A Day In My Life With iCandy

The lovely people at iCandy kindly sent me one of their new Raspberry Urban Strollers with the instructions to show you a day in my life with my puschair in toe.

Now I do an awful lot of walking so this was a great task for me to partake in. I will apologise in advance and say that my life may not be the most interesting but do keep reading if only for the pushchair wonders you are about to witness….

I'm A Pushchair Addict

Ok I wanted to join in with the country kids linky this week but I was struggling to come up with ideas for a post, now I know this isn't strictly outdoors but I use a pushchair outside :)

I admit it, I'll put my hands up and tell you I am a pushchair addict. I really can't help it, think about how boys are about cars, well that's how I am about pushchairs, got to love a new set of wheels ;)

And lets be honest they do come in handy when wanting to get out and about and enjoying the outdoors.

Daddy Hazelden thinks I've got a problem and I tell him each time a new pushchair comes that it is definitely the last one well........

This lovely Baby Jogger City Mini just happened to arrive this week, my excuse, I haven't owned a purple pushchair yet, I can see you all nodding and agreeing that my reason is a very valid one.

As I said though, pushchairs allow me to go out whilst Layla gets to sit in comfort, maybe take a nap or two and it is like a mini adventure every time we try out a new pushchair and of course accessories are a must, I already have a new footmuff in the way ready for those school runs in the Winter months.

I had a think about it and in total I have only owned 12 pushchairs, which compared to some people I know (and you know who you are), is minimal. Although 6 of those pushchairs have been Layla's and she is only 13 months old, oops. In my defence though, Layla is my last ever baby so I have to make the most of the pushchair years and there are just so many that I need to try!!!

So who else has this addiction, is there a cure??

xxxx

Maxi Cosi Loola Review

Here we are, the final challenge as a Maxi-cosi reporter has been issued, so far you have seen :

* the unpacking of the Loola
* finding hidden treasures with the Loola
* taking a trip about town with the Loola

The final challenge was to provide you all with my expert review, what do I truly think of this pushchair and will I be recomending it to other parents?

Maxi-Cosi are part of the Dorel company. This brand makes car seats, pushchairs, baby carriers and all the accessories to go with these products.

I actually had a Loola way back in 2008, I have to admit, it wasn't one of my favourite pushchairs back then, so when I was chosen to be one of ten Maxi-Cosi reporters, I was very interested to see just how the Loola had been changed and adapted over the years.

What you get in the box


In the box you receive the chassis, the seat unit, the hood, a bumper bar, a raincover, a parasol clip and the instruction manual. I was also provided with the car seat adaptors and the baby nest. You can also purchase a foldable carrycot separately.

I was sent the Maxi-Cosi Loola in the modern black colourway but it is also available in origami rose and graphic crystal. I love the colour, keeps it neutral but the subtle pattern that covers half of the pushchair keeps it unique and adds that touch of style.

As you saw from the first challenge, putting the pushchair together was fairly straight forward, the wheels were already attached (one less job), so all that you have to do is unfold the chassis, clip on the seat and zip on the hood to the seat unit. This had me loving the Loola already, being a blonde at heart, the simpler things are kept the better!!!

The Chassis

The chassis is nice and sturdy, although with this sturdiness does come heaviness too. Myself and Daddy Hazelden have found the frame both heavy to lift, which you need to do to get it in and out of the boot and also quite heavy when moving up kerbs.

In the pictures I had seen, the four wheels looked quite small, so I was surprised when I got the Loola out of the box just how big the wheels were and they handle well on even the bumpiest of surfaces. 

One of my favourite features is how you can lock and unlock the swivel wheels. There is a button that can be slid up and down on either side of the chassis, this saves you from bending down and getting your hands dirty on the wheels.

The brake is simple to operate. There are two buttons, one white and one red at the bottom of the chassis. Press on the red to lock the brake and press on the white to unlock it.

