EasyWalker Mini Stroller Review and Introduction

A little while ago I wrote my review of the Easywalker MINI stroller and today I'm sharing my experience and thoughts as well as a bit of an introduction to the MINI from Easywalker in this video review.  Enjoy!

Easywalker Mini Stroller Review

I don't very often get excited about a pushchair but when I first laid eyes on the new Easywalker MINI stroller, I knew that it was going to be something special.  A head-turner, you might say.  Easywalker asked me and Holly to be some of the first to try out their new MINI branded Easywalker stroller and do you know what, it really is a head-turner.  Two weeks in and I would say that our Union Jack MINI stroller gets a smiley comment from a stranger every time we go out in it!

 

 

The Easywalker MINI is branded with the MINI brand logo - your little one's very first Mini car!!!  It comes in a range of different fabric packs which ooze Mini styling and even has a leather handlebar that feels like a steering wheel.  Our fabric pack is a Union Jack design which is very striking and hard to miss as we whizz past you on the high street!  Other designs include chilli red with iconic white Mini stripes, laser blue with stripes or a couple of black striped designs.  I think they all look awesome and I think they bring a lot of appeal to Dads as well as Mums.

 

I will admit that the Easywalker MINI nearly brought me to tears when I first tried to construct it.  It comes in two pieces but I found it really hard to follow the instructions to get the seat fitted onto the base (you can use the seat either forward-facing or rear-facing).  The fabric set came separately and, once again, I found it challenging to get the hood, straps and crotch-pad fitted.  But, in the grand scheme of things, this isn't really much of a worry because, thankfully, you should only have to set the buggy up once!

 

 

The Easywalker MINI is suitable from 6 months old (or from birth with the Carrycot attachment) right up until your child reaches 30kg (somewhere around 7-9 years old!) which goes to show quite how robust this pushchair is.  I think you can tell this from the feel of the product, it definitely feels like a pushchair that is meant to withstand the trials of real life; it feels sturdy and chunky and there are no rattles or wobbly bits so it is perfect if you, like me, want to use it both in the town and out in the country when you want to go for a walk with your little one.

 

The pushchair itself is extremely compact.  There are no issues getting it through your front door because it is beautifully slim and, as such, it is a dream to manoeuvre.  I love using this pushchair because it is so responsive and so easy to get around corners and up curbs.  I've never driven a MINI but I would hope it offered as good a ride!

 

 

In terms of everyday practicalities, I found the carry basket under the stroller to be limited in size and quite tricky to reach but this is not unusual feedback on most pushchairs and it wouldn't put me off buying.  I found the handlebar to be easily adjustable to any height you choose and it offered a good level of height which is important for tall mums like me, and I guess, more important in a buggy which has such strong appeal for Dads.

 

Once I had mastered the collapse mechanism (which wasn't immediately intuitive) I really came to love it.  The buggy is naturally quite compact and in fact, collapsing it doesn't make it feel that much smaller than it is when it is fully unfolded! To fold, you simply press the buttons on either side and pull up a catch under the seat.  The Easywalker has a small clip on the basket to help keep the buggy closed when it is folded but I found it to be a bit small and tricky to get to - I'd appreciate a bigger and higher clasp of some sort.

 

 

The seat has four different levels of recline and can sit very upright if you want it to.  The hood can be easily lifted up or tucked away so that it is more or less invisible - I like this, it makes me feel that bit closer to Holly when she is travelling in her MINI!

 

Holly really likes the Easywalker because it is so easy for me to get her in and out.  I've been really impressed with the ease and security of the belts (once I had worked out how to install them!) and this really helps because Holly is always more relaxed when I don't have to struggle to get her in and out.

 

I think the Easywalker MINI has a price tag that represents both it's style and quality - it is not a budget pushchair by any stretch of the imagination and you could spend a small fortune on gorgeous accessories (I have my eye on the Union Jack footmuff).  But, unlike many other buggies I've tried, I am now pretty convinced that with the Easywalker MINI you wouldn't need to buy any other pushchair as I think it can cover all stages of your child's life well.  The Easywalker MINI is available for £609.99 from Peppermint in the UK.

