snowbird25ca
Moderator - CPST Instructor
With dd being in Gr 1 and boostered FT I figured it was time to have a spare backless booster around. It will be good to be able to use with friends too if need be, and if nothing else to throw in a cab or family member's vehicle if it's just a short trip.
Price was right at $17.67 too, and I'm impressed so far - both with the manual and the booster.
The booster is rated from 40 to 100lbs and a child has to be a minimum of 40". It's recommended age of 4 to 10yrs old is only present on a sticker that's on the booster itself and not in the manual at all, but most kids won't be 40" before age 3.5 or so unless they're super tall, so the minimum height recommendation will keep the itty-bitty 40lb kids from using it anyways.
The manual in comparison to the Monterey manual is a world of difference. It's longer and clearer. Perhaps most of note is that they do not allow a seatbelt with dual retractors to be used at all, and that they recommend locking seatbelts with switchable retractors. (Note that some vehicle manuals will tell you to not switch the seatbelt with passengers and in that case vehicle manual would trump booster manual. I most likely won't lock it on the occasions when my dd uses it seeing as it's just a recommendation.)
My only complaint about the instructions is that they don't clearly tell you to route the shoulder belt under the armrest on the buckle side - they show it in all the pictures, but don't say it the same way they say everything else so clearly.
I had to pull the Monterey out so that I could put the replacement stickers on it, so I took some pictures of dd in the Harmony.
She's about 46" or there-bouts, and weighs between 51 and 54lbs depending on the day. I'm actually very impressed with the seatbelt fit. The lap belt is lower on her thighs than in the Monterey - and the Monterey had been the best out of all the boosters we tried.
The shoulder belt was just a smidge high on her neck without the belt guide, but the belt guide adjusted the belt very well. I tried the vehicle belt guide for comparison, and while it adjusted the belt adequately, the one that came with the booster worked much better. I also like that the belt guide is attached to the booster permanently. My only difficulty with it was that the way the strap is threaded through the guide, it was difficult for me to fit the seatbelt in to the guide. I found that I had to go right side, then left side in order for it to fit, and it was very very difficult to adjust the length of the strap on the belt guide once the belt was threaded through it. Considering that this isn't something a parent would be doing very often though, it's only a very small complaint and certainly not something that would discourage me from buying the seat.
The booster itself has a footprint that is probably around 3, maybe even 4" narrower than the Monterey, and the lower profile arm-rests definitely made buckling easier in our car.
Dd was thrilled with it mostly because of the pink color, but seemed to find it comfortable enough. I don't think it would be comfortable for long rides at this point because of where her legs bend on the booster and the way they tend to not be able to bend at the edge of the vehicle seat, but I think the longer depth would be good for older kids.
The booster is good for 6 yrs and the DOM on mine is January - though the shell was made in 2010 so the shell is marked with not using after 2016.
All in all, I'm very impressed with this booster. Good belt fit, good instructions, and a very good price. I'm glad to see it's made it's way to Canada.
The car is a 2009 Saturn Astra.
Booster out of package:
Booster on vehicle seat:
Leg support:
Lapbelt fit:
Fit without belt guide:
Fit with booster belt guide: (I hadn't tightened it down properly yet when I took this picture, but when I did adjust it properly it further improved how the shoulderbelt sat - though it's not bad in this picture either.)
Fit with vehicle belt guide:
Price was right at $17.67 too, and I'm impressed so far - both with the manual and the booster.
The booster is rated from 40 to 100lbs and a child has to be a minimum of 40". It's recommended age of 4 to 10yrs old is only present on a sticker that's on the booster itself and not in the manual at all, but most kids won't be 40" before age 3.5 or so unless they're super tall, so the minimum height recommendation will keep the itty-bitty 40lb kids from using it anyways.
The manual in comparison to the Monterey manual is a world of difference. It's longer and clearer. Perhaps most of note is that they do not allow a seatbelt with dual retractors to be used at all, and that they recommend locking seatbelts with switchable retractors. (Note that some vehicle manuals will tell you to not switch the seatbelt with passengers and in that case vehicle manual would trump booster manual. I most likely won't lock it on the occasions when my dd uses it seeing as it's just a recommendation.)
My only complaint about the instructions is that they don't clearly tell you to route the shoulder belt under the armrest on the buckle side - they show it in all the pictures, but don't say it the same way they say everything else so clearly.
I had to pull the Monterey out so that I could put the replacement stickers on it, so I took some pictures of dd in the Harmony.
She's about 46" or there-bouts, and weighs between 51 and 54lbs depending on the day. I'm actually very impressed with the seatbelt fit. The lap belt is lower on her thighs than in the Monterey - and the Monterey had been the best out of all the boosters we tried.
The shoulder belt was just a smidge high on her neck without the belt guide, but the belt guide adjusted the belt very well. I tried the vehicle belt guide for comparison, and while it adjusted the belt adequately, the one that came with the booster worked much better. I also like that the belt guide is attached to the booster permanently. My only difficulty with it was that the way the strap is threaded through the guide, it was difficult for me to fit the seatbelt in to the guide. I found that I had to go right side, then left side in order for it to fit, and it was very very difficult to adjust the length of the strap on the belt guide once the belt was threaded through it. Considering that this isn't something a parent would be doing very often though, it's only a very small complaint and certainly not something that would discourage me from buying the seat.
The booster itself has a footprint that is probably around 3, maybe even 4" narrower than the Monterey, and the lower profile arm-rests definitely made buckling easier in our car.
Dd was thrilled with it mostly because of the pink color, but seemed to find it comfortable enough. I don't think it would be comfortable for long rides at this point because of where her legs bend on the booster and the way they tend to not be able to bend at the edge of the vehicle seat, but I think the longer depth would be good for older kids.
The booster is good for 6 yrs and the DOM on mine is January - though the shell was made in 2010 so the shell is marked with not using after 2016.
All in all, I'm very impressed with this booster. Good belt fit, good instructions, and a very good price. I'm glad to see it's made it's way to Canada.
The car is a 2009 Saturn Astra.
Booster out of package:
Booster on vehicle seat:
Leg support:
Lapbelt fit:
Fit without belt guide:
Fit with booster belt guide: (I hadn't tightened it down properly yet when I took this picture, but when I did adjust it properly it further improved how the shoulderbelt sat - though it's not bad in this picture either.)
Fit with vehicle belt guide:
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