Diono Cambria Review and Comparison with Graco & Britax

tracee877

Active member
Got our Cambria yesterday! I have to admit the main reason I ordered it is because my fave color is orange and I wanted some color in my van.:eek:

My first impression was it is a beast! It's not heavy but it is big! The cover is really nice, it's a very fine mesh material. The only thing that was annoying to me was that one of the SIP fabric circles wasn't glued on all the way so it may come off eventually. This seat is very deep which is great for my super leggy DS. The cup holders swivel outward and are decently roomy. It took me a while to find the manual, it was in a little pocket on the inside back of the cover. It's just a small basic paper book. The LATCH is interesting. They have cam-lock adjusters. You really have to fish around inside to find where to push down on them to get them to loosen but they are butter smooth. The connectors attach upside down. Once attached the seat is rock solid and doesn't move at all. Because of it's size it takes up the entire space of my captain's chair which is what I didn't like about the Recaro Performance booster. But unlike the Recaro, the LATCH connectors are tightenable and it doesn't slide around. Overall, I really love this booster and so does DS. He says it's very comfortable and it's his favorite out of the 3 boosters we have.

Pics! The vehicle is a 2006 Honda Odyssey and my model is 45 lbs and 46" tall. This seat is so big that the headrest is on the first setting, I didn't have to move it up at all. He is several clicks up on both the Graco and Britax.

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Below he is in the Graco Affix with safety surround (he's slouching his neck a bit):

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And the Britax Parkway SGL:

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Now for a comparison of all 3:

Headrests all the way down:
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Headrests all the way up. The Cambria and SGL seem to have about the same guide height.
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Side and back views:
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Showing depth:
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The end. I'm happy to answer questions and post more pics if needed.

ETA: More pics!

Belt guide:
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Cup holder. This sits really close to the seat. We got a small drink from Del Taco and the cup didn't sit straight in the holder and I was afraid the lid would pop off and the drink would spill.
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This is the gap with the captains chair. The seat is supposed to have two positions but it really only sits well in one. I couldn't really get rid of this gap. I was finally able to make the headrest touch though.
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Third row, it fits very nicely. The headrest could only go up to the second to last click though.
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And as requested, naked.
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Carolinadaisy

New member
What does your DS think of comfort of it? I didn't realize it was going to be so big. For some reason, I thought it would be smaller or narrower than the Recaro performance booster.

Between the cambria and performance booster, which do you think is more comfortable for long rides?

Any chance you could do photos of it in the third row?? I have a 2010 Ody and may end up moving ds1 to third row after baby is born in April. Have to do a car seat shuffle before then so I need to choose a fulltime booster for the van.

Thanks!
 

tracee877

Active member
What does your DS think of comfort of it? I didn't realize it was going to be so big. For some reason, I thought it would be smaller or narrower than the Recaro performance booster.

Between the cambria and performance booster, which do you think is more comfortable for long rides?

Any chance you could do photos of it in the third row?? I have a 2010 Ody and may end up moving ds1 to third row after baby is born in April. Have to do a car seat shuffle before then so I need to choose a fulltime booster for the van.

Thanks!

He says it's really comfortable. The seat is contoured unlike the other seats which are flat. It has comfort foam under the seat pad also. I can get pics in the 3rd row tomorrow.
 

Snow mom

New member
Wondering if you have any experience with the Monterey to compare the Cambria to? I'm trying to decide between getting a Cambria and waiting for the Monterey to come back.
 

tracee877

Active member
Wondering if you have any experience with the Monterey to compare the Cambria to? I'm trying to decide between getting a Cambria and waiting for the Monterey to come back.

It's been a long time since we've had a Monterey. We had one for DD. The Cambria is VERY wide at the back and I seem to remember the Monterey was not as wide but I could be wrong. I really loved it and may get one of those as well if they come in fun colors.

Can we see it naked? :cool:

I'll try to get some pics this afternoon!
 

SixteenFeet

New member
Subscribing as I am considering these vs the Recaro Performance Booster.

How flexible do you think the belt guide is to acommodate shoulder belts of varying geometries? If I got these seats they would be used in an older 2005 Subaru Forester at first which has a bit of a challenging belt geometry as the shoulder belts are placed off to the side and forward of the seatback.

How was it in terms of allowing for the vehicle headrest behind it (which is required)? My Forester's headrest do tilt forward a little bit (and do not lock in position if inserted backwards).

