Excellent customer services (manufacturer), Very light buggy
Disadvantages:
Need to get hang of steering !
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
When my twins were born in 2002, I initially bought an umbrella fold Maclaren' twin traveller'. I chose that due to it being very narrow (which later became a disadvantage) It seemed fine until it began to get very difficult to steer when my boys became around 10 months. On top of that, the whole buggy collapsed at a year old!
So, I then had to find a replacement buggy. Mothers at my local twinsclub recommended 3 wheeler prams, as they are easy to push with bigger toddlers in. My priorities were; must be light to push, good on grass and pavement, still be good for shopping and comfortable for my boys. If it fit through the front door, that would be a bonus!
I narrowed my choices down to the mothercare 3 wheeler (around £200) and the instep nipper .(around £300) I even stopped people in the street that had these buggies to ask about them!! In the end we opted for the nipper because;
-at 9kg, it is the one of the lightest all terrain pushchairs on the market -at 77cms, it is much narrower than the mothercare (80+cm) -looks very sporty and easy to clean -excellent recommendations
We paid £299 for it, and initially we had problems with the seat. After 12 days, one collapsed! After phoning the manufacturer, we discovered that a small number of these pushchairs have a fault and are missing a cap on the seat frames. The service was excellent and 24 hours later we recieved a new seat and a free accessory! Since then we have had the pram a year and have had no further problems.
Basically, an all terrain pushchair is a 3 wheeler buggy with larger than usual air filled wheels like a bike has. They can puncture, although mine haven't yet (I put tyre slime in the wheels when i bought it, you can get this from Halfords)
The idea is that you can go over most terrains without much effort, and as the wheel is fixed, the buggy goes steadily forward, rather than needing to be constantly steered as with swivel wheels. One of my initial concerns was in fact that the was the front wheel is fixed. This was however no problem. The buggy is so light and you just put pressue on the handle bar to turn. To turn sharply, you lift the buggy back slightly and turn, but it is no effort at all. The design of an atp (all terrain pushchair) is that the seats are styled that it bears the weight at the back (the seats are angled slighlty back) which makes it very easy to lift and steer.
This buggy has a large pull down hood or sun canopy which can be pushed right back or pulled right forward. There is a viewing window in the hood. I did not need an additional sun cover. The rain cover is included and is of the much easier frameless variety. It fits into one of the pouches underneath or can be partially attatched to the canopy hood and rolled back.
The nipper has multi seat recline. It has a strap with a clasp that when you release it, the seat reclines. This is adjustable. It goes from full recline to upright. There is a seat pad that comes with the buggy, but you may want to add a cosy toes. You can buy the instep ones or use a standard one. There is a 5 point harness on each seat. The straps are maybe a little on the large side even when on the tightest setting, but do contain my boys! The canvas seats may look less comfy than a padded style seat, but this is usual for an atp, the canvas allows the babys back to mould the seat and the material absorbs the shock.
The pushchair folds into a 'z' shape and is very easy to fold. It is quite large when folded but fits into our zafira (with one back seat down) and my mums nissan micra (new style) It is fairly easy to carry from car to house but it could do with a carry handle or strap maybe.
STORAGE-There are 2 pouches with drawstring at the back of the seats that hold about a carrier bag full of shopping each. A changing bag can be hung accross the handle. I purchased the additional shopping basket, which is £16.99 and not a great fit but good for school bags and coats. There are also useful pockets in the hood canopy.
I am very happy with this buggy and my 2 year old twins are still happy and easy to push in it.
Here are my overall views;
STEERING- easy and very light to push TERRAIN- fine for beach, hills, pebbles, grass, yet also town shopping COMFORT-very comfy for my boys COST- expensive but worth every penny SUITABLE-from birth, you may need the newborn inserts, but a footmuff would do, i used my maclaren ones and they fit SAFETY-you MUST NOT go jogging or over rough terrain with a baby until they have head control. NOT SURE POINTS-steering does get a little heavier with older toddlers in, but is still MUCH lighter than the alternatives, handlebar easily gets nicked, could be more shopping space included, straps could be better fit.
Overall, I recommend this buggy! -
Evaluate this review
How helpful would this review be to someone making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
very helpful
very helpful
helpful
somewhat helpful
somewhat helpful
