Evenflo Revolve 360 Rotating Car Seat Review

Car seats that swivel have become quite a thing, and the Evenflo Revolve 360 is one of the best options out there. But what makes it a worthy bet? In this Evenflo Revolve 360 Rotating Car Seat review, you’ll learn what’s great about this all-in-one car seat as well as what’s not so great about it.

The Evenflo 360 Swivels 360. But Why Does This Matter?

In other words, what’s the point of a rotating car seat? There’s at least 4 good reasons to invest in the right swivel convertible car seat.

Firstly, rotating car seats make extended rear-facing much more likely by making it unbelievably easy to load and unload baby in this mode.

Related: A comprehensive Review of the Cybex Sirona S Rotating Car Seat

Secondly, these seats save weak backs by eliminating straining.

Thirdly, one can install the car seat once and not need to reinstall for forward-facing seating provided they use the seatbelt and not LATCH initially.

However, it’s never going to be a one-time install if the seat is an all-in-one option that converts to a booster seat in the end.

Finally, these car seats are a tad easier to clean since you can rotate the shell and expose debris-filled crevices because they rotate. Especially if the top shell is detachable. The Evenflo 360 and the Orbit Baby G5 infant car seat have a detachable base.

But, Are Rotating Car Seats Safe?

If the swivel car seat is approved for use in vehicles (as well as for planes in some cases) and is actually installed and used as per the manufacturer’s instructions, then yes rotating car seats are safe. Beware of fake car seats being sold online these days, though.

Fake car seats tend to be massively cheaper than the real model, usually don’t have a chestclip, have poor workmanship, and tend to lack stickers. Here are tips to help you tell counterfeit car seat from a genuine one.

The Evenflo 360 Swivel Car Seat is definitely safe and offers great protection during crashes, but you must make sure to install it correctly and use it as recommended.

What Are the Cons of Swivel Car Seats If Any?

The first con is that swivel car seats are designed to massive and heavy. This makes them a real chore to carry from one vehicle for installation in another.

Since they rotate and make parenting a whole lot easier, you to leave enough room all around, which means you may not install any other car seat in the backseat if you own a small car. For such a vehicle, you’d want to shop around for the best car seat for compact cars.

Also, these pieces of baby gear are rarely found in cheap territory. You’ve got to be willing to spend $300+ to get the best rotating car seat on the market today. The upside is that they make your life road-traveling so much easier and save your back tons of agony.

And since in most cases you can separate the top shell from the base, it’s impossible to use them as a portable infant car seat.

Besides that, you can’t pair any of these car seats with a compatible stroller for carrying baby when outside of the car.

Finally, since most they’re convertible or all-in-one car seats, they may not always be the best fit for the tiniest of tots. The Evenflo 360 Gold is an exception and I’ll tell you why down the road.

Features and Specs of the Evenflo Revolve 360 Gold Rotating Car Seat

Product specs

• Swivel range: 360˚
• Lifespan of the seat: 10 years from date of manufacture
• Max weight limit rear-facing:4lbs-40lbs
• Max height limit rear-facing:17″-40″
• Lower anchor weight limit: 35lbs
• Forward-facing weight limits:22lbs-65lbs
• Forward-facing height limits: 28″-49″
• Lower anchor weight limit forward-facing: 40lbs
• Booster mode weight limits:40lbs-120lbs
• Booster height limits:44″-57″
• Aircraft-approved? No (it’s heavy, you don’t want to travel with it anyways)

Important Seat Measurements

• Weight:29.6lbs (base 11.9lbs+seat shell:17.7lbs)
• Dimensions: 21″L x 19.8″W x 25.9″H
• Width: 19.5″ at widest point
• Highest harness height: 19″
• Lowest harness height: Without insert 9.5″
• Lowest harness height: With insert (folded) 6″
• Lowest harness height: With insert not folded 8.5″
• Seat width:11″
• Seat depth: 11.5″
• Crotch buckle positions: 3 positions at 3″, 4.5″ and 6″

