Made with an anti-corrosion frame, the iCandy Strawberry 2 pushchair is perfect for the modern parent on the go. It has an easy-to-use folding mechanism, agile chassis and innovative storage capsule. The seat unit can be reclined to three different positions so your little one can rest while you’re out and about. The all over suspension ensures baby has a smooth ride at all times so they won’t be woken from their nap. With a front or rear-facing seat, you can decide whether you want them to gaze up at you or look out at the world as they go. There is also a soft touch handle for your comfort. The updated Strawberry 2 features the innovative step and stand folding mechanism as well as an active fold, both of which are easy to use and it folds with the seat unit attached. It features MEMORY™ auto alignment when unfolded so it pops back into place. The storage basket can carry up to 5kg of your shopping so you don’t have to worry about struggling with lots of bags, and the chassis is free standing when folded so you're not left juggling loads of things at once.
The front swivel wheels lock, perfect for jogging or long stretches of road, and the rear wheels are easily removed when you need to store the pushchair in a small space. Suitable from birth when used with the included carrycot, or from 6 months on its own. Also available to buy are a parasol, footmuff, sunshade, cup holder clamp, travel bag and changing bag. As well as all this, there’s also a flavour pack that includes a harness, chest pads, interchangeable hood that suits both the seat and the carrycot, carrycot apron and seat liner. This pushchair is compatible with the Kiddy Evo Lunafix, Maxi Cosi Pebble Plus, Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix, Maxi-Cosi Pebble and BeSafe Izigo car seats when used with the included car seat adaptors. iCandy car seat compatibility iCandy - Now available online for the first time. Prams and Pushchairs Buying Guide Find out what you'll need to get out and about with babyThe second generation of the affordable iCandy stroller, this buggy looks sleek, but misses the mark when it comes to steering on tough terrain and probably won't last to the recommended 25kg.
Not good on rough terrain, seat unit does not go fully upright and is quite small. iCandy has always delivered cool and trendy products, alongside world-class quality. And as an impartial mother-of-1 and lover of all things fashionable, it’s been incredibly impressive to see the iCandy’s development in recent years from a small company business to celeb buggy brand of choice. As well as being favoured by the likes of Abbey Clancy, Helen Flanagan and Jacqueline Jossa, iCandy is also a multiple award-winning brand, with UK-based company scooping the Best Wheeled Goods Brand at the prestigious Nursery Industry Awards alongside a few others. Late 2014, iCandy released a newer and cheaper model of their predecessor Strawberry 1. In our review on the original pushchair we called it a “noteworthy buggy, that’s light, is lovely to look at and practical.” But it wasn’t without its flaws, as the seat unit was small and we doubted it would last the full recommended 3-year life span.
Looking to improve on its predecessor, this new strawberry 2 has been billed as being lighter, sturdier and considerably cheaper than the strawberry 1. Well, it’s cheaper, if that’s what you’re looking for, but sadly it seems there’s been a slight compromise on quality. For the name alone, I was expecting better, especially better than my last buggy; It looks even more stylish than the last and the frame is hard-wearing. Coupled with the fact that the basket is massive and it folds compactly to fit in smaller spaces than my last pram. You can buy the iCandy Strawberry 2 from Mothercare, John Lewis or Precious Little One. However one of, if not the most important things for a parent, is the comfort of your child, which to my surprise was not as good as I expected. Case-in-point the upright position on the seat unit is not actually upright causing my son to strain his back to attempt to sit up and play with his toy on the handlebar. That for me is a concern because he has to result in slouching, which is not good for his back at all.
And without using the foot muff addition, the padding for the seat unit is not the most comfortable. Additionally as my son is still teething and he has taken massive chunks out of the handle bar, which I didn’t notice till after he ate some of it because his seat unit is facing outwards. This is quite annoying because the only solution is to remove the handlebar altogether which means he suffers from playing with his toys. I thought it would have been a no brainer to consider babies would be teething and would want to chomp on anything. And to find he had eaten a big chunk of rubber wasn’t very settling. The statement about it lasting till 25kg or until they are approximately 6-years-old seems a bit farfetched to say the least. Firstly, my son is only a little over 1 and is spilling over the seat unit, he probably won’t see it past 3, let alone a further 3 years after that. When out pushing the iCandy Strawberry 2 it’s nice and light, it’s actually lighter than it appears.
The frame is strong, durable and feels sturdy and the handlebar is great as it has 3 adjustable positions, which caters to various different heights. My son loves to look at the world around him so I have him forward facing but as you can have your child facing you too, it would be great for parents who feel more secure that way. I also like the hood, it adds to the sleek look of the buggy and can be used as a sun protection. The breaks are excellent, easy to put on and take off. A Godsend compared to the last buggy I had, which was stiff and inconvenient. These breaks are sturdy but light and I love that. Where the Strawberry 2 could use improvement are the wheels. The ycould be more maneuverable as it sometimes it takes extra strength and effort to turn corners or to lift the small front wheels over cracked pavements. That also means the buggy isn’t the most compatible for difficult terrain, I rode over a difficult pavement and bumpy grass and it struggled.
The folding system actually took me a few attempts to get the hang of as you have to really shunt the handlebar down to fold it and sometimes you can get a bit concerned you’re going to damage the buggy. But once you’ve got the hang of it, it folds very easily. Yes, the best thing about the Strawberry 2 is that it’s very compact and easy to store when folded. It fits neatly in the boot of various cars, I have tried it with my mum’s car, husband’s car and friends car and with the former, the car is quite small and congested but still fits succinctly. Basket is amazing and one of my favourite features! My issue with my last buggy, the Kudu4 was the lack of basket space. This basket fits everything I need in which makes me very happy.At £550 the Strawberry 2 is one of iCandy’s cheaper alternatives. But with the lowering of the price tag it seems iCandy have also lowered some of the quality. It’s not a cheap buggy and for that price I was expecting much more.