Review: The Mothercare Xtreme Travel System
- Amy Leonard
- Mar 14, 2017
- 3 min read
When it came to shopping for a pushchair, I knew straight away that there was only kind that would suit me - and thats the important thing to consider, yes you probably want something pretty to look at, but whats the point if its totally unsuitable to your needs and day-to-day life.
I live down a gravel lane in the middle of the countryside, my daily life consists of dog walking and trekking across a muddy field to tend to horses, with this in mind, I definitely don't need some spindly stroller with tiny wheels that faints at the sight of a puddle!
What I do need, is a solid, chunky and agile trusty steed, and that is what I found in Mothercare's Xtreme.
I knew the type of pushchair I needed was one of those durable, 3-wheeled ones thats built for going over bumps and through mud, so I took to the internet in search. What I discovered initially, was that I'd need a loan, or possibly to rob a bank or sell a kidney!
Until I discovered the Mothercare one - I was pleased to see that it was in the sale (bonus!) and in fact was the most reasonably priced one I'd found anyway. I kept an eye on it online for a couple of months until the need to purchase became more imminent. With a baby due in February, I took full advantage of the January sales (and the price had gone down even further!) A total steal at £125 there was no way we weren't going to invest in this one! (In fact, we also had a £100 Mothercare voucher, so we actually only paid £25! *Insert smug face*).
The pushchair is a full travel system, coming with a car seat which fits on the buggy as well as being a pushchair suitable from birth upwards (everything you need). Its also solid, meaning that you can trek away over the countryside without fear of getting stuck! Theres plenty of space underneath for your changing bag and bits of shopping and it comes with a full rain shield, so whatever the weather you know baby is gonna be dry and snug - thanks to the cosy sleeping bag that also comes with it!
Basically, if you're an outdoorsy girl like me then I'd really consider this as your buggy of choice, between the affordability and what you get for your money. But are there any downsides?
In short, yes, theres a couple of things you need to consider; this buggy, particularly thanks to its big wheels, is LARGE! This won't make too much difference to you when you're out and about, as well as testing it out on the forest where theres plenty of space, I've also managed to negotiate my way around the shops (It glides along effortlessly and is easier to manoeuvre thanks to the single wheel at the front)! Its your car you need to consider - one of ours is a Land Rover Discovery; no problems there, the boot is more than large enough to accommodate the pushchair (which folds and unfolds really easily by the way!) Our other 'ride' however, is a VW Beetle. This pushchair, categorically does not fit in the boot! We've found the only way to get it in is to stash it behind the front passenger seat when its fully flipped forward - this means one of you has to sit in the backseat! Alternatively if its just me and the babe, I can fold down the back seat - so theres no room for a passenger.
Its also very heavy, so although theres plenty of room in the boot of the trusty Land Rover, you need to use some muscle to get it in there. If you're relatively fit you won't find this a problem at all, but as I struggled with it the other day (although part of this struggle admittedly was due to the fact that the boot door is broken and I was having to put it in through the back door instead, it was less of a 'struggle' and more a full on argument!) it occurred to me that if you have a bad back, or you're expecting another baby, then you might need to be careful. So thats definitely something to consider with this pushchair.
My verdict: As chunky and heavy as it is, I love this pushchair. I didn't have a huge budget (or any budget really when a newborn needs a lot of other stuff buying!) and it gave me the opportunity to get the pushchair that completely suited my outdoorsy lifestyle and handles really well out and about, I might just need something a little less robust when it comes to just popping to the shops though!
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