2018 nuna pipa vs 2020 Britax Be safe Ultra

[Colleen Johnson]

Hello and thank you in advance
My question is…from friends we were given a Nuna pipa Stokke (dom 11/2018) and a 2020 Britax Be safe Ultra infant seats. We need to use with a baby for the next 6 months. We plan to buy brand new convertible Britax car seats once baby is aprox 6 months. I’m trying to find safety ratings on both these seats and not a lot comes up other than a couple sites state they both received lower than average crash test results. I understand that all seats meet the minimum safety requirements, however- I need guidance on which one we should use given and info on both seats, or if we should bite the bullet and buy a new one? Trying to avoid that considering these have not expired yet and we’ll be buying (2) new Britax convertibles in about 6 months. Thank you again in advance for everyone’s valuable input.

 

[ketchupqueen]

Hi!
First things first: make sure you know the complete history before accepting a seat from a friend. Besides making sure they were never in a crash, you'll want to check that they were never cleaned in a way not specified in the manual, how they were stored and whether they were checked on an airplane. Make sure there are no missing parts and you have the manual. Check carefully for parts that don't work or visible damage.

If that's all good, you need to look at expiration. The Pipa is just about expired. The B Safe isn't. So that's your answer right there if those are the two you are choosing between. It's not safe to use an expired seat.

If you decide to buy a seat (perhaps the seat was cleaned with bleach; perhaps it just doesn't fit well in your car) we would be happy to help with recommendations if you'd like. Be aware, there are no reliable and comprehensive "safety ratings" for car seats. I can tell you about added features and what they do, recommend one that's easy to use or likely to fit in a given vehicle, or give you a heads up about seats that are difficult to install or don't fit newborns well, but safety ratings don't really exist (in part because there are so many factors in a given crash and how a given seat performs.) But any properly installed and used seat that meets US standards is indeed very safe.

 

[BebeDiana]

Thank you so much for your prompt and thorough response. Those are excellent points about the cleaning, aircraft checking etc. I know none was involved in an accident at least. I’ll inquire about gate checking regarding the Britax. Thank you for clarification on “safety ratings”, it’s quite confusing as a consumer when you see websites posting ratings, I was baffled when they “said” the Britax be safe ultra got poor reviews and I’m thinking it’s a Britax…
Have a lovely day and thank you again

 

[BebeDiana]

Sorry- I forgot I made an account on here years ago, I’m the original poster. Thank you