REASONS TO BUY
Integrated stroller
Stable install without base
Urban-friendly
REASONS TO AVOID
Expensive
Big & heavy
Disappointing crash test results
The original Doona has now been replaced by the Doona+. We hope to test the new version soon.
Doona Review
While it might fill a niche for urban dwellers, its poor performance overall makes it an unlikely contender for most families
Credit: Abriah Wofford
By Wendy Schmitz ⋅ Senior Review Editor ⋅ February 21, 2025
Contributions From: Juliet Spurrier, MD
Our Verdict
Doona was the first infant car seat that turned into a stroller. We like the idea of this seat and think it is a good choice for urbanites who might not use a safety seat. However, it scored close to the bottom, knocking it out of the park for award-winning potential. While we don't think it is particularly good at anything, we do think it fills a niche. If you live in the city and travel mainly by walking, public transportation, or ride share, and would otherwise legally skip a safety seat, we think this is a potential for you. Otherwise, look elsewhere.
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Doona infant car seat was the first product made by the Simple Parenting™ company and was named after the founder's nickname for his daughter, Danielle. The founder, Yoav Mazar, aimed to take his little one everywhere without fussing with a stroller and traditional infant car seat.
This is the Doona crash test video recorded by MGA Research for BabyGearLab. The Doona earned one of the lowest crash test analysis scores in the review.
Credit: GearLab & MGA Research
Crash Testing
The Doona did not perform well in the crash tests we had commissioned.
While considered safe by federal standards, it does not potentially offer an additional margin of protection like higher-scoring seats might. The sensors for this seat recorded higher than the average G forces inside the crash test dummy, where lower results are better. It has a higher HIC sensor result, and only a third of the group had higher results. Plus, the chest clip sensor result was one of the highest in the group. Together, the analysis of the results earned the Doona a lower score for crash testing, making it one of the worst performers in this group.
Ease of Installation LATCH
Installing the Doona using LATCH is easy enough, but it scored below average for the group and isn't as easy as installing it without the base. It does not offer an anti-rebound bar or load leg. The base is noticeably wider than the competition, making it a potentially tough choice for smaller cars. The LATCH connectors are attached to flexible webbing straps. The holes for the belt pathway are large, and we could stick our whole hands through to thread the connectors. Given the wider base size, this is a nice feature, so you don't have to wrap yourself around the base to make the far LATCH connection. Also, the handle is pretty long, and we preferred pushing it back during installation to keep it out of the way. However, it needs to be pushed all the way forward after installation when the car is moving.
This seat has a little more wiggle than most, but still passes the wiggle test. Because of the bulk of the base, it felt hard to get a tight, secure fit, and the more padding or contours the vehicle seat had, the harder it was to tighten the whole thing down.
The tensioner has a button to release the straps, allowing you to remove the LATCH connectors from the anchors. This seat was easier to remove than some of the competition.
Adjusting the angle level of the Doona for proper installation is a smooth-moving knob, but it can be tedious despite its drawn-out process.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Recline Adjustment
The recline adjustment has an infinite number of possible positions and includes a needle-style level indicator. It is a spinning dial on the foot end of the base. It is easy to turn and use but can be a hassle if you need to make significant alterations to find the right angle.
The needle/ball recline level on the Doona flutters somewhat when adjusting and you need to pause to let it level out before checking your final installation level.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
The needle indicator doesn't move much during adjustment. The needle is on a single pivot point, so it flutters a bit before settling into place.
Ease of Installation - Belt
The Doona scores slightly above average for installation using a vehicle belt instead of LATCH. Its belt performance ties with the LATCH installation, so it is similar in difficulty.
This base has a color-coded pathway and a built-in lock-off, but no tensioner. The holes are small, and you'll need your other hand on the other side to pull it through. The belt sits above a tall notch that moves smoothly when tightening. The LATCH system buckle kind of gets in the way when you push through the second hole, but it is a minor annoyance and not a big problem.
The lock-off is a clasp you push down a flap over the belt webbing far enough to get the clasp closed. The final snap in place is harder to do than it should be. It is somewhat finicky and not straightforward. None of the steps posed a huge problem, but it all felt more difficult than most of the competition.
The Doona uses the European belt path that wraps the shoulder belt across the back of the carrier and the lap belt across the foot of the carrier.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Ease of Installation - w/o the Base
The real draw of this car seat is its ability to secure your child in a safety seat without the base, so you can stroll immediately upon arrival at your destination. With this in mind, it is good that the Doona's easiest installation method is without the base. This makes it a potential contender for urban residents.
