Diono Rainier Car seat
I’ve reviewed a lot of Diono car accessories lately (most of which I love and make travel easier and more organized!) and I’m super excited to now give you a review of the Diono Rainier Car seat. The Diono Rainier is definitely one of my favorite car seats so far! There are some areas where it’s more difficult to use than other seats, and other areas where it seems more solid and versatile. So, read on to see if it’s the right seat for you!
The Diono Rainier
The Diono Rainier seat is usable for infancy (5lbs) to 120 lbs as a booster seat! Which means no need to buy other seats!
As an infant seat, little Emersyn (7 1/2 lbs at the time) looked tiny and it was awkward to get her into the seat. Safety wise, she was snuggled in well and worry-free. Ease-wise, an infant seat is easier to get her in and out of, and I can take the whole infant seat out of the car to carry her around.
For a toddler, the Diono Rainier is AWESOME! Easy to get in and out of, great height and comfort, and can be rear- or forward-facing. It can actually be rear-facing up to 50 pounds, which is amazing, since rear-facing is way safer and recommended until age 2 but even up to 4 years old! The extra deep side walls also make me feel that he’s super safe even if we got hit on the sides.
The Diono Rainier also comes with various pieces to make it work for all ages. There is a base piece that easily goes on or comes off to tilt it appropriately for rear-facing, and the base of the seat itself can be adjusted for a small amount of tilt. There are separate shoulder protectors for bigger kids. And the head piece is super easy to push up or down.
The Diono Rainier is equipped with LATCH (for up to 35lbs) or can be buckled in with a seat belt. It also has a unique piece called Safe Stop for forward-facing kids up to 40lbs that stores on the back and goes right into the harness threading to help absorb some of the force of a crash. Cool! It makes it a little harder for me to tighten/loosen the harness because it hits the seat of the car, but not bad.
What I Love about my Diono Rainier Car seat
It’s SOLID. The thing feels like it could survive a semi running it over. Not that I’ve tried or ever want to try, but the idea makes me feel safer.
The low, flexible sides. The sides of the base of the seat are short, which makes it way easier to get Micah in and out, and makes it easier for him to reach toys and snacks on the seat beside him. AND the sides can bend outwards to fit bigger kids’ thighs more comfortably.
It’s skinny. It’s not nearly as fat as other car seats, so it leaves more space in the backseat to squeeze in two car seats and a teenager! Or 3 car seats!
It’s entirely adjustable. Everything goes up or down and on or off. Even the cup holder has 4 different places it can go. Which means it can grow and customize to fit my kids right and keep them safe. And a lot of the straps tuck into little cubbies on the back of the seat, so straps aren’t falling all over the place.
The instruction manual is AWESOME! Super thorough, easy to read, and complete with pictures! Which is great because, at first glance, this is the most complicated car seat I’ve seen, mainly because of the extra pieces like the big-kid shoulder pads and the Stop Safe piece.
The Diono Rainier FOLDS! It’s great! The base folds totally up into the top (minus the cup holder), then the carrying strap holds it in place and makes it easy to carry. This is fantastic because Peter frequently needs the back seats to drive around youth or objects for activities, so he has to take the car seat out and put it in the trunk. The folded seat takes up way less space than the average seat and leaves him more space to items and people! Then the folding/carrying strap tucks into the back of the seat where it can’t get lost.
It’s super easy to tighten and loosen the harness. Easy to lift the catch and very little friction to move the straps. Fantastic. Irreplaceable. The chest clip and lower button are also easy to clip and unclip.
What I Don’t Love about my Diono Rainier Car seat
The straps have to be unthreaded to be adjusted. Which means the seat has to be taken out to change the height of the straps. Not a huge deal because it needs to come out once in a while to be cleaned, adjusted, and to make sure it’s strapped in securely. Just not as convenient as the seats that can be adjusted by a knob (Recaro) or a squeeze-and-pull mechanism (Britax and more).
It’s HEAVY! This goes along with it being solid, and it doesn’t weigh a ton more than other seats, but it does weigh more, which makes it harder to take in and out. Thankfully, carrying straps can be ordered and are easy to attach to carry it on a shoulder or as a backpack, or it comes with a carrying strap for when it’s folded up.
I wish the base could detach from the top to be just a booster seat for older kids. But, honestly, even bigger kids need the top part to keep the shoulder strap from eating into their necks. So, it might actually be better this way. I don’t have older kids to test it with yet though, give me 10 years and I’ll let you know!
The price is $300-$350 depending on where you shop, so it’s competitive with other convertible car seats. A lot of money, but you can’t really overspend for child safety. Check out the Diono Rainier online for more information, or check out Diono on Facebook for some awesome safety tips and videos from Child Passenger Safety Week. Diono is also on Twitter and Pinterest for more information, tips, and pictures!
That is a pretty expensive car seat, but you are right there is no expense when it comes to your baby’s safety. I love that the car seat grows with the baby. So really, you don’t have to go spend more money later for a new one. It does look a little bulky but I guess that is because it grows with your baby. I really like the extra head support. No need to buy another one. Thank you!
I love this seat
Id love to have this seat for my little one. its great that it last for such a long time (high weight limit). I think this seat is def worth the money!
It’s really recommended with a small child, like the newborn in your photos, that you remove the large chest pads so they are not squished and you can appropriately place the chest clip. Those large pads are only required for forward facing. You would find that the fit is much better with them off 🙂
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