smarTrike Traveler ActiveStroller (2)

We like to test equipment comprehensively, so after Anne Coates reviewed the smarTrike Traveler ActiveStroller here, her daughter Olivia took it on holiday to Portugal to see how it faired on the flight. Here are her thoughts along with her husband's:

Buggies are a very personal choice and more often than not families will end up having more than one. We have been very happy with our day to day one but it is perhaps not as practical for travelling and definitely not that compact.

With the prospect of a ten day holiday in Portugal ahead, including flights, car journeys (with luggage and a teen also in tow!) we were delighted to try the smarTrike Traveller. Our second daughter, aged 17 months, was very comfortable and enjoyed riding in the chair. She managed to sleep in it too! It fits easily into a boot, even with three large suitcases and can be put up again with one hand which makes it easier if you are holding a baby in the other arm!

Pros:

• Lightweight and easy to manoeuvre
• Three wheels enables for good movement and turning
• Our child seemed comfortable in the pushchair
• The chair reclines well into a good position and child able to sleep comfortably – in our case for over an hour on a few occasions.
• Trike child handle bars made for good entertainment and play
• Folding mechanism straight forward, once repeated a few times
• Fitted easily into overhead luggage on plane as well as into boot of car.

Cons: (these aren't major but need to be pointed out)

• Biggest drawback is the need to remove rear wheels when folding and packing away in carry case – not an ideal situation when trying to pack away to board a flight and definitely would be more difficult if travelling with a child independently.
• We also felt packing the buggy into the carry case required two people and not easy for a parent on their own having to manage and child and folding/packing at the same time. The string/elasticated top was more cumbersome than say a zip cover
• Not a lot of storage space underneath the push chair – fine if it’s for travel purposes and not carrying as much as day-to-day but wouldn’t fit a standard sized change bag underneath.

With those few provisos we were very happy with the smarTrike – as was our toddler!

The Traveler, priced £399, is available for purchase at John Lewis & Partners, Natural Baby Shower, Pramworld, and many other independent retailers throughout the UK, as well as directly, through smarTrike’s website.