A car seat is one of those things you never hope needs to be put to the test. But if it is, you want to know you invested in a quality product. Nuna is known for its high-end car seats and stroller systems for infant safety, so we reviewed the Nuna Pipa car seat to see how it measures up.
Why Trust Us?
Because my full-time job is being mom to 2 precious daughters, and I know a thing or two about strollers. Besides personal experience, I get feedback from other moms who use these strollers every day and put all that research into our unbiased stroller buying guides
- Kyli
Table of Contents
Things to Consider Before Buying a Stroller Adaptable Car Seat/Convertible Stroller
A car seat is one of the more essential safety purchases you’ll make when having a baby. Making sure it’s installed correctly is half the battle. Investing in a car seat that meets your budget, transportation needs, and personal safety standards is also imperative. A stroller with a removable car seat is often called a convertible stroller.
Dimensions for Your Car
Most car seats will fit the majority of cars and SUVs on the road. You don’t want to purchase a pricey car seat without a quick doublecheck on the dimensions, though. The Nuna Pipa measures 26.1 x 17.5 x 25.2 inches. It is suitable for a child up to 32 pounds. The base of the car seat remains in your vehicle, and the base weights just under 14 pounds (not the part you will carry around).
Weight of Seat
The actual seat, without your little one in it, of course, weighs 7.9 pounds. This particular seat is one of the lightest and safest car seats on the market at the moment. If doing everything you can to carry a lighter load is important to you, the Pipa is worth considering.
Once you have a little one in the seat, you’re adding their weight to the car seat. Starting with a seat this light is ideal for those with less upper body strength or those with back or shoulder conditions.
Finances
There are several infant car seats on the market that meet the federal safety standards. You certainly do not need to spend hundreds of dollars on a car seat to make sure it’s safe. However, if you have the resources to splurge more and the extra safety features provide peace of mind, the Nuna Pipa is a brilliant option.
Compatibility with Strollers
Some parents or caregivers like to keep the car seat in the car at all times. It is possible to utilize baby wearing techniques or a quick open umbrella stroller when taking the child out of the vehicle. But, for most parents, there will be moments you absolutely feel you need to keep your baby in the car seat when getting out of the car.
Maybe it’s the only way you can get them to sleep. Or, perhaps you just need a safe place to keep them secure while picking up a few things at the grocery store. Whatever your situation, having a way to snap your car seat into a compatible stroller can feel crucial.
The Nuna Pipa is compatible with the Bugaboo® Cameleon 3 stroller, UPPABaby® Vista and Cruz strollers from 2015 and later. It can also be paired with some Nuna and Maxi-Cosi® rolling units. Nuna sells a car seat adapter, so depending on which stroller base you’re looking at, you may need an adapter for the Nuna Pipa.
Length of Time Planned for Use
The Nuna Pipa is a car seat that will work for an infant or child up to 32 pounds or 32 inches in height. When your child hits either milestone, it will be time for a different style car seat. Most parents will then opt for the more upright booster seat with a detachable back.
If you’re roughly halfway through this infant and early toddler stage and have no further plans for more children, the Nuna Pipa is a pricey model for the short amount of time you will use it.
However, if you’re still expecting or know you’d like to have more than one child relatively close together in age (within five to six years, before a car seat’s plastic is considered too old) then the Nuna Pipa can be a worthwhile investment because of its quality, durability, and lightweight but extremely safe construction.
About the Nuna Pipa
Nuna is a baby carrier brand with origins in The Netherlands. Their primary focus is that of high-end, luxurious infant car seats and strollers, and the adapting accessories for both. The Nuna Pipa is a car seat. However, with compatible stroller bases or the Nuna car seat adapter device, you can snap this car seat into a rolling unit. Then voila, you have yourself a quality stroller.
Things We Like
- Exceptionally lightweight seat.
- Dream Drape™ canopy to shield child.
- Side-impact protection with crumple zone and stability leg.
- Can install in a car with or without the base.
- Compatible with other stroller brand bases.
Room for Improvement
- High price point.
- Need for separate stroller attachment.
- More need for storage space than some strollers.
- Will not work as a stroller seat for much older toddlers/young children.
Features and Benefits
With a high-quality seat like the Nuna Pipa, you tend to get more features than some of the more common but lower-cost models. It’s important to remember the Pipa is only the car seat and base, so even with this price, you’ll still need to purchase a separate stroller and adapter if you don’t already have one. In the Pipa itself, though, there is plenty to love.
Light to Carry
The Pipa weighs just under 8 pounds, which is exceptionally light—especially compared to infant car seats from just a decade ago. The insubstantial weight of this seat makes it even easier to maneuver in and out of the car. You’ll also find it simpler to latch the seat into a stroller base because of this lightness.
