How To Put Nuna Rava Cover Back On

2021 Nuna Rava Convertible Carseat Review

I had my first experiences with the Nuna Rava years ago when it was just a prototype. Every bit I put my easily on it for the get-go time, worked through the various settings and installed it in a couple of vehicles, I had a feeling that it was something really special. Every characteristic seemed to be well thought out, carefully designed and intentionally placed. Information technology was articulate to me, even back and so, that the folks at Nuna had spent a prolonged menstruum of time evaluating what parents wanted and how car seat blueprint could improve safety.

At present that the last product is in my motorcar, I can happily ostend my earlier suspicion- the Rava is indeed special.

Rava Weight and Height Limits

• Rear-facing: five-50 pounds and 49 inches or less
• Forrard-facing: 25-65 pounds and 49 inches or less, suggested 2 years or older

Rava Overview

• Rear-faces to 50 pounds, one of the highest limits bachelor
• Extension panel at pes of the seat that can be used rear-facing for increased legroom or forward-facing for thigh support
• 10-position headrest with no-rethread harness
• five rear-facing and five forward-facing recline settings
• No bubble, level indicator, or horizontal line for rear-facing recline—if it'due south on one of the rear-facing recline settings (and in a newborn, if the head isn't falling forward), the recline bending is safe per Nuna
• Babe cushion for apply upwards to 11 pounds
• All-steel frame and steel-reinforced belt paths
• Two collapsible, removable cupholders
• Retractible side bear upon protection (SIP) pods
• Encompass over adjuster release button to keep footling easily from loosening harness
• Costly shoulder harness pads and hip harness pads
• Buckle holders to go along harness out of style for loading and unloading
• two crotch buckle positions, with longer length in outer position and piece of cake push-and-slide adjustment

2021 Rava Fashions:

There are 5 fashions: Caviar, Frost, Granite, Lake, & Rose

All 2020 & 2021 fashions are free of flame-retardant chemicals.

Rava Measurements

• Everyman harness height: see "Fit to Child" section
• Highest harness height: 16″
• External widest point: xix″
• Total height with headrest fully extended: 25″
• Crotch buckle width: v.5″, 7″
• Width of base: 14″
• Depth of base: 14″

Installation

When creating this seat, Nuna wanted to decrease the widespread confusion over the lower LATCH anchor weight limits and they decided to exercise this past encouraging a seatbelt installation for all kids and all cars. They did this with their "but secure installation" using "true tension doors"- one for rear-facing and one for forward-facing. The seat comes with premium push-on lower anchor attachments, but multiple labels discourage their use and encourage a seatbelt installation. So how does this work for the typical parent?

Rear-Facing Installation

Using the seatbelt, the toughest role of the installation is unsnapping and tucking the cover out of the fashion to expose the "True Tension Doors" (and that's not difficult). Likewise, you'll demand to flip up the integrated cupholders to admission the rear-facing beltpath. (The cupholders tin exist flipped back down once the seat is installed.)

Next, yous choose the recline angle that best suits your vehicle and child (for newborns, you volition desire the deepest possible recline). Next, loosen the harness, enhance the headrest to the elevation position and unsnap the seat cushion to expose the true tension door located where the kid's bottom would go (everything for rear-facing is colour-coded in blue and in that location are directions for installation on the door). Button the button to open the compartment, thread the seatbelt through the rear-facing beltpath and buckle the seat belt.

Now, this is where the seat is a little different than others on the market: the "True Tension Doors" are NOT seatbelt lock-offs, which I volition explain in more detail later. Instead of but closing the True Tension Door, you must also switch the seatbelt into locked fashion (past pulling the belt all the fashion out of the retractor, and then feeding it back in). You lot don't need to yank the seat belt tight or utilize whatever meaning amount of force–merely brand sure at that place isn't any slack in the belt. Then close the truthful tension door. Without whatsoever tugging or knees in the seat, yous get an accented rock-solid installation. It really is unbelievably like shooting fish in a barrel, and I cannot overstate how simple information technology is.

With lower anchors, you must go through all the commencement steps you'd go through for a seatbelt installation because the lower anchors are stored nether the rear-facing True Tension Door (which means you may as well just use the seatbelt). Then, you lot thread the lower anchors through the rear-facing beltpath, remove all the slack and close the true tension door. It'southward not difficult, but in this instance, using the lower anchors is not easier than the seat chugalug, which was Nuna's plan all along. The lower anchors may be used to a child weight of 35 pounds in rear-facing mode.

The Rava is very compact when installed rear-facing. With the legroom panel stowed and with the seat in the near upright rear-facing position, it is a contender as one of the virtually meaty rear-facing seats from front-to-back. It'due south also relatively narrow side-to-side, especially at the base of operations and somewhat less so at the widest betoken. I was easily able to put it both in a captain's chair and in the middle leap seat of my 2015 Honda Odyssey without side overhang and without it making contact with the seat installed next to it. The manual states that "when used rear-facing for children over twoscore pounds, dogie support should be in the use position." Given that the legroom can get a picayune cramped for bigger rear-facing kids, I suspect that you lot'd practice this somewhat intuitively fifty-fifty if you missed this slice of fine print.

