Choosing a car seat as a new parent can feel like a chore. When there’s so much on the market, it’s difficult to narrow down the one.
Then you have to keep up with the driving rules, am I allowed to have my child front-facing? From what age? Do they have to be a certain weight? Do I need a car seat base? Can I just strap the car seat in?
These were a few of the 1000 questions running through my mind as a first-time-mum when I had my daughter. I ended up going down a rabbit hole of information only to be overwhelmed further and shutting my laptop after getting no where.
Fast-forward to 1.5 years on, I am now what I would call a seasoned mother who is on the hunt for a car seat for my 17-month-old toddler, who seems to have outgrown her current Cybex Cloud Z i-size.
But this time, I’m armed and I know what I’m looking for.
Ideally I would like a car seat that can be used for future babies as well. So, over the course of the next few weeks I’ll be sharing my very honest reviews of a selection of car seats on the market. This week it’s the Nuna Pipa Urbn car seat. How does it compare to the rest? Read on to find out.
Nuna Pipa Urbn
Price: £300 on Nuna website (price correct at time of writing)
Quick lowdown:
- Baseless car seat with built-in ISOFIX system for easy travel.
- Lightweight at 3.3kg.
- The PIPA urbn features a removable, full-coverage UPF 50+ canopy.
- Rear facing only.
- Child height 40- 75 cm, child weight up to 13 kg.
The review
My first thought was of course about the baseless feature — for any parent I think this is a plus point as you don’t have to faff around with a seatbelt to ensure the car seat is secure in any car.
The easy ISOFIX system means that often, when my husband and I take it in turns to pick up our daughter from nursery, it means we can easily swap the car sear into the other car.
For those who don’t drive and rely on taxis or ridesharing, this car seat is perfect for city living!
Another positive is that the car sear is lightweight – this works in tandem with the ISOFIX feature if you’re constantly changing cars! It can easily be carried out of the car which means it won’t disturb your sleeping baby.
It also comes with a full coverage canopy to protect your child from sun rays, additionally this feature is great if your baby falls asleep in the car and you want them to stay asleep undisturbed.
Though the seat is rear-facing only, according to British safety standards a child should be rear-facing for as long as possible or until at least 15 months old. Which means it doesn’t really matter if it’s rear-facing only as that’s what is recommended.
However, the car seat is limited in its longevity as it is not suitable for children over 13kg or 75cm. This means that unlike the Amana Siena Twist, which lasts from birth until 12 years old, you would need to buy a new car seat quite quickly.
Considering the Nuna is priced at £300, this can end up expensive. Though if I compare to our current Cybex Cloud Z which is £329 currently, with which you have to buy a base separately, this works out much cheaper.
In conclusion, for newborn to 15 months I would recommend this car seat as you can take it out of the car easily which is a must-have for parents of infants— additionally, if I could go back in time, I would probably buy the Pipa Urbn instead of our Cybex Cloud Z!
The only thing I would knock points for is that it’s not long lasting, it is for infants.