Is Nuna Pipa Next car seat safe? - concerned about "chin-to-chest" negative reviews

[lmndlily]

Hi all,

I went to look at prams and car seats the other day, and really liked Nuna Pipa Next stroller which we are told is only compatible with Nuna car seats. As I need to travel on taxi at times, i was recommended the Nuna Pipa Next car seat (can be installed with a seat belt & lightweight to lift and set up on the stroller).

We were almost deciding on it, but when we checked the reviews online we found some negative reviews which all mention that baby's chin touches chest no matter what adjustment they made. I just wonder if this is something we should be concerned about?
I didn't find many such negative reviews with other brands' car seats.. Our car is the Honda civic sport and the back seat looks a bit tilted towards the back/in a reclined position (if that makes sense?), so I'm a bit worried if this would make the problem worse when the car seat is installed rear-facing?

What's your experience with Nuna Pipa Next (or Nuna urbn) car seats?

Alternatively, I could think about getting a Maxi Cosi Cabriofix with Zelia S stroller, but I've not been able to find a shop nearby which has it in store to look at in person🤔

[BertieBotts]

It's not only Nuna car seats that are compatible, you can use any Maxi Cosi, Joie, Cybex, Britax, Besafe or Avionaut on the Nuna prams with the same adapters. It might be they only do the Nuna ones in a bundle (this is unusual, usually they try to upsell the expensive Cybex or Maxi Cosi ones!) but you ought to be able to buy just the pushchair with car seat adapters, and get your car seat separately if you prefer.

Secondly no, the Nuna car seat is not unsafe. The positioning of it is probably one of the more hit-or-miss ones, but it's OK if you're sticking to the time limits as recommended (30 mins up to 4 weeks, 2 hours thereafter). This is the time until a break from the seat is needed, which can just be a few minutes if necessary. With the tilt on your seats though, it might not be the best option so I'll go through some others.

IME the Maxi Cosi, Britax and Cybex seats have the nicest positioning from newborn, and special shout out to Avionaut as they are superb. (It's hard to find a good demo of this online - this isn't bad: https://www.tiktok.com/@winstanleyspramworld/video/7273062565905829153)

It's a very common feature for car seats to be usable with the seatbelt alone or with the base using the isofix. There are only a tiny minority of car seats which are base/isofix only.

If you're wanting to combine the pushchair compatability with weight, seatbelt fitting and newborn positioning I'd look at these models:

Avionaut Pixel Pro / Cosmo
Britax BabySafe Core / Babysafe 5Z
Cybex Cloud G
Maxi Cosi Pebble 360 / Cabriofix i-size

Personally I think the Britax and Maxi Cosi seats are the nicest/smoothest to seatbelt fit, but the Cybex is very popular and the Avionaut has such a nice position I couldn't leave it out.

The Britax Babysafe 5Z has the option to buy a base which will compensate for the angle in the back of your car, or you could choose any of these car seats without base in order to gain more control over the angle of fitting.

Cybex Cloud G can be reclined in the car if the angle is too steep (only on the base).

There's also Besafe Go Beyond which will be worth a look, but it's not been released yet. Due this spring apparently.

When choosing a car seat, ignore the possibility to use the next stage seat on the same base, as your car has sloped seats, this is usually not a good option anyway.

Nuna don't officially list any compatability with other brands, but they are the exact same adapters and particularly the Cybex and Maxi Cosi are sold together with Nuna prams all the time by various retailers. It's likely you'll find someone who has tried the exact combination that you want if you can find a car seat or pushchair group.

[lmndlily]

@BertieBotts Thank you for the detailed reply!
I didn't know Nuna prams can be used with other brands' car seats... John Lewis adviser told us Maxi Cosi car seats can't be used with Nuna prams for some reason, but then when I look online some people mentioned that it's possible.

Btw the pram name is actually Nuna Triv Next, I made a mistake! I wonder which adaptor I need if I want to use it with Maxi Cosi Cabriofix. I'll check the other car seats you listed above later too, it's really helpful, thank you!! x

[BertieBotts]

It's the same one - Nuna car seats use the Maxi Cosi standard adapters :) So you just need the Nuna car seat adapter.