The basket is a fairly decent size, I managed to get a lot of bags in there on the last day of term, you know all the projects they have accumaulated over the school year. The one thing that hasn't changed is the bars of the frame that run across the basket, this adds to the sturdiness of the frame and I think it allows for slightly heavier baggage.

The adjustable handle definitely comes in handy with myself standing at 5ft 1 and Daddy Hazelden at 6ft, it was nice to be able to move the handle easily when we swapped and changed who was pushing. I would like to see some padding added to the handle, the square shape of it actually began to hurt my hands, especially when I had to push down quite hard to bump the pushchair up the kerbs.

The Seat

The seat unit is extremely spacious, my 3 year old had a little try in there and she was more than comfy and still had a bit of room to grow too. It is well padded and I like the added padding on the harness too. I have to confess to letting Layla eat in there when we were up the park having a picnic, panic not, the seat was easily wiped clean after, phew, there is also the option to remove the seat covers so that you can pop them in the washing machine.

The seat is so easy to recline, you only need the one hand to pull the lever on the back of the seat unit and the seat really does lie flat, ideal for both babies and toddlers. My favourite part about the seat is just how upright it sits. Layla likes to be nosey and I find most pushchairs are reclined slightly even when in their most upright position, so to be sat up properly makes a nice change. 

You can have it parent facing or forward facing, I much prefer having Layla parent facing as I like being able to talk to her face to face. I noticed that the seat unit seems to be higher up than previously, this is nice as I don't feel like I am looking down to talk to Layla.

The bumper bar is really handy. Not only have we been able to hang toys off of it to keep Layla entertained, she has also found it a lovely place to rest her feet and hold on to.

The hood is amazing. Not only is it extendable, providing great coverage from the sun, it sits quite high up as well, leaving plenty of room for your little one to grow. There is even a see through part so you can keep an eye on your little monkeys.

The Raincover

I was pleased to see that the raincover came included, I hate having to buy everything separately. It is also nice to see that they have put a lot of thought into the accessories as well as the pushchair itself. 

Easy peasy to put on the pushchair.  Just placing it over the top, pull down and place the elastic band at the bottom behind the chair. No need to fiddle about with loads of velcro parts, no trying to stretch it over the frame. It fits perfectly, yet still leaving plenty of room for your child to move in the seat underneath it.

The Fold

I love that the folding and unfolding of the Loola is still the same as when I previously had this pushchair. It is uncomplicated, put the handle to it's lowest height, pull up on the buttons just below the handle and push up the pedal at the back of the chassis. The great thing about the Loola now is that you can fold the pushchair with the seat unit attached in either forward or parent facing mode. The only thing you need to rememember if doing it when in parent facing mode is that you need to recline the seat a little first. It really is as compact as they say, we managed to fit it into our zaffira no problem.

Conclusion

So would I recommend this pushchair to other parents, yes I would. It has so many features that make it very practical. The fact that it lies flat means that you can indeed use it from birth but it is also nice that there is the option to buy the extras, like the baby nest, the car seat adaptors and the carrycot. It is a great every day pushchair that will last your child from birth right up until they are around three years old. The only real negative is the heaviness of the frame but I don't think anything can be perfect and in this case, the positives certainly outweigh the negatives. 

Disclaimer :this pushchair was sent to me free of charge as part of being a Maxi-Cosi reporter however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

The other end of town

Another week, another Maxi-Cosi challenge has been issued. So far you have seen me excitedly unpacking the pushchair and discovering hidden treasures in my town with the Loola as company.

This week, we have been challenged to take a trip from one end of our town to the other, seeing just how well the Loola copes with an obstacles on the way.

Now I am very lucky that where I live is only a 15-20 minute walk into town, depending on how many children I have with me at the time, Gracie with her little legs is slightly slower than the rest of us, bless her.

The kids were quite excited about what mummy had to do because the one thing at the other end of town is the library and seen as all of my children are little book worms, I couldn't think of a better place to take them.