This carrier has a line decal on the base to find the correct angle, and it uses the European belt path with color-coded markings to guide you. The belt path is on the underside of the handle, which is unique and includes directions on the seat, so you have help. It is big and bulky and hard to work with, especially if you are petite.
Tightening the vehicle belt around the carrier was easy, but we almost ran out of belt to do the whole wrap. The carrier is so long that it is more akin to a traditional base and carrier than just a carrier. We think the bulk has a reassuring feel to it. The handle must go all the way back to keep it out of the way. In the SUV, the handle buttons were higher up and at a weird angle for our tester, but this depends on the car and user. Overall, it felt stable in both our test sedan and small SUV.
Installing the Doona without the base is easier than we thought it would be, and the heft of the carrier makes it seem more solid than your average carrier.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Ease of Use
Anytime you add new functionality to a type of gear, it can get harder to use. Since this car seat is also a stroller, it is hard to compare apples to apples, but many of the features and functionality outside of the stroller are similar. Overall, it isn't that easy to use.
The Doona harness, buckle and chest clip are not as straightforward as a regular car seat and were not our favorite.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Buckle
The buckle and chest clip are below average. The crotch strap position is low, so grabbing it to put the buckle together is awkward. It has a big red oval button, but the side prongs do not pop out when you press it.
The Doona release button feels overdone with a large plastic bevel and an exaggerated button to press.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Harness Tightening/Loosening
Tightening and loosening the harness is easy compared to the competition. Everything moves equally on both sides. The loosening/release button moves down like a diving board on one end, so it is easiest to push with a finger and not your thumb. The tightening strap pulls smoothly in an intuitive direction, and the webbing has no problem moving along the path.
The Doona has a rethread harness height adjustment, and while it should be straightforward, bars from the stroller components make it a little awkward to thread.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Harness Adjustment
This carrier has a rethread height adjustment with slots in the back and a splitter plate. The slots are thinner and could be more challenging for parents with bigger fingers. Because the carrier has an integrated stroller, there are extra bars in the back to navigate. There is slightly more weaving going on. While it isn't difficult, there are more things to manage than a traditional rethread-style height adjustment.
The Doona carrier to base connection trips a color indicator that lets you know you are connected properly to the base.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Carrier to Base Connection
This bulky and awkward carrier requires a few more steps to get into the car than a standard carrier. If you use the carrier as a stroller, you'll need to prep it for the car:
- Lock the brakes
- Push the extended handle into the car seat position.
- Pull the release handle on the back of the carrier to reduce the wheels and click them into place
- Make sure everything is locked in place
- Pick up the entire assembly to place it on the base
The brake pedals on the Doona are color-coded so you know if they are set or ready to roll.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
To release the carrier from the base, you push and slide a button simultaneously. The seat hinders this procedure, so it is more complicated than it sounds. Once it is disconnected from the base, you can grab the handle on the back and pull on it while taking it out, and the wheels auto-magically release. This happens each time, so you are ready to roll after releasing the brakes.
The handlebar on the Doona is large because it extends into a bar for pushing, but it seems to always be in the way, and we had to do a lot of moving it back and forth during installation.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Handle
The handle adjustment buttons are on the front of the handle, not the underside or back, like most of the competition. We had to c*#k our wrists back at a strange angle to use them. There is no position for the handle to stop rocking, so if you leave your little one in the carrier without the wheels extended, they could potentially rock.
The Doona canopy is small, which is more disappointing given that this is not just a car seat carrier but a stroller that would necessitate more coverage from sun and weather.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Canopy
The canopy comes up at least an inch higher than the handle, so the handle shoves the canopy out of the way when you use it. Pulling the handle up will open the canopy if the canopy is closed. If the canopy is open, moving the handle back will close the canopy. It is frustrating and unnecessary.
LATCH and Manual Storage
The LATCH connectors tuck into cubbies on the side of the base. The location is easy to access, they clip in securely, and you press the button to undo them for use. It is intuitive and straightforward.
The user manual can be stowed under the seat carrier/stroller and under the base. This is a good choice by the designer because there is a good chance you might need the manual when away from the base, given the likelihood of using it as a stroller or installing it without the base.
