The Nurse Piccola is a rear-facing Group 0+ car seat that’s suitable to use from birth to 13kg, or around 15-18 months. It’s very light, weighing just 2.4kg. By comparison, the well-known Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix is 3.25kg.
The Piccola has side impact protection, a polypropylene shell and expanded polystyrene headrests to absorb energy in an accident. Nurse’s manufacturer, Jané, is so serious about safety it has its own crash-test research facility.
The Piccola can be teamed with three of Nurse’s buggies to create travels systems. These are the Nurse Hello Piccola, the Nurse Dakar Piccola and the Nurse Run4 Piccola.
The Piccola comes with a fabric hood and apron, has a rear window and a 3-point harness.
What we love
MadeForMums reviewer Kate Ashley tested the Piccola with her friend’s 3-month-old son, Raef. She said it looks smart, and that because it’s so light it’s easy to carry with your baby in it. Raef looks very comfy and snug, and isn’t positioned too upright, unlike some car seats. Kate also likes that the hood is included as standard and not an extra, plus that the Piccola features a rocking position to use when not in the car.
MadeForMums reviewer Susannah Osborne says the Piccola’s ergonomic design means her petite baby Minnie is really snug and secure. As a result, Minnie quickly fell asleep in it! Susannah also says the removable hood really does keep the sun out, both when the Piccola is used in the car or on a buggy chassis as a travel system.
Susannah found the Piccola is incredibly light to carry, even with her baby on board.
Zoe West, MadeForMums reviewer and mum to baby Tippi, likes that the Piccola is a rear facing option that could be used up to 18 months. She says this is a big plus in light of recent research that being rear facing for as long as possible is an even safer way to travel.
What to watch out for
MadeForMums reviewer Kate had a hard time following the instructions. The translation from Spanish is poor and the images aren’t clear. Because of this, it takes time to practice installing the Piccola car seat.
When installing the Piccola car seat into the car, Kate also says it’s fiddly to get the seat belt through the guides, especially at the back. To get the seat belt in, you almost have to fold it in half. Getting the belt back out is just as tough. Kate wasn’t able to do so without pulling the Piccola around – a move that might wake your sleeping baby.
Once installed, Kate says the Piccola car seat seems a bit loose. She can easily pull the handle and move it.
MadeForMums reviewer Susannah says installing the Piccola car seat is stressful. After three attempts at trying to push seat belts into small gaps, Susannah gave up and put her baby Minnie into their old faithful Maxi-Cosi car seat. When carrying Minnie back into her home in the Piccola she also had a hairy moment as the car seat tipped up, and she had to hold it with two hands.
Reviewer Zoe, mum to Tippi, also comments that material of the Piccola car seat isn’t very soft.
Who is the Nurse Piccola car seat best for?
Mums after a featherweight rear facing option they’re willing to get professionally installed.
The Piccola car seat is light and therefore easy to move about. It offers a snug fit, which is good for small babies, but which might prove too cosy once your baby’s older. This car seat get points of being rear facing up to 13kg, but is heavily let down its difficult installation.
