2022 Evenflo Gold Revolve 360 Rotational All-in-One Car Seat Review

Introducing the Evenflo Revolve 360 3-in-1 Carseat: the rotating car seat of your dreams

A rotating All-in-One car seat may sound gimmicky but for a parent with young children, it can be the greatest feature ever invented. This is especially true when:

a) you’re wrestling an oily alligator (aka, a toddler who does not want to be strapped in)

b) your truck or SUV is tall but you’re not

c) your child is heavy but isn’t able to climb into the seat on his own

d) you have back issues

e) you drive a 2-door coupe with a back seat

f) some or all of the above

Revolve 360 Specs:

Rear-facing: 4-40 lbs., 17-40″ tall, top of head 1″ or more below top of headrest or shell
Forward-facing: 22-65 lbs., 28-49″ tall, at least 2 years old
Booster: 40-120 lbs., 44-57″ tall, at least 4 years old

Now available in Canada too!

Revolve 360 Features:

360-degree rotation allows you to load and unload your child from the side before swiveling the seat into a locked rear-facing or forward-facing orientation
Seat and base separate for ease of base installation
Belt-tensioning “LockStrong” bar
Tether360 strap provides additional stability both forward-facing AND rear-facing
Anti-rebound base design limits rebound in frontal crashes when seat is rear-facing and also helps to stabilize the seat in rear-impact crashes
Steel-reinforced frame
14-position no-rethread harness
3 buckle positions
4 recline positions for rear-facing
Dual-zone level indicator for rear-facing
Energy-absorbing EPS foam
Smooth bottom base won’t damage vehicle upholstery
Dual cupholders are removable and dishwasher safe
Machine washable fabrics
Harness, chest clip, and buckle all store on the seat when converting to booster mode
LATCHable in booster mode (lower anchors only)
QR code that links to instructions & product videos
10-year lifespan before expiration
Evenflo Gold Perks: lifetime warranty, premier customer service, live chat support, accident replacement
Made in China
MSRP $379.99

Revolve 360 Base with “LOCKSTRONG BAR” belt tensioner & “TETHER 360”:

Seat and Base Together: 

Revolve 360 Measurements:

Tallest harness height setting: 19.5″
Lowest harness height setting: 10″ without insert; 9.5 with insert; approximately 7″ with lower insert modification
Shoulder belt guide max height (for booster mode): 21″
Crotch strap positions: approximately 3″, 4.25″, 5.5″
Seat pan depth (legroom/thigh support): 11″
Seat width at widest point: 19.5″ wide (across the cup holders); 18.5″ at the side wings
Weight: 30 lbs. combined (weight of seat and base together)

2022 Revolve 360 Fashions:

 

Moonstone, Sapphire, Onyx & Opal Pink

 

QR Codes: Link directly to videos on the Evenflo website

360 Rotation Comments:

This feature is undoubtedly the highlight of Revolve 360 and it’s everything you could hope for in a revolving car seat. We’re not going to insult your intelligence by belaboring the obvious – that you should never drive down the road with your baby facing sideways (and crooked). If you can’t figure that out on your own then there are probably other important skill sets that you need to work on first. However, there are a few other things about the rotational feature that are worth mentioning.

For starters, the seat is only able to make a full 360-degree rotation when it’s in the fully reclined position rear-facing (there are 4 recline positions for rear-facing in order to achieve the correct angle as per the angle indicator). However, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t rotate when you’re using a more upright RF recline setting – it does! It just doesn’t make the FULL 360* turn if it’s positioned in anything besides the most reclined RF position.

You can still turn the seat from rear-facing to the side loading/unloading position (which is all you’re really going to need to do on a daily basis) if it’s in a more upright RF recline position. But if you’re trying to make it spin all the way to the forward-facing position or trying to entertain your child by spinning them around and around while you’re parked – you’re going to need to be in the fully reclined rear-facing position to do that. Otherwise, you get to the side-facing position and the seat just stops rotating. But again, going from rear-facing to side-facing and back to rear-facing again can be accomplished in any RF recline position.

