Sunshine Kids Monterey photos

My Monterey arrived today. My first impression is that it is big & heavy. I don't think I'd want to travel with it (i.e. pack it for air travel), maybe as a backless booster, but not with the back -- it's just too heavy for me to tote around. It seems to be made very well and worth the price. The sidewings open very wide if you need that feature. My kids are stick skinny so it's not necessary for us.

My oldest (Jason -- center picture) is 54" tall, 18.5" torso & 65lbs. and still has growing room in the Monterey. My youngest (Devin -- right side picture) is 44" tall, 16" torso & 43 lbs. and the seat is not overly big on him. Both my boys found the seat very plush and comfortable and both were excited to ride in it.

I'm not sure how it's going to work with the wireless headphones. It's a tight squeeze, but they do fit on the kids ears with their heads against the back of the seat.

One complaint -- the picture in the manual makes it look like the ISOFIX connectors are really long, but mine aren't that long. They are long enough, but I found it a little difficult to install in DH's '04 Acura TL. It was easier in my '07 Odyssey, mostly because it's a mini van and there is just more room in there.

Feel free to ask questions!
Sarah

When the seat is extended as high as it will go, what do you get for the torso measurements up to the belt positioner thingy?

To the bottom of the 'upper belt guide' is approx. 20".

My DS has a 18.5" torso and the seat is fully extended in this picture.

Thanks for the pictures.

Do the head wings and the side wings adjust separately from each other?

It looks like it has a ton of torso SIP, really nice.

The head wings only adjust up & down, not out (I wish they did). The mechanism works similar to the Britax Parkway. The side wings adjust in & out with a dial on the back of the seat. In my pictures, the side wings are in the narrowest position.

Yes, there is a ton of torso SIP -- it's a very solid seat.

snowbird25ca said:

Thanks for the pictures.

Do the head wings and the side wings adjust separately from each other?

It looks like it has a ton of torso SIP, really nice.

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sarsah said:

To the bottom of the 'upper belt guide' is approx. 20".

My DS has a 18.5" torso and the seat is fully extended in this picture.

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THANKS SO MUCH for the pictures & all. hmmmm...only 20"? i thought it was supposed to be 22? my DS is similar size as yours. i wonder how long approx it would take for him to outgrow it. tho i'm sure at their age torso height growth is VERY slow. i need it to be TOTALLY worth it.

what seat is your oldest DS in now. is it a booster? can you do a comparison pic of grow room of each?

If I squish down the seat padding (i.e. as if a child was sitting in it), the guide is more like 21", but definitely not 22". My DS is currently in a Compass B510 (which he really likes) with no growing room. Below is a picture of him in the Compass.

ginny4 said:

THANKS SO MUCH for the pictures & all. hmmmm...only 20"? i thought it was supposed to be 22? my DS is similar size as yours. i wonder how long approx it would take for him to outgrow it. tho i'm sure at their age torso height growth is VERY slow. i need it to be TOTALLY worth it.

what seat is your oldest DS in now. is it a booster? can you do a comparison pic of grow room of each?

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Here is a side-by-side photo of the Monterey and the Compass B510.

sarsah said:

Here is a side-by-side photo of the Monterey and the Compass B510.

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WOW cool. that helps! our sons are so similar in torso height. my guy looks much like yours but in a turbo booster instead of the compass. the torso height difference is kinda signifigant! THANKS A BUNCH!

Wow, thanks for the pics! Can we see pictures of the LATCH connectors? I had no idea they were isofix until Judi mentioned it the other day, but I'm just curious what they look like?

Great pics, thank you for posting them!

Has anyone been able to play with a Monterey/Radian combo to see how it puzzles?

Tanya
CPST since '01

I can get you a picture later today, but the LATCH connectors look just like a Britax top teather connector (black metal part).
The Monterey has a mechanism on the bottom front of the seat that looks and works similar to a harness adjuster so you can tighten and loosen the LATCH connectors for install & uninstall.

When the side wings are in the narrowest setting, how wide is the widest part of the carseat, and where on the carseat is that widest part? How wide is it down where it sits on the vehicle seat?

I know there are numbers posted out there already, but was hoping for some feedback/confirmation from someone who actually has a Monterey in front of them .

I need to install three-across, so width and shape are always primary considerations when I think about a potential new seat.

Katrin

The widest part would be at the top of the side wings, which is 19" with the wings closest together.

The cup holders on each side of the seat stick out slightly, so that is the widest part of the base at 17". From armrest to armrest is around 17 1/2"

singingpond said:

When the side wings are in the narrowest setting, how wide is the widest part of the carseat, and where on the carseat is that widest part? How wide is it down where it sits on the vehicle seat?

I know there are numbers posted out there already, but was hoping for some feedback/confirmation from someone who actually has a Monterey in front of them .

I need to install three-across, so width and shape are always primary considerations when I think about a potential new seat.