Basically years ago when travel systems were first invented, it was all brand and model specific, then in the mid 2000s, big name prams like Bugaboo and Quinny were starting to kick off, Maxi Cosi had the bright idea to make adapters for their Cabrio car seat for various different high-end pushchair systems and very quickly they became the best selling/must-have infant car seat, so of course all the other brands started to make their own car seats compatible with those same, fairly simple adapters. Today most of the major brands use those "Maxi Cosi" adapters (as they are still called) and most of the big name pushchair companies make one for their prams.

I think John Lewis are giving you the official line from Nuna, but the reality is (at least what I was taught working in a baby stuff shop in Germany) you don't need the official approval. Apparently there are some cases where for example the hooks don't quite catch on because some adapters are slightly longer than others, but personally, I never came across a combination that didn't fit, so I think this must be a rare thing. We sold loads and loads of Nuna pushchairs, usually with Maxi Cosi or Cybex car seats - occasionally with the Nuna one.

Be aware that the Cabriofix comes up recommended time and time again because it's a very old name compared to every other car seat model on the market, and it has that legacy (the non i-size cabriofix is successor to the Cabrio) of being "the universal car seat" but it's not the only one that fits that claim any more. In fact the Cabriofix i-size is a completely different seat to the original Cabriofix. It's fine, and it's a good option if you want a lightweight, budget seat but the insert isn't quite as nice IMO as their Pebble inserts, and it has lower limits than many other infant carriers at 75cm and 12kg (most are 80+cm and 13kg) - so it's outgrown by around 9 months usually, whereas the 80cm+ ones generally get you at least a year.

[lmndlily]

@BertieBotts Thanks again, that's interesting to know! I'll try to look for the adapter for Maxi Cosi.

I was actually looking at Cabriofix i-size since it's a bit more lightweight. But now you mentioned about the size limit, I think I'll have to consider what our priorities really are - either the car seat's weight or the size limit! If it lasts about only 9 months, that sounds quite soon to be honest.

Anyways, thank you very much for sharing the information! x

[BertieBotts]

No sorry - what I mean is, the Nuna car seat adapter is the same as a Maxi Cosi car seat adapter. But according to this video (he's American but based in Europe so this is the edition you get in the UK) the adapters come with it. Which is good because they are not for sale separately. p

In the linked short, he is using a Cybex Aton 5 car seat, not a Nuna one.

In terms of time that it lasts, it's common for people to want to move up to the next stage towards the end of the first year anyway. Babies get very heavy to carry in those seats, they start to want to sit up more and see out of the window. So it's not always a problem to change seats at 9/10 months - but if you definitely want to keep using the infant carrier for as long as possible (for example with taxis, the next stage seat is a huge pain in the bum) then it's worth looking at a larger height limit, just in case. The issue with working out how long something will last is there's not really a simple formula like "1cm = X months" - babies grow very rapidly during the first year, and then this slows down as they approach the toddler years and get past age 2. But 80cm is usually a good rule of thumb if you want at least a year out of the infant carry seat.

[lmndlily]

@BertieBotts Oh thank you so much, it's reassuring to see how another brand's car seat fits with the Nuna adapter in the video. That's the adapter I tried in the store, so that's good. Now I have more options when deciding on which car seat to get!

I think I might still want to use taxi up around to when the baby is a year or so (thinking of taking refresher's driving lessons as soon as possible though), so I might wanna choose one that lasts beyond 9/10 months. Didn't realise that the next up size seats can be heavier - good point! Thank you for mentioning that. I'll probably look for a seat with 80cm+ ish height limit. x

[lozispeachy]

Sorry to jump in on this - I definitely know I want the avionaut pixel pro 2.0 and I'm interested in the nuna Triv - just to be sure, are you saying the adaptors it already comes with would work? :) many thanks!

[BertieBotts]

Yes they are the same adapters, so should fit an Avionaut seat.

[lmndlily]

Hi @lozispeachy - I've got the Nuna Triv Next and Avionaut Pixel Pro after all, and the adopter came with the pram works fine! x