Pipa Lite – the best just got better
We are enormous fans of Nuna and most especially the Pipa infant carseat. This incredible infant carrier car seat has been a game changer for so many families. Needless to say we are pumped up about a new version that touts one of the lowest carrying weights we have ever seen in this class of carseats.
The original Pipa Carseat touted a 7.7 pound weight*. Nuna has shaved off a full two pounds from the carrier’s weight to bring the new seat down to 5.3 pounds*. Pipa was already one of the lighter carseats on the market and now they are blowing the doors of the house with this new version…. All without sacrificing the gold standard of safety and ease of use the Pipa represents.
*weights calculated without infant insert and without canopy (including these components the Pipa and Pipa Lite seats weight 9.4lbs & 6.7lbs respectively)
How did they get the weight down?
The short answer is ‘technology’. As with almost everything related to consumer goods, we want things faster, smaller, quicker, lighter and there is always new technology to address these wants. Nuna has never been the inventor of much that was revolutionary and outside the scope of what was available elsewhere but what they have done is incorporate features and technology from outside sources and combined these features in novel ways to produce a superior product. By example they didn’t invent the Load leg or rigid latch system found on the Pipa, but they had enough forethought to combine these into one seat. By combining existing features into a single product the benefits of each created a seat that changed the face of infant carseats in the industry.
Where did the weight come from?
First of all – it didn’t come from the base. The revolutionary Pipa base (which is exactly the same as the Pipa Lite) is untouched. You still get the rapid and simple rigid latch install and the injury protective benefits of the load leg. The weight of the carrier has been reduced.
Nuna describes the new shell production as:
“aeroflex™ fusion: our proprietary, state-of-the-art manufacturing process creates this first-of-its-kind shell”.
Our understanding is that the shell of the seat features a thinner (and thereby lighter) shell wall but requires a longer and more involved curing process to complete. With high quality plastics you can achieve higher strength and lower weight by extending the manufacturing time (curing time). Nuna reports that the cycle time on the new shell is now 8 hours instead of the previous 90 seconds. That is a 31,000% increase in curing time for the shell to ensure a higher quality, lower weight product.
They are also incorporating a lower weight but higher quality foam inside this newer lighter frame. They have switched from EPS to EPP foam. I didn’t know the difference so had to look it up. What I found was :
EPP is used in similar applications as EPS, including packing material, insulation and safety gear. EPP can be used to make microwaveable food containers and is heat resistant. EPP is more elastic and less brittle than EPS, which is easily dented permanently, while EPP springs back into shape. EPS tends to crack, snap or crumble under stress, making it unsuitable for items that must withstand multiple impacts such as automotive bumpers. EPP, on the other hand, is used extensively in the automobile industry. http://sciencing.com/eps-vs-epp-foam-12225740.html
Aside from the shell and protective foam of the carrier the only other major weight on the seat comes from their carrying handle. If you have touched the Pipa you know this seat is know for it’s high quality aluminum carrying handle. This aluminum carrying handle feels superior to all the plastic handles out in the industry… but obviously it adds weight. Nuna reports that they are using a high performance aerospace aluminum in the new handle. This use of resilient aerospace aluminum provides lower overall weight without sacrificing the tensile strength or durability.
The fabric cover of the seat has switched to a lower weight type of fabric (which is also beautiful and feels good). This new knit fabric has a beautiful look and feel and is responsible for some of the weight reduction. This fabric is also flame-retardant – thereby eliminating the need to add additional chemical flame retardants to the seat. (many carseats are sprayed with additional flame retardants after produced to meet flammability standards, NUNA is reporting that post production spray on flame retardants are not used or necessary to pass required flammability standards on the new PIPA LITE!!!!)
The last little bit of weight reduction comes from Pipa Lite not featuring the base-less install features of the classic Pipa carrier. This will affect a small portion of users who rely primarily on public transportation. The new Pipa Lite cannot be installed without the carseat base, so you will might consider investing in an extra base if you are using the seat in multiple vehicles on a consistent basis. Since the install of the base is so easy to begin with, even most families will not find this necessary.
Overall we are incredibly impressed with the new features and the feather light approach to this new version. It clocks in at just $50 more for the incredible reduction in weight!
