The Nurse Duplo’s biggest selling point is that it converts from a lie-flat carrycot to a rear facing car seat. The lie-flat mode is okay to use from birth to 6 months, and the rear facing mode is suitable from birth to 13kg, or around 15-18 months.
The Nurse Duplo weighs 3.3kg, has two recline positions and is fitted in your car using the usual 3-point seat belt. It’s approved in accordance with the European ECE R44/03 safety standards.
The idea behind lie-flat car seats comes from research that suggests newborns may experience respiratory difficulties if popped in car seats to sleep at home. Research (published in Archives of Disease in Childhood in 2007) advises that newborns should lie in a horizontal position where possible. However, it also said that rear facing infant carrier style car seats are safe.
The Duplo is compatible with a number of Nurse buggies to create travel systems. These are the Nurse Hello Duplo, Nurse Run4 Duplo and Nurse Dakar Duplo travel systems.
What we love
MadeForMums reviewer and mum Kate Ashley trialled the Nurse Duplo with Raef, her friend’s 3-month-old son. Kate says the Duplo looks smart and comes with a hood and cover. Being able to have just one accessory that lets your newborn lie flat in the car and on a buggy chassis (if used as part of a travel system) is also handy. Because the Duplo converts from a lie-flat to a rearward facing car seat, you can keep using the one bit of kit after your baby’s past the 6-month mark.
Susannah Osborne, MadeForMums reviewer and mum to Minnie, says the Duplo is a robust, well-padded car seat. The hardwearing kick pad was tested thoroughly by 6-month-old Minnie with a 30-minute session of foot banging!
When used in the lie-flat mode, Susannah says the Duplo only takes up two seats (the side and middle seats) in the back of the car, so there’s still space for an adult or another car seat. In terms of weight, the Duplo easily competes with others on the market. Also, the Duplo is easy to convert from one mode to the other – you just pull a handle at the back of the seat.
MadeForMums reviewer Zoe West tried out the Duplo as a lie-flat carrycot with her friend’s 1-month-old baby, and as a rear facing option with her baby Tippi. Like Susannah, Zoe loves how easy it is to transform the Duplo from carrycot to rear facing car seat. This basically gives you two car seats for the price of one.
Zoe says the carrycot is inviting and her friend’s newborn looked quite cosy. As a rear facing car seat, Tippi seemed happy, too.
What to watch out for
MadeForMums reviewer Kate Ashley says the instructions are very poor. The translation from Spanish isn’t great and the pictures aren’t clear. Because of this, it’s tough to install the Duplo, and once fitted it doesn’t feel secure. Also, in rear facing mode, Kate says that unlike other car seats she’s trialled, the lap part of the seat belt goes underneath the seat and it’s fiddly to get the belt through the guides at the sides and the back.
Although the Duplo is suitable for use from birth as a rear facing car seat, Kate feels it’s too upright – the head of her 3-month-old tester, Raef, was lolling all over the place, and Raef wasn’t at all happy.
MadeForMums review Susannah says the Duplo is on the small side. Even her petite 6-month-old Minnie is on the verge of being too big for the carrycot mode, and Minnie’s cousin Toby, 14 months, is squashed in rear facing mode.
Susannah also notes she can’t use the Duplo in the front seat of her car – the sloping seat tips the Duplo so far forward that Minnie’s head is aiming for her knees. The cost - £150 – is also a downside. It is the priciest Nurse car seat in the range.
Mum and reviewer Zoe West says in lie-flat mode, the Duplo, while secure, can slide around on the back seat. She’d personally rather use the Duplo as a rearward facing car seat from birth, and just make use of the lie-flat carrycot mode for her baby to sleep in when visiting.
Who is the Nurse Duplo carrycot/car seat best for?
Mums after a carrycot and car seat in one, who will have it professionally fitted.
The Duplo is a versatile car seat, converting easily from a Group 0 lie-flat to Group 0+ rear facing seat. However, it’s not simple to install correctly, or feel confident with how you’ve fitted it. While the Duplo is said to be suitable up to 15-18 months, you could easily find your child outgrows it before this.
