Boosters, ugh!

We own GNs, TBs and an Oobr.

Ds is 6.75, about 48" and 48#. Has been harnessed in our primary vehicles in his GNs. Rides in a TB in other family members cars. Just finished first grade, so I told him we could convert him to booster mode.

[Last day of school, kiddo was hamming it up...LOL]

The belt fit in the GNs is meh, not great but acceptable, good leg support...but HE can't buckle easily. It really frustrated him.





I've tried the Oobr for him before, and didn't like the super short seat pan/lack of leg support. But threw it in there to get pics. I am still not liking it, something about the trajectory of his pelvis. I think he would be at higher risk for submarining in this seat more than the others. He was able to buckle with less frustration than the GN.





Then I put the TB in there, and it's...dreamy. So nice. Great lap belt fit. Supports his legs well. Doesn't look like he's sliding out of it. He can buckle with no problem whatsoever. BUT, and it's a BIG BUT...it doesn't LATCH. Ugh. I can't stand the idea of having to rebuckle every time, or rather reminding him to rebuckle every time.



These are in my parents' car in April, also a TB...I thought I had one more TB pic from today but I don't think it uploaded to PB.





I don't like the Parkway. I will have access to a Monterey next Monday, and will try him in it. If that works, great. If not, I think that's it for LATCHable options.

Dh's response to the LATCH issue is to remove a LATCH strap from a GN and just wrap it around the TB and LATCH it in. He insists there couldn't possibly be a safety issue there as it's not load-bearing. He's got a point, but I don't know if I can do that. (He doesn't have an issue with a new seat either, just that the TB works so well.)

I am willing to bet the GN and Oobr both will have better belt fits as NBBs. And I have not found any reason that I can't buckle ds into a booster with the passenger side Captain's chair pushed to center, so he'll be further away from either side window, but I'm not sure yet how I feel about that. I am just getting used to the idea of full time boostering! LOL

Any other ideas?

I'm definitely not loving the Nauti and Oobr. The Turbo does look good. Definitely the best of those three options. I wouldn't sweat the no-LATCH thing, but I DEFINITELY wouldn't add it. (Tell your DH to leave this stuff to the experts )

I suspect he'll be able to buckle well in the Monterey. E is able to buckle that easier than the Turbo and Oobr because of how it's narrower at the back. The only question is whether it'll fit well. Hopefully it will, and then you've got your answer.

What about the First Years/Compass B570? [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Compass-Pathway-Adjustable-Booster-Abstract/dp/B004FN0ZG2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339467976&sr=8-1&keywords=compass+b570"]Amazon.com: The First Years Compass Pathway B570 Adjustable Booster Seat, Abstract O's Black/Green: Baby[/ame]
It has LATCH and was easy to buckle for ds2 while we had one.

Of those I like the TB best.

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I like the TB best of those. For sure

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So, an update:

My sister has a SK Monterey, and we tried ds in it and the fit is great. I had heard there were some belt guide issues with the new Diono Monterey, but hadn't seen it in person.

It arrived, and whoa...those belt guides are something else! I was ready to return it, and sent an email to Diono. Allana replied as well as called, and said that the shoulder belt guide was NOT required. Apparently others knew this, but I had not heard that before.

I tried it without and it was AWESOME.

Pic of fit with use of belt guide:



Pic of fit without shoulder belt guide in use:

I think you need to try a B570. I've been dying to play with one. Don't ask me why, I think it's just the geek in me shining through. If you order it, can I borrow it?

The belt fit in the Monterey is really good. The Turbo is really good too.

I have a B570 booster in my husband's car and we really like it. My 6 year old daughter fits it well, he wanted it due to it being able to latch. I don't understand why more people don't look at it.

Does it specify anywhere that the belt guide is not needed, like an official statement or something? Because if so, this would save me big time!

monstah said:

I think you need to try a B570. I've been dying to play with one. Don't ask me why, I think it's just the geek in me shining through. If you order it, can I borrow it?

The belt fit in the Monterey is really good. The Turbo is really good too.

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LOL...if I order one, which is not likely, then yes, you may certainly borrow it!

draftsmith said:

I have a B570 booster in my husband's car and we really like it. My 6 year old daughter fits it well, he wanted it due to it being able to latch. I don't understand why more people don't look at it.

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My only reason for not ordering one to try is that it doesn't come in blue! LOL Ds REALLY wants a blue one. Also, some reviews say the belt guides are an issue with those too. You have no problems with yours?

krystin_21a said:

Does it specify anywhere that the belt guide is not needed, like an official statement or something? Because if so, this would save me big time!

Click to expand...

Diono's CPST put it in writing to me in an e-mail. But it is NOT in the manual that this is ok to do. And I told her so. I also sent her the videos of the problem. You can certainly contact her yourself to hear it from the horse's mouth (so to speak).

Thanks for the info! I read the manual so I knew it wasn't there. Just wanted to make sure I hadn't missed an announcement or something.

By the, in general, what is the purpose of the belt guide? Is it a safety feature or a feature that keeps that part of the belt off the child's neck?

If Diono is saying the Monterey can be used without the shoulder belt guide, does that mean that they have done any crash tests? Do we assume this means it is as safe as with the belt guide? I would like to think I wouldn't have to worry about belt guide issues then and could just get a Monterey but would want to be assured that it is just as safe that way. Did they have any response to the videos you sent?

We haven't had any problems with the guides on the First Years booster, they do adjust front to back to fit the child better, if needed. I will try and get a picture tomorrow of her in it.

draftsmith said:

We haven't had any problems with the guides on the First Years booster, they do adjust front to back to fit the child better, if needed. I will try and get a picture tomorrow of her in it.

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Thanks!

And I have not received a response from Diono, but it's also a holiday week so I'm trying to be patient. No crash tests done that I am aware of, but it's ok'd by their engineers.

Will report back!

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draftsmith said:

I have a B570 booster in my husband's car and we really like it. My 6 year old daughter fits it well, he wanted it due to it being able to latch. I don't understand why more people don't look at it.

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Is this their newer one? (Sorry, I'm not really up on boosters.) Anyone know how tall the shoulder guide goes? (not listed in that section on this site.) Good for tall slim kids? Thanks. Sorry for this slight hijack of thread.

I asked the question on Facebook to see what they, Diono, would say and they did come back with it being ok to use without the guide.

This was ds2 in the B570 when he was 5 yrs, 4 months. If I recall he would have been about 46 pounds and 46 inches give or take a pound or inch.
he has always wanted a blue seat but loves Transformers so he was good with a black and yellow seat named Bumblebee .

Here she is today in the B570, also a picture of the belt guide and the fit. Let me know if you want any more pictures. She is 6 and about 44" and just over 40 lbs so pretty skinny and fits pretty nicely.

draftsmith said:

Here she is today in the B570, also a picture of the belt guide and the fit. Let me know if you want any more pictures. She is 6 and about 44" and just over 40 lbs so pretty skinny and fits pretty nicely.

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Thanks! So would you think an approx. 48" and 44-45 pound kid would fit well? It seems like she'd be similar in proportion to your DD. How tall does it go?

And it latches too? This seems way too good to be true for the price. What's wrong with it?