The Joie Litetrax 4 is follows on from their already loved Litetrax 3 pushchair which as you guessed it has 4 wheels as opposed to its 3 wheeled companion.
Although I have never reviewed the 3 wheeled version we were really looking forward to putting the Litetrax 4 through its paces with daily life here at The Oliver’s Madhouse.
Product Information:
One-handed, quick fold
Suitable from birth (in the fully reclined seat)
Can be used with Joie gemm and Joie i-Gemm infant seats (No brackets needed)
Automatic fold lock
Stands when folded
4 position recline
2 position adjustable leg rest
XXXL expandable hood
Shopping basket
Parent tray
All wheel suspension
Locking front swivel wheels
Quick release front and rear wheels
Removable bumper bar with fabric cover
Comes with a footmuff included
Raincover
First Thoughts:
When the Joie Litetrax 4 arrived I was quietly impressed at the size of the box. We had been initially intrigued at its claim to be compact and lightweight so this was a great first sign.
Putting the pushchair together was a dream, I open the chassis, added all 4 wheels (they just click into place) then zipped on the hood at the back and clipped it on the sides, clipped on the bumper bar and parent tray, then fitted the footmuff and we were literally ready to roll.
Using The Joie Litetrax 4:
Getting Jacob into the seat is super easy as it has a fairly wide seat unit, however the bumper bar does take both hands to get on and off, however Jacob is only 10 months so I tended to slip him in over the top of it.
Adjusting the harness to fit is great, it’s really easy but I have to say that the fact the top strap of the harness easily separates from the side part of the harness so every time you put your baby or child into the seat you have to fit all 5 parts together to be able to use it. This is the first pushchair that has had all separate parts for the harness and if I’m honest I prefer to not have the faff.
The recline feature is super, it’s a mechanical one hand job that is located at the back of the seat and it is fairly smooth when in use so great if you have a sleeping baby who you want to remain that way.
The hood is amazing! most pushchairs in this size and price bracket don’t tend to have the oversized hoods so it was a total bonus to see it on this one. Oversized hoods are also on my must have lists for any pram or pushchair these days so well done Joie.
If you are planning to use this pushchair for tootling round the shops or even the school run then the good news the basket is a very reasonable size and can fit a fair amount in there. Like with any forward only facing pushchair its worth noting that when the seat is fully reclined it is a little more difficult to access the basket but again that’s to be expected.
Raincovers are my nemesis, I dislike them generally as they tend to be faffy but this one as far as rain covers go is super simple to use, it just goes over the top and velcros together down the back.
Pushing and steering this pushchair has been AMAZING, it’s incredibly light on the steering and pushing side that we can confirm without a doubt its been one of the easiest pushchairs we have used to date on that front and can totally see how it got its name.
Folding this pushchair is nothing short of amazing too, with its quick release folding mechanism in the seat unit of the pushchair, all it takes is a pull up and the pushchair folds itself backwards and your ready to put it in the back of the car or bus or even in the storage cupboard at home.
Conclusion:
The Joie Litetrax 4 is retailing at around the £200 mark and currently comes in 6 really super colours and even the footmuff comes with the pushchair in your selected colour too!
For me if you are looking for something reasonably priced in forward facing mode only then this pushchair really ought to be considered. It’s immensely easy to push, lift up kerbs and steer and it can be pushed with ease one-handed all day long.
The harness parts all being separate is fairy annoying. For me personally I would love to see a better clip mechanism that left the arm strap and the side strap together (unless you wanted to operate them) as opposed to it being the other way around however this would not put me off it as the pros totally outweigh the cons.
This is obviously not a ‘designer’ pushchair, but then again it certainly doesn’t have that price tag either but what is does have is some immensely well thought out features with an oversized hood, great basket, well padded seat and the bonus of the footmuff included in the price, not to mention the genius parent tray that even has a zipped pocket ideal for the house keys or phone.
Pricing wise the Joie Litetrax 4 is on par to an umbrella fold style pushchair but has so much more to offer than those so if I had a choice between an umbrella fold pushchair or this …. This without a doubt comes up tops in my book, its fantastic.
Disclaimer: This product was sent for the purposes of this review. All thoughts and opinions were independently formed by members of The Oliver’s Madhouse. This review contains Amazon Affiliate links
