Does this change things? Fronteir vs. HWH/Monterrey

Since the Monterrey has been confirmed by SKJP to only have 20 inch belt guides, would it make more sense in the long run to get a Fronteir?

Lets say Regent (6 yr exp, 20 in top slots) $279 + Monterrey (7 or 8? yr exp, 20" belt guides) $129 = $408 total

Or Fronteir (9 yr exp, 18.25 in top slots and 23" belt guides) $279 total


Though it does even out more with the Nautilus
Nautilus (6 yr harness exp, 18.5 top slots) $149 + Monterrey (7or8? yr exp, 20" belt guides) $129 = $278 total

This configuration would probably work with handing down to siblings.

OR would you even want a booster that has 23" belt guides except for in special situations like an older car or no headrest?

Just pondering

Well, I'm not sure what your goal/point is here? Like, what are you trying to accomplish?

i think the frontier is a great choice....possibly even better than the nauti for some people depending on vehicle/child, but since we personally already have a nauti we love, it isn't a choice for us...it seems to be a great value and long useage/expiration...

Also, I think that a booster is not always needed after the regent - if the kid is 9-10 with a 20 inch torso, I can see them going straight into a seat belt, so $279 + 0 = $279

i think you're right, it depends on what you want to do, whether the seats can be handed down, whether or not you want every last second of harnessing versus wanting more time in a booster, etc?
Obviously, the regent will harness the longest harnessed...but the frontier will hbb longer....and you probably dont want to buy BOTH of those...so you need to decide what trade off you are most comfortable with.

personally, in the few vehicles i have tried, the nauti belt guides go as high as is needed before the child would then fit into the seat belt properly. So for me, the equation is ...Nauti+ *nothing*
the nauti is the last seat i believe i will have to buy, it will last until dd is 9.5 as a harness or hbb, and then until 12.5 as a backless, so $150 + 0 = $150!
I guess for some reason you just don't like the nauti in booster mode? Or else you just love the monterey so much you have to have it??


With the seats currently available, if I had to plan for birth to seat belt for a child for the lowest cost but still respecting safety

Birth to 4 ish years - Scenera or AOE(intera, etc, any cheap 35 lb rfing convertible), to be used RFing until 35 pounds or height limit, which I expect to be between 3-4 years. (dd, 39 inches tall with a 15.5 inch torso, 3.5 yrs old, 35.5 pounds, can still fit RFing in the seat by height, she just exceeds weight limit,) and then FF if there is any FF room left.
When seat outgrown, purchase Nautilus, which will likely harness until at least age 6, probably 7 or 8...then use as hbb until expiration (about 9.5-10 yrs old if purchased new when child is 3.5-4 yrs old) then use as backless if still necesary until 12.5.

An infant seat can be added if infant does not fit into scenera or AOE at birth or parent desires it.

total cost, birth to seat belt, with the child being RF'ed to 35 lbs, and then harnessed until 65 or (18.5 torso) and boostered until seat belt-ready, is$40+ $150 = $190 OR $80 + $150 = $230
for 10 YEARS of cpsafety - $19-$23 per year, or about 40-50 cents a week.
With an added infant seat to fit the newborn stage, that increases the overal cost by about $50, so a complete total of $240-$280.

Well, yeah, that was kinda what I was doing, just pondering. Weighing the options money wise and then by time boostered or harnessed.

I have plenty of seats at this point, enough to probably to get my kids at least through the harnessed years (even the peanut as long as no seats are involved in accidents)

I was mainly wondering about boosters, I guess my big question would be: Would you want to have a child in the HBB booster with a 22 inch torso if the there is head support/side airbags/passes five-step test, etc. Would there be any benefit?

As far as keeping a child in a HBB, I love having our DS2 in the Montery. He was in a LBB and we have the side airbags where he rides but for me it was an issue of sleeping in the car. Everytime we go in the car for more than 30 min. He's out. He will be 8 next month and weighs 70 lbs but asked if I could get him a new seat with the side wings for sleeping.

I think that people prefer to keep some older kids in boosters for many reasons. Some older cars don't have head support, some kids don't sit properly, ETC! Our son prefers the Monterey because he says it's more comfortable than the Graco Turbo booster. So we are using the Turbo in HBB mode in another car for another son for now.

I would be more excited if the Frontier had a few more inches of harnessing available. Right now my Nauti goes just as high, and converts to a booster that SHOULD last us til Ryan's done with carseats (nobody hold me to that statement - I *am* an addict afterall and reserve the right to buy a new seat for whatever reason).

But that highback booster IS awesome.

arly1983 said:

Would you want to have a child in the HBB booster with a 22 inch torso if the there is head support/side airbags/passes five-step test, etc. Would there be any benefit?

Click to expand...

mom23boys said:

I think that people prefer to keep some older kids in boosters for many reasons. Some older cars don't have head support, some kids don't sit properly, ETC! Our son prefers the Monterey because he says it's more comfortable than the Graco Turbo booster. So we are using the Turbo in HBB mode in another car for another son for now.

Click to expand...

I had thought about all that already in my original question "if the there is head support/side airbags/passes five-step test, etc." Sleeping I think falls in the part of the Five-step test that the child can sit correctly 100% of the time.

TerisBoys said:

I would be more excited if the Frontier had a few more inches of harnessing available. Right now my Nauti goes just as high, and converts to a booster that SHOULD last us til Ryan's done with carseats (nobody hold me to that statement - I *am* an addict afterall and reserve the right to buy a new seat for whatever reason).

