UPDATE: There are now THREE different models of the popular Evenflo Revolve 360 rotating carseats. Base model Revolve 360, Revolve 360 EXTEND & Revolve 360 SLIM!
We have a full comparison of all 3 Revolve models HERE.
Evenflo Revolve 360 3-in-1 Review: the rotating car seat of your dreams
A rotating car seat may sound gimmicky but for a parent with young children, it can be the greatest feature ever invented.
This is especially true when:
a) you’re wrestling an oily alligator (aka, a toddler who does not want to be strapped in)
b) your truck or SUV is tall but you’re not
c) your child is heavy but isn’t able to climb into the seat on his own
d) you have back issues
e) you drive a 2-door coupe with a back seat
f) some combination of the above
Base Model Revolve 360 Specs:
- Rear-facing: 4-40 lbs., 17-40″ tall, top of head 1″ or more below top of headrest or shell
- Forward-facing: 22-65 lbs., 28-49″ tall, at least 2 years old
- Booster: 40-120 lbs., 44-57″ tall, at least 4 years old
Revolve 360 Extend Specs:
- Rear-facing: 4-50 lbs., 17-48″ tall, top of head 1″ or more below top of headrest or shell
- Forward-facing: 22-65 lbs., 28-49″ tall, at least 2 years old
- Booster: 40-120 lbs., 44-57″ tall, at least 4 years old
Revolve 360 Features:
- 360-degree rotation allows you to load and unload your child from the side before swiveling the seat into a locked rear-facing or forward-facing orientation
- Seat and base separate for ease of base installation
- Belt-tensioning “LockStrong” bar
- Tether360 strap provides additional stability both forward-facing AND rear-facing
- Anti-rebound base design limits rebound in frontal crashes when seat is rear-facing and also helps to stabilize the seat in rear-impact crashes
- Steel-reinforced frame
- 14-position no-rethread harness
- 3 buckle positions
- 4 recline positions for rear-facing
- Dual-zone level indicator for rear-facing
- Energy-absorbing EPS foam
- Smooth bottom base won’t damage vehicle upholstery
- Dual cupholders are removable and dishwasher safe
- Machine washable fabrics
- Harness, chest clip, and buckle all store on the seat when converting to booster mode
- LATCHable in booster mode
- QR code that links to instructions & product videos
- 10-year lifespan before expiration
- Made in China
- MSRP $349 – $429
Revolve 360 Base with “LOCKSTRONG BAR” belt tensioner & “TETHER 360”:
Seat and Base Together:
Revolve 360 Measurements:
- Tallest harness height setting: 19.5″
- Lowest harness height setting: 10″ without insert; 9.5 with insert; approximately 7″ with lower insert modification
- Shoulder belt guide max height (for booster mode): 21″
- Crotch strap positions: approximately 3″, 4.25″, 5.5″
- Seat pan depth (legroom/thigh support): 11″
- Seat width at widest point: 19.5″ wide (across the cup holders); 18.5″ at the side wings
- Weight: 30 lbs. combined (weight of seat and base together)
- QR Codes – link directly to videos on Evenflo website
2024 Revolve 360 3-in-1 Fashions:
360 Rotation Comments:
This feature is undoubtedly the highlight of Revolve 360 and it’s everything you could hope for in a revolving car seat.
We’re not going to insult your intelligence by stating the obvious – that you should never drive down the road with your baby facing sideways. However, there are a few things about the rotational feature that are worth mentioning.
For starters, there are 4 recline positions for rear-facing, these options allow you to achieve the correct recline angle when rear-facing in your vehicle.
However, the Revolve is only able to make a full 360-degree rotation when it’s in the fully reclined position rear-facing. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t rotate to the side when you’re using a more upright RF recline setting – it does! It just can’t make the FULL 360* turn unless it’s positioned in the most reclined RF position.
You can still turn the seat from rear-facing to the side loading/unloading position (which is all you’re really going to need to do on a daily basis) if it’s in a more upright RF recline position. But if you’re trying to make it spin all the way to the forward-facing position or trying to entertain your child by spinning them around while you’re parked waiting for your Target Drive Up order – you’re going to need to be in the fully reclined rear-facing position to do that.