However for this task, I found myself at a disadvantage because there isn't anything really exciting to look at along the way and of course I want you to be interested in my post, so what better way than to keep you looking than pictures with a funky background :)

The collage above shows our little journey, even Daddy Hazelden came along for the adventure. The Loola handles very well over normal paths, a very smooth ride for little miss Layla. Along the way we got to see the sights of our town including the police station where, as my kids will tell you, Uncle Alec made a visit too when he had a little too much to drink, he will never be allowed to forget this!! LOL.

One part of our journey that demonstrated the comfort of the Loola, was when we had to push it over a cobbled surface. You can see from the video below, that although shaky, Layla was not phased at all and infact thought it was fun to hear her own voice wobble as we went about our little ride.

To get up to the library, I had to push the pushchair up a steep ramp and around a couple of tight bends, this was easily achieved because of how light the  Loola feels when pushing it and the swivel wheels at the front allowed it to glide round the corners effortlessly.

Inside the library itself , there were three different surfaces to test out, carpet, tile and what I would describe as marble. The wheels never lost traction, no slip sliding around.

And of course at the end of it all, the kids ended up with a nice pile of books to keep them entertained for a little while atleast.

Another task complete and best of all, we managed to have another morning out as a family which didn't cost a single penny!!!

xxxx

Disclaimer : We were sent the Loola free of charge for reviewing purposes as part of being a Maxi-Cosi reporter however all thoughhts and opinions are my own.

Looking for hidden treasures

So whilst I was away on my jolly holidays, the second task for all us lovely Maxi-Cosi reporters was set.

This one was a tad trickier than the first task. We were asked to "rediscover" our own cities that we live in and find three places that we hadn't visited before. Coming back from holiday and not having any sleep, I was left looking at the task and drawing a big blank because I have lived in Dover for a long long time, so you would think that there would be nothing left to discover!!

This task actually came at a good time because Daddy Hazelden was off work, so he was able to come on our little adventure with us. We decided to jump in the car and have a drive around to see what we could uncover. This is where the compact fold of the Loola really worked well because with 6 of us in a car, it leaves very little boot space but the Loola slotted in nicely, no trying to fit it in like a puzzle piece.

We came across a lovely farm shop just on the outskirts of town. Somewhere that I had heard of but never actually visited.

We managed to pick up some lovely fresh cakes for the girls, I must admit I made them wait until we got home to eat them because I didn't want my shiny new pushchair covered in cake crumbs and cream. We also bought a little tipple of cider for mummy and daddy whilst we were there because it is nice to treat everyone in the family isn't it.

The whole place was easy to push the Loola around because it was all on flat ground and even though you had to step down to get into the shops, we didn't have a huge problem moving the pushchair up and down the steps, although I did find the Loola a little heavy when pushing down on the handle bar to bump it back up the steps.

Next stop on our tour of Dover was Dover castle.

I know what your thinking, you live in Dover and you have never visited the castle, well yes I have visited the castle but normally we just walk around the inside of the castle.

This time we decided to walk around the outside because this meant less steps to try and get up and down with the Loola.

It is quite a step hill walking up to the castle itself but the adjustable handle made it easier to push the pushchair up it.

It was surprising how well the wheels of the Loola coped on the cobbles around the grounds, a bit of a wobbly ride for Layla but she never complained and we still managed to steer in the right direction!!

Our last stop was the Western Heights, this is somewhere the kids have been with Daddy Hazelden before but mummy normally stays at home and lets them explore.

As you can see from the photo to the left, you get amazing views of the Dover port below.

There are quite a few paths that are fairly rocky so Daddy Hazelden actually carried the Loola over some parts, making use of his muscles but he did say that even with Layla seated in it, it wasn't too heavy, although he wouldn't want to be doing it on a daily basis!!

The hood came in handy with the sun beating down on us and also protected from the winds that were getting stronger the higher up we were going.

