Nuna EXEC All-in-1 Carseat Preview
A few months ago, I had an extremely cool opportunity to meet up with a small group of other technicians and the team at Nuna to see the new things they had been working on. And after keeping my mouth shut for several agonizing months, I can finally spill some beans, and trust me, if you’re a Nuna fan (or just a well designed, high-quality car seat fan) you won’t be disappointed.
Yesterday Nuna announced their newest car seat, the EXEC. The EXEC definitely looks a little different from the Rava and the Aace, but at its core, it’s an obvious member of the same car seat family. It’s like Nuna took the best parts of two already great seats, added a few extra safety and comfort features, and the result is this awesome all-in-one.
Nuna EXEC Features
- The EXEC is an all-in-one seat: rear-facing, forward-facing and highback belt-positioning booster
- Rear-facing: 5-50 pounds, up to 49″
- Forward-facing: 25-65 pounds, up to 49″
- Belt-positioning booster: 40-120 pounds, 38-57″, 4 years old minimum
- No-rethread harness with 12 harness height positions
- 4 rear-facing and 4 forward-facing recline options with easy push button adjust and no bubbles or lines or zones or any other indicator to keep track of
- True tension doors, one for each rear facing and forward facing, as seen on the Rava, make installation an absolute dream
- Anti-rebound bar, that both extends to give extra leg room for rear-facing AND flips around to become a leg rest for forward-facing.
- EPP energy absorbing foam
- Aeroflex™ Side Impact Protection System
- Merino wool insert
- Additional GOTS certified organic cotton inserts and harness covers
- No added fire retardant chemicals
- Spring touch shoulder belt guides make getting the belt into place a breeze for kids and adults, but hold it in place while in booster mode.
- Magnetic harness holders
- Delightfully narrow, to allow 3 across in most mid-size vehicles
EXEC Dimensions:
These are provided by Nuna, but will be verified once I get my hands on a final product in a few weeks.
- Seat width at widest point: 18.5″
- Seat height lowest and highest harness position: 26″, 33″
- Inside shoulder width: 14″
- Inside hip width: 11.5″
- Seat weight: 26.6 pounds
- 12 harness height positions from 5″ with insert to 17.5″
- Crotch buckle positions 4″ with insert, 4.5″ without insert and 6.5″ at farthest position
So What’s New Here?
The first, biggest, coolest thing is the anti-rebound bar. In rear-facing mode, the anti-rebound bar is a super cool, adjustable component to reduce potential rebound in a crash. It can be adjusted in 2 ways: first, the angle can be adjusted up or down to ensure it lays flat against the vehicle seat back; second, it adjusts in or out to provide extra inches of legroom. I don’t have the exact details on how much extra room it provides at this moment, but when playing with a prototype a few months ago, it wasn’t insignificant. It also comes with a slipcover so that the fabric on the anti-rebound bar doesn’t get totally destroyed by shoes before you’re able to use it in forward-facing mode.
When you switch to forward-facing mode, the anti-rebound bar flips around and becomes a leg rest. Like a legitimate, substantial leg rest. It can be adjusted up and down in several positions and would provide a lot of comfort to little dangling legs. Also, you’ll find the EXEC offers more room for growth when forward facing than the Rava (top harness height is 17.5” on the EXEC vs. 16” on the Rava), which has been a complaint some have had about the Rava in the past. The EXEC will harness the vast majority of (typically developing, average-sized) kids to booster age.
In booster mode, the spring touch shoulder guides are this tiny detail that I am obsessed with. They spring open to let the belt in easily, but they hold it securely in place. The prototype had good mobility of the belt through the guides (no bunching), but we will have to confirm that on the final product. It was definitely a thing Nuna was keeping its eye on, which is a good thing.
Fine Print Details
- 10-year lifespan
- The cover is machine wash and air dry
- 2 different fashions are offered currently, a black (caviar) and a gray (granite)
- Crash replacement follows NHTSA guidelines(!)
- FAA certified in rear-facing and forward-facing, not in booster mode (this is true of all boosters, it’s not a shortcoming of the EXEC)
- MSRP $649.95
- Available at Nordstrom and assorted small boutique shops for pre-order to be released on 8/21/2019.