Strolling with the Doona is easy enough on hard, flat surfaces, but the handlebar is somewhat short when fully extended and could be challenging or uncomfortable for taller users. This is the handle fully extended with a 5'3 adult.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Strolling
The big draw of the Doona is the ability to immediately stroll when you reach your destination. The stroller wheels drop down, and the handle extends to be your stroller handlebar.
Removing From the Car
No matter how you install the Doona, it's harder to get out of a car thanks to the size, weight, and attached wheels. This is something to consider if you are petite or cannot maneuver or lift heavier items.
The bulky Doona is harder to get out of the car, but the wheels drop automatically, making it easy to get strolling or to move out of the way.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
This might not describe you prior to childbirth, but a c-section often limits what you can lift, impacting your ability to use this stroller/car seat without help.
Comfort/Quality
The Doona is more expensive, in large part because the stroller components give you two items in one. Unfortunately, compared to the other car seats, it struggled to catch up with the competition for comfort and quality.
The padding in the headrest area of the Doona is softer than the fabric that covers the general seating area.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Fabric and Padding
The grey fabric and padding for the headrest and infant insert are soft and breathable. Most of the rest of the seat is covered in a rip-stop fabric with a somewhat itchy canvas feel. This might be durable but less skin-friendly than a softer material.
The Doona has EPS foam in the shell to help absorb impact forces during an accident.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
The padding is somewhat stiff in the seat, with little cushion between the fabric and impact foam. When we press on the seating area, there isn't much give for comfort. There is also more hard plastic on the inside where little ones' knees go, and while this might be good for a stroller, it feels less comfortable than those with padding and fabric throughout.
The handle on the Doona connects low on the carrier and is separate from the canopy, but they still collide, and the handle will push the canopy out of place no matter how you try to prevent it.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Handle and Canopy
For a stroller, the canopy is pretty small and not going to offer much protection from the sun; given that some infant car seats provide significantly larger canopies, it's a disappointment.
Given the lack of a circular design, the handle is uncomfortable to hold. It is a thin, flat bar that is hard to grip and has pressure points when slung over a forearm or elbow crook. The design appears to be more for the stroller aspect of this seat, but even there, it feels like the bare minimum.
Shell
With the stroller components, there is more going on here than a traditional car seat. If anything drops down the side, it will be pulled into the stroller mechanism and wheels, creating a big mess that could be hard to fully clean.
With or without the base, the Doona is the heaviest infant car seat int he group with a carrier weight of over 17 lbs.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Weight/Size
The Doona is ridiculously heavy because it includes an attached stroller. With a weight of 17.2 lbs, it is vastly heavier than the competition. While the ability to push it makes the weight more acceptable, if you don't want to stroll or can't in your location, then you'll be stuck carrying it. If you hope to carry it, you don't want this monster as your only car seat. If your lifestyle is more strolling, you might be able to overlook the heft. This will likely become prohibitively heavy to tote as your baby grows.
Should You Buy the Doona?
If you live in the city and your primary means of transportation is public or rideshare, then the Doon offers something hard to find and could make life easier and safer. If you are unwilling to carry a car seat and don't want to mess with a stroller and car seat, then the Doona could be a contender. However, it isn't a great seat and didn't perform well in any metric, including crash testing. While we get the appeal and think it could fill a potential niche for some families, it is not a seat we'd recommend in general or to a friend, both because it didn't perform well and is expensive and heavy.
What Other Infant Car Seat Should You Consider?
If you want a car seat that you can stroll with, the Evenflo Shyft DualRide is a higher-ranking contender with a removable stroller frame. This is a similar stroller and car seat combination product as the Doona, but it performed better in our crash test analysis than the Doona, with above-average results. It is easy to install and about the same price. Plus, unlike the Doona, you can still use it without the stroller components. If you already have an impressive stroller in mind, the Chicco Keyfit 35 is highly compatible with various strollers, including lightweight, fold-flat, easy-to-use frame strollers. It is a higher-scoring seat with better-than-average scores that could be paired with a stroller for a lower price than the Doona and better crash test analysis scores. While the idea of carting two products might be daunting, they weigh less together, and the frame stroller stows quickly and easily behind most vehicle front seats, creating a combo suitable for many city lifestyles. The Chicco Keyfit 30 is also a potential option with high compatibility, a better crash test analysis score, and a lower price than both the Doona and Keyfit 35.
Manufacturer Video
Side-by-Side Comparison
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