Nuna Pipa Urbn Car Seat Review 2023 | Hainan Car Seat Cover Co.,Ltd

The Nuna brand, known for its luxury baby gear, recently released a new baseless car seat offering: the Pipa Urbn. It weighs just 7 pounds, making it one of the lightest infant car seats out there. It's sold only as a travel system with your choice of one of three Nuna strollers: the Triv Next, Mixx Next or the Trvl, so it comes with a hefty price tag ($900-$1,200). But where it truly aims to differentiate is with its baseless design, ideal for those who don't have a car where the infant seat's base would normally dwell around the clock. Instead, the Pipa Urbn car seat installs to the latch system on its own sans base, making it easy to pop into a taxi or a rental as needed and then back onto the stroller to cruise around.

The new Pipa Urbn infant car seat from Nuna installs to a car without a base. We took a closer look ... [+] at it.

The Forbes Vetted team has raved about some of Nuna's items in the past, including its sought-after, aforementioned travel stroller, the Nuna Trvl, so we were curious to check out its new car seat stroller combo offering. I tested the car seat with the Triv Next stroller and my 6-month-old. As a mother to three children and a baby gear and fitness product reviewer for the last decade, I felt well equipped to review it. The initial setup of the whole apparatus was overly complicated, but in the end, I found the car seat sleek and convenient for rideshares—and the stroller particularly compelling. Read on for my full review of the new Pipa Urbn infant car seat stroller travel system.

My older kids (3 and 5.5) spent their infant days in the Chicco KeyFit, and my 6-month-old was riding in that until the Pipa Urbn came along.

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The best infant car seat, according to experts, is one that you can install correctly and buckle your child into without issue every time. That ensures your child will be as safe as possible. The initial setup of the Pipa Urbn car seat was sadly not simple.

The directions for this car seat were confusing, and I had just assembled four treadmills for another review. Part of the confusion stemmed from the fact that the car seat (and the stroller) were already partially assembled. So instead of starting from the pictured step one, I started halfway through the setup instructions. But there were other issues.

When setting up the car seat canopy, the directions were unclear on which direction it should face. It took my husband and me some 30 minutes to get it right, not helped by the fact that the instructions didn't show us that the canopy attachment points are moveable. Given my baby's length, we had to adjust the shoulder straps, but once it was time to reattach the headrest, it was nearly impossible; the hook and loop straps that thread through the the back of the seat were not of equal length, which meant we were pulling and holding a very short strap while trying to attach it to the other strap. Eventually we secured it, but the headrest never sat right.

The baseless Nuna Pipa Urbn infant car seat attaches to the car's Latch anchor system or via the ... [+] seat belt.

I’m used to popping my infant car seats into a base, which remains in the car after initial installation. A base makes it easy to click the seat in and then to remove it with just one hand. The upside of the Pipa Urbn model is it comes with LATCH guides—bright yellow tubes that attach to the car's LATCH system. From there, you can guide the car seat's LATCH system into the tubes and click them into place. When properly done, you’ll hear two clicks (one for each side) and there is an indicator that switches from red to green when installed correctly. (The uninitiated can read more about the LATCH system here, but essentially it's a handy feature for installing car seats that comes preinstalled to most new cars these days.)

Overall, clicking the latches in place was easier than I’d thought it would be. That said, it required me to use two hands and drape myself over the entire car seat to ensure a safe install to the LATCH system. Does it take me 5 minutes to do it? No. But it does take longer than the brand's advertised 2 seconds. It may be 10 seconds. However, I also have the advantage of extra room to maneuver it into the right position as we have a minivan in which I can nearly stand up in. Doing this procedure in a more cramped sedan, such as is typical with taxis, would be even harder. Of course, this is typical of what it takes to install any car seat baseless, pushing and pulling it into an ideal safe position, which is why if you’re able to use a base with your infant car seat, you’ll certainly save yourself some time and frustration. The base install is going to be much, much easier every time.

Buckling my baby into the seat was easy, and I found the shoulder straps twisted around less often than my existing car seat. But because the shoulder padding is so padded, it's tricky to get them to sit under her chubby cheeks where they meet her shoulders.

Unbuckling, thanks to the magnetic closure system, is easy, but loosening the straps is most decidedly not. The release button is not visible under the fabric and pressing it forces you to turn your finger around so your knuckle is facing downward instead—counterintuitive, to say the least.

Taking the car seat out of the car, however, was quite simple and required just one hand, as advertised.

If you’ve ever toted around an infant in a car seat, you know that the sun always has a way of finding itself right in your baby's face. And although a little rain or snow never hurt anyone, weather can wake that baby from the coveted nap.

In order to better cover my babies in my Chicco Keyfit, I used two coverings (like this and this). But the Nuna canopy with SkyDrape is what dreams are made of. The canopy provides UPF 50+ protection, and the mesh SkyDrape pulls out from the canopy and connects at the feet with magnets. It also keeps baby tucked away from germ-ridden hands—at home or in public.

