Everyone talks about Doona because of their innovative way of building a car seat and a stroller together. With Doona car seats, exploring the world with your little one becomes effortless.
However, despite the flexibility of the Doona travel system, one has to prioritize safety before any other thing. This brings us to the question – Are Doona car seats safe for babies?
Before any car seat can sell in the US, there are minimum safety requirements the car seat needs to meet. Meeting these requirements still does not guarantee absolute safety.
So, let’s see if Doona meets the safety requirements laid out by the relevant US authority, and whether or not Doona exceeds the safety requirements of the US authority.
Recommended: Are Doona car seats worth it?
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Are Doona Car Seats Safe?
Doona car seats are safe and are one of the safest car seats in the US and EU. Doona travel systems are built such that you can easily and safely transition from car seat to stroller within seconds.
As long as you follow the instruction manual and stick to usage specifications, you won’t have any safety concerns with the Doona car seat stroller.
Typically, Doona car seats are meant for infants between 4 – 35 lbs and up to 32 inches tall.
To certify the degree of safety of Doona car seats, the company ensures the car seats go through strict tests and has obtained mandatory certifications that allow the product to sell in the US and EU territories.
To be more practical, there is a need to talk about the safety features of Doona car seats. Let’s go through the safety features of Doona car seat strollers in the following section below.
Related: Is Doona car seat hospital approved?
Safety Features Of Doona Car Seats
Below are the safety features of Doona car seats.
Testing And Certifications
There are compliance tests every car seat needs to pass successfully before it can sell in the US and EU. Not only did Doona pass these tests, but it also exceeds the tests by running other several tests in third-party labs.
Some of the extra safety tests carried out on Doona car seats include collisions at very high speeds, extreme weather tests, etc. In frontal collision tests, Doona got a 5-start rating, thus, confirming the effort put into the car seats.
Apart from third-parties testing, the company has an internal lab where it runs a series of tests to confirm its products’ durability, safety, comfort, and functionality.
Also, the company has acquired all compulsory certifications needed to sell its car seats and strollers in the US and other regions around the world.
Related: Is the Doona FAA approved? (Find out here!)
Anti-Rebound Protection
Having your baby in mind, the anti-rebound protection is to minimize the degree of injuries in case of collisions. The anti-rebound handle in Doona car seats absorbs impact and stops the seat from rotating quickly, thus, reducing injuries.
This feature is only available in a handful of car seats and Doona happens to be one of them.
5-Point Harness System
No parent should buy a car seat that doesn’t have a harness system (except for a booster car seat that uses your vehicle’s seat belt). Doona car seats have a 5-point harness to help strap and hold your little one in position.
What’s the function of the harness? In case of a crash, forces are transferred to the car seats. It is the harness that helps to protect your baby’s abdominal region from high loads.
You can easily adjust the straps to give your child the best and safest sitting position.
Fail-Safe Mechanisms
One of the common causes of injuries in a car seat is the misuse and improper installation of the seat. To prevent this from happening, Doona has a team of engineers that have designed and crafted a fail-safe mechanism for safe operations.
With these mechanisms, parents are guaranteed of avoiding hasty extension of the carry mode handle, unintentional folding, and rotation of the extended handle in the “on-the-go” mode.
This fail-safe mechanism is a unique safety feature that distinguishes Doona car seat strollers from other brands.
Materials For Making The Car Seats
Another major feature that makes Doona car seats safe is the materials used for manufacturing the seat.
First, the materials are tested and certified to be free of hazardous chemicals. The test was proven under the strictest European safety standards and REACH regulations, including Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC).
Also, for quality assurance and durability, the textiles of Doona car seats are continuously tested for maximum safety for kids. In addition to that, the textiles are removable, washable, and breathable for proper ventilation.
Side Impact Protection
Side impact protection offers a great safety benefit to your little one in case of any impact. The car seat is designed such that it has a double-wall structure for easy folding of the wheels into the body and significantly reducing side impact in case of a collision.
The side impact protection feature comprises impact-absorbing plastic, foam, extra layers of EPS, and textiles. All these materials offer sophisticated side protection for your baby.
Infant Insert And Head Support
The Doona infant insert is meant to be used from birth up to about 3 months. This insert helps your baby fit in the harness for proper strapping, hence, providing adequate safety and comfort for your little one.
You should remove the infant insert when your baby is about 3 months old or weighing 11 lbs (whichever comes first).
On the other hand, head support is to give your child a healthy and optimal posture, as well as comfort.
Read this: How safe is the Doona stroller?
Is It Safe To Install A Doona Car Seat Without A Base?
Doona car seats are designed such that you can install them with or without the base. While using the base is good for long-term use, some circumstances would warrant a baseless installation.
For example, when you are traveling in a commercial vehicle or taking taxis or ride shares, a baseless installation can be helpful. To install a Doona car seat without the base, you need to use the vehicle’s seat belt to secure the car seat for a safe ride.
Therefore, it is safe to install the Doona car seat without the base. Just ensure you follow the instruction manual on how to use the vehicle seat belt to hold the car seat in a secure position.
Note: You should not install the Doona car seat using both the base and the vehicle’s seat belt. Only use one installation method for the safety of your child.
Doona Car Seat Safety Rating When Compared To Other Car Seats
No ranking system tells you which car seat is the safest. However, in terms of crash test reports, Consumer Report has rated Doona car seats as “Better” on a scale of basic, better, and best.
There are dozens of safe car seat brands on the market and you might give yourself trouble trying to find the safest. All the car seats sold in the US have passed the US safety standards and are certified safe for babies.
Just like every other safe car seat, Doona car seats meet and exceed the minimum safety requirements. In terms of safety, Doona is rated as high as any other car seat, and also has the upper hand of being an all-in-one travel system.
Ensure you follow the instruction manual and you won’t have any safety concerns with Doona car seats.
