I can't seem to pull the trigger on a SK Monterey

I thought I'd finally decided to go with a SK Monterey for my 8.5yo and let her start using that as her regular seat. I went to do more looking at in on the SKJP site, though, and I swear I just can't let the Mighty-tite thing go . I was going to their site because I'd seen a link there before to crash test results for the Monterey, and I was going to look at that, but when I followed the Mighty-tite link, they have a link to crash test results for it too, "proving" how great and safe it is! So, how am I to trust anything they say about the Monterey then, kwim? That's my problem. If someone here has any reason I might be able to be reassured that the Monterey is different, that might help me, and maybe I could go ahead with it. Otherwise I think I'm back to square one, and looking at the Frontier again, or the Recaro Start. Or maybe a TrueFit or something for my middle, so my oldest can stay in middle dd's GN until something else comes out.

(middle is getting *Very* irritated about sitting in the EFTA, and I'm getting pretty annoyed with that seat, too, so I need to get her out of that seat and either back into her GN or into something new)

I was also set to get the Monterey. Then a Frontier dropped in my lap. I can fit in it as a booster, if my butt wasn't so big! It is amazing. I have pics of a nine year old in both, if you want to see.

my 9 yo sits int he monterey. he lOVES it. i feel perfectly happy & safe with him in there. just because a company makes a lousy kind of product doesn't mean every thing they make is lousy. the monterey is sturdy & comfortable & easy to use. i do wish that is was tall like the frontier but spending $300 for a booster a weee bit too much money. the $140 for monterey was plenty of money to swallow. i hope tho that my DS will NOT outgrow the monetery anytime too soon as we;ll have to buy a new car if he does OR the frontier. (it's a long story of why that is the case....)

If my child still fit the Frontier harness, I'd do anything to have one. :thumbsup: Booster mode is fabulous, and harnessed mode is pretty good, too, if you don't have an Amazon child like mine.

I'm considering a Monterey, too, as a primary highback booster to replace the Start, Bodyguard and B510. The Start is just too tall/sits too high up for my little Focus, even though I love it in every way (if only we still had the Windstar). The Bodyguard's lapbelt lockoffs drive dd nuts, and they pop open once in awhile. The B510 is shorter than the others, and dd only has maybe an inch of torso growth left in it, plus it has no real wings to speak of (compared to Britax/Recaro/Sunshine Kids boosters). The B510 is the easiest for dd to use, though, and her favorite. The Monterey seems perfect: LATCH that's allowed to be used with nonstandard spacing (so I can use it LATCHed in the middle of my Focus), armrests tall enough to not make buckling a nightmare, great torso and head wings. Something just keeps holding me back from making this our next booster purchase.

ginny4 said:

just because a company makes a lousy kind of product doesn't mean every thing they make is lousy. the monterey is sturdy & comfortable & easy to use. i do wish that is was tall like the frontier but spending $300 for a booster a weee bit too much money. the $140 for monterey was plenty of money to swallow. i hope tho that my DS will NOT outgrow the monetery anytime too soon as we;ll have to buy a new car if he does OR the frontier. (it's a long story of why that is the case....)

Click to expand...

:yeahthat: to pretty much everything. I don't discount all Evenflo seats or all Cosco seats just because they've had recall issues in the past; they make a few great seats. I won't hate all Sunshine Kids products because they make the Mighty Tite, either.

And I, too, need the tallest highback that's possible for us to afford for my Focus, no rear headrests, dd just turned 7 and has a 19 inch torso. I can't find anything taller than about 21 inches to the top shoulderbelt position, except the Frontier in booster mode, which is significantly higher than 21 inches. Maybe by the time our kiddos get too tall for the 21-inch boosters, someone on the boards will be selling a Frontier for a good price.