Otherwise, you get to the side-facing position and the seat just stops rotating. But again, going from rear-facing to side-facing and back to rear-facing again can be accomplished in any RF recline position.
When you take your child out of the seat, make sure to rotate the seat back into a locked position, either RF or FF. The rotated position is only for loading and unloading.
Lastly, I just want to point out that the most reclined RF position is actually the fully upright position needed to secure Revolve 360 in the forward-facing position – which is why it only rotates from RF to FF in that one recline position. When the seat is forward-facing or being used as a booster it has to be in the fully upright position and there is no way to accidentally have it any other way so no worries about misuse there.
Installation Comments:
Installing Revolve 360 with Lap/Shoulder Seatbelt (preferred method):
Installation with your standard lap/shoulder seatbelt was straight-forward and easy in the vehicles we worked in. Neither Heather nor I could remember if the seat came out of the box detached from the base or not. It’s possible that you may need to separate the 2 pieces before you begin installing.
Install the base using the LockStrong bar which acts as a belt-tensioning device but is not technically a lockoff (you will still need to lock the seatbelt at the retractor). Make sure your installation is tight and confirm that the visual indicator on the LockStrong bar has turned from red to fully green – indicating that it is securely locked.
Just like an infant seat base, it shouldn’t move more than 1″ from side-to-side or from front-to-back when you check for tightness at the beltpath.
Once your base is installed tightly, lock the seatbelt by pulling the webbing all the way to the end and listening for the clicking/ratcheting sound as the webbing feeds back into the locked retractor.
The final step before you connect the seat to the base is to attach the tether strap to the tether anchor in your vehicle and snug it up.
Most Evenflo car seats don’t mandate using the tether in cases where you don’t have an available tether anchor, however, Revolve 360 is unique and it DOES require tethering.
In this day and age, tethering shouldn’t be a problem unless you plan to use this seat in the 3rd row of a vehicle. Vehicles with a 3rd row usually don’t have a tether anchor for every seating position back there, so make sure you know where the tether anchors are and where they’re not in your vehicle. Again, tethering is required for this particular seat – regardless of whether you are using the seat in the rear-facing or the forward-facing orientation.
Attach the seat to the base by lining up the red arrow on the seat (which you’ll find underneath the flap of fabric) with the white arrow on the base.
For all the installation details, check out Heather’s video:
Installing Revolve 360 with LATCH:
Same process as above but using the LATCH strap instead of the seatbelt. You still utilize the LockStrong bar (after you’ve slightly tensioned the latch strap) and you still need to tether.
I actually found it easier to achieve a rock-solid installation using seatbelt, so unless you have a compelling reason to use latch, I’d suggest sticking with a seatbelt installation. It was a little challenging for me to tighten the latch strap initially. Some latch straps have a little loop sewn into the loose tail end that you can slip your index finger into and pull, but this strap didn’t have that option. Therefore, it took a little more effort for me to tighten the latch strap enough to yield a solid installation after the LockStrong bar was shut and locked.
Once again, make sure you reference the visual indicator on the inside of the base to confirm that it has turned from red to fully green – indicating that the LockStrong bar is securely locked.
LATCH: Weight Limits & Other Considerations
The LATCH weight limit for the base model Revolve 360 is 35 lbs. rear-facing & 40 lbs. forward-facing. The LATCH weight limit for the Extend models is slightly lower, 30 lbs. rear-facing & 35 lbs. forward-facing because this version weighs a few pounds more.
When your child exceeds the LATCH weight limit of your seat, you MUST switch to a seatbelt + tether installation. Honestly, LATCH weight limits are just another reason to install the car seat using the seatbelt in the first place. Then you don’t have to worry about remembering to switch the installation method at some point in the future.
Once again, *always* use the tether strap regardless of whether the base is installed with LATCH or seatbelt. Tethering is required.
Center LATCH installations: Evenflo DOES allow center latch installations with “Non-Standard Spacing” as long as the spacing is between 11-20″ wide and your vehicle manufacturer specifically allows a LATCH installation in that center seating position.
Revolve 360 in Booster Mode:
All the harness components store on the seat so you don’t have to worry about losing parts of your expensive seat once you transition to booster mode.
