Nuna PIPA Infant Carseat Review – Exceptional

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2022 Nuna Pipa + Pipa Series Base Review

The Nuna PIPA with Pipa Series Base delivers everything you could ask for in a high-end infant carseat. Nuna produces a collection of modern and stylish baby gear inspired by Dutch designers who wanted to combine cutting edge safety technology with style and functionality. The idea is to keep things simple, practical and stylish while still being innovative. With rigid lower LATCH attachments, a load leg, lots of padding and a canopy bigger than Texas – this seat set the bar for all future high-end infant carseats.

PIPA was the first Nuna carseat but now there is an entire Nuna carseat lineup, which includes the other PIPA models plus convertible car seats and even a booster for big kids!

So, why all the excitement for an infant seat? Well, as my carseatblog colleagues can attest, I usually have lots of “feedback” to offer manufacturers when we speak with them in person (which is a nice way to say that I have an abundance of opinions) but when it comes to the Nuna PIPA – I’m uncharacteristically quiet.

Of course, there is no such thing as one perfect carseat for all parents because we all have different tastes, opinions, preferences, and budgets to work with. However, for me, PIPA comes very close to being that elusive “perfect” carseat. It’s almost enough to make me want another baby. Okay, so that’s a lie but seriously – new moms today have all the good stuff and they should consider themselves very lucky to have so many excellent carseats to chose from in various price ranges.

The Nuna PIPA Infant Car Seat + PIPA Series Base is available only at specialty retailers.

2022 Nuna PIPA Specs & Features:

  • Rear-facing only: 4-32 lbs and 32″ or less (1″ rule also applies)
  • 3 harness height positions
  • 2 crotch strap/buckle positions (plus adjustable crotch strap length for smaller babies and preemies)
  • Adjustable base with “stability leg” (a.k.a load leg)
  • Base has rigid lower LATCH anchor connectors
  • Base has sturdy lockoff for installations using seatbelt
  • Can be installed without base using standard or Euro beltpath routing
  • No flame-retardant chemicals added
  • Thick energy-absorbing EPS foam lines entire upper portion of shell
  • Canopy with unique “dream drape” feature
  • FAA approved for use in an airplane
  • 7-year lifespan before expiration

2022 Nuna PIPA fashions

Fashions shown left to right: Caviar, Granite, Birch, Frost

   

Each element on PIPA is sourced to be both flame-resistant and contain no added fire-retardant chemicals. PIPA has received GREENGUARD GOLD certification. Products with GREENGUARD Certification are scientifically proven to meet rigorous third-party chemical emissions standards.

PIPA has all the bases covered when it comes to features. In addition to everything listed above, it has the following convenience features:

  • Very easy to attach and remove carrier from base
  • Harness strap adjustment is officially “smooth as butter”
  • Handle can be in any locked position while in the vehicle
  • Best-in-class canopy
  • Nice harness straps – not prone to twisting
  • Memory foam for comfort
  • Can be paired with several high-end strollers to create a “travel system”
  • Cover is well padded for comfort

Each Nuna PIPA comes standard with an infant insert, a buckle pad and harness strap covers. It also comes with plastic funnel guides in case your vehicle’s lower anchors are recessed and it’s difficult to attach the rigid lower anchor connectors. All of these extras are entirely optional but the infant insert is recommended for smaller newborns and should be removed before you need to move the crotch strap/buckle to the second position. Low-birthweight babies and preemies will benefit from the additional low-birthweight pillow which is inserted into a pocket on the backside of the infant insert. The low-birthweight pillow will not be necessary for most full-term newborns and should only be used to boost a very small newborn a little higher if his or her shoulders are below the bottom harness slots.

DSCN5429  DSCN5427  DSCN5430

PIPA Series Base:

Rigid lower anchor attachments with red/green indicators so you know it’s properly attached to the lower LATCH anchors in your vehicle, load leg (Nuna calls it the “Stability Leg”) with red/green indicator, nice lock-off for seatbelt installations, 2-position recline adjustment and bubble level indicators on both sides of the base.

Additional PIPA bases are available for $159.95

 

RELX Series Base:

Compatible with all PIPA carriers, the RELX base features 4-position adjustable rigid LATCH attachments, an anti-rebound panel, plus a locking load leg that adjusts a few inches shorter and 1 inch longer than the original PIPA series base. RELX base also features a 4-position recline system and a different style seatbelt lockoff.

