My DD in her Monterey I got for 81.83!

mum2two

Active member
My DD in her Monterey I got for 81.83!-new pics please advise

UPDATE: NEW PICS after I raised the back up a notch, what do you think now??

The lapbelt fit well before it was the shoulder strap that was the concern. In the second picture I had her lean away from the shoulder strap to see if she would slide out...it didn't but I wonder what would happen in a crash?

If needed I'll return, we don't have to have a booster at this time, I just thought it was time and it was a good deal. We still have a perfectly good Regent for her.

She might be better off in the Turbo or Parkway or Vivo..I do like the latchability of the Monterey. What other boosters latch other than the Parkway (not sure I love that the SG has to be used, can see that becoming an issue later).

Thank you all!

Original Post:
I'm not sure I love it only because she can't buckle herself, the seatbelt stalk is so far back and down.

I've never used a booster so a few questions.

The seatbelt goes through the red belt guide right, the manual's picture isn't clear at all.

The seatbelt looks funny where it goes over the beltguide on the seat near the buckle, is that ok???

How does it fit?

She's 47in/43lbs and 6 1/2...
 
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ADS

Maedze

New member
The lap belt fit looks great. The bunching happens; it's nothing to be worried about.

The thing you need to be cautious with on the Montereys is the shoulder belt position. It can position the belt too close to the edge of a the shoulder. In an accident, her upper torso can roll out of the belt.

Have her move around; have her shift her body all the way to the left side of the seat. Check to see that the shoulder belt is still within the parameters that it needs to be :twocents:
 

mum2two

Active member
Thanks, I will have her move around, I can see where it could slide her out from under the shoulder belt.
 

ginny4

New member
i'm not crazy about her shoulderbelt fit. looks much like my own DD. i won't let her ride in the monterey. i prefer her fit in the turbo & i hear the vivo would be great too. how about trying the headrest up one more notch to see if it helps with placement
 

scatterbunny

New member
I agree with the others, the lapbelt fit is good, but the shoulderbelt fit is merely acceptable. The Monterey can be iffy for narrower-framed children, I've noticed.
 

babychild taxi

New member
I agree that the Monterey seems to fit bigger "wider" kids better. I just bought my little "narrow" friend a HB TB (5yrs, special needs) because of this. I will save the Monterey for her very large younger sister who I am planning to keep in the GN harnessed for as long as possible! Of course I will also have the option of the GN booster at some point.
 

emandbri

Well-known member
I'm really not seeing how the shoulder belt is out of position.

Now you guys are making me nervous. Do you guys think it doesn't fit Benjamin well either? He is the same height but 10 lbs heavier.

Here is a bigger picture of the one in my siggy

IMG_0439.JPG
 

Maedze

New member
I think it's marginally better on Benjamin. Still not as good as the shoulder belt fit provided by seats like the TB, Vivo or Oobr.

I'd do the same thing, have him shift around, and away from the shoulder belt side of the booster. See what happens. The IIHS tests showed some pretty dramatic footage of torsos coming completely out of the shoulder belt if it wasn't really snug into the inside of the shoulder.
 

emandbri

Well-known member
The IIHS tests showed some pretty dramatic footage of torsos coming completely out of the shoulder belt if it wasn't really snug into the inside of the shoulder.

Can you post a link to that, I thought IIHS only tested for fit and didn't do any crash tests.

The belt looks to fit very similar to the 6 year old dummy in the monarch that TC test and it did well.
 
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Kat_Momof3

New member
I'm not crazy about her shoulderbelt fit... but it's acceptable... and the lapbelt fit is great...

a tip for buckling... have her not worry about getting the belt under the armrest that is closer to the buckle... have her hold out slack in the shoulderbelt with her right hand (because it's the one closest to where the shoulderbelt comes out of the red guide), which will give her more belt to work with... and the buckle in her left hand... buckle it... then tighten as much as she can, putting the lap portion under the armrest... tug again to get it snug... THEN put the shoulderbelt under the armrest.. tug again, and let all the slack into the retractor, putting her right hand back down.

I know it sounds complicated, but my son does that in a matter of seconds...

I have seen Benjamin's fit in your siggy... you know I'm picky about Monterey fit and I would have pm'd you if I'd thought it was anything less than superb.... it fits him significantly better in my opinion.
 

ChristyH

New member
Ok, now I'm nervous too. I thought it looked like a great fit and now I'm worried about my DD's fit in her Monterey. I'll have to take some pictures today when she gets home and see what y'all think. She's 7 and about 60lbs, I thought a Monterey would be a great fit for her because she's a little stockier.
 

emandbri

Well-known member
I just checked and the wings of mine came out a bit. I wonder if folks would feel better about the fit with them in. I wish there was a way to lock them in place. Would duct tape be a really bad idea? :whistle:
 

ginny4

New member
it more about how much play there is in the shoulder area on the monterey. even in the tightest possible wing position my DD has ALOT of wiggle room. too much cause when she leaned into the side (opposite of shoulder belt) cause its comfy the shoulder was completely OUT of the belt. even tho the turbo sides are not as big it still snuggles a bit more. & the oobr & vivo also snuggles more to allow for lil wiggle room if any of narrower children. am i making sense?
 

ginny4

New member
emily, i think the fit is better on benjamin especially since you said the wings had opened a bit. i'd just be sure to check the wings when he buckles in to be sure they are close enough. i too wish there was a "fix" to the wings so they stay in the same position everytime.
 

firemomof3

New member
I think the fit looks much better with the headrest raised in the 1st pic. The second one also looks good but do you see how much shoulder room she has? This is where some of the concern is because it provides too much wiggle room.
 

mum2two

Active member
I am concerned about any type of lateral movement not keeping the shoulder belt in place. She is very narrow through the shoulders and super skinny!

When she asked if we could cut the tags off and take a test run I told her I was checking with the car seat experts to see if the booster fit her, she said "that sounds like a good idea".
 

firemomof3

New member
Ya, the Monterey does leave a lot of lateral movement for her which I don't like :twocents: My daughter is built almost the exact same as your daughter and after riding in the Monterey for a few weeks I had to sell it because I was constantly telling her to "put her shoulder back over and into the seatbelt". Honestly, I would bring it back and look into the Oobr or Vivo. Both of these seats fit a skinny kid so well :thumbsup:
 

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