Product Features

• Optional foldable body insert that might even fit a preemie
• Adjustable headrest
• Anti-rebound bar? No, but the base has anti-rebound design that slows movement when the seat rebounds back into the backseat during a crash. Learn more about anti-rebound bars and load legs here.
• Adjustable crotch buckle
• Seat lock indicator (red for not ready and green for ready)
• 2 Cupholders that are dishwasher safe
• Premium-quality lower anchors
• Belt-positioning arm, LockStrong
• 2 rotation handles on the top of the seat shell; only one handle needed to swivel the seat
• Seat shell sits on a base and swivels 360 degrees
• SensorSafe? Not available
• Side impact protection? Provided
• Colors: Moonstone, Onyx, Opal Pink, and Sapphire

Now that you’ve scanned the specs, measurements, and features of the Evenflo 360 Gold, it’s time to take a hard look at the product itself to determine if it’s worth the investment.

Product Dimensions and Footprint

The Evenflo Revolve 360 car seat measures 25.9″ in height, which makes it about 0.5″ taller than the Cybex Sirona S, a similarly spec’d and feature-rich competitor. In terms of width, this car seats measures 19.8″, which is pretty close to the depth of the Sirona S (20″). And when it comes to length, this seat measures 21″.

In comparison, the Sirona S is 25.3″ long, which makes it 5+” longer than the Evenflo 360. Some say that the Sirona S is more compact, but I say neither car seat is exactly compact. Both are big and bulky, but the Evenflo being slightly taller means you can use it a little longer.

I don’t know the size of your car, but this I can tell you: that swivel car seats aren’t the best bet for the tiniest of cars. That said, you should be able to use one rotating car seat in most cars, including in compact ones. But I doubt you’ll be able to fit 3 across in any car, not even in the roomiest SUV. Because the seat rotates, and there needs to be enough space on either side.

And if you’re wondering if the Evenflo 360 Gold will fit in a sedan, it fits in a friend’s older model of the Honda Accord. And I bet it’ll fit in pretty much all midsize sedans. And if it can fit in the Honda Accord, it’ll fit in the backseat of most small or compact cars.

Safety: Is the Evenflo 360 Safe?

Yes it is, provided you install it correctly and use it as per the manufacturer’s instructions. It lacks a load leg which a competitor, the Cybex Sirona S has, no does it have a dedicated anti-rebound bar. However, this isn’t a deal-breaker since the base of the car seat plays the same role as an anti-rebound bar.

Also, the seat provides great protection against side crash energies. But it lacks the SensorSafe feature, something Cybex offers in all its car seats. But this shouldn’t be a bummer as long as you won’t forget  baby in the backseat and keeps glancing at them to see if the chestclip is still buckled.

How Heavy is the Evenflo 360 Revolve Gold Car Seat?

It weights in at 29.6lbs compared to 31 pounds for the closest competitor, the Sirona S. When it comes to rotating car seats, weight isn’t something you should pay too much attention to unless you see yourself getting it in and out of different cars.

Most folks who purchase these things install them once and use them in the same car until the child is ready to move into a booster seat or seatbelt.

Evenflo Revolve 360 Rear-facing Weight and Height Limits

The weight limit is 40 pounds rear-facing versus 30-35 pounds for most infant, convertible, and all-in-one car seats. This is an all-in-one car seat, which means it’s designed to stay useful from birth through preschool and beyond. In fact, this restraint can provide safety and comfort to your kid until they reach 120 pounds!

There’s height limits rear-facing, too, and they’re 17″-40″ vs 17″-49″ for Cybex Sirona S. Both seats support extended rear-facing, which is great because that’s exactly what car safety seat experts recommend: rear-face for the longest duration possible without exceeding the listed limits.