Additional RELX bases are available for $199.95

PIPA “Dream Drape”

One of the unique and innovative features of this particular seat, the “Dream Drape,” is tucked into the canopy in a zippered compartment. The magnets that hold the Dream Drape in place are located on the sides of the seat – not inside the drape. Large metal washers are carefully sewn into the drape. The washers are too large for a baby to choke on and they are double-compartmentalized to ensure your baby won’t somehow manage to get them out of the drape.

   (2)

PIPA Measurements:

  • Harness slot heights: 7″, 9″, 10.5″
  • Lowest harness slot height with infant insert and low birthweight pillow: about 6″
  • Crotch strap/buckle positions (without insert): 5″, 6.5″
  • Internal shell height:  19″
  • Width of base at beltpath: 12″
  • Width of base at widest point: 12.5″
  • Width of carrier at widest point: 16.5″
  • Carrier weight: 9.4 lbs. with infant insert and low birthweight pillow; 8.6 lbs. without infant insert

Fit-to-Child Comments:

The low bottom harness slots combined with the inner buckle position and the adjustable crotch strap length ensures that PIPA will fit the vast majority of newborns and even preemies very nicely.

The 1-piece infant insert is optional but helpful for smaller newborns. The low birthweight pillow won’t be needed for most newborns but can be used as necessary for low birthweight babies who need an extra little boost to get their shoulders even with the bottom harness slots. The low birthweight pillow is inserted into a pocket in the back of the infant insert and should only be used until the baby doesn’t need it to fit well in the harness. Most newborns will use the infant insert without the pillow. Larger newborns won’t need the infant insert at all. The harness strap covers are purely optional and remove quickly and easily thanks to the Velcro on one side. For what it’s worth, I almost always remove the harness strap covers on a newborn (if they’re optional) because they just tend to get in the way more than anything else.

4 lbs., 17″ preemie doll with crotch strap shortened and infant insert with low birthweight pillow inside. Harness straps covers and buckle cover removed.

DSCN5399  DSCN5400

How to shorten the crotch strap length for smaller newborns: Start with the crotch strap in the inner-most position; take the metal anchor from the back of the shell and route it up into the opening for the 2nd buckle/crotch strap position.

DSCN5405  

20″ Newborn-Sized Doll: No inserts needed – pictured with and without crotch strap shortened

Nuna Pipa 20" doll crotch strap shortened  Nuna Pipa 20" doll crotch strap shortened

Nuna Pipa 20" doll crotch strap NOT shortened  Nuna Pipa 20" doll crotch strap NOT shortened

Baby D: 11 months, 24 lbs, 28.5″ tall

Nuna Pipa - 10 mos old  Nuna Pipa - 10 mos old

Nuna Pipa - 10 mos old

Installation Comments:

Recline angle indicator on both sides of the base – bubble should be touching the line.

2-position adjustable PIPA series base – flat vehicle seats won’t need the little kickstand to be down but sloped vehicle seats will need this flipped down in order to achieve a proper recline angle as per the bubble level indicator. For very sloped vehicle seats (like the 3rd row of a newer Grand Caravan/T&C), you will need to use pieces of foam pool noodles or a large rolled towel to get a proper recline angle.

Nuna Pipa Base Installed Nuna Pipa - installed wo recline

Stability leg – the load leg vastly improves crash protection by limiting the seat’s ability to rotate downward during a frontal crash. Having the crash forces spread out over the baby’s entire back, rather than having them concentrated on the shoulders during peak rotation greatly reduces neck loads. The load leg also reduces the likelihood that the carseat will contact the back of the front seat or strike the hard center console in a crash. In addition to all that – a load leg also greatly diminishes rebound. Since the seat barely rotates downward – there just isn’t much energy to cause a rebound effect. The load leg “takes the wind right out of the sail.” For more on load legs, check out our Load Legs 101 article.

Adjust the load leg so that it’s making contact with the floor (the indicator on the bottom will turn green) but don’t jack the base up off the vehicle seat.

Installation with lower LATCH connectors:

Quick and simple are an understatement. The installation in my minivan takes me less than 10 seconds. Removing the base – detaching the rigid LATCH connectors from the lower anchors, takes even less time. No joke.