I can tell you that even the prototype of the EXEC impressed me and that isn’t easy to do. Nuna has combined and I think, improved upon, two already excellent seats, to create a seat that could literally last you the full 10 years and potentially be the only one you’d ever need. There is a myriad of thoughtful details that make carseating easier and more comfortable for everyone involved. Nuna has a history of raising the bar in the car seat world and once we can do a full review, I suspect we will confirm that the EXEC is another example of that.
Hold on tight, the EXEC is coming soon, see our preview video on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carseatblog/videos/387928288488783
Any idea if or when the exec will be available in Canada?
Will there be a full review of the nuna exec ?
Thanks!
Hi Lina. Yes! We are working on one right now!
I’m super excited to see your review on this! I can’t wait to be able to compare the Exec and the One4Life, especially after Britax releases their ARB with the seat.
Hello. I have one primary question that may have tangential questions or concerns associated with it.
I generally go off the deep end with tech specifics, engineering reasons and overall safety and/options vs other seats on the market. Some context, I know mostly all seats when installed and used properly and as instructed are “safe”. However, when looking at the engineering and options on the market certain aspects are, at least to me, more important than others and appear, through actual testing, to have a safety benefit.
Now, we had our son from birth until needing to change in the Nuna Pipa. Loved it, well built and ground breaking safety features in the US at least, when it came out and when we needed it.
We moved to another seat that was rear facing up to 5 years old and had a rebound bar, rear facing tether and a load bar. Anyway, amazing seat as well.
Both these seats have provided high level build quality, amazing comfort and long life albeit not cheap but worth it.
Now however moving into the convertible, all-in-one or booster seat is another world and honestly I am not entirely happy with the offerings on the market, US based.
Our son is 5 and a half and needs to go FF however is still below the 65lb harness limit on most seats. He is tall and slender yet is not mature enough for just booster mode. I wish harness straps on the market were stronger and could go beyond the 65lb or height limit we currently see.
Anyway, we have physically looked at both the Nuna Exec and the Rainier 2AXT Wool. Now to my question. I love the design of the Nuna however, cannot comprehend the lack of padding on the back area of this seat. Understand that Nuna uses this space for belt routing and locking but the lack of rigid foam and/or foam padding appears to possibly be painful on long trips (which we do often). Conversely, the Diono seems to excel at this aspect of comfort yet, the booster mode appears to be flawed due to the construction of the belt router. Not appealing in terms of safety. So, given these higher end models which to chose? Safety over back pain and health issues? Also, is there any other seat on the US market that offers an anti-submarine croch strap other than Britax in booster mode?
Thanks for your response and excuse the long post.
Jason
Hi there! The back of the EXEC really isn’t lacking for padding. I’m not sure if you’ve ever really leaned into hard foam, but it’s not luxurious for the rider and I would be super surprised if there’s any appreciable difference in comfort between hard foam and plastic shell provided the cover has padding, which this does. I have put my most discerning (read: whiny) child in tbe EXEC forward facing and he loved it, even for a long trip. My toddler uses it rear facing (so even more pressure on the back because of the recline) without issue- no redness or reports of discomfort.
As for the Rainier, I haven’t had my hands on the freshest one, but the limitations in booster mode are substantial and if you’re planning to use the seat you buy for a long lasting booster, I’d lean Exec. If you’re just going for harness, it’s probably a toss up based on your personal preference. The Rainier can be really tricky to install forward facing in some cars, so if you can try one in your vehicle (some big box baby stores will let you), that would be worth verifying.
Hi Jason, I have not yet seen the EXEC so I can’t comment there. I wanted to agree with Katie that the Diono Radian/Rainier models are not a good value for a 5-year old and will be more quickly outgrown than most combination harness/booster models due to height limitations.
The Britax Pinnacle/Frontier remains the only model with a harness weight limit above 65 pounds and also has the tallest height limits. The Chicco MyFit also has reasonably tall limits with a 65 pound harness. Our current “Editors’ Pick” in this category is the Graco Nautilus SnugLock LX. The new Britax Grow With You ClickTight is also a great product, but like the EXEC, it is still too new for us to recommend at this time: https://carseatblog.com/48756/britaxgrowwithyoureview/
Hi Jason. Just curious as to the second car seat you had after the Nuna Pipa as my 6 month old is nearly outgrown his. Many thanks
So the wool insert isn’t just an option on this one? Comes standard? Or will there be options without eventually? *itch* (I’m highly allergic to wool.)
IDK, KQ. I think it’s standard.