Evenflo Revolve 360 Forward-facing Weight and Height Limits

The limits forward-facing are 28″-49″ (height) and 22-65 pounds, and these are really decent numbers. But these aren’t exceptional limits. The numbers are what you get with most rotating car seats in the forward-facing seating mode.

Your child is unlikely to outgrow these limits because the headrest adjusts a decent amount. And the highest harness shoulder height is 19″, the highest number I’ve seen on this seat type. The Evenflo Revolve 360 is in my view the best swivel car seat for tall kids.

Lower Anchor Weight Limits

If you choose to install the car seat via the lower anchors, that’s fine. But that’s not the best way to install it. One GREAT to use the vehicle’s seatbelt instead is that you’re not required to uninstall the car seat in the future to install it forward-facing.

Once your child maxes out the rear-facing seating limits, simply work the rotation handle and turn the seat forward. Yes, it’s that simple and straightforward. Being able to do a one-time install is one of the things that appeal to those who end up purchasing the seat.

The lower anchor limit rear-facing is 35 pounds, which is more generous compared to the 30 pounds limit of the Sirona S and other options. Forward-facing it is 40 pounds, which is higher than standard. Since this seat is designed to encourage extended rear-facing, you’ll be forced to reinstall the seat with seatbelt at 35 pounds, which is avoidable work if you use the seatbelt initially.

How to Install the Evenflo Revolve 360 Car Seat

I really appreciated that the Evenflo 360 Gold’s belt path is wider than most. It’s roomier in there than it ever gets with the Sirona S and other car options. It’s easier and safer routing the seatbelt when the belt path is bigger.

Instead of describing how to install the Evenflo 360 Gold rear-facing with the seatbelt or lower anchors, how to install it forward-facing via seatbelt or lower anchors, and finally how to set up the high-back booster mode, I’ll drop links to helpful videos here. So here are the videos:

Video on how to install Evenflo Revolve 360 Gold via seat belt rear-facing

• Video on how to install via lower anchors rear-facing and top tether)
• Video on how to install via Evenflo Revolve 360 via lower anchors forward-facing and top tether)
• Video on how to install via rear-facing via seatbelt and top tether)
• Video on how to use the Evenflo Revolve 360 in booster mode (high-back only AND NO top tether)
  

BTW, is the tether required for the Evenflo 360 Revolve? Yes it is, and you’re supposed to use it rear-facing and forward-facing.

5 Critical Evenflo Revolve 360 Installation tips

Tip#1: Make sure to remove the body pillow and head pillow for forward-facing mode.

Tip#2: There’s ONLY one recline position forward-facing: the most upright one. When installing rear-facing via seatbelt/LATCH, be sure to fully recline the seat rear-facing (I’ll remind you about this a million times because it’s super important), and this same full recline becomes the most upright angle forward-facing.

Tip#3: Attach the top tether whether rear-facing or forward-facing.

Tip#4: Make sure to lock the LockStrong Arm Belt Tensioner in the base when installing this car seat. The belt tensioner has a belt lock that turns green to let you know that the base is nice and tight.

Tip#5: When installing in the booster seat, remove the body pillow and body pillow (obviously), recline to the most upright position, and tuck the shoulder side straps, chest clip, and buckle tongue behind the back padding.

Be sure to engage the lower anchors in booster mode so they can hold the seat in place so it won’t become a dangerous projectile in a crash. Note that the seatbelt is for securing the child while seating in the booster mode, and the lower anchors + weight of kid hold the booster seat in place.

Also read: How to install a booster car seat

Tether Never Prevents You from Rotating the Evenflo 360 Gold

Here’s one aspect of design where the Evenflo 360 outshines its competitors: the top tether comes out of the base and not from the seat shell.

On swivel car seats where the tether attaches directly to the car seat shell, it’s not possible to use the swivel mode forward-facing. This is one reason among a few others that prompted me to elevate the Evenflo 360 above the Cybex Sirona S in an earlier post.