Evenflo recommends securing the booster using LATCH. LATCH weight limits don’t apply in booster mode because the seatbelt is actually restraining the child and the latch strap is just securing the booster seat to the vehicle.
Fit-to-Vehicle:
We had no fit issues in any of the vehicles we tried. It’s surprisingly compact when rear-facing as long as you have the seat positioned a little more upright (but still within the range of the angle indicator).
We have confirmed that Evenflo allows Revolve 360 to lightly contact the vehicle seat in front (when rear-facing) which helps in vehicles where space is an issue.
Even with light contact from the front passenger seat in my 2016 Hyundai Tucson (small SUV), the rotation feature still functioned easily. Evenflo does recommend raising or removing the head restraint if it interferes with the seat locking into the forward-facing position.
Telsa Model X
Telsa Model 3
Minivan Captains Chair – most reclined vs. most upright rear-facing
Infant Inserts:
The infant inserts (head support & lower body cushion) are optional when the seat is used rear-facing but must be removed before your child uses the seat forward-facing. If using Revolve 360 with a small infant it may be necessary to tuck the side bolsters of the lower insert underneath the flat portion in order to give the baby a bigger boost (2nd pic below). This extra boost may be necessary for babies younger than 6 months old if their shoulders are not close enough to the bottom harness slot using the lower insert as-is (1st pic below).
Fit-to-Child:
Preemie doll (4 lbs., 17″)
After folding the lower body insert as described in the manual, I was able to get a marginal fit on the tiny Huggable Images preemie doll. It wasn’t what I would consider ideal and it took a couple of minutes of me fiddling with all the components to get it to the point where I thought, “this is as good as it gets”.
In the end, I would say the fit was acceptable. However, I’m a seasoned pro and it took me a solid 2-3 minutes of readjusting this and fiddling with that, to get the harness fit to the point where I was satisfied. It’s unlikely that a parent who wasn’t a CPS Tech would make that same effort to ensure reasonable harness fit on a very small newborn.
It’s a combination of the lowest harness setting being too high for a small baby and the lower body insert cushion modifications that are necessary (because the lowest harness setting is too high). I’m a little perplexed as to why they decided to rate the seat down to 4 lbs. when clearly they paid little or no attention to small baby fit.
I would barely complain if the harness was rated from 5 lbs. up, since it’s well-known that some convertible and all-in-one seats that are rated from 5 lbs. don’t actually fit newborns very well. But if you’re going to rate your seat down to 4 lbs., you really need to prioritize small baby fit and it’s pretty obvious that wasn’t the case with this seat. </rant>
Full-size newborn doll (20″)
Using the lower body insert as-is (without folding and tucking), the harness fit wasn’t ideal on our 20″ doll either. This doll is the size of a typical 8 or 9 lb. newborn. We were able to get the straps nice and snug so I don’t think the fit was terrible but the harness was still a solid inch above this doll’s shoulders. If this were a real baby, we would have needed to fold and tuck the insert like we did for the preemie doll.
Baby E (17 months, 22 lbs., 30″ tall)
She fit really well. Despite the look on her face in the pics, she totally enjoyed it. When her mom took her out of the seat, she cried and wanted to be put back in! Lol.
More pictures of real kids in Revolve 360 coming soon!
Comfort/Ease of Use:
This seat checks almost all the boxes for comfort and ease of use. It’s well-padded, easy to install correctly (especially with seatbelt), the rotational feature is simple and smooth, and the harness is easy to tighten and loosen in both orientations. My only minor complaint was with the harness webbing. It has a tendency to twist as it routes through the buckle. You’re going to have to pay attention to this as you are buckling your child into the harness otherwise you may wind up battling twisty straps frequently.
Crash Replacement/Inflatable Belts/FAA Approval:
- Evenflo seats should be replaced after any crash (call parent link if you have questions about your particular situation).
- Installation with inflatable seatbelts (found in some Ford/Lincoln/Mercedes Benz vehicles) is NOT allowed in harnessed mode. Use LATCH to install base if child is still under the LATCH weight limit or move seat to a different seating position that does not have an inflatable seatbelt. Using Revolve 360 in booster mode with inflatable seatbelt is allowed.
