Full of tricks (Jane Powertrack Matrix)

Member Name: wishywalshy

Product:	Jane Powertrack Matrix
Date:	31/01/03 (7775 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic looker, Comfy and stylish, convenient and adaptable

Disadvantages: Limited instructions, No runaway strap, Difficult to fix a buggy board to.

Jane? (Pronounced Hannay)Matrix fully reclining carseat with Powertrack ATP frame
An innovative carseat/carrycot/three wheeler travel system designed for ultimate comfort.
Boasting the only fully reclinable carseat on the market with all of the comfort and you would expect from a carseat retailing for around #150, and all the elegance and safety features you would require from the matching three wheeler.
Combined this little lot costs around 350 which includes some accessories.

Deciding on which pram to buy for your little bundle is never an easy choice, especially when your requirements are very specific.

Why were my requirements so specific I hear you ask?????
My daughter, now 4 months old was born 3 months early and does not like to be sat up for long periods of time in a standard infant carrier/carseat.We wanted something that would allow her to remain flat while she was out and about .

The car is a Toyota Townace with lap belts fitted throughout the rear. Difficulty being is that all other infant car seats can only be secured in a lap and diagonal belt.

New research has shown that it is beneficial for babies to travel lying flat and aids their digestive and respiratory systems instead of hunching them up and hindering them.
Please check out this link to confirm my claim
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1526517.stm

Eden has had breathing problems from birth so I certainly did not want to contribute to her ill health.

A three wheeler was an essential factor too, some of you may know that in a previous life I was an Organic farmer, so rugged terrain is our domain.

I am not the tallest person on the planet therefore adjustable height had to have a bearing.

Anyone would have thought that this would be an easy task really. We knew what we wanted yet couldn?t find one for looking.
As Eden?s discharge date was looming nearer we still didn?t have the perfect pram in sigh
t.
Stumbling around the internet at some ungodly hour of the night I came across a UK site called Two
Left Feet, boasting a great range of three wheeler travel systems.

Lo and behold the perfect solution a carseat that turns into a carrycot at the pull of a lever, and can travel safely whilst conforming to all safety regulations here in the UK, both reclined and in the seating position.
In the carrycot position it can be used up to approximately 10 months or the appropriate weight, and in the seated position is safe until around 18 months.

The seat attaches to a super light aluminium oval famed thee wheeler, with state of the art engineering.

Deciding that this was definitely the pram for us we ordered one online.

Delivery was swift and the pram arrived on time in excellent order.

Assembly was easy and minimal.( unfortunately the clips to connect the seat to the pushchair had been forgotten, although they were sent the next day)


Matrix fully reclining carseat

Manufactured in substantial moulded plastic this carseat is larger than any other carseat you will ever see.
Reclinable from a gentle seated position through to lying completely flat it is adaptable and suitable from birth.
The Matrix is supplied with a luxuriously padded cover, which is removable for washing(a bit of a tight fit though)
The harness in the seated position is three points, adjustable with a single pull strap and several seat siting holes for growing children.
It is easy to fasten and has no get hot in the sun parts. It closes with a reassuring clunk.

When using the seat as a carbed or carrycot the occupant is restrained by a wide secure cotton strap with Velcro fastening.(I know it doesn?t sound too secure, but believe me this seat was rated the second best in a field of fifty two in Which magazines latest tests tests.
I am quite satisfied that it is adequate.

Securing the ca
rbed is learning experience in itself.
Once mastered is easy and very convenient and safe.
The carbed c
an be secured in the rear of a car using any combination of lap or lap and diagonal belts.
It lays over two seats and is secured at each end by anchor points, a little tricky to begin with but again with a little practice becomes second nature.
May I recommend several tryouts before you collect your baby from hospital.