This task turned out to be a great one as it meant we got to spent time as a family and managed to discover a few things together and these are all places that we would definitely revisit at a later date, especially with another 5 weeks of Summer holidays to go!! Think we may explore further to see what other treasures we can find!!

xxxx

Disclaimer : We were sent the Loola free of charge for reviewing purposes as part of being a Maxi-Cosi reporter, however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Excited to unpack the pushchair, must be a mum thing

I was EXTREMELY excited when I got an email last week to tell me that I had been picked as one of ten other people to be a Maxi-cosi reporter and that I was going to be testing the newly improved Loola pushchair.

Well those of you that know, will know I am a huge pushchair addict, infact at this moment in time I have four pushchairs in my house, Daddy Hazelden thinks this is absurb, I on the other hand think I could do with atleast a couple more.

Being a Maxi-cosi reporter means that we will get set four tasks to complete with our pushchairs over a 4 week period. Our first task was to unpack and put together the Loola, now I bet you are all thinking that this task is way too easy, well yes it is simple but when you are rushing to to piece it together without looking at the instructions first (I may be talking about me) well then it could take slightly longer than anticipated.

Firstly let me just show you the box the Loola arrived in.

I have to say I was glad my mum was around when the pushchair arrived because it was well and truly suctioned in the box.

To get it out was like a game of tug of war, my mum held the box whilst I held on to the pushchair and we both pulled.

Luckily neither of us fell over in the process and as you can see we managed to release the Loola from the clutches of the cardboard box, you can now all breathe a sigh of relief, phew.

Now to admire all the lovely parts that came with the Loola :

* instructions (important part!!!)

* parasol clip

* bumper bar

* car seat adaptors

* seat unit

*chassis

* raincover

* baby nest

*hood


In the email we received about the first task, it did say in the worst case scenario we could read the instructions, so I took this to mean that I really should try without them first. Having had a Loola previously, I found it simple to unfold the frame, first moving the handle bar up by clicking the button on each side of the handle. Then I pulled up on the other white bits on the side of the frame, I really should learn the name for those. I then clicked the seat unit into place, one side at a time. Then I was left scratching my head, the frame seemed a tad wobbly, so I may have had a sneaky peek at the instructions and embarassingly realised that I had forgotton to push down the pedal in the middle of the frame at the back, blushes.

As I was putting together the pushchair I was making note of all the features :

* the seat unit can lie flat

* the harness has lovely padding

* well padded seat unit

* gated bumper bar

* front wheels can be locked using buttons on the frame rather than on the wheels (no dirty hands or bending down)

* easily accesable basket

* one hand recline

* adjustable handle height

One of the stand out features for me so far, is the hood. In this lovely sunny weather we are having at the moment, it is important for me to be able to shade Layla.

The hood attaches by clicking it into the sides of the chassis, zipping onto the seat covers and poppering over the frame at the top, nice and secure!!!

As you can see from the photo to the right, it has many positions, there is even a zip in the hood to extend it further, see the last picture.

The hood itself stands up quite high, which not only gives better coverage from the sun but I think this would allow a child on the taller side to have plenty of room too.

You can also see there is a plastic section which allows you to keep an eye on your little one without having to disturb them, great if they are napping because trust me, you never want to wake a sleeping baby!!!

One of the accessories that came with the pushchair was the raincover, I am really hoping that I don't have to use this any time soon but I thought I best work out how to use it just incase.

So easy to put on, just place over the top and pull down. Your little one won't get drenched waiting for you to fit it if you get caught in a sudden shower!!

There is an elastic loop at the bottom that gets over and behind the seat, no more naughtly feet kicking it off.

It is elasticated at the bottom which allows for stretching and longer legs to have room.

Vent holes on the side allow good air circulation without the child getting rain drops on them.

And it folds down to be very compact, so fits in the basket with ease.

For the grand finale, I had to learn how to fold the pushchair. Easy peasy and before you think it, I didn't look at the instructions this time. It is literally the unfolding process in reverse, put the handle into it's lowest pushing, pull up those button things that I don't know the name of, push up on the pedal at the back and the chassis will slide closed. I was more than a bit happy to find out that the frame can be collapsed with seat unit still attached but not only that, this can be done with the seat unit in either forward facing or parent facing mode, amazing I hear you all cry!!