But that highback booster IS awesome.

Click to expand...

I considered they HARNESSED the same. I am pondering the taller booster.

I am wondering if a 23 inch booster guide is needed in a non-special typical situation

And nope, I am not trying to justify buying a Fronteir, I am just curious.

Only if the child prefers to be in a seat with headwings! They wouldn't fit in the Nauti but would in the Frontier. I personally wouldn't mind having something to lean my head against on long trips, of course when DH is driving!

I'm confused now..which one has teh higher booster? I think I'm getting messed up in my head...

THe Nautilus had a tad higher harness capability but the Frontier has a much higher booster mode.

If the Frontier had a taller harness it would have been the ideal seat for alot of kiddos. But for those with super tall torso length the regent will harness the longest! On the other hand, the Frontier will work wonderfully for the average child assuming you can get an acceptable install

arly1983 said:

I guess my big question would be: Would you want to have a child in the HBB booster with a 22 inch torso if the there is head support/side airbags/passes five-step test, etc. Would there be any benefit?

Click to expand...

Jacob is 11 and has been in a backless booster for 2 years. He doesn't pass the 5 step test in my sienna and I bought him a a monterey because he still sleeps in the car and I don't want him leaning against the side of the van with the side curtain air bags. The shoulder belt is too close to his neck in the prospect he is in now.

He doesn't fit in the monterey and my husband is about to have a fit that I spend $129 on a high back booster for an almost 12 year old! I not buying a fronteir until it has been out for 6 months and I try it in my van and try kids in it.

I really do love the montery though and will keep it for Daniel and Benjamin.

emandbri said:

Jacob is 11 and has been in a backless booster for 2 years. He doesn't pass the 5 step test in my sienna and I bought him a a monterey because he still sleeps in the car and I don't want him leaning against the side of the van with the side curtain air bags. The shoulder belt is too close to his neck in the prospect he is in now.

He doesn't fit in the monterey and my husband is about to have a fit that I spend $129 on a high back booster for an almost 12 year old! I not buying a fronteir until it has been out for 6 months and I try it in my van and try kids in it.

I really do love the montery though and will keep it for Daniel and Benjamin.

Click to expand...

Hey, I'm about to buy a Monterey for *my* 11.5 yo . I have the same van you do (8-passenger) and he just (finally) outgrew the Husky by height and has not been terribly pleased to move to a booster from it. He is, however, looking forward to the Monterey. He has a short torso and long legs, but no way passes the 5-step test in any seat in the van.

That is preety much the same situation we were in but our ds2 does fit in the MOnterey for now. Hopefully by the time he outgrows it, he will not sleep in the car. I have a feeling that this will not be the case though. We sold our Pontiac Montana which he was far from passing the 5 pt test and now we have an acura mdx and it looks like he will pass the test alot sooner in this car. That will not solve the sleeping issue though.

I have a sleeper and I feel much safer with a HBB vs LBB or seatbelt only even if they pass the test.

Re: Does this change things? Frontier vs. HWH/Monterey

I finally measured my kids' torsos (first time ever...).
8y8m, 53 in, 18.5 inch torso (makes sense she *just* fit in the Frontier harness listed at 18 inches). Will be in a booster a good 3 more years, I won't use the Regent, will need side impact protection from some seat for a few more years till I get a car with curtain airbags. Frontier would be my choice for extra height as a booster, and deeper leg support.
10y8mo, 19.5 inch torso, 56 inches tall (the 19.5 makes sense, it seems his sister is very close to him in torso height). Again, no Regent, will need a high back booster till I have a car with curtain airbags, wouldn't really have cared to use a harness past age 8ish... Frontier's the choice again.

(Note...I need to remeasure the Starts they are in, I got 23-25 last time and that seems kind of tall, yet both kids have several inches left to grow in them...the skinny seats wouldn't fit a kid any wider than 'average', I'm afraid...plus it has some other negatives...high price, tricky belt lockoffs, mandatory top tethering... that make it not even worth recommending for most people).

The extra crotch strap depth and and very different headwings might make the Frontier also better choices for some kids (I'm sure the kids who can sleep in the Nautilus are fine with it, but it seems a disaster for a lot of kids to sleep in so far...).

Re: Does this change things? Frontier vs. HWH/Monterey

joolsplus3 said:

The extra crotch strap depth and and very different headwings might make the Frontier also better choices for some kids (I'm sure the kids who can sleep in the Nautilus are fine with it, but it seems a disaster for a lot of kids to sleep in so far...).

Click to expand...

I can whole heartedly agree with that. It was our experience as well.


So if you had a car like your DH's with side airbags, the whole HBB booster would be a moot point?

Re: Does this change things? Frontier vs. HWH/Monterey

I don't freak out *as much* in a car with curtain airbags... (I'm always a little nervous, lol)... for a kid too tall for the GN in highback mode in a car with airbags I'm sure I'd be fine with backless mode (given that my dd is probably just creeping up on too tall for the GN harness now, might fit as a highback booster another year+ and then could go backless, yeah, if I liked that seat for other reasons, I'd be cool with that...she only naps in the car on very big days out, which are usually in a highback in the van...)

Re: Does this change things? Frontier vs. HWH/Monterey

Wow, I had no idea the Frontier became a 23" booster. I hope some of the other booster makers can match that. Although I'll probably need a new car or van before Rachael needs a super tall HBB for head support so hopefully it won't be an issue.