******IMPORTANT NOTE HERE***********
Do NOT use any carseat in the front of a car fitted with an airbag.
It is highly dangerous and will likely result in serious injury or death(Unless you have a deactivator chip inside your seat which this does NOT)

The seated position is easy to install, like other carries/carseats utilizes the lap and diagonal belt in the front

I personally find it easier to install by slightly reclining my own cars seat and tilting the babies seat forward(Why do they make those darn front seat belts so little LOL)and feeding the seatbelt around the clearly marked routings.
Supplied with the seat is a full length cotton mattress that is comfy for heavy sleepers, which has guide holes for the waist belts to allow comfortable transportation. The seat itself is wide enough to accommodate most movement monitor sensor pads with no problem.
The whole seat cover, hood, apron, mattress and pads etc are all fully machine washable for easy cleaning.

The carseat itself is quite heavy, (3.3kilos) and is kitted out with an integral hood which attaches to the handle of the seat. The hood is adjustable with a little fiddling on both sides.
Accessories included are head hugger, chest and shoulder pads, mattress for the base and a lovely snug fabric apron which fits when the seat in any position.
Available in a variety of colourschemes.

Fitting the seat to the chassis takes less than a couple of seconds again with clearly marked fittings and can be released
from the chassis equally as quickly simply by holding two catches and lifting the Matrix off.

Downsides
<
br>Apart from the instructions for fitting the seat being a little vague and
the overall weight I have yet to find one.

The Powertrack ATP

An extremely lightweight (about 7.5 kg,) three wheeler designed for safety, comfort, style and practicality.
With oversize (33X21mm )aluminium oval tubing this has got to be one of the lightest strongest All Terrain Pushchairs available.
The seat is generously wide and fully adjustable to suit babies from birth.
It is machine washable on the coolest setting and really does look comfy.
Fitted with a 5 point fully adjustable harness and padded removable bumper bar, the whole seat unit easily unpops from the frame to accommodate the Matrix or the Rebel carseat simply by fixing the special clasps to the frame(These can clips remain in place when the pushchair is folded)
With comfortable armrests the seat will easily accommodate a growing child.

The pushchair folds easily and can be put up and down quickly, however it cannot be done one handeldly.The safety catches are efficient and the pushchair can be neither folded nor unfolded without utilisng them.
The stiffness of the mechanism I put down to being so new.

Instead of the huge bulk of earlier 3 wheelers the Powertrack folds telescopically and locks closed allowing the pram to stand on its own when folded.

All of the wheels remove easily either by small clasps on the frame for the back ones or a sprung butterfly nut for the front.
A word of warning though, inside the back wheel frame is a black disc which is supposed to stay on the wheels when removed from the frame, ensure that these are clipped firmly into place as they can be easily lost especially when hurrying a small child/ren into your car.
With the wheels in place it will fit into a standard saloon car boot. We manag
ed to fit a luggage for 3 and the frame into the boot of a Mitsubishi Gallant.
The handle which is nicely foam padded adjust
s into 4 positions can be folded in tightly again reducing the bulk. Adjusting from 96cm through to 107 cm it suits my short stature well.
Even the footplate can be folded against the frame, hugely reducing the amount of space needed for transportation.

Boasting two different settings for the suspension the pneumatic quick release wheels fitted with ball bearings allow the pram to glide effortlessly over any terrain ensuring the most comfortable ride possible for the occupant.
A small pump is supplied which is stowed on the back axle.

The brakes are definite and sure, and equipped with an adjustable handbrake on he handlebar this buggy not only goes everywhere, it can stop on a sixpence.

A generous shopping basket, complete with easy access and a waterproof hood(but no apron) tops this shining example of Spanish design and engineering.

This pushchair is an absolute dream to push over all terrains, I recently took it to Sweden and was extremely happy with the performance in the snow(and boy is was deep and cold)

So that is all the goodbits, what about the bad bits, well to be honest there aren?t many at all.

The handle operation is a little stiff to begin with(a little WD40 does the trick)
They do not make a rain cover which covers the whole pram.
There is no runaway strap.(Fitted to many other prams)
Due to the shape of the frame tubing it is difficult to fit a buggy board (Though not impossible).
The apron is not supplied with the pushchair.

Overall the benefits of this system outweigh the bad points, and in my opinion is well worth the asking price of around 350 pounds complete.

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