It looks REALLY nice.
 

tracee877

Active member
Subscribing as I am considering these vs the Recaro Performance Booster.

How flexible do you think the belt guide is to acommodate shoulder belts of varying geometries? If I got these seats they would be used in an older 2005 Subaru Forester at first which has a bit of a challenging belt geometry as the shoulder belts are placed off to the side and forward of the seatback.

How was it in terms of allowing for the vehicle headrest behind it (which is required)? My Forester's headrest do tilt forward a little bit (and do not lock in position if inserted backwards).

It looks REALLY nice.

I wish I still had the Recaro to compare it to but I ended up sending it back. It's VERY similar though. The belt guide is molded into the plastic, I'll get a pic of it too. The back is pretty straight up and down and there is a gap behind it right now. But I think if I move the seat back up some that will help. For cars with fixed headrests I can see it being an issue. I may have to remove mine and turn it backwards.
 

jujumum

Well-known member
Thanks for the awesome pics!! Now I'm wishing that I waited rather than getting the performance booster. I love blowmold plastic on the Cambria and the performance is so wide it is difficult to buckle in my van.
 

SixteenFeet

New member
Thanks for the awesome pics!! Now I'm wishing that I waited rather than getting the performance booster. I love blowmold plastic on the Cambria and the performance is so wide it is difficult to buckle in my van.

So interestingly, it was easier for me to buckle the Recaro Performance Booster compared to the Cambria. The Recaro is definitely a bit wider at the front of the seat where the knees would hit, but at the back where the belt buckle would be, the plastic is angled inward. It doesn't look like much in pictures, but it seemed narrower at the back than the Cambria, and there was more room to buckle both in my 2008 Odyssey, third row, and my 2005 Subaru Forester. I was honestly surprised.

I already sent the Cambria back, otherwise I'd get some measurements of that back side of the seat where it would matter for buckling. The Cambria actually "feels" larger than the Recaro. I don't know if it actually is based on measurements (probably not) but it just felt poofier - could be that blow-molded plastic design that you are referring to. It also has a higher "lowest" headrest setting which contributes to the bigger feel. The contoured seat is definitely nice compared to Recaro's flat (though cushy) seat, and I like how the fabric looks more "molded" to the seat vs looking like a seat cover. The Recaro feels sturdier, for sure. I noticed that right away when I picked it up, and when I played around with the headrest. I definitely feel a difference in how sturdy the headrest is on the Recaro vs the Cambria (and the Recaro doesn't require the vehicle headrest so this makes sense). The Recaro seat pad is thicker. Though the Cambria's was plenty comfy too. And of course I love the Cambria's adjustable LATCH so you can get it in the car and trust that it won't move out of position when kids climb in/out. I really wish Recaro's seat had something like this.

Anyway just wanted to throw out there that the Cambria could be at least as difficult, if not more, to buckle!
 

YinzerMama

New member
Yours had foam under the bum? Mine did not. Very little padding. I thought it was quite hard and did not care for those round open holes in the back, my kids could feel them through the cover.
 

gigi

New member
I too am surprised to hear yours had foam. I ordered the Solana, very excited to try it, and it went right back. It is HUGELY wide and there is no padding! It was harder than a Turbobooster! I was shocked and expected much better from Diono, given how padded their car seats are.
 

YinzerMama

New member
I too am surprised to hear yours had foam. I ordered the Solana, very excited to try it, and it went right back. It is HUGELY wide and there is no padding! It was harder than a Turbobooster! I was shocked and expected much better from Diono, given how padded their car seats are.

Def. harder than a turbo booster. I wonder if we got bum seats or what exactly? Very strange. I was really expecting cushy.
 

gigi

New member
Def. harder than a turbo booster. I wonder if we got bum seats or what exactly? Very strange. I was really expecting cushy.

I was expecting cushy too! I would have returned it anyway because it was enormous (I would have been comfy sitting in it and I'm not teeny tiny), but jeez there was ZERO chance I'd keep any seat that hard. I'd rather have an AMP...$19 and it is padded! I bought an Olli instead, which fits the space but I need to put my kid in it to make sure it isn't too shallow (it is really ridiculously shallow).
 

Chila88

New member
I saw the Little Tykes backless in store and was shocked at how hard it was!! There was zero padding and there were way less expensive backless boosters all around it that seemed WAY more comfortable. I figured it was because these are their 'low end' models....that really blows if it's true about more of their boosters. What were they thinking???!?
 

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