After all the excitement, my girls informed me that none of what I have written was the best part of unpacking, oh no the best part for them was the cardboard box, so thank you Maxi-cosi for not only the puschair but the packaging too.  Have a look at the short video below just to give you an idea of what I mean.

There we have it, task one complete, looking forward to the next few weeks, keep an eye out for what happens next.

xxxx

Disclaimer : this pushchair was sent to me free of charge as part of being a maxi-cosi reporter however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Final Day With the Graco Evo Mini

Today was the last day of testing the Graco Evo Mini so we thought we would treat the Evo Mini to a nice trip to the beach.

It got to enjoy watching everyone eat ice creams.

It got to feel what it was like on pebbles (I'm told it was a bit bumpy)

And at the end of our little adventure it even got a carry from Daddy Hazelden to save it's poor wheels getting tired.

We here in the Hazelden Household have had a really great time testing the Graco Evo Mini and are quite sad that it is over!!!

xxxx

Disclaimer : I have been sent the Graco Evo Mini as part of an on going review, all thoughts and opinions are my own

The Graco Evo Mini Review

Graco are global brand that have gone from strength to strength. In recent years their range of products has expanded to include car seats, pushchairs, travel cots, travel systems and baby swings.

I was very happy indeed when I found out a month ago that I had been chosen by Graco to be one of five people lucky enough to test their new pushchair, the Graco Evo Mini.

What you get in the box

In the box you receive the pushchair itself, rear wheels, front swivel wheel, hood, raincover and instruction booklet. This pushchair is sold exclusively at Mothercare with a RRP of £179.99

We were sent the Graco Evo Mini in the Grenadine colourway, I have to say it wasn't the colour I would have picked but I really love it. In my opinion it is a mix between a red and an orange, very neutral, so suitable for both boys and girls. The Graco Evo Mini is also available in Latigo Bay. 

Piecing the pushchair together was ever so simple. Just a case of clicking in the wheels and poppering on the hood and basket, it is all explained nicely in the instruction booklet too, just incase you get a little stuck!!

The Chassis

The metal chassis is sturdy, I find a lot of strollers can feel like they would tip over but this is very solid.   It is also a look better looking in real life. In pictures it looks a bit plastic but I can assure you when up close and personal it has a really nice finish, I would describe the colur as gun metal.

All three wheels are made from solid rubber, no worrying about punctures and the front wheel can be locked or used in swivel mode. The swivel makes the pushchair very easy to manouvere, although I did find that it made a slight rattling noise when out and about.

The brake has a small pedal that can be pressed down on either side, giving a nice clicking sound as you push it down. Easy enough to do however I wouldn't recommend trying to take it back off with your feet if you're wearing flip flops as it can be a little stiff.

The basket I think has to be it's best feature!! For a stroller it extremely spacious, I managed to fit two big bags of shopping in there and it was fantastic for the school run. It is easily accesible, even when they pushchair is reclined.

The handle is about average height, around 102cm, it isn't adjustable, not the biggest problem but would have been nice if it was. As you can see from the photo below, all of my family members managed to test it out, even my tiny 4ft 11 mummy!!

The Seat

The seat itself is very spacious. It is nicely padded and it wipes clean, which is great if you have mucky toddlers. The Evo Mini was tested by my 3 year old and 8 month old daughters, as well as my 14 month old godson and 18 month old nephew. Even my 3 year old being at the top of the age bracket sat in there comfortably and because the pushchair is an extremely lightweight 6.2kg, even with my Gracie in there, it stayed light to push, even with only one hand on the handle and another child holding onto the frame.

The harness was a bit fiddly to adjust when pulling through the seat unit but was a lot simpler to adjust for the length. 

