A few months ago, I wrote about my misguided car seat decisions and how speaking to a Diono car seat safety expert helped me understand the mistakes I was making. Since that first post, we have changed our ways as a family and couldn’t be happier. Or safer.
My car seat safety questions were originally precipitated by the fact that my 3 year old was quickly outgrowing her car seat and wanted to move into a convertible like her big sister. Diono offered to send me their Rainier car seat (in a pretty purple color my daughter would love) so I could test it out and share my thoughts about it with our readers.
Even before I had the seat in my hands, one of the most appealing things to me about the Diono Rainier was that it has extended rear-facing capabilities, comfortably accommodating kids from 5-50 pounds in the rear-facing position. It’s also compatible from 20-90 pounds forward-facing in the 5 point harness, and up to 120 pounds converted into a booster (full specs available here).
One car seat that serves every stage of your child’s development!?!?! Sign me up!
When the car seat arrived, it was like Christmas morning. The first thing I noticed was how indestructible the seat felt. Heavy, yes, but in a good way. It has a full steel frame and reinforced aluminum sides for extra protection. So, right out of the gate, I was excited about the sturdiness and strength of the frame alone. Plus, the headrest has 12 height positions to grow with your child as well as additional cushioning on the head rest for extra side impact support.
Speaking of cushioning, let’s briefly talk about the seat cover. It’s soft, comfy (I could see how it would be really cozy for a newborn) and easily removed for washing. The extra cushioning isn’t just for comfort, it’s functional, too, giving more impact protection for your babe’s whole body. Why aren’t the seats in my entire car this awesome?
Since my 3 year old had been in a forward facing seat for a while, I was a little nervous about putting her “backwards.” However, after doing my research, I was committed to at least giving it a try. Which meant that I (or, in this case, my husband) had to figure out rear facing installation. It had been a while, but I remember it being complicated with previous rear facing seats we’ve owned. I will say that the first time we tried to put the seat in, my husband called customer service because he had trouble figuring out how to attach the base (needed for rear-facing only) properly. After a brief (and lovely) conversation with Diono customer service, we were off and running.
Once the base is in, the Diono Rainier installs beautifully in the rear-facing position. I’d like to make an important note here: if you’re even a little bit confused about how to get this seat (or any car seat) installed properly, don’t wing it and hope it’s right as long as it’s not too wobbly. If the manual isn’t giving you the assistance you need, call customer service. You may end up feeling silly if you’re struggling with something simple like tightening the five point harness (or maybe that’s just me), but you really shouldn’t mess around. Improper installation can be just as dangerous as using the wrong car seat.
Our girl tooled all over the country this summer in the rear-facing position without complaint! It was probably more difficult for my husband and I to adjust to the fact that we couldn’t see her face anymore while we were driving. This is easily remedied, however, with a backseat mirror like this one.
It’s worth noting that I waited a few months to write this review because I knew we would be traveling extensively in the car and via airplane for our month-long summer vacation. I wanted to see how the seat measured up when we were taking it on planes and moving it from vehicle to vehicle, depending on who my daughter was riding with on any given day. I can honestly say that after nearly four months of use, this seat has exceeded my expectations. Traveling with a seat this heavy isn’t always fun, but I’ll carry the Rainier to the other side of the world if I have to (but will probably get this bag), because I believe it’s the safest car seat we’ve ever used. I wish we’d found the Rainier sooner!
—-
Mollie Michel, is a South Philly resident and a Philadelphia public school parent. A recovering non-profit professional, Mollie is also an experienced birth doula, Certified Lactation Counselor, and the mom of two awesome girls and a sweet pit bull named Princess Cleopatra. In her spare time, she is usually trying to figure out how Pinterest works, training for a(nother) half-marathon with her dog at her side, or simply trying to keep up with her increasingly wily daughters.