Sentry Guardimals Review

Sentry Guardimals Combination Seat

At the 2016 ABC Kids Expo, our team discovered a new car seat manufacturer with a very unique offering. The Sentry Guardimals combination seats aim to appeal to children who have favorite stuffed animals with characters including a bear, a tiger, a monkey, and a puppy. In addition to its unique and friendly designs, with its widest point measuring 17.5 inches, the Guardimals seemed to be a promising new seat for three across situations.

Sentry Guardimals top tether storage

Most car seats have a dedicated spot on the plastic shell of the seat for top tether storage.  The Guardimal’s top tether stores on the outside of the seat’s cover.  Over time, this could well lead to the cover ripping in that spot.  Also, this protrusion could get in the way of a secure installation with the rear entry installation method, which does not allow the use of the top tether.

Sentry Guardimals – detached lower anchor webbing

Our soft bear requires a bit of assembly. When I picked up the back of the seat to attach it to the base, I saw the lower anchors were not permanently attached to the seat — that’s a requirement of the FMVSS 213 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard for Child Restraint Systems.

While this may not be a safety concern in and of itself since vehicle seat belt installations are also an option, it is troubling to see a seat that is already being sold not complying with federal regulations.

In addition, lower anchor straps that aren’t permanently affixed to the seat can be difficult to keep track of for parents who prefer to use lower anchor installations or who plan to use lower anchors in booster mode later on.

Guardimals seats manufactured after 6/1/2017 have these anchors affixed to the seat.  We welcome that improvement!

Sentry Guardimals – armrest pockets

The Sentry Guardimals have handy pockets on the back of each paw on the armrests. These may be great storage for the little toys children like to carry around but my concern is that they might result in parental profanity should a child choose to save a snack for later in one of these non-machine washable pockets.

Sentry Guardimals splitter plate catches on manual storage pocket when tightening the harness

When the seat was installed, the storage pocket interfered with tightening the straps because the splitter plate would catch on it. When we tried to loosen the straps, the splitter plate got caught on the bottom of the seat where it meets the back.

Guardimals seats manufactured after 6/1/2017 have an improved closure on this pouch.

Sentry Guardimal front entry belt path is not marked on the seat

The front entry routing method is different than the belt path on most forward facing harnessed seats.  Unfortunately, the belt path isn’t labelled on the seat at all.  It’s only listed in the manual.

The seat belt is routed around the front of the seat with the shoulder belt over the armrest and the lap belt under the armrest. Then, it is inserted into a slit in the fabric and through the opening to the back, passed behind the seat, and pulled to the front of the seat through a second slot in the seat’s fabric before being routed under the second armrest and buckled.

This method resulted in excessive twisting and straightening. It also used most of my vehicle seat belt and introduced a lot of friction, making it difficult to tighten the seat belt and get less than 1 inch movement at the belt path.

Sentry Guardimal front entry installation path

Using the lower anchors with the front entry method was nearly identical to installing with the vehicle seat belt using this front entry method. Without a vehicle shoulder belt to contend with, I didn’t deal with as much twisting and friction on the lower anchor webbing as I did using the vehicle seat belt.

Sentry Guardimals – rear entry method

The rear entry installation method is similar to a typical installation, however it cannot be used with the top tether. Since the top tether is a critical part of forward facing harnessed car seats, we can’t suggest this installation method.

Sentry Guardimal rear entry installation path

I could not get a secure install using this method with either the seat belt or the lower anchors. If a car seat moves more than one inch when checked at the belt path, it’s not a safe installation.

Sentry Guardimal rear entry installation method

We’ve removed the cover to show how the vehicle seat belt is threaded in this type of installation.

Sentry Guardimals 3 year old fit

Our 3 year old model weighs 34 pounds and is 39 inches tall. She fits nicely in the harness and still has plenty of room to grow. She likes the smooth adjusting harness and the grippy covers. If she were an escape artist, the design of the cam lock would prevent her from being able to loosen her straps to get out.

The crotch strap is routed differently than most combination seats in the United States. It’s routed through the inner slot and the strap is routed back and up through the outer crotch buckle slot. The manual doesn’t mention this so it’s especially important to note when you need to take the seat apart.

Sentry Guardimals 6 years old

This model is 6 years old, weighs 49 pounds, and is 45 inches tall. The manual states there are four harness positions, but the seat itself only has three pairs of slots. Even without a fourth harness slot, our 6 year old model’s shoulders are still under the top slot, so he still has time in the harnessed mode of this seat.

Sentry Guardimals weight/height limits on label don’t match the manual

The manual lists high back booster weight limits at 30-100 pounds and 38-50 inches tall. However, the seat’s label gives a maximum height limit of 57 inches. The backless booster limits are 40-100 pounds and 42-57 inches in the manual but 40-120 pounds and 40-57 inches on the seat’s label.

Sentry Guardimals booster mode

When we contacted the manufacturer regarding this, we were directed to follow the labels on the seat. This kind of inconsistency can only lead to misuse.

Guardimals seats manufactured after 6/1/2017 have updated labels that should match the manual.

Sentry Guardimals – high back booster fit

We were pleasantly surprised to see how well the high back booster mode fit our 6 year old model. The lap belt was low on his hips and the shoulder belt made full contact with his torso, landing perfectly in the center of his shoulder. Since he can be trusted to sit properly 100% of the time, high back booster mode is a safe choice for him. For the backless booster mode and kids who may feel too old for a stuffed animal seat, the feet paws,  (Sentry’s name for them) can be removed. They’re simply attached by hook and loop strips that are inserted through two slots in the seat for each one.

Sentry Guardimals – backless booster fit

The fit for the backless booster was rather disappointing. Due to the design of the seat, our 6 year old had difficulty sitting up straight and not slouching. When he was sitting up with his bottom firmly against the back of the seat, the lap belt was too low on his thighs and didn’t even touch his pelvis.

Sentry Guardimals – no back booster with shoulder belt positioner

Without the positioner, the vehicle shoulder belt was too close to his neck and hovered over his shoulder. This was fixed by using the shoulder belt positioner that’s attached to the seat.

Sentry Guardimals – FAA approval label

FAA Approval The Sentry Guardimals is FAA approved when used in harness mode. The FAA approval sticker is located on the back (left) side of the base.

Sentry Guardimals – Manual Storage

Manual Storage The manual stores in a black mesh pouch at the back of the seat.

Sentry Guardimals – Date of Manufacture Label

Date of Manufacture The date of manufacture is on a sticker at the bottom of the seat base.