- Revolve 360 is FAA-approved and can be used on a plane but this seat is so wide and heavy that it would be a real hassle to drag this onto a plane and then try to cram yourself into the adjacent seat.
Care & Cleaning:
Machine wash the cover separately in cold water, delicate cycle, with mild detergent. Do not use chlorine bleach. Tumble dry for 10 – 15 minutes on low heat and remove immediately. The harness can be wiped clean with mild soap and water. Allow harness to air dry.
Revolve 360 Advantages:
- Rotational feature is sweeeet! Seriously. It’s amazing. And because the tether is attached to the base and not to the top of the seat – Revolve 360 can freely rotate regardless of which orientation it’s being used in (rear-facing, forward-facing or booster).
- Functions well in all 3 modes: Rear-facing, forward-facing & highback booster
- Base is super easy to install correctly, especially with seatbelt which is the preferred installation method
- Install the base once and you’re done! No need to reinstall when you switch modes.
- Base design limits rebound when rear-facing
- 14-position no-rethread harness
- Very tall max harness height (19.5″!) so it’s going to last a long time before the harness is outgrown by height
- 4 recline positions for rear-facing to help achieve correct recline as your child grows
- Compact in the rear-facing position as long as you use the more upright recline settings
- Evenflo allows Revolve 360 to lightly contact the vehicle seat in front (when rear-facing) which helps in vehicles where space is an issue
- Tether provides additional stability both forward-facing AND rear-facing
- Smooth bottom base won’t damage vehicle upholstery
- Dual cupholders are removable and dishwasher safe
- Machine washable fabrics
- Harness, chest clip, and buckle all store in the shell for booster mode
- LATCHable in booster mode
- QR codes that link to instructions & product videos
- 10-year lifespan before expiration
- Some models have SensorSafe technology in the chest clip
- Some models have a Quick Clean cover that is easier to remove
Disadvantages:
(In all fairness these aren’t necessarily problems but I list them here to inform potential consumers of specific Revolve 360 issues)
- It’s difficult to get a good harness fit with a newborn or smaller baby. If you’re planning to use an infant seat first (aka, a rear-facing only seat) before transitioning to Revolve 360, then this won’t be an issue for you.
- The “LockStrong” belt-tensioner is technically not a lockoff device so you do need to remember to lock the seatbelt at the retractor once you’re done installing the base.
- Revolve 360 requires tethering so you need to make sure that you always have an available tether anchor to secure it.
Conclusion:
The Evenflo Revolve 360 has been a game-changer in the car seat world! The price is a bit steep but the tradeoff is that you get a ton of convenience and safety features in a car seat that, at least theoretically, you only have to install once. Plus, you retain the ability to rotate the seat even when your child is old enough to be forward-facing, an option some other rotating car seats can’t offer due to their design.
It’s clear that the Evenflo Gold Revolve 360 has set the gold standard for all rotating car seats!
For more details, check out the Revolve 360 on Evenflo’s website: https://www.evenflo.com/gold/revolve360.html
Thank you, Evenflo, for generously supplying the samples used in this review. All opinions and comments expressed are those of CarseatBlog.com.
CarseatBlog Experts Rating
Recommended: Revolve 360
Hi. I just purchased this seat for my Tesla model 3. I’ve placed it behind the passenger seat. Did you find the seat to not be even with the passenger seat? For example, I find the car seat (rear facing) to be more to the left of the passenger front seat (US car configuration).
Hi Julio. I don’t recall that happening. Are you installing it with the seat belt? If so, you can shift it over toward the door and the tensioning arm on the base will keep it in place.
I am looking into this carseat, my wife has a mini cooper countryman, would this fit in the back seat, or could you provide the dimensions of this carseat when rear facing?
Hi Todd. The Revolve is a fairly compact seat front-to-back so it may work; however, I don’t have experience with a Mini Cooper Countryman, so I can’t give you specific advice with that vehicle. Sorry!
Would this fit in a 2016 Toyota Camry?
Hello! I am really interested in purchasing this but due to COVID, stores in my area won’t let me do a test in my car to see if it would fit. Do you think it would fit in hatchback with enough room so that the front seat doesn’t need to be all the way forward? I have a 2014 Hyundai Elantra GT. Thanks for the help!