Once I got past a tricky setup, riding with the Pipa Urbn was smooth sailing. If you’re a first-time parent with a big budget and a chic style, the Pipa Urbn travel system feels like a worthy splurge especially if you lack a car or prefer walking over drives.

The car seat is the Mercedes Benz of car seats, thanks to its padding, versatility (it can be used from birth, even for low-birth weight infants), and oversized canopy, all at just 7 pounds, meaning it doesn't feel too heavy to carry on your arm either.

Even the car seat handle feels (and looks) nice, thanks to the leatherette—yes, that's a nice name for fake leather—material.

If you have kids, easy-t0-clean gear is essential. The shoulder straps on the car seat and in the stroller snap off easily and can be tossed into the washing machine. All three of my kids spit up, and it blows my mind how some companies make it impossible to clean shoulder straps. Per the company's website, all the inserts and inserts can be removed for machine washing. That said, we recently had a poop explosion on the car seat's fabric—not the insert—and because the cover doesn't pop off (YouTube videos show you can remove it with some effort), I had to wash with soap and water and spray with a deodorizer. Not great.

The stroller was extra special.

The Triv Next stroller is not a new product from Nuna, but it's being released as one of the options to be bundled with the Pipa Urbn car seat. The stroller itself is an investment at $700. That said, the Triv Next is an excellent stroller with plenty of coveted features. It's lightweight (18.4 pounds without the canopy, insert and arm bar) and collapses easily with just one hand. There are three riding options: The car seat has a frame attachment for infant use, a rear-facing seat and a forward-facing seat.

Once again, the Nuna canopy delivers with its extendable ability, SPF 50+ coverage, and window. There's a one-handed, five-position recline to the seat and height adjustable handlebar.

Unlike many strollers designed for everyday use (versus, say, running strollers), the Triv uses rubber wheels for traction and durability, and the spring suspension makes for a smooth ride.

I did struggle with the stroller's shoulder straps popping out of the magnetic closure. Rethreading takes time, but it's necessary for your kiddo's safety.

The high-end infant car seat is extra lightweight at just 7 pounds, but it also has a lower max ... [+] weight limit, meaning your child may outgrow it sooner than others.

The Pipa Urbn car seat is the first Nuna car seat to go baseless, and as its name suggests, that makes it perfect for city dwellers who rely on taxis and car services for travel. Parents can use the LATCH or seat belt path for installation and then pop the car seat into the stroller.

But it's not the only baseless car seat out there. The Clek Liing is another baseless option (at 9 pounds) and has a price tag of $460. Most other car seats at more affordable price points can be installed, baseless, with the car's seat belt.

Compared to other infant car seats, which have a max allowable weight of 30 to 35 pounds and a max length of 30 to 32 inches, the Pipa Urbn might mean you’ll need to buy a larger seat, such as a convertible car seat, sooner. Its max weight limit is 22 pounds or when your baby reaches a height of 29 inches.

The Pipa Urbn is also ideal for those seeking a premium infant travel system given the way the car seat easily moves from taxi back to the stroller. It's also FAA approved for flying, and the stroller is easy to collapse for gate checking. You also have the option to pair the car seat with our favorite travel stroller for even lighter, easier traveling: the Nuna Trvl.

It's important to note that when it comes to car seats, paying more doesn't mean you’re getting a safer car seat. That's because all car seats must be tested against the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) FMVSS 213 performance and design criteria for child restraint systems for children up to 80 pounds. (Some of these criteria include flame retardant for fabric and webbing, buckles and release pressure, anchor or seat belt security, height and weight limitations and head-on crash simulation.)

Last year, NHTSA updated its guidelines to include side-impact testing standards; before June 2022, companies may have advertised "side-impact tested," but they were not regulated by the government.

That said, there has also been a rise in recalls in the baby and children's gear market in general over the last year, so it's also worth considering those companies with fewer recalls under their belts. You may also search the NHTSA recall database for safety information on a particular car seat model.

I have been testing products for nearly a decade, including baby, running and fitness gear. As a journalist for two decades, I’ve learned how to vet products and sources and ask important product questions. In testing the Pipa Urbn and Triv Next Travel System, I used my experience as a parent of three who's fought with strollers and car seats for five years (and counting).

In reviewing the Pipa Urbn and Triv Next stroller travel system, I wanted to focus on the ease of use for the newly released car seat in particular. My 6-month-old daughter has been my guinea pig for nearly two months, riding in this car seat and stroller. My newly minted 3-year-old daughter has also been testing the stroller.

We’ve gone on short around-town drives and longer treks with the car seat. I also tested the stroller in all of its seating options. Both girls prefer facing outward.

I tested putting the car seat into and out of my car and driving with my daughter in it. Once that was up and running, I tested it with the stroller. I gauged how easy it was to click into the stroller insert as well as the car's latching system. I considered the overall features and functionality as they compared to the price, too.