Related: What’s a Booster Car Seat and Do You Really Need?

Does the Evenflo Revolve 360 Fit Tall Kids?

Yes, it does. In fact, it fits taller kids way better than the Cybex Sirona S and other swivel seats. Why is this the case? It’s mainly because the Evenflo 360 Gold comes with one of the highest if not the highest harness shoulder height I’ve seen.

The maximum harness height stretches up to 19″, which is 2.5″ taller than the maximum harness height of the Sirona S. Besides, the shell is a little taller and adjusts a little more than that of the Sirona S, which leaves a little extra room for a growing child.

Evenflo Revolve 360 Strap Adjustment and Crotch Buckle

The straps of the no-rethread 5-point harness adjust easily. When you grab the handle on the headrest and pull, you won’t need to re-thread the harness. I like this. I know of no harness that adjusts as much as this one does, which makes it fit taller, bigger kids a little better.

What’s more, the crotch buckle is adjustable, which it isn’t on some car seats. It adjusts at least 3 positions on this one, which means it’s easier to achieve a secure, snug fit with this bet than with others.

Crotch buckle position tip: use the crotch buckle position nearest to the child, BUT the position shouldn’t be under the child.

Evenflo Revolve 360 Body Pillow and Head Pillow

Do you have a preemie or a tiny baby and worry you might not find a swivel car seat that’ll work for them? Fret no more, because this car seat comes with a removable and washable infant body and head insert. Having a newborn insert isn’t exceptional, but having a foldable one definitely is.

The pillow is foldable, and I don’t know of any other that does that. Refer to the manual to learn the correct way to fold the insert (there are clear pics in the manual showing how to do this).

Useful tip: To correctly use the foldable insert for a 4-pound preemie or slightly heavier baby who’s not more than 17″ long, the crotch buckle needs to be positioned at the inner slot.

With this crotch adjustment and folding the body and head pillow right, the harness positions at or slight below the shoulder. And this what a good fit looks like.

Padding, Fabric, Harness Strap Pads, Harness Covers, and Cupholders

The padding is comfortable and babies tend to fall asleep in no time. There’s more; the seat pads are removable and machine washable. Fabric quality could be improved a tad, but it’s decent enough and cleans relatively easy.

Harness strap pads are wide enough and don’t dig into young tender skin. Plus, you get harness covers, which is nice. Note: you’re not supposed to remove the harness strap pads at all. They’re designed to stay right where they are placed.

I appreciate that this seat comes with harness covers. These covers stay on the harness’ padding through velcro fasteners, plus they’re easily removable and machine washable.

It gets even better. You don’t get one cupholder with the Evenflo 360; you get 2, and they’re acceptable quality. These cups sink into holes on the top of the sides of the seat, and you can remove them if you so opt, but ask your kiddo first. Believe me, they won’t agree with your little idea and will prefer to have them on.

How to Remove the Cups for Cleaning: They’re Dishwasher-safe

The cups remove with ease when you give each a 90˚ turn and then uproot. But you probably shouldn’t do this. Why? Because the design of the holes isn’t children-friendly. I felt the edges of each hole, and I formed the impression they could harm tiny, tender hands that decided to do a bit of exploration.

Besides, if you have a second car seat installed on one side of this car seat (you own a roomy SUV, right?), I bet the other kid might prefer that the cup on their side stay on. I’d just leave them on, except when it’s time to clean them. BTW, the cups are dishwasher-safe. Get them into the top rack though.

Car Seat Lock Indicator: It’s red/Green

The manufacturer added a red/green seat lock indicator to make it more likely you won’t start the vehicle before locking the seat into place. And no, the seat doesn’t swivel while the vehicle is in motion.

When the indicator turns green, that’s a signal the seat is ready for use. If it’s red, rotate the seat into place. A pointy symbol on the car seat aligns with a similar symbol on the base to make locking even easier.