The seat can be reclined via a toggle at the back of the pushchair. I love the recline because you have more seating positions and the seat lies almost flat, so with the right accessories you may be able to use from birth. The thing I don't like about the toddler recline, is sitting it back up, not so bad with a baby, but with a heavy toddler it can take some effort.

The hood is quite large, providing suitable coverage from the sun. It is very strong, no being blown back in the wind but I was disappointed that there was no window in the hood, I didn't like not being able to see my little one. 

The raincover

This is very well designed. It fits the pushchair like a glove and can be put on with minimal effort, as shown here. It poppers round the bottom of the frame, meaning it can't be kicked off by fidgety feet. And when not in use, it folds down nice and small so you can pop it in the basket for safe keeping.

The Fold

The Graco Evo Mini is easy peasy to fold and the fact that you can do it with one hand was a plus for me, having four children around it is nice to always have one hand free!! I made a video to show you how easy it is to do, once folded it locks closed. The specifications when folded are 79 x 48 x 22 cm, making it nice and compact and it even folds down with the raincover still attached.

Conclusion

I have never been the biggest fan of strollers, I've always refused to use the mother in laws buggy but the Graco Evo Mini has well and truely changed my mind. With it's spacious seat and basket, as well as being unbelievably lightweight, it is suitable for any family. As explained in my review the only things I can complain about are the lack of window in the hood and that the handle isn't height adjustable but these are minor problems. I wouldn't hesistate to recommend this pushchair to others infact I have done nothing but tell people how amazing it is!!!

Disclaimer : This pushchair has been sent to me as part of an ongoing review, all thoughts and opinions are my own

The Graco Evo Mini in film

For those of you that perhaps haven't seen my tweets, I have put a few clips on You Tube showing different features of the Graco Evo Mini. So I thought I would put them all in this post for you to have a nosey at.

1. Introducing the Graco Evo Mini

2. A pushchair is a chair right?

3.  Even little girls can push the Graco Evo Mini

4. Folding the Graco Evo Mini

5. Fitting the raincover on the Graco Evo Mini

Happy watching

xxxx

Rainy Days With the Graco Evo Mini

Just before the sunshine made an appearance, there were a few days where the Graco Evo Mini's rain cover needed to be used.

I am really pleased with it. With some strollers the raincover can be quite flimsy or hard to fit, this raincover was the complete opposite.

To fit you just simply do up the velcro around the hood and the frame at the top and do up one popper around the front wheel at the bottom, I thought the popper was a nice touch as it means that when you have an older child in there, they can't kick it off. It covers the whole pushchair so your child and the seat stay dry.

You can roll the raincover back and keep it attached to the pushchair as the stroller still folds with it attached but it is also just as easy to take it off and store it in the basket as it folds down nice and compact!!

Below are a few pictures just to show you what I am talking about.

xxxx

Graco Evo Mini, bringing the family together

It has been over a week now since the Graco Evo Mini arrived in the Hazelden household and it has become the new family member!!

Both Layla and Gracie have been plonking their bums in the Evo Mini and it has been pushed by a lot of my family members.

Not only have my 7 and 5 year olds taken turns to push their sister's, so has Daddy Hazelden, Nannie Ros and Uncle Alec.

The photo to the left shows the lovely Nannie Ros (my mummy) pushing the pushchair.

She stands at a tiny 4 foot 11 inches tall.

She found the Graco Evo Mini comfortable to push although she did say should would prefer it if the handle were adjustable in height.

The photo to the right shows the kiddies Uncle Alec (my brother) having his turn at pushing the pushchair when he visited at the weekend.

He stands at just under 6 feet tall, so the opposite end of the spectrum to Nannie Ros.

Again he had no complaints about pushing the Graco Evo Mini, although when Gracie decided to lean forward in the seat he did find it a bit heavy to bump up the kerbs!!





I think this shows that the Graco Evo Mini is suitable for all family members, just another reason why I am finding it a great pushchair.

xxxx

Graco Evo Mini's First Outing

When the Graco Evo Mini pushchair arrived I couldn't wait to take it for a spin!! It was pushed up and down the living room while we waited for it to be time for the school run.

