Product Review: Diono Radian 5

A while ago we were lucky enough to be sent the Radian 5, Diono's latest car seat, to review for the blog so I thought I'd share our thoughts on it with you in today's post.
Knowing that I wouldn't be driving anywhere for six weeks after the arrival of our second baby, we tested it on days out with our 15 month old over the last few weeks and it proved to be a hit!

The principle of the Radian 5 is that it caters for your child from birth up to 25kg which, in car seat terms, is Group 0 to 2. That alone gives it a great big tick but, add to that its capabilities to stay rear-facing for the duration and you have a seat which enables you to balance your child's safety with cost.

So, now for the technical bit: why is it safer? The fact that you can have your bubba rear-facing indefinitely means its more supportive of their neck if you have an accident while the steel reinforced frame gives the seat added strength. The frame also means that the plastic walls aren't as bulky as lots of seats which, in turn, means the whole car seat is narrower, giving you more room. Plus, the clever people at Radian, have designed the seat out of memory foam so your little one will still be really comfortable. Our boy certainly was!

The more upright seating position caused a great deal of excitement and, despite my concerns about how Charlie would find a bigger seat, he was still held securely in place thanks to adjustable features such as seat width and head rest height; the latter of the two was my main worry about a seat which could be used up to stage 2, but the head rest was deep enough that he easily drifted off to sleep without his head lolling to one side unsupported even when forward-facing.

The five point harness is easy to secure so that, even when you're dealing with a wriggly toddler, you can still clip them in place in seconds. Even at full-term, I found it easy to fasten the belt, unlike with some others which we tested in store during our search.
As all parents will confirm, bubbas come with a great deal of bulky paraphernalia meaning that, unless you have a garage the size of an air-craft hanger, you'll be looking for brands that consider storage when designing their products and Diono deliver here too: the seat folds neatly in half and fits snugly inside its own storage/carry bag so that, whenever it's not in use, you can tuck it safely out of the way. Bingo!

All in all, I have to say that, Diono have ticked so many boxes with the Radian 5 that it's well worth its price tag and you'd do well to check it out.