Great but.......you will want a stroller as well! (Urban Detour Xtreme Travel System)

Member Name: jungleyanto

Product:	Urban Detour Xtreme Travel System
Date:	13/03/06 (1591 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Off road capability, manouverability

Disadvantages: Size, weight, possibility of punctures

This three wheel travel system from Mothercare seems to offer everything and although it does many jobs well there are some times when you will want a lightweight stroller as well.
The system comes with an integrated baby seat which can be used up to around 12 months. This is a distinct bonus because if your baby has fallen asleep in the car you do not have to wake him/her up when you take him/her out, you just slot the whole bundle into the system. The care seat is well designed and was amongst the safest in it's class when we got ours a year ago.

-The Car Seat-

This is useable from birthup to twelve months (unles your child is unusually large). the seat has an easily adjusted three point harness which is well padded. The seat has a carry handle which is moveable to allow the seat to be either used as a rocker or to be static. the seat is straightforward to fit into a car and will fit most cars (the exception being sports cars with very small back seats). The seat also has a gauge to show you that the seat is fitted into the vehicle at the correct angle. The chair weight 4.2kg and has a small folding hood.

-What's good about the car seat?-

The car seats good points are the ease with which the child can be transferred from car to push chair without waking it. Another good point is the safety the seat offers. The design of the carry handle to allow it to be rocked or remain static is good as well.

-What's bad about the car seat?-

Not a lot really, there could be some sort of extra cover to protect from rain when transporting the child from car to building or vice versa.

-The Pushchair-

The three wheel pushchair can be used on it's own or with the Car Seat mentioned above. On it's own it will accomodate a child from birth to around 18 months or more depending on the size of your child. The pushchair is easy to fold, but not very easy to fold one handed as Mothercare claim. The chair weighs in at a substantial 14kg. When folded the chair is still quite bulky and will fit in most car boots from Polo/Fiesta/Corsa sized cars upwards there will not be mutch room left for shopping, dogs, paragliders etc. One problem I find a pain is that it is not very easy to move the chair around any distance when it is folded, there seems to be no easy way of doing it without one part or another catching the ground. The chair has a five point harness which is easy to adjust and appears comfortable for the liltlle 'un. The seating position when used without the car seat is fully adjustable by means of a quick release strap to the rear of the seat. This can be set to an almost flat position when the tike is asleep. My only bicker is that the most upright position is not quite upright enough. The chair has quite a substantial hood which, when used with the hood on the baby seat gives pretty good protection against rain. When used without the seat the hood protects against the sun but not rain (an additional rain cover is included, which is highly effective but quite bulky). The hood has some small mesh side pockets which are quite handy, and some transparent vieving windows that are well situated. The material covering the chair and the car seat is tough material which is fairly easy to clean andquite difficult to damage. The material should last quite a long time. There is a shopping shelf/basket underneath which will hold about two full plastic bags of shopping. At the front of the chair there is a bumper bar which offers effective protection to the child.

-What's so good about the push chair?-

The best thing about the push chair is that it is very maouverable, easy to push and easy to turn. It is stable for a three wheeler and has a good level of built-in suspension in the frame work. The pneumatic tyres also offer a good level of suspension. All this makes for a smooth ride on most surfaces and best of all with its large wheels, pneumatic tyres and good ground clearence it is capable of going on surfaces other than just tarmac and pavements. I've taken this baby through sand, mud, snow and up and down steep, stoney foot paths on the welsh hills (no, not mountains, hills) and it's never really failed.Okay it doesn't offer the level of suspension a Silver Cross offers but then you wouldn't want to take an £800 pram off the beaten track. If your into walking and you want a pushchair that can with you then you could do a lot worse.

-What's bad about the push chair?

The main problem for most will be the size and weight. If you have a small car boot or want to carry a load of other stuff around you will want to get a lightweight stroller. the same goes if you use public transport a lot, and the same goes if you are travelling abroad by plane. Personally I would go for both, an urban detour for when your walking for long durations and/or on uneven surfaces, and a lightweight stroller such as a Maclaren for Planes, buses and when you need extra space in the car boot. The only other problem is the posibility of a puncture. I've never had one but I've got friends who have and pushing it is apparently something of a nightmare. As any good cyclist will tell you, invest in a spare inner tube and carry it with you, along with the included pump and spanner, at all times probably worth getting a couple of tyre levers as well.



-What else do you get?-

You also get a cosy toes cover which is fur lined and very warm. There is also a matching baby change bag which is good.

You get a raincover which is easy to fit once you've done it a couple of times. The rain cover is quite heavy and bulky though and could be mage neater and smaller.

You get a padded head support for the car seat which helps to stop the nippers head from lolling roung too much when you turn a corner.

Rather ominously you get a pump and a spanner (why no spare inner tube and tyre levers???).

Summary: A great stroller for those who want to go walking on footpaths. Bit big and a bit heavy.