 

My only negative comment about the Easywalker MINI, now that I have been using it for a while, is that, if I were a MINI motor enthusiast, I would struggle to get it into my boot.  Yes, this is a naturally compact stroller but when I tried to fit it into the boot of a friend's Mini Cooper S, I couldn't close the boot (I think a larger Mini would be fine though).  As you can see, it fits into our car boot with plenty of space to spare... ordinarily I place it facing front to back as then it takes up hardly any space.

Note: Easywalker have let me know that it does fit into the Boot of a Mini Cooper S and I will try out their top tips for how to make it fit in the next few days!

Britax B-Motion 4 Pushchair Review

The day that I had to pack our Britax double buggy away (because Lara grew out of it) was a sad day!  So i was REALLY excited to be asked to review the new Britax B-Motion 4 pushchair which is described as Britax's lightweight pushchair with air-filled rubber wheels.

I've recently got on my high horse about pushchairs that claim to be compact so the VERY first thing I did when the B-Motion 4 arrived was test it out in the back of our car and I'm happy to say that it is by far the most compact non-umbrella pushchair I've tried.  The folding system is brilliant - to unfold you simply undo the clip and then woosh, it pops open in one swift movement.  To fold, you have to release a catch and then pull hard of a single strap on the seat base and woosh, it folds in half.

But despite being compact when  folded, the Britax B-Motion is not a small pushchair by anyone's standards.  It is huuuge and really spacious.  Holly looks tiny in it!  I can see that the B-Motion 4 really can be suitable upto 4 years old as Lara can still sit in it (which she only does when she is being a minx).  I think I would probably contest Britax's claim that the B-Motion 4 is 'lightweight'... OK, at 10.5kg it probably is lighter than many others on the market, and certainly lighter than many travel systems... but to me it does feel chunky and bulky (and relatively heavy when I lift it into the car boot).

I like the adjustable handlebar which offers enough height for me, but is easily folded down for my slightly shorter husband.  I also think the fastening is one of the best I've tried in terms of ease of use and ease of adjustment (funny... because I remember the Britax B-Agile Double being much harder to adjust!)

The Britax B-Motion 4 is one of the only pushchairs in the Britax range that has air-filled tyres - the benefit here being that it makes the buggy suitable for lots of different terrains and I've certainly put it to the test both walking around town and also out in the woods... it took me a while to work out that I needed to lock the wheels in place if I was planning a bumpy ride but once I worked that out, it became MUCH easier to travel even over roots and branches while out for a walk in our local woodlands.  When the wheels are unlocked and I'm pushing the B-Motion 4 through town, I find it (as I did our double Britax buggy) extremely manoeuvrable for such a large buggy.

The B-Motion 4 is suitable from birth because the seat is reclinable all the way to a lie-flat position.  I find the recline really easy to use and great for when I'm trying to get Holly to sleep.  I also like the large sun hood but wish there wasn't a mesh part in the middle as this limits the protection I can give Holly from the sun tright now.  The B-Motion 4 can be used as a travel system for Britax BABY-SAFE infant carriers too with clip-in adapters (which I found tricky the first time I used them but once I knew the mechanism, I found it easy to replace them with the bumper bar).

The basket underneath the B-Motion 4 is reasonably sized and reasonably accessible (not the best but certainly not the worst in recent experience!)

To me, the nice compact fold and ease of fold makes the B-Motion 4 the most appealing general use pushchair that I've tried with Holly.  The Britax B-Motion 4 is available exclusively at Kiddicare for around £249.99.

BabyZen Yoyo Review - The Ultimate Lightweight Buggy

As you probably know, this June we took another epic family road trip down to the sunny south of France and back again.  A 12 day, 2000 mile round trip.  Car boot space was at a premium, and since my old lightweight umbrella pushchair had gone to buggy heaven, I was panicking about what to do... there was simply no way I could fit our travel system into the boot as well as the luggage for a family of 4.  And then I discovered the Yoyo by Babyzen...