Evenflo Revolve 360 Wobbly

Some users reported that their seat moved a little too much even after installing it right. But after reading around a bit,I learned that this problem often stems from testing for seat tightness “wrong”. I believe some of those who faced this issue shoved the top of the shell instead of trying to move the base near the belt path. That’s how you test for install tightness in pretty much all car seats.

Another possibility could be that these folks didn’t tighten the seat belt enough, and I bet they left too much slack in the lower portion of the belt. This is an issue car seat technicians keep encountering. I suggest that you want

Evenflo Revolve 360 Wont Rotate

To be clear, Evenflo Revolve 360 stuck issue isn’t a common problem. Often, it happens if you haven’t yet learned the little prevention tip I’m about to share with you. And here’s the tip: Make sure to recline the seat fully just before you install it on the base. This installation tip isn’t in the manual, and they really should add it to the instructions.

Any Evenflo Revolve 360 Recalls? Nope

Be sure to register the seat so you’ll know if and when they recall it. It’s not been recalled, and I don’t expect a recall due to safety concerns. Visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration maintains a list of car seat safety issues and seat recalls. At time of writing, the Evenflo 360 Gold isn’t on the list.

Here’s another resource created by Safe Kids Worldwide about Evenflo recalls, BUT the Evenflo 360 isn’t affected.

Evenflo Revolve 360 Warranty

I took a look around the manufacturer’s website and found this product’s warranty information. Once you buy the Evenflo, make sure to register it. You can fill out the postcard that comes in the package and mail it back. Or you can register the Evenflo Revolve 360 Gold via the manufacturer’s website.

If you’re in the US or Canada, register your Evenflo 360 Gold here. Make sure to register so that the brand will notify you in case of a recall of the Evenflo 360 Gold in the future.

The Evenflo Revolve 360 comes with a limited lifetime warranty. The brands’s dubbed it the EVENFLO GOLD Lifetime Warranty. The warranty covers any and all material defects as long as you’re not outside of the stated expiration date, which happens to be 10 years from date of manufacture.

Compare this limited lifetime warranty with the 3-year-warranty of the Cybex Sirona S, and you’ll see how generous the former is. I interpret that to mean that the manufacturer believes in the soundness of and longevity of their product and confidently stand behind it.

Evenflo Revolve 360 Manual

Truth be told: instructions manuals about almost everything under the sun are plain boring. That’s why few people read them. I’m guilty of not reading the manual sometimes, but when it comes to critical instructions such as car seats, be sure to review the instructions. Here’s is the Evenflo Revolve 360 manual.

*Note that this manual omits an important detail: do fully recline the seat before installing on the base. This simple tip saves parents lots of trouble.

BTW, the manual comes tucked in the rear of the car seat. Keep it there for future reference. And if you lift the leg rest, you’ll find a scan code there with the manual. Nice!

Evenflo Revolve 360 Gold Review Video

Evenflo Revolve 360 Review: Verdict?

It’s the preferred option for convenience-loving parents and caregivers. If you plan to rear-face your kid for really long because it’s the safest option, the Evenflo Revolve 360 Gold is your best bet.

With a maximum harness height of  19″, an adjustable headrest, and booster mode, it usable from birth through preschool and beyond.

The ability to swivel 360 without the top tether making the rotational feature useless forward-facing places the Evenflo 360 Gold at a better place compared to the Cybex Sirona S whose top tether annoyingly gets in the way forward-facing, making parents to choose between using the swivel and compromising on safety.

The headrest adjusts nicely, the harness is no-rethread, and the crotch buckle adjusts multiple positions. Also, there are two cups that are removable and dishwasher-safe. And a seat lock indicator makes it easy to know when the seat gets ready for use.

It’s not hard to install, but you may want to recline the seat all the way up before installing on the base to prevent it from getting stuck.

Overall, this is the most user-friendly, cost-effective, and easiest-to-clean swivel car seat I’m aware of. It definitely is a worthy buy.