Lastly, I just want to point out that the most reclined RF position is actually the fully upright position needed to secure Revolve 360 in the forward-facing position – which is why it only rotates from RF to FF in that one recline position. When the seat is forward-facing or being used as a booster it has to be in the fully upright position and there is no way to accidentally have it any other way so no worries about misuse there.

Installation Comments:

Installing Revolve 360 with Lap/Shoulder Seatbelt (preferred method):

Installation with your standard lap/shoulder seatbelt was straight-forward and easy in the vehicles we worked in. Neither Heather nor I could remember if the seat came out of the box detached from the base or not. It’s possible that you may need to separate the 2 pieces before you begin installing. Install the base using the LockStrong bar which acts as a belt-tensioning device but is not technically a lockoff (you will still need to lock the seatbelt at the retractor unless you happen to have a locking latchplate in that seating position). Make sure your installation is tight and confirm that the visual indicator on the LockStrong bar has turned from red to fully green – indicating that it is securely locked. Just like an infant seat base, it shouldn’t move more than 1″ from side-to-side or from front-to-back when you check for tightness at the beltpath.

Once your base is installed tightly, lock the seatbelt by pulling the webbing all the way to the end and listening for the clicking/ratcheting sound as the webbing feeds back into the locked retractor. The final step before you connect the seat to the base is to attach and tighten the tether strap to the tether anchor in your vehicle. Most Evenflo seats don’t mandate using the tether in cases where you don’t have an available tether anchor, however, Revolve 360 is unique and it DOES require tethering. In this day and age, tethering shouldn’t be a problem unless you plan to use this seat in the 3rd row of a vehicle. Vehicles with a 3rd row usually don’t have a tether anchor for every seating position back there, so make sure you know where the tether anchors are and where they’re not in your vehicle. Again, tethering is required for this particular seat – regardless of whether you are using the seat in the rear-facing or the forward-facing orientation.

Attach the seat to the base by lining up the red arrow on the seat (which you’ll find underneath the flap of fabric) with the white arrow on the base. 

For all the installation details, check out Heather’s video:

Installing Revolve 360 with LATCH:

Same process as above but using the LATCH strap instead of the seatbelt. You still utilize the LockStrong bar (after you’ve slightly tensioned the latch strap) and you still need to tether. I actually found it easier to achieve a rock-solid installation using seatbelt, so unless you have a compelling reason to use latch, I’d suggest sticking with a seatbelt installation. It was a little challenging for me to tighten the latch strap initially. Some latch straps have a little loop sewn into the loose tail end that you can slip your index finger into and pull, but this strap didn’t have that option. Therefore, it took a little more effort for me to tighten the latch strap enough to yield a solid installation after the LockStrong bar was shut and locked. Once again, make sure you reference the visual indicator on the inside of the base to confirm that it has turned from red to fully green – indicating that the LockStrong bar is securely locked.

Latch – Weight Limits & Other Considerations

The LATCH weight limit for Revolve 360 is 35 lbs. rear-facing & 40 lbs. forward-facing. When your child exceeds those limits, you must switch to a seatbelt + tether installation. Honestly, LATCH weight limits are just another reason to install using your seatbelt instead. Then you don’t have to worry about remembering to switch over at some point in the future.

Once again, always use the tether strap regardless of whether the base is installed with LATCH or seatbelt. Tethering is required.

Center LATCH installations: Evenflo DOES allow center latch installations with “Non-Standard Spacing” as long as the spacing is between 11-20″ wide and your vehicle manufacturer specifically allows a LATCH installation in that center seating position.

Revolve 360 in Booster Mode:

All the harness components store on the seat so you don’t have to worry about losing parts of your expensive seat once you transition to booster mode.

Evenflo recommends using the lower LATCH strap in booster mode but prohibits the use of the tether strap. Off the record, I know what their reasoning is and it’s nothing scary or safety-related so don’t overthink this or start rumors about how tethering other products in booster mode must be a bad idea. Just follow the manual in this case and disconnect the tether (store the hook in its storage location) when you are transitioning to booster mode. Just to clarify, you can use the latch strap to secure Revolve 360 in booster mode at any weight. LATCH weight limits don’t apply in booster mode because the seatbelt is actually restraining the child and the latch strap is just securing the booster seat to the vehicle.

