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Graco Mosaic Travel System
by Nursemum
The Graco Mosaic travel system is a pushchair with an attaching baby car seat. It Is suitable from the birth to 3 years. The Mosaic is made from a lightweight aluminium frame and has an umbrella folding mechanism. The car seat clicks in easily to the pushchair and the hood from the pushchair and car seat form a nearly complete canopy ... over the baby, keeping it draft free and cosy. When removing the car seat a red button is pushed and seat easily removed.
For older babies and toddlers the pushchair can be used on its own, it has a 5 Point safety belt and the pushchair an be reclined until nearly flat for those sleepy toddlers. There is a big shopping basket under pushchair and numerous pockets on the back of the pushchair, great for mobile phone or child's drink. The travel system also includes a rain cover which easily attaches and can be stowed in shopping basket when not in use.
The car seat can either be fitted into a car with a Graco base, sold separately, or can be fitted with the seat belt. As the car seat is slightly bulky I personally found that the seat belt wasn't long enough in some car makes and therefore a base was required, which at £20 is a costly extra.
I have found this travel system very sturdy and excellent for long shopping trips. A buggy boards attaches easily to the back for when kids get tired. However,the so called lightweight frame is pretty heavy and I struggle to carry it. Another slight problem is that when the car seat is attached the shopping basket is not useable as the weight of the seat compacts it to nothing. Apart from a few things I have found the Graco Mosaic travel system a very good buy at £150 and I would definitely recommend to anyone.
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Mama and Papas Zoom Pram and Stroller
by robosharkatron
Pushchairs are serious business. A good pushchair can be a godsend; a bad pushchair can seem like a creation of the devil himself. So it's important to know what you're buying before you splash your cash. They're not cheap either. They should be seen as an investment because, like I said, a quality push chair can make all the difference. ... At £300, this pushchair isn't inexpensive, but I feel like it's worth it.
It's very easy to use. It's obvious how to fold and unfold it and I've never had to check the instructions. Some pushchairs are nearly impossible to use. It's a very light piece of equipment too, so you don't have to wrestle with it to get it to fold down. Despite its lightweight, it still feels very substantial and well made. I imagine it could take a few knocks and come out alright.
It's practical. The shopping basket is perfectly large and has extra pockets for keeping things like the rain cover in.
The fact that this doubles up as a carrycot is very useful too. It's very good for when you want to move your sleeping child into the push chair without waking them.
I also like the fact that the seat can face both ways, so when your baby's younger, you can have them facing you and then when they grow up a little bit more they can be turned round so that they can see where they're going. The way the seat is angled allows for good visibility for your little one.
Not that aesthetics particularly matter, but I do like the look of this pushchair. It is also possible to buy accessories and add ons which fit with the style of the push chair. For example, I currently have my eye on a parasol, which is good for baby, but also looks nice too.
It doesn't handle as well as some other push chairs I've used over the years, but this might just be a matter of taste. I've read reviews from other people saying that this push chair handles brilliantly so maybe it's just me! I have also found that the closing mechanism was a bit sticky when the pushchair was new but, having used it for a few months; it seems to have loosened off and improved. The pushchair also boasts that it will fit into small cars, well, so far, I have to say, I'm not too sure about that one. I have a fairly average sized car and it fits in mine fine, but I have tried to put it into my friend's car before (which isn't particularly small) and it wouldn't fit. The tyres look a little bit cheap too. They're sort of naff plastic as opposed to air filled. I wouldn't be surprised if I have to replace them at some point in the future.
Overall, I'm very happy with this push chair. It has its down sides, but I think it's still probably miles ahead of the competition.
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Quinny Senzz Pushchair
by PerfectPeaches
When my daughter became older she no longer needed such a bulky pushchair which at the time was my beloved Quinny Buzz and I decided that I no longer wanted the bulk of heaving a heavy pushchair into and out of my car which although the Quinny Buzz was a wonderful pushchair it was just unneeded so at the time I originally opted for the ... Quinny Zapp which although great my daughter was just too small for it even at a year old so the search resumed and so did the Quinny Buzz!
After looking around for a while I happened to be on the Kiddicare website having a browse at their sale and saw the Quinny Senzz reduced to a rather reasonable price of £99.00 with a saving of over £100.00! I thought this was a great deal and decided the next day to take a trip to Kiddicare which is about a 20 minute drive from us to go and try the Quinny Senzz out as knowing my daughter is incredibly petite that she needed to fit it properly and obviously to be comfortable.
Needless to say about an hour later after visiting and trying the Quinny Senzz I came away with it but in the Deep Berry version. The Quinny Senzz comes in a choice of four colours; Deep Berry, Black Rickey, Green Henry and Brown Slade. Whilst the colours are not as imaginative as the Buzz or Zapp they are quite plain in comparison but for me they are ideal although the Deep Berry is the only 'girly' colour it would have been nice to have had another choice but hardly a problem especially for the price I bought it at.