Did you find that the front passenger seat had to be really far forward in the Model 3 with this car seat? I love the idea of this one but it looks like it would push the front seat so upright that it wouldn’t be comfortable. We road trip a lot so trying to keep everyone comfy is important!
Hi Elle. The front seat is moved up to the point where I (5’6″) would have my feet against the front floor (the angled part). It’s not uncomfortable for me since my legs are stretched out.
My wife just installed this behemoth of a carseat in her CRV and when it is in rear facing mode, the angle of the seat looks extremely painful. The foot/leg angle appeared to be almost double of the other car seat installed in her CRV. My kid would literally be in a “V” position in this car seat… I swear this car seat looks dangerous to me. She said it reclines, but it was already reclined all the way, so maybe she should recline it the other way? Seeing it in person made me not really care for this car seat.
@LarryGuy, you are correct. The angle of this car seat positions the child’s torso and legs in a wide V shape. This is how some larger car seats are designed. They are designed this way on purpose to give bigger, older kids more leg room when rear-facing without the carseat taking up more front-to-back space in the backseat. Most kids don’t seem to care about their legs angling upwards so I’d suggest giving it a trial run. Little kids are super flexible so things that might be uncomfortable for us are usually not to them. HTH!
Hi I have a 2014 2 door Jeep Wrangler any idea of this seat would work in the back ?
@Sherry the biggest issue with the Wrangler backseat (and this goes for the 4-dr Unlimited model too) is that your backseat cushion is so shallow. I believe that it’s only 15″ from front to back which causes most carseats to overhang the edge of the vehicle seat cushion – by a lot. Some manufacturers allow a certain amount of overhang. Others don’t. I’m going to measure the footprint on the Revolve base and clarify Evenflo’s position on overhang. Stay tuned…
Hello
I’ve had my car seat a few months now and have followed all the instructions carefully. However while rotating the seat (yes the seat was in the correct position to rotate) the darn thing is STUCK! I’ve tried for days to get it unstuck! Even worse, it’s stuck in a position that makes it unusable! I can’t even remove it because the belt is under the seat and I can’t get to it! I’m going to have to cut my seat belt just remove it from my car!
Is this a defective seat? I’ve been very careful with this car seat and I know it’s not something I did. I paid a lot of money for this seat because I have a bad back and loved the idea of the swivel.
Help! I need this issue resolved! I can’t use it!
Hi Deborah. That’s super frustrating! Don’t cut your seat belt, though! My biggest issue with mine is that it sometimes slips a little more upright as it spins, so you may want to try forcing it into recline again. But give Evenflo a call at 1-800-233-2229. They have great CS reps who are trained to help with issues like this. They’ll keep you on the line as they walk you through manhandling the seat back into position so you can use it. They have the tricks! Good luck! And once you get it fixed, please come back and share what you did so others will have the same info. ❤️
I’m having the same exact issue and I haven’t even been able to use it yet I’m due next month
Can you loosen the straps when removing the child while the seat is in the base?
Hi Kendra. This seat isn’t like a traditional infant seat. The carseat is designed to stay on the base at all times. It’s rounded on the bottom to encourage caregivers not to take it out; it falls over and won’t stand up on its own. So, it’s truly designed for you to rotate it to the side to loosen the straps to remove your child and put them back in each ride, then rotate the seat back into position.
Can all harness positions be used both rear and forward facing?
Theoretically, yes. The only stipulations for harness use is that they must be at or below shoulder level for a RF child and must be at or above shoulder level for a forward-facing child.
Hi there I was wondering if this was in the middle seat of a Tesla model Y would the 2 seats on either side still have room for passengers?
Hi Pearlie. It would be *very* tight. The Revolve is a wide-ish seat due to its roly-poly shape and while the middle seat of the Y isn’t super narrow, it isn’t generous by any means. I think it would be better to have the Revolve on the side and put the 2 passengers side by side.
How do I adjust the crotch buckle? It’s hard on the baby’s legs, he is 12 months.
Hi Allyson. Pull the cover forward and you’ll see the buckle slots. Turn the buckle sideways and move it to the next slot out; however, you don’t want it to be so far away that your child will slump down to it. There’s no way to adjust the length. HTH!
