Nova Bath Bench with Red Safety Handle Review 2024

Have you reached a point in your life where moving around isn’t as easy as it once was? Does that face make bathing a challenge? If you answered yes to either or both of those questions, then you may have begun looking for the right shower chair to serve as a solution to the problem.

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

We’ll be quick to admit that the Nova Bath Bench with red safety handle won’t be a good fit for everyone. Still, for the right user, it could be exactly the solution you’ve been searching for.

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

That way, you’ll be able to evaluate it against your specific needs and determine if it’s a good fit for you.

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

An Overview of the Nova Shower Bench With Red Safety Handle

You’ll be struck by the sheer simplicity of the design of the Nova Bath Bench with red safety handle. It’s about as uncomplicated as it gets. Four legs supporting 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 aesthetics aren’t a priority for you and you’re just looking for something simple, functional, and long-lasting, you’ll find a lot to like here.

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

These are very good numbers that paint a picture of a well thought out, versatile little stool. The seat height has a superb range that starts a full 3” below 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 actually 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, which gives you something to hold onto as you move onto and off of 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 a trivial matter 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, then, we find no shortcomings in the raw numbers. However, as with any type of furniture, it’s important to take a few quick measurements to be sure that 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 manages to pack in a surprising number of extras. Starting at the bottom and working our way up, we find widely spaced rubberized feet. The simple truth is that this stool is going to 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’re getting onto or off of 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, and the process of making the adjustments is simplicity itself. 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, making the button to click 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 that will be using the stool, once you optimize the height for first use, it’s not something you’ll ever have to bother with again.

The seat is molded plastic and about as comfortable as you’d expect a plastic seat to be. You will appreciate though the holes bored into the seat that allows 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 there are two handles on this stool. The 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 terms of helping you get onto and off of 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 very well done on that front!

Some Assembly is Required

As is the case with most of the 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 about 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 to actually put the stool together, so it’s about as painless a process as can be imagined. Again, great job by Nova 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, and this shower stool is a good example of their work. What the Nova Bath Bench with red safety handle lacks in flash and pizazz, it 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 assessment of the Carex Universal Bath Seat and Shower Chair highlights its sturdy, no-frills design and high weight support.

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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.
• How Do You Clean a Plastic Shower Chair? [Best Practices + Tips], The Senior Spot.
• Instructions for Care and Use of A Bath Transfer Bench, Canadian Red Cross.