For the past YEAR (without exaggeration), my middle son Ryan has been asking for a booster seat to be “just like Kyle” his older brother. While I would normally be more than happy to fulfill his wish for a booster seat (hello less work for me), I told him that he’s still too young and small. Besides giving him great incentive to eat better and sleep more so he can grow big and strong, I was mostly concerned about his safety. I didn’t want to move him to a booster too early, even if he did fit the “criteria.” This summer felt right – he was about to enter Junior Kindergarten and he was above the 40 pound minimum requirement in Canada. It was kismet when we received the opportunity to try out Diono’s Monterey XT Booster Car Seat. I’ve always heard so many great things about Diono’s car seats but have never had the opportunity to try them out for ourselves. Ryan has been enjoying his new car seat for the past month and I’m excited to share our experience with it.
Comfort
The Diono Monterey XT Booster Car Seat is spacious and very cushioned, making it very comfortable. Besides safety (which I will talk about shortly), comfort was the other important factor for me when selecting a car seat. Since we do a lot of two hour plus drives, I wanted to ensure that Ryan’s car seat would be comfortable enough for long drives and to fall asleep in.
Safety
Unlike most boosters, the Diono Monterey XT Booster Car Seat has UAS connectors (a LATCH system) so you can connect the car seat to the vehicle’s anchors and keeps the seat in position when not in use. This additional safety measure proves valuable, especially in case of a car accident. If you’re in an accident, getting advice from Bengal Law in Orlando can provide important legal help and support.
There’s a built-in belt guide to slide the belt through. This ensures that the belt is held firmly in place at the right level and rests perfectly on his shoulder without slipping to the neck.
Easy to use
The Diono Monterey XT Booster Car Seat was designed to fit growing children (40lbs to 120 lbs). As such, they have some great built-in features to allow you to make quick and easy adjustments. To adjust the width of the seat in order to fit properly around your child’s shoulder, you simply turn the red dial located on the back of the seat.
For taller kids, using one hand, simply lift up the red lever located at the back of the head rest and pull the head rest up.
The back can be easily removed to convert the seat to backless booster which is great for travel and storage.
Quality
I love the car seat’s fabric and based on first appearance, I think it will hold up longer compared to other car seat’s we’ve had. For some reason, my boys like to put car seats to the test, and usually a rip in the fabric is their second focus after getting the seats nice and dirty! Although I can’t speak to its ease, apparently the cover is removable for cleaning.
Extras
It comes with TWO cup holders (hurray) but it took us a while to figure it out – which is good because it means that the cup / snack holder is retractable (great for traveling, or for use in smaller cars or when you need extra space). However, the cup holders can be hard to clean since they can’t be removed. The cup holders could also be a little deeper to hold the water bottles better as sometimes they tip over, especially due to (4 year old) user error.
The car seat comes in four different colours; teal, grey, purple and red.
Overall I have to say that we truly love this booster seat and Ryan has been happy as a clam since we transitioned him from a harnessed car seat. I’m so glad we got him this booster seat. Even just compared to the one Kyle has, you can tell the quality is superior and has better safety features. You can purchase this car seat online at a variety of retailers including Amazon.ca, Babies R Us, Sears and Well.ca.
GIVEAWAY
I’m excited to announce that I’ve teamed up with Diono to give one of my readers their very own Monterey XT Booster Car Seat (retails for $169.99). Enter the giveaway via Rafflecopter (please give it a few seconds to load). Contest is open to all residents of Canada. Contest ends Friday August 18, 2017.
Disclosure: In exchange for this post, I have received the Diono Monterey XT Booster Car Seat for review. All opinions on this blog are my own.
I really like how it has the UAS connectors!!!
My favourite feature of this booster seat is that it can be easily removed to convert the seat to backless booster which is perfect for us .
I love the removable cover!
I love how this seat has cup holders! My son would love that!!
I love that it has latches to connect to right to my vehicle!
Comfort, the latch system and the fact that it goes up to 120 lbs are most important to me! We love the Diono brand and will actually in the market for a booster in the coming months.
I like the built-in belt guide to save the seatbelt from rubbing across their neck. I love how well-made it looks.
I love that it is adjustable and grows with the child and can also be washed!!
I like that the Diono Booster has latch system so we can connect the car seat to the vehicle’s anchors and keeps the seat in position when not in use. I also love the cup holders as we always have water with us
I love that the cover can be removed for cleaning!
I love the reinforced sides! It is already stressful enough getting out of the harness any added safety is appreciated.
I like the quick and easy adjustments as the child grows.
Looks awesome!
I like how easy it is to adjust with growth!
I love the fabric choice with the reinforced sides. It looks tough and durable for everything destructive kids can throw at it!
I love the removable cover!
Best feature is it’s safety! Unlike most boosters, this one has UAS connectors
LOVE that is has better safety features than most car seats and the fact that it comes with two cup holders is key! my daughters doesn’t have one so when she is done with her juice, down to the floor it goes 🙁
I absolutely love that it’s adjustable and it’s easy to do with just a turn!
I love the easy latch system
I love that it attaches to the vehicle and how adjustable it is!
I love that the cover can be removed for easy cleaning! That is huge since kids can be messy!!!
Safety is a concern for me so I like that I can connect the car seat to the vehicle’s anchors and it will keep the seat in position when not in use. I also like the red button for the head rest and the comfort it provides.