Fit-to-Vehicle:

We had no fit issues in any of the vehicles we tried. It’s surprisingly compact when rear-facing as long as you have the seat positioned a little more upright (but still within the range of the angle indicator). We have confirmed that Evenflo allows Revolve 360 to lightly contact the vehicle seat in front (when rear-facing) which helps in vehicles where space is an issue. Even with light contact from the front passenger seat in my Hyundai Tucson (small SUV), the rotation feature still functioned easily. Evenflo does recommend raising or removing the head restraint if it interferes with the seat locking into the forward-facing position.

Telsa Model X

Telsa Model 3

Minivan Captains Chair – most reclined vs. most upright rear-facing

Infant Inserts & Strap Covers:

The infant inserts (head support & lower body cushion) are optional when the seat is used rear-facing but must be removed before your child uses the seat forward-facing. If using Revolve 360 with a small infant it may be necessary to tuck the side bolsters of the lower insert underneath the flat portion in order to give the baby a bigger boost (2nd pic below). This extra boost may be necessary for babies younger than 6 months old if their shoulders are not close enough to the bottom harness slot using the lower insert as-is (1st pic below).

 

The harness strap covers on Revolve are a 2-piece design. The main portion of the harness covers are referred to as “harness strap pads” and these have a grippy material sewn into the underside of the pads. I flipped it over to photograph the grippy material but I want to be clear that this is the backside of the harness strap pad which will be making contact with your child’s clothing.

There is also an additional “harness cover” that attaches with velcro to the main pad (as shown in the 1st pic below) and this additional cover is optional and removable so you can wash it, if necessary. The main harness strap pads (with the grippy backside) are permanently attached. Since it’s a safety feature of this seat, they are mandatory and not removable. And I mean they are literally not removable.

Fit-to-Child:

Preemie doll (4 lbs., 17″)

After folding the lower body insert as described in the manual, and removing the optional harness covers from the un-removable harness strap pads, I was able to get a marginal fit on the tiny Huggable Images preemie doll. It wasn’t what I would consider ideal and it took a couple of minutes of me fiddling with all the components to get it to the point where I thought, “this is as good as it gets”. In the end, I would say the fit was acceptable. However, I’m a seasoned pro and it took me a solid 2-3 minutes of readjusting this and fiddling with that, to get the harness fit to the point where I was satisfied. It’s unlikely that a parent who wasn’t a CPS Tech would make that same effort to ensure reasonable harness fit on a very small newborn.

It’s a combination of the lowest harness setting being too high for a small baby, the lower body insert cushion modifications that are necessary (because the lowest harness setting is too high), and the huge non-removable harness strap pads which just get in the way more than anything else on a “body” this tiny. I’m a little perplexed as to why they decided to rate the seat down to 4 lbs. when clearly they paid little or no attention to small baby fit.

I would barely complain if the harness was rated from 5 lbs. up, since it’s well-known that some convertible and all-in-one seats that are rated from 5 lbs. don’t actually fit newborns very well. But if you’re going to rate your seat down to 4 lbs., you really need to prioritize small baby fit and it’s pretty obvious that wasn’t the case with this seat. </rant>

Full-size newborn doll (20″)

Using the lower body insert as-is (without folding and tucking), the harness fit wasn’t ideal on our 20″ doll either. This doll is the size of a typical 8 or 9 lb. newborn. We were able to get the straps nice and snug so I don’t think the fit was terrible but the harness was still a solid inch above this doll’s shoulders. If this were a real baby, we would have needed to fold and tuck the insert like we did for the preemie doll.

Baby E (17 months, 22 lbs., 30″ tall)

She fit really well. Despite the look on her face in the pics, she totally enjoyed it. When her mom took her out of the seat, she cried and wanted to be put back in! Lol.

More pictures of real kids in Revolve 360 coming soon!

Comfort/Ease of Use:

This seat checks almost all the boxes for comfort and ease of use. It’s well-padded, easy to install correctly (especially with seatbelt), the rotational feature is simple and smooth, and the harness is easy to tighten and loosen in both orientations. My only minor complaint was with the harness webbing. It has a tendency to twist as it routes through the buckle. You’re going to have to pay attention to this as you are buckling your child into the harness otherwise you may wind up battling twisty straps frequently.