When connecting the LATCH connectors to the lower anchors in the vehicle – confirm that they are properly secured by checking the indicators on each connector. Red turns to green when they are attached properly. This is very helpful in situations where your lower anchors are recessed in the seat bight and you can’t see them to visually confirm that you’re properly latched on. The plastic funnel guides that come with this seat are also very helpful if you have recessed lower anchors. To release the connectors from the anchor bars push the grey release button located near the red/green indicator.

Since this base has rigid LATCH connectors, you cannot install using lower anchors in a center seating position with non-standard LATCH spacing. In these cases, you will have to install the base with a seatbelt.

Nuna also allows the PIPA base to be installed using both rigid LATCH and seatbelt (together!) unless your vehicle manufacturer specifically prohibits this type of installation. I’m honestly not sure how much benefit if any, this combination provides but we know from field experience that parents love to use both systems simultaneously so the fact that this isn’t a misuse with this particular seat is just another bonus.

Installation with seatbelt using lockoff:

The lockoff is required to be used if installing the base with a seatbelt.

Nuna Pipa installed with seatbelt - lockoff  Nuna Pipa installed with seatbelt

Overhang – The rule of thumb that Child Passenger Safety Technicians are taught is the “80% Rule.” Unless otherwise specified by the carseat manufacturer, at least 80% of the base (or footprint of the carseat) must be over vehicle seat cushion. In other words – no more than 20% of the base can hang off over the edge of the vehicle seat. Since the PIPA base is long this was an issue in the center of my husband’s 2016 Dodge Ram 1500 Crew Cab and it was also a concern in my neighbor’s 2010 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. I asked Nuna for clarification and they confirmed that if you’re using the load leg, you don’t have to worry about overhang. However, if you’re not using the load leg for some reason, then follow the 80% rule.

  

Installation without base:

European beltpath routing is recommended (but not required) for installations without the base.

Nuna Pipa baseless install (2)  Nuna Pipa Baseless install

Stroller Compatibility:

PIPA can be paired with the Nuna Mixx, Mixx2, Triv, Tavo & Demi Grow strollers to create a “travel system”.

 

Using “Maxi-Cosi” adapters, this Nuna PIPA model is also compatible with the following strollers:

Nuna PIPA Advantages:

  • Fits a wide range of baby sizes, including preemies very well
  • Extended usage thanks to generous weight & height limits
  • Innovative base with load leg and rigid LATCH connectors
  • Very easy to install base properly (rigid LATCH installation or with seatbelt)
  • Very easy to attach and detach carrier from base
  • Lockoff for quick and easy seatbelt installation
  • Euro beltpath routing allowed for baseless installs
  • Harness is easy to adjust properly and “smooth like butter”
  • One-piece shell doesn’t promote head slump
  • Thick energy-absorbing EPS foam and memory foam
  • Best-in-class canopy thanks to innovative “dream drape”
  • Harness straps are removable and replaceable if necessary
  • Compatible with Nuna and other high-end strollers

PIPA Disadvantages:

(In fairness, these may not be a problem for everyone but I list some potential disadvantages that may be an issue for some parents):

  • Not widely available
  • Made in China (although to be fair, so are most other high-end infant carseats)
  • Lacks a no-rethread harness – which really isn’t a big deal; it just means that you have to detach the harness from the splitter plate and route the straps through the next set of harness slots as baby grows. The trade-off is that the harness is very easy to tighten and loosen and it can be removed and replaced if necessary – something that isn’t an option for many infant seats with a no-rethread harness feature.

The Bottom Line:

The Nuna PIPA is an exceptional infant seat which features both rigid LATCH connectors and a load leg. Two highly desirable features that when combined, make one very safe, very secure installation. Honestly, if it’s in your budget, there isn’t much to dislike about PIPA other than the fact that it isn’t widely available so it might be difficult to try one in your vehicle before you commit to the purchase. If you can’t “try before you buy,” make sure you research the store’s online return policy – just in case it doesn’t work out for some reason.

The Nuna PIPA is on our list of Recommended Carseats! Since it fits preemies and low birthweight babies so well, PIPA is also on our list of Recommended Infant Carseats for Preemies & Multiples.

The Nuna PIPA retails for $319.95 and more information can be found at https://www.nunababy.com/usa/pipa

Thank you, Nuna for providing this seat for review. No other compensation was provided and the opinions and comments are entirely those of CarseatBlog.

5

CarseatBlog Experts Rating

Editors’ Pick Premium Category: Pipa RX

Also Recommended: Pipa, Pipa Lite LX

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