Forward-Facing Installation

Forward-facing seatbelt and lower anchor installation volition sound very familiar because they are essentially identical to the rear-facing installation steps. You demand to select your recline setting, loosen the harness, heighten the headrest, unsnap the textile and betrayal the Frontwards Facing True Tension Door (everything for forward-facing is color-coded in carmine, there are installation directions on that door). Open the door, thread the chugalug through the path, lock the chugalug, shut the door. And of form, connect the tether and remove slack. That's information technology. It'due south that easy.

Forrad-facing lower ballast installation is but similar rear-facing: Get them out of the rear-facing true tension door by following the same steps to open upward the seat cushion, route the lower anchor strap through the forward-facing chugalug path, remove the slack, close the door, claw the meridian tether and remove slack. Once more, it'south just not at all any easier than using the seatbelt and the lower anchors can only be used frontward-facing to 40 pounds, and so it just makes sense to install with the seat belt from the start.

Fit to Child

The infant insert on the Rava has a curvature to the lesser, which is very helpful for making sure that baby isn't also upright in the seat, but it also makes information technology really difficult to requite you an accurate measurement of the everyman harness setting. My measurements were around 9 inches. And if yous're thinking that sounds a little too loftier for a seat rated from 5 pounds, you're non incorrect. When I asked the folks at Nuna almost this, they said that it'southward possible that it just won't fit every five-pound babe on the marketplace. Their requirement for fit was five pounds AND straps at or below baby'south shoulders. I would wager that there's probably not a 5-pound babe out at that place that volition have a long enough torso for this seat at nascency, but you lot never know.

Nuna was also clear that the seat has not been designed to fit a premature babe, and so the poor fit on the premie huggable images doll was as expected. For the newborn, the straps are about an inch above the doll's shoulders. When nosotros asked Nuna about the use of a crotch whorl to improve fit, they said it is not approved. Every baby volition fit differently, only most newborns volition probably demand a dissimilar seat for the first few weeks of life, even with the sizable infant insert.

My smallest man model was my nephew, Asher, who was 7 months at the time I tried him in the Rava. He was roughly 18 pounds and 26.v inches of ambrosial. With a quick squeeze of the headrest handle, I was able to hands adjust the height of the headrest/harness from where I had it set for my ii-yr-one-time to where Asher needed information technology to be. The seat fit him easily and comfortably.

My very petite ii-year-old (23 pounds, 32.v inches) also fits easily in the seat rear-facing, though I did notice that at the almost upright recline setting, he had limited legroom, which was easily stock-still by extending the panel, giving him several actress inches of legroom. The harness tightens and adjusts smoothly and easily at even the lowest settings in rear-facing mode.

My four-year-quondam (35 pounds, 41 inches) however fit with plenty of room to abound in rear-facing and with a decent corporeality of legroom likewise. If he wouldn't get car sick and/or drive me completely crazy whining about existence forced to return to rear-facing, I would happily use this seat for him rear-facing, as he had tons of room to grow.

In forward-facing mode, the same 4-year-one-time has one click of harness meridian left, roughly about ane.5-2 inches of body growth. He doesn't have a specially long torso, so this seems likely to exist outgrown before than some other convertibles for average elevation kids. (Jennie's v-year-old, who wears a size 5 shirt, still has most an inch of room left on the harness.)

My kid absolutely loved the thigh back up offered in the extendable console, which kind of surprised me because the panel itself doesn't seem that substantial when you look at it. He's not a kid who is particular about car seats (he prefers 1 car seat because it has blood-red on it–that's the kind of discerning he is), only he actually got very upset when I put the Rava rear-facing for his younger brother.

Ease of Use

If you lot haven't guessed by now, the Rava is extremely easy to use. Installation with the True Tension Doors is a breeze.

Reclining the seat couldn't be easier: Just push button a button and gently guide the seat into whichever position you want. There are no complicated levers or feet to bargain with: Just push and go.

The cupholders only pull out and push button in. It does take some strength, simply that's a good thing: You wouldn't desire your kid to accidentally nudge the cupholders in while they're in apply. Whatsoever developed should be able to handle information technology just fine, though.

The leg extension panel is likewise quite easy to pull in and tuck away, equally are the side impact cushions also flip in and out without any problem.

The crotch buckle can be shortened or lengthened past merely pushing in and sliding it in or out: No rethreading of splitter plates and webbing.

Here is a quick video showing some of the features and how they're used:

What'southward the deal with the True Tension Doors?

