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Chicco Ct 0.1 Race
by darren55
Having two young boys pushchairs and strollers have become a part of our life for the last three years, we've had countless and the amount we've spent is best not tallied up. We bought the Chicco pushchair when our previous Maclaran pushchair gave up the ghost after last winters travails. We bought the pushchair for around £110 and so ... far it has been a decent investment. The Chicco pushchair is a pushchair which is in the mega pushchair catergory, big wheels, chunky chassis and a solid frame make it perfect for pushing around in winter.
The pushchair is red with black trim, has a hood, an under-carriage and the handles are two seperate spurs rather than one long bar like some pushchairs. The undertra will comfotably hold a little bag of shopping, jumpers, coats, a bottle of milk etc and the frame is solid enough to wrap a bag of shopping around the handles (I know you shouldn't but everyone does). The handles are foam lined and are warm in the worst weather and the pushchair comes with a waterproof overall and footmuffs can be bought but we bought ours for a one year old so never bought them.
The child inside
The pushchair works by the old fashioned sports belt principle, two belts come down to clip into a holder. The baby is then secure and can be tightened by pulling the lead through the clip as with all pushchairs, car seats, strollers etc. There are neck protectors and the seat can be pushed down to allow the child to sleep by pulling a lever at the back of the pushchair.
Folding
The pushchair can be folded onto itself very easily and has a clip which maintains the shape once pulled doown. The pushchair pulls down by pressing a lever of the right and then using your foot to press a holder in the middle of the back of the pushchair which then collapses the pushchair. Putting the chair back up is the opposite movement, and the chair clips into place by placing your food in the holder and pushing down until there is an audible click.
This is a very good pushchair, a bit expensive but sturdym strong and very durable. It folds down very easiy and putting the chair back up is very quick and simple. There is even enough space for two children to ride in the chair providing one is holding the others back.
A cracking buy and should last this winter with ease.
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Britax B-Mobile 4
by Red51
When I was pregnant I went around the local baby shops looking for the perfect pushchair and was overwhelmed with the choice there is out there.
I finally worked out a checklist of what I needed/wanted in a pushchair-
1 - it had to fold down compact enough to fit in my boot (new style Mini)
2 - It had to be compatible ... with a car seat, so I could use it as a travel system
3 - I wanted a car seat that was Isofix compatible
4 - it had to be cheap enough for me to afford it!
The Britax B-Mobile fit the bill.
~ Cost and Availability ~
As Britax is a large name in the pushchair world, so is available from most shops that sell pushchairs. They normally retail for around £140, however, I kept an eye on the prices online and managed to get it from Tesco Direct in the sale for £89. The reason it was so cheap was that I got the old model, there was an updated model in 2011, which as far as I can see it is only colours which differ.
~ The pushchair ~
The pushchair is a basic pushchair and doesn't come with any extras i.e. cosy toes, rain cover etc so these are all an extra cost which need to be accounted for.
The chair can be used from birth as the seat can lay completely flat, however, my daughter did look very small in the chair and I mainly used the car seat attached to the pushchair frame when she was new born as it looks so much cosier.
The chair says it can be used up to 15kg, which I would say around 3 years old.
The chair comes with a 5 point harness with removable shoulder pads. This means that the child is held in the chair securely. They are easily adjusted with the usual sliding fittings.
The recline is very simple to adjust, just release a clasp at the back and move the strap to the height you want. This is good, as my daughter now wants to sit up straight, but often falls asleep when we go for a long walk, so when she falls asleep I lay her back. The movement is very smooth so it doesn't wake her up.
It has a foot brake on the back wheels, with just a foot push button on the right side. I have found that this can be a little stiff and sometimes gets stuck and you have to wiggle the wheel slightly until the break bar is in the wheel straight to be able to release. I also found that it is not easy to release when wearing flip flops or open toed sandals as it is just a plastic tab which you flick up and down, I ended up using my hand to release. However, when the break is on, the wheels do not move at all, so it does do the job well.