Katrin

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OK, I thought I would just re-visit those officially published dimensions, so I went to the 'obvious' place -- the SK website.... And, no mention of the Monterey there at all?? Seems weird is all I can say.

It must have been in one of the Monterey speculation threads, so I'll go look. Why wouldn't SK have something on the website though? I looked under 'carseats' and under 'new products' .

ETA: here is the link to a product brochure .pdf, posted by chickabiddy in the Monterey speculation thread: http://www.car-seat.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=1405&d=1203527157
It still would be nice to have confirmation about the width of the seat from an actual owner

Katrin

sarsah said:

The widest part would be at the top of the side wings, which is 19" with the wings closest together.

The cup holders on each side of the seat stick out slightly, so that is the widest part of the base at 17". From armrest to armrest is around 17 1/2"

Click to expand...

Thank you!! I wondered if the cup holders were fully retractable -- they seemed to stick out a bit in the product brochure photos. They show the base as only 15" wide, so getting effectively to 17" because of the darn cup holders is a bit annoying. 17 1/2" at the armrests -- interesting....

Katrin

Here are the measurements from my seat:
- seat to upper belt guide - not quite 21"
- seat to top of seat at highest setting - 29 1/2"
- side wings fully expanded (inside mesaurement) - 19 1/4"
- width of seat at back (inside measurement) - 10"
- depth of seat base - 15 1/4"

Our pink Monterey showed up on Saturday. I was out of town so got to play with it finally tonight.

My first impression is that it is very similar in "feel" to a Britax. It's sturdy and plush and velvety.

A few minor things: 1) The instruction manual is TINY. I'm used to the Britax books, so it seems like it's missing information, but the install instructions were pretty clear, I thought. I haven't read it all the way through, yet, though. But I kind of felt like maybe I'm missing the real manual and the one I have is the portable one. Did anyone else get a thicker manual? Also, it goes into a slot on the bottom of the seat, so if you're using the manual during your first install, you can't really put the manual back in it's slot once the seat is in place. I like how Britax had it under the seat cover a little better. Quicker access. 2) The latch connector straps could be longer--even just 2 more inches. They were a little tricky to maneuver into the crease in the back of the seat. The other problem I had was when I pulled the one side, the other side got so short it went into the storage recesses in the back of the seat and it was difficult to get my fingers in there to pry it back out.

Once I had the latch part connected, I pulled on the strap in front of the seat and it tightened up nice and neatly in the seat. I don't know why, but having a booster sitting snuggly made me feel so good about it. It just seems more secure, although I know it doesn't restrain the child.

The shoulder belt slid easily in the guide. All the parts seem to adjust easily, as well. I have not had my 7.5 year old (49", 48 lb.) daughter in the Monterey with it in the car yet since she had gone to bed, but I did adjust the seat with her in it in the house so it was fitted correctly. She said it was really comfy and loved the color. It will be a snap for her to take a nap. I'll find out tomorrow if she minds the wings when she's not sleeping. We will also have to try the headphones and see if that works, too.

I'll let everyone know how the ride to school goes tomorrow morning, but so far I think the seat is fantastic! I'm excited to see what others think of it as they all start being delivered.

Oh, the other thing, not a huge deal, but the cover is kind of chemically smelling, so when we decide we're keeping it for sure, it's getting washed. It's probably full of chemicals like all new fabric is.

I had the same minor 'issues' as 'Trinityklm' -- the only book I got was the very small paper one stored under the seat. The thing that bothered me most about it was that the pictures were on one page and the book referred you to 'figure x' and then you had to go and flip back through the book to find the figure. I would much prefer the picture with the description, even if you have to have the same picture several times through the book. It's not really a big deal, however.

Also, I agree that the LATCH straps could be a little longer. In fact, the picture in the book makes you think they are longer. It wasn't too bad installing in my Odyssey minivan, but I had a much harder time in DH's Acura TL (4-door sedan).

I'm still not sure I'm keeping my Monterey. It's huge and heavy and kind of seems like more than I need, especially since both cars we own have side curtain airbags. I don't see moving this booster from car to car very much because of it's size. Once it's used backless, then it wouldn't be a problem, however. Since the headwings are so close together, headphones don't work very well with it -- same problem I had with the Parkway. Both my boys love the seat, so I probably should keep it just for that reason.

Also, I need to try it again in DH's Acura TL because when I tried it using LATCH, the seatbelt was all scrunched up where it goes into the buckle. Someone has suggested trying to use it without LATCH, but I think the outcome will be the same and I'm not sure it's safe.

Sarah........

Could I ask for one more measurement from you? I wonder how far the armrests extend forward, measured from the backrest of the vehicle seat? What I'm trying to determine is whether this seat would fit next to a RF Radian that is installed in the center position in my vehicle -- if the armrests don't extend as far as the sides of the Radian, then it might fit OK.

I would certainly appreciate it -- you've been very helpful!

Katrin