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!

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 .

Kiddy City N Move Stroller Review

As a Kiddy ambassador, when I visited Kiddy HQ in the summer as part of my epic family road trip, I was really excited to be shown the Kiddy City N Move Stroller and couldn't wait to get my hands on it.  The City N Move has now been available in the UK for a few months and here is how Holly and I have got on with it.

I shall be very honest straight away and say that I haven't enjoyed using the City N Move anywhere near as much as I enjoy using each of the different Kiddy car seats I've tried.  Saying that, there is absolutely no denying that it is by far and away the highest quality stroller that I have ever had the privilege to push - the fabric, the chassis, the handles and hood are all thick yet stylish and feel great in your hands.

Assembling the City N Move was quite easy - the wheels just clipped into place as did the bumper bar but the hood I found more tricky.  there seemed to be a lot of places that it needed fastening to the chassis or to other bits of fabric and I still don't think I've entirely got it right.

Kiddy City N Move Stroller in Hawaii Blue

I really like the bumper bar as you can just flip it up to get your child out of the seat - no need to remove it.  I'm also extremely impressed by the recline on the seat - it is suitable for use from 6 months; the recline is a single clip at the back of the seat which is outstandingly easy to use, pretty much one-handed. I find that I can quickly move it back to sitting mode when Holly isn't in a sleepy mood.  The lower part of the seat also quickly flips out to provide a comfy leg rest to allow your baby's legs to lie straight rather than dangle down.

The City N Move is described as 'sporty' and 'lightweight' due to its aluminium chassis, but I don't think I agree.  Yes, I find it quite easy to manouvre and yes, it is admittedly lighter than my existing pram travel system but it isn't what I would describe as lightweight.  I actually find it very difficult to get into my car boot because it is surprisingly heavy (8.5kg compared to my old umbrella stroller's 5kg) and despite the small handle on the side, I struggle to find anywhere suitable to grip it when I am lifting.

I also don't like the folded shape when I am carrying it in the car - it is almost triangular when folded and takes up over 50% of my car boot (I have a big estate car).  My double buggy took up less space than this!  I have tried every angle and just can't find a way to get it into the car and still leave plenty of space for shopping.  This is a shame because I do actually like the way that the City N Move folds when I am storing the buggy indoors.  The City N move stands alone on its handles which is a lifesaver as I used to get so fed up of having to store my old stroller on the floor in the hall - this takes up less space indoors!  It is pretty easy to fold and unfold so no worries there.

Kiddy City N Move Stroller Folded

The Kiddy City N Move comes with several pieces of kit that you would normally expect to have to pay extra for - a cup holder, travel system adapters (for Kiddy infant carriers but you CAN buy adapters for Britax and Maxi Cosi too), a rain cover and a thick sun hood that comes all the way down over your baby to provide protection from the sun - there is a little viewing window that you can look down on them through!

The Kiddy City N Move really is a mixed bag for me. For every feature I don't get on with (such as the under-seat storage space which I find infuriatingly difficult to store anything in), there is a different feature that I love (such as the nice high -fixed height- handlebars with bouncy soft-grip handlebars).  The Kiddy City N Move costs around £170 and is available in a good range of bright colours.

You can follow Kiddy on Facebook and Twitter for more news and competitions.

A Flying Visit to Kiddy HQ (and a sneaky peek at the new City n Move stroller)

Last week, as part of our epic family road trip across Europe, the Mellow family dropped in to say Hi to our friends at Kiddy headquarters in Hof, Germany. When I first visited Kiddy HQ last summer I knew I had to take Lara and Mr. B. there too (I didn't know that Holly would be with us as well!) - Hof is a beautiful place with a lake and leisure complex of which I am very jealous and exploring the internals of a big car seat and children/baby product manufacturer is a fascinating experience I wanted to share with them.

We spent the night in a hotel by the side of the lake and, in the afternoon we all took a relaxing stroll around the banks of the lake in the warm sunshine. Lara had great fun on the playground and she even stripped off and went for a dip in the lake with all the local children. I must say it did look very inviting.

 

Lara and Holly were both very well behaved when we took our tour of the new Kiddy offices. Lara had never before seen quite so many car seats in one place (and I doubt she ever will again) - thousands and thousands lined up and ready to be sent out to customers. I think Lara was particularly fascinated to see a new Kiddy pushchair being tested using a dummy weight by being pushed down the corridors of the R&D department - it makes your own pushchair seem that more "real" when you know someone somewhere put in the hard work to make it just right.

While we were at Kiddy HQ they introduced me to the new City 'n' Move stroller which will be hitting UK stores very very soon. This is the first time that I have come face to face or hands-on with a Kiddy pushchair and the first thing I noticed was that it felt just as good quality as I expect of their car seats.

The wide array of features and accessories of the City n Move were demonstrated to me. Lots of things that you would pay extra for elsewhere such as a cup holder or a large thick hood that comes all the way down. Perhaps the thing which stood out for me was the fact that when folded, the City n Move stood up on its own. I wish more pushchairs did this!

I'm looking forward to seeing the City n Move in the UK soon. Note: I am a product ambassador for Kiddy - this doesn't mean that I receive payment for blog posts, but it does mean that I receive products for review occasionally. This was the first time I had seen the City n Move.