... We borrowed the Yoyo for the duration of our trip to really put it through its paces.  Could a lightweight, one-handed fold buggy this compact actually meet the day to day demands of a toddler on our travels?

This little sister looks proud of the Yoyo!

Babyzen is a French brand so we really looked the part on our holiday.  The Yoyo is a VERY smart pushchair that I felt proud to be pushing among the classy locals on the Cote d'Azur (in fact I did see another one pushed by a local!)

If you've watched the short video above then you will know how mind-blowingly easy the Yoyo is to put up and to fold away; it is designed to be able to use it with one hand while you hold your child in the other.  I'd say that I struggle to do it one handed but Mr. B. seems to have the knack.  Nevertheless, it is astonishingly quick and easy and I can't recommend it enough.  I LOVE it.

Chilling with the Yoyo in Port Grimaud

For a buggy so clearly designed with travel in mind, I was surprised at the other features it had to offer - no corners seem to have been cut in order to achieve this level of convenience.  It is extremely steerable, easy to recline when Holly fancies a nap, has a nice big sun shade (in a choice of colours) and a reasonably sized carry area underneath the seat.  The seat cover and sun shade come as a separate colour pack - I found them easy to fit and the seat pad seemed very thick and comfy.

Spot the Yoyo

I still can't get over how compact the Yoyo buggy is when folded - it was small enough to fit in our car footwell in front of Holly and it is small enough to be taken as hand-baggage on a plane!  The Babyzen Yoyo comes with a shoulder strap and a carry bag for when you are in transit.  I can picture a trip into central London being a lot less hassle with this buggy than normal as you could fold it up when on the train or tube or bus and sling it over your shoulder if you need to quickly carry it (and baby) up a flight of stairs.

The BabyZen Yoyo is not cheap (at a RRP of £309 - find stockists at Babyzen.com) but I still genuinely believe that it is great value for this price.  The buggy is suitable from 6 months upto 15kg.

Maxi-Cosi Elea Puschair Review

This weekend, Holly and I were invited to The Baby Show at the London Excel as guests of Dorel, the makers of Maxi-Cosi to try out the Maxi-Cosi Elea pushchair and travel system.  Having owned a couple of Maxi-Cosi car seats in my time, I was interested to try out one of their strollers.

I was given a demonstration of the Maxi-Cosi Elea and then we were sent on our way to try it out for ourselves.  We swerved in and out of the busy crowds at the Baby Show and got to try out several of the features.  I was instantly taken by the lightness and by the ease of use.  The Maxi-Cosi Elea has a single motion fold - click the buttons to release the chassis and it simply collapses... no folding required.  To open it back up again you just pull the chassis upwards in a single motion and it pops out in front of you until it clicks into place.

The most attractive feature of the Elea to me is its two-fold system.  For every day usage you can fold the buggy with the seat unit attached (they call this the Daily fold) but if you are in need of extra space at home, or in your car boot you can take the seat unit off and further collapse the chassis so that it is ultra-compact (they call this the optimum fold).  If you've read my blog for a while you will know that I get frustrated with a buggy if it takes up too much space in my car boot and I can tell you that the Elea, when fully folded, took up so little space in my car boot that I was able to fit the monster buggy in too!  The seat unit is rigid which limits the overall compactness of the Elea a little.

The Elea seat unit can be forward facing or rear-facing (I prefer Holly to be facing me at this age but as she grows older I know she will want to look out into the world).  There are several recline positions including a totally-flat position for newborn babies (or in my case for a sleepy baby coming down with the flu).  When the sun-visor is up and your baby is wrapped in the snuggly baby nest (included) then the Elea looks very much like a pram.  However, if you do want it to perform even more like a pram you can buy an additional collapsible carrycot which attaches to the chassis.  All Maxi-Cosi infant carrier Group 0 car seats are compatible with the Elea and it comes with adapters to make this possible.