~ So what is it? ~
The Quinny Senzz is a lightweight pushchair which is made by Quinny and is an easy to manoeuvre pushchair which can easily be folded flat to either lie down or stand on its own making it an incredibly easy pushchair to use for everyday tasks. Unlike the Quinny Zapp (not the Xtra) it will recline to make your child as comfortable as possible, it has 3 reclining positions from sitting up right to lying down. The Quinny Senzz can also be fitted with the car seat adaptors so can be combined with the Max Cosi carry cots and car seats.
The pushchair can be used from 6 months and obviously by birth if using the car seat adaptors right up to toddler age. My daughter is 22 months and fits perfectly into the Quinny Senzz and still has plenty of growing room in it. However, it does stipulate that the maximum wait it can carry is 15kg. The total weight of the pushchair is 10.2kg which I find incredibly lightweight, the size of it is 74 x 64 x 20.5cm which does make it a little wider than most but it does have an incredibly slim frame.
~ What it comes with ~
One thing that drew me to the Quinny Senzz and not just the price was what it comes with. Most brands get you to buy all the accessories separately making it quite an expensive purchase. However, the Quinny Senzz comes complete with the shopping basket, PVC raincover, sun canopy, car seat adaptors as well as wind shields. You will find all these items in the box it comes with together with a booklet of instructions and all the information you will need about the pushchair itself.
~ The Pushchair ~
To look at the Quinny Senzz does look a bit unusual and to start with I was unsure whether I actually liked what I looked like. The silver frame is slightly curved at the sides and is one long piece of metal - the handle is also the frame although it is covered with a softer, grippier type material. There is a plastic foot rest which is already in built within the frame which is great in colour. The seat which has been shaped for a natural fit is lovely and padded with a 5 point harness to ensure your child is safe. The straps going over the shoulders have removeable pads should you want to remove them to wash which is great with sticky little hands everywhere. These straps can also be moved into two heights depending on how tall your child is which is ideal although I haven't had to use them higher slots just yet! The pushchair four slim wheels which are attached to the frame already so you don't have to worry about getting them secure.
The straps are adjustable but the one design feature I don't like is that they clip into little fabric loops which can come out easily especially when you are trying to get your child in and out. There have been times which the strap has just come undone by itself which is a bit annoying and not to mention a bit unsafe! Fortunately however, these straps are adjustable enough to keep my daughter secure as I found with a lot of other pushchairs the straps were still just too loose on her as she is so small but these fit just right.
The shopping basket fits just under the pushchair and can be a challenge to fit! There is a small nylon strap which attaches to the front and the back of the basket (the widest end) goes over the bar at the bottom of the pushchair and zips along so it is securely in place. The sun canopy is very round in shape and reminds me on a mushroom cup! It is already included with the pushchair when you purchase it and does come separately. However, it simply slots into the plastic slots on either side of the frame, a job which will take literally a few seconds! It then folds over the front of the pushchair and at the back and has a see through PVC window at the back. The sun canopy is made from the same material as the seat itself and is the same colour.
As mentioned above the pushchair comes complete with two wind breakers which are removeable should you not want them but they look like two triangular pieces of material which have popper fastenings and simply attach themselves to the sun canopy and they do help keep your child protected from the wind. The only thing I find is that because they are removeable they can be lost easily which I have done before, fortunately found them and now keep them in my car! The PVC raincover fits the whole pushchair easily and is elasticated around the footrest and comes up and over the canopy where it also fastens with poppers. The raincover is lightweight and easily folds into a small, compact size making it ideal to fit in the shopping basket or in the footwell of your car.
The one thing my other half has never got to grips with is how to fold it! It has been designed so you can fold it with just one hand but it is a lot easier using both hands and a lot quicker. Under neath the handle there is a large slim rectangular button which you will need to press in whilst at the same time there is a small plastic button which pulls up just on the inside of the frame at the left hand side which you pull up at the same time and then fold in the pushchair so it literally folds in half. To make it easier I find that putting my hand on the brake pedal steadies the pushchair and within a few minutes the pushchair is folded. However, it will only fold when the seat is upright and the canopy is folded. There is a clip on the side which can go over the frame keeping it folded as well as a carry handle making it easy to transport.
~ My Thoughts ~
After initialling not being overly keen on the design I felt it looked a bit odd I now love it and couldn't be happier with my purchase. I find the pushchair is incredibly easy to use and is very lightweight which is what I was wanting from downgrading from the Quinny Buzz. I find the seat is incredibly padded and my daughter hopefully finds it incredibly comfortable to sit in - she hasn't moaned about it so far! The seat is also a nice shape which fits around her rather than the usual bucket shaped seats you can get.
The only thing I don't like about the pushchair is how it folds flat and although it is lightweight and it can stand upright by itself once folded (this is neither here or there to me) is that it folds into a square shape which does take up a lot of room. I have an estate car so I can fit it in easily but if you have a smaller car then it would take up at least the back seat which is a shame given how compact it is when unfolded.
However, all in all I really like this pushchair and given it is generally used on a daily basis and still works perfectly and does exactly what I want it to then to me it is definitely money well spent. Would I recommend? Of course! If wanting a decent lightweight pushchair which is easy to fold and easy to manoeuvre then this should at least be trialled. My only issue is the one above and for that I give it 4 stars.
~ Useful Information ~
Brand: Quinny
Price: From £200.00
Availability: Quinny Stockists in stores and online
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