The front wheels can be free moving (like trolley wheels) or locked in place. I am not sure for what reason you would want it locked in place, as I find the chair extremely difficult to move around when the wheels are locked at the front. I am sure some people like this but I cannot get on with it at all. However, it is easy to lock and release the wheel with a kick of a push tab on each wheel at the front.
It comes with a basket underneath the chair, it is not the biggest basket in the world, but big enough to put a bag of potatoes (I walk to my local green grocers!). The basket has mesh sides so if it is wet out I wouldn't recommend putting anything there that you mind getting splashed.
The chair is only forward facing, which I was a little sad that I couldn't stare at my little girl while walking around, however, now she is a bit older she loves looking around when we are out so this is fine. As I said above when she was small I mainly used the car seat in the pushchair which is rear facing so I could stare at her all I wanted!
The wheels are solid plastic so puncture resistant (which wasn't something I even thought of when looking for a pushchair).
The chair comes with a shower proof sun hood, this covers over the top of the chair, and has a little clear window which you can uncover to look down at your baby (mine is always open and I peek every now and then). At the back of the hood there is a little pocket, which is not huge (you still need a bag), but is handy for quick access to things like your mobile/purse/dummy.
All the seat fabrics clip off for a proper clean, they are clipped using a large press studs which are a bit stiff to push and can hurt your fingers, however, these keep the seat safely in place.
The chair comes in a range of colours, black, grey, red and aqua blue. I have black which looks very classy and doesn't get dirty easily.
The push handle is a bar handle which is quite chunky with a soft spongy grip all along the handle which is nice to hold onto. It is also the perfect size to put those buggy clips on which hold your carrier bags.
When folded the chair is extremely compact, I don't have the most family friendly car (new Mini), which as you expect has a very tiny boot. When folded down it measures only 27cm * 62cm * 88cm, so should fit in any car boot. The back wheels are detachable, and you do have to remove them when you put it in my boot, which can be a bit annoying especially when it is wet outside, but most cars you would not need to do this.
To fold down the chair is quite simple just press the stop lock down with your thumb and pull the locks up on both sides of the handle simultaneously and the pushchair folds down. When folded it has a clip which holds the pushchair in place.
Another slightly annoying thing about this chair is the back wheels stick out to the side of the pushchair frame, which I keep catching on stands in shops (not managed to know anything completely down yet).
~ Compatible accessories ~
As the pushchair comes with basically nothing, you have to shell out extra for accessories:
Rain cover - the Britax raincover costs around £10-15, this fits onto the hood on the pushchair and to the frame using Velcro tabs. This is a bit fiddly, but does make sure my little girl is nice and dry underneath.
Cosy toes - I bought the Britax branded cosy toes for around £35-40, which simply sits in the seat with holes for the harness to poke through. Naively I presumed you had to buy the cosy toes to go with the pushchair, however, looking around the non branded names, they look like they would fit fine and would have saved me a lot of money. However, I think a cosy toes is a must for this pushchair, as without, it wouldn't be very practical in the colder months. The cosy toes has a lovely soft fleece inside, and is quite thick so is very cosy inside, as it can be cold sitting still in a pushchair. The top of the cosy toes can be folded down, held down with little toggle, if the child wants to sit up straight and look around, or be zipped up to the top so when your child is laying back or sleeping it acts as a windbreaker to their face.
~ Travel system ~
The pushchair came with adapters which mean the Britax Baby Safe SHR car seat can easily clip into the chair. It uses a one hand button press release system, which makes attaching and removing the car seat from the pushchair is really easy.
You can also get carry cot (£120) & soft carry cot (£80) which can attach to the pushchair and your baby can lay completely flat. I didn't see the need for this as I didn't take my daughter for very long walks when she was young. It may be useful if you are intending on walking around for hours, your baby would be more comfortable. However, as the pushchair does lay completely flat I didn't think I would need this. Also a carry cot would not fit in my car boot in addition to the pushchair.
~ Conclusion ~
On the whole this is a great pushchair and meets my needs, there are just a couple of niggly issues. However I would recommend this if you need a compact pushchair.
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