My life is much easier with my Nipper!

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!

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;

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.

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.

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.

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.

Here are my overall views;