I feel we get a much more secure fit.
All in all we have been very happy with the Diono Radian 5 and I think Indie would agree that she is very happy too!
Our only problem, Archie now wants one too!
Shop the Diono Radian 5 here.