I know, I know I can’t help it but pushchairs are my thing … some like handbags and shoes but for me it’s about transport for small folk and finding out whats on the market and what they have to offer.
We all know that pushchairs are an investment in any parents list of must haves and I am very privileged to be able to share my personal thoughts on them here on my blog and today is no different.
I was recently sent the Britax B-Ready pushchair and I was eager to get to grips with it as I discovered this one at the last Baby Show I attended way back in May.
If you haven’t yet heard about the new offering from Britax then I will fill you in.
The Britax B-Ready is a single pushchair that grows with your family and can be adapted to convert into a tandem pushchair for siblings or duel pushchair for twins and I have recently been reviewing it in single mode with Jacob.
This pushchair currently comes in 4 different colours Cosmos Black/Slate, Mineral Purple/Slate, Steel Grey/Slate and Flame Red/Slate and comes with a rain cover that fits for both single and multiple uses.
You can adapt the B-Ready to be a fully functional travel system for one or two children with the use of Britax infant carriers with their ‘click and go’ system which means no adapters needed.
For other brands of car seat you can purchase adapters which are sold separately.
It doesn’t just stop their either as the B-Ready can be used from birth with the help of the Britax carrycot which are also sold separately as the pushchair seat unit is from 6 months to 3 years.
So the question really is how did we find it?
Putting Together
The pushchair comes in several pieces when you unbox, which is fairly standard for all pushchairs these days but even without the instructions I popped this one together in less than 5 minutes.
You have to pop all 4 wheels into place, seat unit onto the chassis, bumper bar on and the hood zips into place on the back and clips on the sides and once that’s done you are ready to roll.
Carrycot
As an extra you can purchase the carrycot and we were sent one to try out.
On the website I think it was quite misleading as the carrycot details are very limited and I was worried that this carrycot wouldn’t have the sun visor like the one on as the Britax affinity we had been using previously.
I can fully report that the carrycot does in fact have the front sun visor, I can also confirm that it also has a handy pocket on the end for parents to add keys and things into.
What I also loved on the carrycot was the handy straps that go across the baby to ensure there is no roll from baby, which were not present on the Affinity.
Out & About
The Britax B-Ready has solid tyres as opposed to air-filled, which you would presume would give it a harder ride, however the suspension struts that run vertically on each side take over and so we never struggled over, cobble, grass, tarmac, pavement, fields or gravel and it gave a really smooth ride.
With the help of the rubber support on the handlebar the pushchair turns fantastically well with one hand so its great on manoeuvrability and also good for when you have those little hands to hold too.
The handle bar height was also never an issue for us as it adjusted to suit both myself at 5 ft tall and my husband 5ft 9″ and that was not on the top setting so if your taller I think it will have you covered too.
The only slight negativity I found when in single mode was getting up and down kerbs as it slightly heavy on the lift but I think that could be down to the chassis being built to accommodate 2 children and previously I have been using the Britax Affinity which is extremely light up and down kerbs in comparison.
If you are using it in the single mode this pushchair it has a fabulous basket size that we easily could fit 3-4 large bags under at any one time.
Even when packed to the top with those baby and shopping essentials this basket has easy access on the front with a zip opening so no matter how much you’re carrying in there or which way the seat unit is fitted then you can still gain access.
There is also a massive oversized hood that comes with peek-a-boo window on the top. The oversized hood has been a real godsend on those really hot days as it also offers a UPF 50+ sun protection.
Also I am not sure if it’s the fact the hood is oversized or not but it also gives the impression of the head height clearance in the pushchair being fairly big which is great if you are using with a taller child.
The one and only feature I thought was annoying in single mode was the rain cover, it’s designed to be used in the double mode and when using in single only there just seems to be ten tons of plastic at every turn.
I must admit it looks like it would be fantastic with 2 children under there but for one its was swamped and for me was highly annoying with lots of plastic at the back that I tried to tidy away but just unraveled.
The final key feature that needs mentioning is the seat recline which is located on the back of the seat at the top of the hood, its super easy to use and is not fiddly in the slightest so another great feature in the pros camp for me.
Fold & Unfold
The fold on the Britax B-Ready is again super easy can be done several ways. In single mode it can be folded with the seat removed and the also in the seat world facing mode too.
In the 2 children mode, again it can be folded with the seats removed or both seats forward facing.
Extra Features & Ease Of Use
This pushchair has some great features and the biggest is quite frankly the ability to adapt and customise it to your own needs through using as a double or single.
The second feature which I adore on all pushchairs and this one has it too and thats the ability to use it as a travel system, When using the carrycot it was really simple to add to the chassis and even though we didn’t have a Britax car seat we were able to purchase adapters to use our Maxi-Cosi car seat directly on the chassis from Britax online.
The ease of use was great, with easily adjustable harness straps, oversized hood and great fold but we did get annoyed with the fabric on the bumper bar as it’s not stitched in place so slides up and down and gets in the way. Obviously not something dramatic but still a shame it’s not fixed to eliminate any issues. On the plus side its easy to wash, so every cloud and all that!
Conclusion
All in all it’s a great investment pushchair, ideal for couples who are planning 2 children fairly close together or those parents lucky enough to have twins.
The width of the pushchair is great and I have not yet discovered a shop we couldn’t get into so in tandem mode this would obviously be the same.
The hood and basket are amazingly large, however its worth baring in mind that the basket would reduce in size drastically when in the double mode.
I think it would cope well in either a town or country setting and the longevity option for me is a winner.
Disclaimer: The product was sent for the purposes of an unbiased review and as such all the opinions and thoughts were independently formed by members of The Oliver’s Madhouse.
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