I really enjoyed using the Maxi-Cosi Elea.  It was spacious without being heavy and I found the basket underneath the buggy to be well-sized and easy to access.  For me, the most disappointing element of the stroller was the straps on the seat.  The seat itself looks really smart and is padded and very comfy but the straps don't seem to live up to the quality of the rest of the buggy and I found them very hard to adjust.  I also found that because the main handle of the Elea folds down when in 'optimal' fold, the joints on the handlebar make it feel a little unstable and wobbly to the touch.

On the whole though, I'm really very impressed by the Elea and Holly certainly seemed extremely comfortable in it.  The Maxi-Cosi Elea has a RRP of £400 but is available at some of the big named baby stores for some very attractive prices, for instance, you can currently find the Elea for under £320 Kiddicare .

Britax B-Agile Double Buggy Review

Lara and Holly have been using the Britax B-Agile Double Stroller for a couple of months now after we were sent it to try out in late summer. Even though Lara has now more or less grown out of the pushchair after a mammoth growth spurt last month, the B-Agile Double has become my stroller of choice on most of our family trips and there are lots of reasons why...

Two monkeys at Beale Park, Theale in their Britax B-Agile Double Stroller

When we first received the Britax B-Agile Double, Holly had still been using our lay-flat pram so I was REALLY glad that the two seats on the B-Agile reclined separately so that I could fully recline Holly's side of the buggy to lay her completely flat. The hoods also expand and collapse seperately so if I want to shade Holly from the wind or sun I can do so without cramping Lara's style.  To be very honest, Lara has now outgrown the B-Agile (it is officially rated from birth to 15kg) but Lara quite regularly needs an afternoon nap when we are out and about and will request to sit in the buggy when she is tired.  When she isn't in the buggy, I use the spare seat as storage!!!

As a side-by-side double stroller I was expecting the B-Agile to be a bit of a beast but honestly, it is VERY compact for a double buggy. It is only 2cm wider than my existing Mothercare travel system and, if I am in the right frame of mind, I can just fit the B-Agile Double through my front door (I can't then fit it through any of the internal house doors though!).

I find the B-Agile double easier to manouvre than my pram. There are two wheels at the back and two sets at the front. The wheels are hard and someone had warned me that I would find this a bit of a shock after having used inflated tyres before but I much prefer the feeling of pushing the B-Agile and despite having put it through its paces on grass, farmland and pavements I have yet to experience any problems; I also like the peace of mind of knowing I'm not going to suffer a blow-out! The fact that the B-Agile is remarkably light for a double pushchair also contributes to its good manouvreability.

Saying that, the B-Agile double isn't a lightweight stroller - I do have to muster up some energy to lift it into the boot but thankfully it is incredibly easy to expand and collapse. The stroller expands with just one clip to undo and then whoosh it pops open. The first time my next-door neighbour saw me unfold a double buggy with just one hand he stood there speechless! To collapse it you have to press a button and pull a strap; its not as easy as opening it but it is still one of the least faffy strollers I have ever come across.

The Britax B-Agile oozes quality. The fabrics of the seats and hood are smart, black and very sturdy. The buckle of the belt is a bit plasticy and in order to adjust the straps you have to pull the straps out of the buckle which caused me two broken nails, then tears, then total collapse on the floor in an angry heap to wait for my husband to come home from work to help me!

In terms of size, I am sooooooo happy with the B-Agile double.  Because it folds in one piece the double buggy actually takes up considerably less space than my old two-piece travel system.  In fact, I am quite enjoying having space in my boot for more than just a buggy!

Important features for me were:-

• An easy-grip handle that adjusts effortlessly (my husband and I like the handlebars to be at totally different heights).
• A big storage space under the buggy for me to put parcels and coats and stuff into. the space on the B-Agile is very large but can be difficult to get to due to the low ride height of the seats above - parcels don't often fit but coats for the whole family definitely do.
• Adaptors for an infant carrier included so that you can turn it into a travel system for Britax car seats.
• Availability of a bumper bar (although I was a bit disappointed that one of these didn't come as standard with the B-Agile double).
• Raincover included.

The Britax B-Agile Double Stroller is available exclusively at Mothercare for £349.99.