Dream Drape™ Screen
Nuna’s Dream Drape™ breathable cover is excellent for protecting little one’s eyes from bright sunlight, and when you’re strolling around, for added privacy. For those who live in exceptionally sunny locations, have babies with sensitive eyes, or have careers that keep them in the public eye, this screen can be a surprisingly beneficial feature.
Connectable Design for Strollers
The Nuna Pipa has quick click connectivity which makes it transition from a car seat to a stroller in seconds. You will need the stroller base if you don’t already have one. Luckily, stroller bases don’t often wear out as quickly as car seats if the stroller portion is stored indoors.
Car seats wear out faster because of the extreme heat and cold of a car’s interior, and the seats obviously have higher-impact safety concerns. You can find a relatively affordable base online or sometimes even at a mom-to-mom sale or resale shop.
Stability Leg
A relatively recent upgrade in infant car seats is that of stability legs, which make the base of the chair (the part that remains in the vehicle) far more secure. You can attach the Nuna Pipa in your car without the bottom plate using a seat belt, but with this base installed, this stability leg ensures a more secure and safer ride for your little one.
Five-Point Harness
The Pipa has a five-point harness to keep babies securely in the seat, whether they’re in a vehicle or or a stroller. With an easy-to-latch buckle and cross-chest snap, you don’t have to worry about your child sliding out or down even while being strolled over bumpier sidewalks.
Airline Approved
One significant benefit of travel system strollers or seats that can snap into a travel system of that of use on airlines. If you often travel by air, and your baby will become a frequent flyer in no time, having a car seat that works with aircraft seats and then can be snapped into a foldable stroller base is a benefit worth noting. The Nuna Pipa is light enough to handle getting on and off an airplane and is an airline approved infant seat.
Similar Alternatives
If you like the general idea of a convertible stroller and perhaps just need a seat like the Nuna Pipa, but it’s not quite the right fit for you, plenty of comparable options are on the market. Infant seats come in a massive variety of styles and price points.
Some similar models you might like are worth looking into, even if you decide to go with the Pipa, after all.
Chicco Keyfit 3o
The Chicco KeyFit 30 Infant Seat is similar in design to the Pipa but runs notably lower in price. If the cost of the Pipa is an issue, Chicco is worth a serious look into. They offer safe products with plenty of attachable components but at a lesser price. Note: this seat is only suitable for little ones up to 30 pounds.
Britax B-Safe 35
We also like the Britax B-Safe 35 Infant Seat. Britax is also known for slightly higher-end baby products but costs a bit less than the Pipa. Another small bonus is that this seat is suitable for infants and toddlers up to 35 pounds.
Only a few extra pounds might seem meaningless. But for some little ones, it takes many months to put on those last pounds. So the switch from infant seat to upright booster style could come later than you think. You could end up getting quite a few extra months out of a car seat that allows for a higher child weight capacity before needing to retire it.
UPPAbaby Mesa
The UPPAbaby Mesa Infant Seat is still high-end like the Nuna Pipa and from a reputable brand and runs right around the same price as the Pipa. UPPAbaby has several compatible accessories if you’re concerned about a perfect fit when it comes to the stroller attachment with the seat. This model is also capable of carrying a child up to 35 pounds, too.
Our Conclusion
The Nuna Pipa is an excellently designed seat with incredible ratings from parents. If you’re searching for a baby car seat that is lightweight, exceptionally safe, and has five-star feedback, this unit is worth checking out. If you already have a compatible stroller base or can get one for a reasonable price, the Pipa runs about the middle of the pack in cost for the seat itself.
There are options out there that cost over a grand at the top of the line. On the other end of the car seat spectrum, you can find models that will click into stroller units like the Snap N Go for a low price. With some of these, you’ll be giving up just a bit of quality. The Pipa is a balance between these two extremes, offering high-end quality without costing thousands.
It’s vital to bear in mind this is only a car seat and does not come with the stroller base. More than that, this will not act as a stroller that fits all needs. Once a child is of a late toddler to early childhood age, this seat will not work for most children. Nor will it suit the needs of parents who want a stroller for serious hiking or jogging.
If you’re looking for an attachable seat for infants and the earliest toddler years, and only need to use it for a basic stroller, then this could be an ideal fit.
Nuna Pipa Review: A Lightweight, Safety-First Car Seat
If you’re searching for a baby car seat that is lightweight, exceptionally safe, and has five-star feedback, this Nuna Pipa review is worth checking out.
Product In-Stock: InStock
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