While the Truthful Tension Doors closely resemble other tensioning seatbelt lockoffs, different those other tensioners, they are NOT lock-offs. When we asked the Nuna applied science squad, they gave us a pretty reasonable explanation. There is no ready rule for the thickness of a seatbelt and many luxury vehicles are coming out with increasingly thin belts. Their concern is that at that place may come a chugalug that is too thin to exist fully locked off within the True Tension Door and they didn't desire this to compromise prophylactic for any family. And thus, though the True Tension doors do a remarkable job of making the seatbelt installation easy and secure, you must switch the retractor to locking mode before endmost the door. (Nuna recommends locking the belt prior to closing the door because it's too easy for people to forget that stride once they hear the satisfying click of the door. A boyfriend CarseatBlog writer might have fallen into that trap…and so just lock the belt before you shut the door.)

Encompass removal and care

The cover is among the nicest I've ever laid my hands on. Information technology'southward literally similar a fine Italian suit. The soft goods are extremely high quality, plush, simply also well ventilated. For extra peace of mind, all 2021 fashions are also complimentary of flame-retardant chemicals.

Removing the embrace isn't terribly complicated if you follow the directions to recline the seat and get it gear up merely then. I will say that I found information technology mildly complicated to re-dress the seat equally the cover needs to be advisedly tucked into the shell forth both sides, but I exercise not often remove and replace my car seat covers, and so information technology'southward possible that my struggle with replacing the encompass was more than near my own inadequacies than anything else. I did get it back on all the style and you'd never know information technology had ever been removed.

The seat cover can be machine washed with gentle soap and should be left to air dry. The infant insert tin besides be done by auto, but the wedge piece must exist spot-cleaned but. The harness and the shell tin both exist paw-washed with a sponge and mild soap and and then towel dried.

FAA status, Lifespan, Crash Details, Other Details

The Rava is FAA approved for use on an shipping. The aeroplane lap belt should be routed OVER the true tension doors though, not under. I brought it on an plane earlier this month and it fit beautifully forwards-facing, but I made the foolish mistake of non stowing the thigh support panel and could not get it rear-facing. Since I was on a plane and panicked about getting it in, I failed to see whether information technology can fit rear-facing without the support panel extended.

The Rava has a 10-year lifespan and must be replaced after any crash, regardless of whether there is visible damage.

The lower anchor limit is a child-weight of 35 lbs for rear-facing and twoscore lbs for frontward-facing. Nuna does let installation in a heart position (borrowing anchors from either side) if the vehicle manual also allows it.

The Rava is not canonical for use with inflatable seat belts (Nuna calls them "airbag belts" in the manual).

Rava Advantages:

• Rear-facing upwards to 50 pounds
• ten-position no-rethread harness
• Side impact protection (SIP) pods on both sides of the trounce
• Button-button recline with 5 rear-facing recline settings and 5 forward-facing recline settings
• No bubbles or lines for rear-facing recline bending
• True Tension Doors concur the belt tight without whatsoever yanking or significant effort
• Steel frame with reinforced belt paths
• 2 crotch strap positions and lengths with easy push-push button adjustment
• Buckle holders on both sides of the seat
• Compact front-to-back in rear-facing fashion
• Push-on lower LATCH connectors (if you insist on using them instead of seatbelt)
• Harness release embrace to keep minor hands from loosening the harness
• Dual collapsing loving cup holders
• Machine-washable comprehend
• All 2020 & 2021 fashions are at present costless of flame-retardant chemicals
• FAA canonical for use on plane
• 10-yr lifespan

Disadvantages:

In fairness, these aren't necessarily problems only nosotros list them here to address RAVA-specific bug.

• At $449.95, the Rava is ane of the nigh expensive convertibles on the market.
• The fit for newborns isn't bang-up. Simply very large newborns will fit from nascency. Most babies will fit by 4 months old.
• The lack of a recline angle indicator may complicate use for young babies, particularly in vehicles with very sloped vehicle seats that may non allow adequate recline for babies without adept head and neck command.
• The 16″ max harness height is shorter than well-nigh competitive convertible seats from other manufacturers.
• The True Tension Doors are NOT lockoffs and may cause some confusion amidst parents who are used to not having to lock their seatbelt with similar belt-tensioning devices.

Conclusion:

Overall, the Nuna Rava is a carseat dream. It has all the convenience features parents want, easy and secure installation with seatbelt, and first-rate quality from top to bottom. I don't know how else to describe it other than how I did in the header for this mail service: The Rava really is the carseat equivalent of a fine Italian suit. If you loved the Nuna PIPA infant seat, then the RAVA is a perfect sequel.

Updated February 2021

Thanks to Nuna for providing us the Rava for this review! No other compensation was provided and all opinions are those of CarseatBlog.

CarseatBlog Experts Rating

Recommended: Rava

Source: https://carseatblog.com/39563/nuna-rava-review-the-fine-italian-suit-of-the-car-seat-world/

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