I haven’t found anything about purchasing additional bases. We need to be able to switch from mom, dad and grandma’s vehicles. Wouldn’t want to move the base each time. Is there the option to buy more bases separately?
Sorry, but Evenflo isn’t selling additional bases right now. 🙁
Hi, I was just wondering if you had any issues with the Buckle part digging into the thighs?
Thank you,
Jenny
Hi, I am having an issue with the Buckle part digging into the thighs? Anyone else experiencing this? I tried to adjust the belt on the bottom buckle but it doesn’t move.
Thank you,
Simon
@Simon – Pull the cover forward and you’ll see the buckle slots, there are 3 of them. Turn the buckle sideways and slide it into the outermost slot. That should help.
We have the evenflo revolve, a month old. Seat is jammed and will not revolve. Need info on how to fix it?
Hi Vicki. Do you have it in recline mode? It must be all the way reclined in order to revolve.
So bummed that this requires a tether! I got all excited because this would make loading a rear-facing child into the back middle my older extended cab f250 so much easier!
This car seat looks amazing! Can you tell me if it will still rotate when used as a booster seat?
@Lori, yes the rotating feature works in all modes (RF, FF & Booster). HTH!
What is the crash rating on this model?
Hi Hope, there really isn’t a system for “crash ratings” in the U.S. All car seats sold here are required to pass the multitude of safety standards in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 213. The closest thing we have to comparative crash ratings comes from Consumer Reports which created their own unique crash test in 2014. If you have an online subscription to Consumer Reports you can access their car seat ratings but if you’re looking specifically for info on the Revolve 360, I’ll spare you the trouble because they haven’t tested this model yet. And it might be a few years before they publish their next round of test results on All-in-One car seats. I realize that doesn’t help you much but if you really love the Revolve 360 then I would encourage you to go for it. Evenflo has been making car seats for a long time and their models generally preform very well in the Consumer Reports crash test. HTH!
What is the total length when the car seat is in the rear facing position?
Do you mean front-to-back? We don’t take that measurement because it changes depending on the vehicle in which it’s installed. If you have firm seats, the carseat will sit forward more than if you have soft seats.
I saw you have a photo of this installed in a Tesla Model 3. I just purchased and have been trying to install in a Model 3 using the seat belt. The seat belt loop fold that is sewn in seems to be causing me an issue with the lockstrong threads. To get it where it locks, although the base doesn’t move an inch in any way, it does wobble. Did you experience that when installed in a Model 3?
Hi Brad. What “year” is your M3? I wonder if that makes a difference? I just went and reinstalled it and the loop is in between the 2 lockstrong bars. The base is very secure, though it did take effort to get the arm closed.
Any idea if two of these would fit side by side in a Ford Explorer? I have to have the passenger seat down so my oldest can climb into the back.
Hi Lindsey. Sorry, no, they won’t fit side-by-side. At 19.5″, you’d need a really wide vehicle to get them side-by-side. You may be able to get a Revolve 360 and a Graco SlimFit3 LX and have it work, though (keep the receipts and the boxes!). It’s all in how they puzzle.
Any idea if one of these would work in a 4 door chevy volt
Hi Lauren. Sorry, I don’t know. It’s pretty compact front to back, but I don’t know if it’ll work side to side.
So if I have inflatable seat belts and want to use latch for install is the weight limit for the child 35 lbs for rf or is it that basically the kid can’t weight more than 5 lbs because it’s car seat +kid weight???
Hi Jessica, the LATCH weight limit included on the labels and in the manual for all carseats is federally required to be listed as the weight of the child only. The label already takes into consideration the weight of the car seat and that is why some models have a higher weight listed on the label than others.
Any idea when it may be available in Canada? I know the Cybex hasn’t due to the tether requirements in Canada, but I feel this o e should have no problem. However, I can’t find any news in a Canadian release. I have terrible back issues, and this would save me so much.
Hi Megan. No, they didn’t give us a timeline. Sorry :(.
It’s absolutely available in Canada! I ordered mine. 🥳
Hello, I see you stated this has a steel reinforced frame. I cannot find that information anywhere on Evenflo’s product information for this seat. Can you confirm that it is a steel reinforced frame?
Thanks!