I like it fits growing children (40lbs to 120 lbs)
I love that the back is easily removable for converting to a backless booster when the time comes.
I love how it has UAS connectors
My favourite feature (aside from the gorgeous colour choices!) is that the booster can connect to the vehicle’s anchors – LOVE this!! I currently have one child in a booster (and more to come), and I usually remember to buckle the seat up even when she is not in it, but sometimes I forget, and I know that my husband and parents never do this, so I worry about the booster becoming a projectile in an accident. Using the UAS connectors would make me feel so much better!
I like that the back can be easily removed to convert the seat to backless booster.
I love that it grows with your child and its washable that’s always a great thing !
Love that there is a cup holder for a drink and a cup holder for a snack – super handy!
I love that it transitions with your child as they get older, easily raising up the head rest. This is a carseat is awesome and would come in good hands for my daughter.
Love that I could adjust the width of the seat in order to fit properly around my child’s shoulder, also love the adjustable head rest!
I love the ability to retract the cup/ snack holders
I love that it has UAS connectors.
I love how it fits a growing child transitioning from its infant car seat into a booster seat, the latch system and the variety of colours!
The removable cover is a great feature.
I love that it is designed to fit growing children (40lbs to 120 lbs)
We are just about at that stage with Ellie as well! I love how you can adjust the width. Hadn’t heard of that option before!!
I like the removable cover
I like that you can use the latch system! Very handy! Thank you for the giveaway.
The one hand, simple lift by lifting up the red lever located at the back of the head rest and pulling the head rest up to adjust the heights of the younger and older kids!
I love safety features. And this is why Diono has been my number 1 choice since we graduated from infant “bucket”.
i like how the seat can convert to a backless booster. which is great for travelling imo
I like the UAS connectors and everything else.
I love that it has a removable cover! My daughter has basically ruined her car seat with all the crap she’s spilled on it! Lol.
I like this,- To adjust the width of the seat in order to fit properly around your child’s shoulder, you simply turn the red dial located on the back of the seat.
I love how this booster seat can connect to the vehicle’s anchors.That’s such an awesome safety feature!
I love the red lever located at the back of the head rest that pulls up to pull the head rest up.
I love that the back can be easily removed to convert the seat to backless booster
I like the built-in belt guide to keep the belt in proper place on the child’s shoulder.
I love the way the back can easily be removed to convert it to a backless booster seat
My favourite feature is that the back can be removed to convert it into a backless booster seat!
I love that “The back can be easily removed to convert the seat to backless booster which is great for travel and storage.” thats a great feature ! As the kids grow they may prefer the back off , the cups holders is a great feature to !
fantastic that it is adjustable.
My fave feature is the built-in belt guide.
I love that it can convert to a backless booster. Sounds like a great seat with lots of great features.
The cup holders look super useful!
I like that it is easily convertible to a backless booster and that it has lots of extra features.
I like that it connects with the UAS so I don’t need to worry about it becoming a projectile when not in use!
I like that it has two cup holders.
It’s so versatile and love the color teal
My favourite feature is that it coverts to a backless booster.
For taller kids, using one hand, simply lift up the red lever located at the back of the head rest and pull the head rest up.
I like the uas connection and that it works for many weights 40lbs to 120lbs.
I love that it has a latch system unlike other boosters!
I like the removable cover.
i like how sturdy this looks and extremely safe for my kids 🙂 and ilove the bright colors- love the plum!
I like that adjustable head rest.
the retractable snack holder is pretty cool
I love how adjustable this booster seat is, designed to fit growing children (40lbs to 120 lbs) and it can be made wider and the head rest higher, take off the back too – a great design. An added plus is the fact that you can take off the cover for washing, wonderful. What’s not to like about this?
I love that this is convertible from car seat to booster, with the latch system.
I love that it converts to a backless seat (great for going to the grandparents) and the two cupholders!
IS IT BAD TO SAY MY FAVOURITE FEATURE IS THE TEAL COLOUR…I LOVE TEAL
My favourite feature is that it’s designed to fit growing children (40lbs to 120 lbs).
I love the latch system
I realpu like the latch system
I love that it is so adjustable and grows with the child!
I accidentally hit the submit button before entering my email address. I follow your blog jlgoneboatin@hotmail.com
Besides loving Diono seats, the UAS connectors would be super convenient for the next stage (booster seat)!
I love the belt guide/guard!
I like that it is adjustable, and the connection feature for the vehicle is great too!
I really appreciate that this car seat has a belt guide-guard.
I love that it grows with the child!
I like that you can adjust the width of the seat at the shoulders to make it fit the child.
I love the retractable cup holders. My daughter would love them, she’s always dropping her water bottle
I like that it is flush with the seat.
My favourite feature is that it will fit growing children.
Grandaughter is moving into a larger car seat & this would suit her perfectly.
Love that the Diono Monterey XT Booster Car Seat was designed to fit growing children (40lbs to 120 lbs) & do they ever grow before our eyes. Also a built-in belt guide to slide the belt through to ensures that the belt is held firmly in place at the right level and rests perfectly on his shoulder without slipping to the neck (this is SO important)
Thanks so much for the chance to win one for the wee little one @mayahoodblog.ca
I love that I can actually take off the cover and clean it! We all know how necessary that is lol