Crash Replacement/Inflatable Belts/FAA Approval:

Evenflo seats should be replaced after any crash (call parent link if you have questions about your particular situation). Evenflo Gold car seats all come with accident replacement coverage for seats that have been in a crash.
Installation with inflatable seatbelts (found in some Ford/Lincoln/Mercedes Benz vehicles) is NOT allowed in harnessed mode. Use LATCH to install base if child is still under the LATCH weight limit or move seat to a different seating position that does not have an inflatable seatbelt. Using Revolve 360 in booster mode with inflatable seatbelt is allowed.
Revolve 360 is NOT FAA-approved and cannot be used on a plane (this seat is so heavy that you really would never want to travel with it anyway).

Care & Cleaning:

Machine wash the cover separately in cold water, delicate cycle, with mild detergent. Do not use chlorine bleach. Tumble dry for 10 – 15 minutes on low heat and remove immediately. The harness can be wiped clean with mild soap and water. Allow harness to air dry.

Revolve 360 Advantages:

Rotational feature is sweeeet! Seriously. It’s amazing. And because the tether is attached to the base and not to the top of the seat – Revolve 360 can freely rotate regardless of which orientation it’s being used in.
Functions well in all 3 modes: Rear-facing, forward-facing & highback booster
Base is super easy to install correctly, especially with seatbelt which is the preferred installation method
Install the base once and you’re done! No need to reinstall when you switch modes.
Base design limits rebound when rear-facing
14-position no-rethread harness
Very tall max harness height (19.5″!) so it’s going to last a long time before the harness is outgrown by height
4 recline positions for rear-facing to help achieve correct recline as your child grows
Compact in the rear-facing position as long as you use the more upright recline settings
Evenflo allows Revolve 360 to lightly contact the vehicle seat in front (when rear-facing) which helps in vehicles where space is an issue
Tether360 provides additional stability both forward-facing AND rear-facing
Smooth bottom base won’t damage vehicle upholstery
Dual cupholders are removable and dishwasher safe
Machine washable fabrics
Harness, chest clip, and buckle all store in the shell for booster mode
LATCHable in booster mode (lower anchors only)
QR codes that link to instructions & product videos
10-year lifespan before expiration
Evenflo Gold Perks: lifetime warranty, premier customer service, live chat support, accident replacement

Disadvantages:

(In all fairness these aren’t necessarily problems but I list them here to inform potential consumers of specific Revolve 360 issues)

It’s difficult to get a good harness fit with a newborn or smaller baby. If you’re planning to use an infant seat first (aka, a rear-facing only seat) before transitioning to Revolve 360, then this won’t be an issue for you.
The “LockStrong” belt-tensioner is technically not a lockoff device so you do need to remember to lock the seatbelt at the retractor once you’re done installing the base.
Revolve 360 requires tethering so you need to make sure that you always have an available tether anchor to secure it.
The bulky non-removable harness strap pads may be an issue for some kids with sensory issues. This is just speculation; time will tell.

Conclusion:

The Evenflo Gold Revolve 360 is innovative and exciting. We acknowledge that the price is a bit steep but the tradeoff is that you get a ton of convenience and safety features in a seat that, at least theoretically, you only have to install once. We anticipate that the Evenflo Gold Revolve 360 will prove to be a game-changer in the car seat world! We know it’s not the first rotating seat in the U.S. (that title goes to the Cybex Sirona S with load leg) but we believe the Evenflo Gold Revolve 360 is going to set the gold standard (hey, did you see what I just did there?) for all future rotating car seats. We’re thrilled that the wait is finally over and this product is shipping to retailers as we type. It’s a happy, happy day in Carseat Land! 🙂

For more details, check out the Revolve 360 on Evenflo’s website: https://www.evenflo.com/gold/revolve360.html

Thank you, Evenflo Gold, for generously supplying the samples used in this review. All opinions and comments expressed are those of CarseatBlog.com.

CarseatBlog Experts Rating

Recommended: Revolve 360