Strapping Layla in was very simple. I really like the fact that the harness has suitable padding around it, making it comfortable to have over your little ones. And even though Layla is quite small for her age, the seat padding made her look and feel nice and secure.

Layla was very happy sat in it, laughing away and because of the substantial size hood she was well covered from what little sunshine there was.

As you can see from the picture above, she had plenty of room. The only problem I had was that the material of the seat and the material of her snowsuit meant that she slid around a little.

Gracie held on to the frame whilst I pushed. She found it a little too tall for her small arms, she had to stretch a little to reach.

This pushchair is extremely light, so easy to manouever, even with Gracie holding on to it, Going up and down the kerbs was no problem, I even managed it when I was holding on to the handle with one hand. The handle height is just about right, I am 5ft 1 and it was comfortable enough for me, although it would be better if you could adjust the handle height.

The best feature I have found so far is the basket. I can't get over how spacious it is for a lightweight stroller because with most other buggies you find that the basket is either too small or not very accessible. As you can see from the photo below, I managed to fit it two school bags and two lunch boxes, still with room for more.

All in all a very successful first outing, I am looking forward to the next few weeks of testing, kids on half term next week, so lets see what we can get up to!!

xxxx

My First Impressions of the Graco Evo Mini

So for those of you that follow me on twitter and facebook, you will know that I was 1 of 5 lucky people chosen to test the new Graco Evo Mini pushchair.

The pushchair arrived on Friday afternoon and it was quickly removed from it's packaging and set up.

So what's in the box :

Graco Evo Mini seat unit in Grenadine/ chassis
Back wheels
Front swivel wheel
Hood
Raincover
Instructions

It was very easy to set up, simply clicking the wheels and hood into place and a couple of poppers to do up on the hood and basket. It was all clearly illustrated in the instruction booklet, so took all of 5 minutes to piece together.

Once put together, I was pleasantly surprised at how spacious it was, yet still remaining lightweight. With a lovely padded seat and a simple toggle cord for reclining on the back, meaning that it virtually lied flat, I could see how someone could use this pushchair from birth. The adjustable straps means that it suitable right up until your child is around three years old, although I must admit I found it a bit fiddly changing the height of the straps through the seat padding, what is it they say,  "practice makes perfect".

The basket is a decent size, normally strollers have small or inaccesible baskets but this one is ideal for school bags or maybe some shopping.

One of the Evo Mini's main features is it's one hand folding system. It is a simple process, there is a big button in the centre of the handle with a small button on the left hand side of the big button. You just pull the small button to the right with your thumb as you push up on the big button with the rest of your hand and push the handle forward. It literally folds in half, making it a very compact fold. 

My 3 year old couldn't wait to sit in "her" new pushchair, infact once sat in it, she remained in it for the afternoon whilst watching the TV, a good way to test it I thought.

As first impressions go, the Graco Evo Mini certainly made a good one with me. I made a little YouTube video, just to show the pushchair in a bit more detail. 

I am looking forward to taking the pushchair out for a spin and seeing how my mini testers find the ride. Watch this space for more updates, where might the Graco Evo mini visit??

xxxx

The Grand Unveiling Of The Graco Evo Mini

So yesterday the doorbell went and there was a UPS delivery van outside my door. I wasn't expecting a delivery so I was intriqued to find out what was in the massive box that had just been given to me.

I think these pictures give you a pretty good idea :

 The Graco Evo Mini had arrived

Time to piece it together :

And start checking out the features :

The picture to left shows :

 the toggles that are used to recline the seat unit                      
 the padded seat

 the spacious basket

The picture on the right shows :

the foam handle bar and button for collapsing

the pushchair in all its glory

the pushchair when folded down

Finally we had to let our little testers have a try in their new wheels :

Really looking forward to putting this pushchair through its paces over the next month.

xxxx