Nova Bath Bench with Red Safety Handle Review 2024

Have you reached a point where moving around isn’t as easy as it once was? Does that face make bathing a challenge? You may have begun looking for the right shower chair to solve the problem if you answered yes to either or both questions.

The trouble is that scores of different models are available, and finding the right one for you can be a daunting challenge.

We’ll quickly admit that the Nova Bath Bench with Red Safety Handle won’t fit everyone well. Still, for the right user, it could be exactly the solution you’ve been searching for.

In the following sections, we’ll tell you everything this rugged little shower stool has to offer, and we won’t pull any punches when pointing out its limitations and shortcomings. 

That way, you can evaluate it against your needs and determine if it fits you well.

Read on, and let’s take a closer look.

Key Features of the Nova Shower Bench With Red Safety Handle

The sheer simplicity of the design of the Nova Bath Bench with the Red Safety Handle will strike you. It’s about as uncomplicated as it gets. Four legs support a simple, slightly molded seat with a bold red handle on one side.

At first glance, you might think that the bright red handle was the design team’s way of giving at least some aesthetic appeal to the design, but more probably, the team just wanted to make sure that even people with poor eyesight could see the handle in a steam-filled shower stall.

Either way, this little stool isn’t going to win any beauty contests, but most people who are in the market for a product like this aren’t especially concerned with that. If you don’t prioritize aesthetics and you’re just looking for something simple, functional, and long-lasting, you’ll find a lot to like here.

Chair Specifications

Before we talk about its various safety features, let’s start by taking a quick look at the basics:

These very good numbers paint a picture of a well-thought-out, versatile little stool. The seat height has a superb range that starts a full 3” below the big and tall range and travels well into that territory, making it a good fit for both short and tall people. With a minimum height of just 15”, it’s even a good fit for many children. That’s excellent.

In a similar vein, the seat width is sufficient for most users. Unlike many other bath stools, it’s deep enough to provide a surprisingly comfortable perch. Even better, as we mentioned above, it sports a brightly colored handle that’s impossible to miss, giving you something to hold onto as you move onto and off the stool.

It’s made of molded plastic and tubed aluminum, which keeps the weight down. So even if you’re short on space, it’s trivial to pick the little stool up by either of its handles and move it out of the way when you’re not using it. It also supports up to 300 pounds of user weight, which is standard for this type of stool, making it capable of accommodating the needs of some 95% of the market.

Overall, we find no shortcomings in the raw numbers. However, as with any furniture, it’s important to take a few quick measurements to ensure you and the shower chair you’re considering are a good fit!

Adjustability, Comfort, and Extras

For such a simple design, the Nova Shower Bench with red safety handle packs many extras. Starting at the bottom and working our way up, we find widely spaced rubberized feet. The simple truth is that this stool will be spending a lot of time wet, and the feet must provide a secure grip so it doesn’t slide out from under you as you get onto or off it. Those big rubberized feet might not be the most attractive aspect of an already not-very-attractive stool, but they certainly get the job done!

We already mentioned that the seat height is adjustable, but it bears repeating here. The process of making the adjustments is simple. You’ll find a button on each leg of the stool. Push the button to free the leg, allowing it to telescope to the desired length. Then, the button clicks back into place to secure that leg.

Then, it’s just a matter of repeating that process with the other three legs, and you’re in business!

If you’re the only person in your home using the stool, you won’t have to bother with it again once you optimize the height for first use.

The seat is molded plastic and about as comfortable as you’d expect a plastic seat to be. You will appreciate the holes bored into the seat that allow water to drain away from you while you’re showering so you don’t wind up sitting in a slowly growing puddle of water. It’s a small thing but a nice touch.

Also, note that this stool has two handles: a bright red one that’s impossible to miss and a smaller one built into the seat itself. 

While this one is of limited value in helping you get onto and off the stool, it’s a convenient handle for moving the stool out of the shower when you’re not using it. We were pleasantly surprised at the number of features this design boasts. Kudos to Nova for a job that was very well done on that front!

Some Assembly is Required

As is the case with most furniture you can buy online; you’ll have to take a few minutes to put this one together before you can start using it if you decide this is the model you want.

The good news is that there are only half a dozen pieces to contend with, the assembly instructions are simple and clear, and the production quality is high. It will probably take you as long to get all the pieces out of the box and sort them as it will put the stool together, so it’s about as painless a process as possible. Again, Nova did a great job on that front!

Nova Bath Bench Pros and Cons

Here are the things we think you’ll like best about this model:

That said, it does have a few shortcomings to be aware of. These are:

Nova Bath Bench With Red Safety Handle Review Conclusion

Nova is a good company with a solid reputation for making quality medical devices; this shower stool is a good example of their work. What the Nova Bath Bench with red safety handle lacks in flash and pizazz makes up for in functionality. If you’re mostly interested in having a simple, safe platform in the shower to make bathing easier and you’re looking for something well-built and reliable, this is an excellent choice. We recommend it.

Recommended Reading

Carex Universal Bath Seat and Shower Chair Review

Our Carex Universal Bath Seat and Shower Chair assessment highlights its sturdy, no-frills design and high-weight support.

Official Manufacturer Support

References & Resources

• Nova Medical Products, Official Brand Website.
• How to Use a Shower Chair Safely, Medium.
• The Disabled Shower Seat – Why Do We Need Them?, Passionate People – Invacare.
• Instructions for Care and Use of A Bath Transfer Bench, Canadian Red Cross.