Britax at Harrogate

Just been so busy of late, but kept meaning to write about a few other items I saw the other week.

Well let's start with Britax, I've already gone over the stroller range, and given my thoughts on them. But there is also a new Infant Carrier too, which might make the strollers more appealing.






Very simliar to the current model, in the sense that the shell itself is the same. But the new features come from a redesigned handle.

Now when I first realised this I thought that's a bit of a cop out, and wondered are there budget cuts at Britax? Did they spend too much money on the stand, or are they still suffering the loss of revenue they were supposed to make on the 'bath' or Safety Carrycot as they call it?

But when you look at what this update has given the old product you have to thunk twice and take the product a bit more seriously!

Not only is there an improved single handed release from the stroller, but there is also now a single handed pivot button. Although I have to say to tooling finish is pretty poor and I hope they think a bit more about the design and injection of it before launch.

But then the most important addition is side impact protection. By means of a half moon that clips up from the lower part of the handle on either side for use in the car, giving further cushioning to the seat in the event of a side impact. The test results are that this simple addition gives 25% better protection than any other infant carrier, and that in my book would make this the only infant carrier worth considering buying!

Design of the product is not stunning, but for me, safety will always come before anything else on a car seat.

There is also good news with regards to compatiblity on strollers, as it will be fitting on the new Silver Cross Surf, also soon on some Mothercare products like the Spin. So I'm not the only person that thinks this carseat is important.

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New Britax Display in Mothercare

I've been meaning to post this for a number of weeks now, wrote it all and lost it a few times, so here we go again.

Anyway, there is a dedicated display area in Mothercare for the new stroller range they have launched.

First there is the B-Mobile, a 3 or 4 wheeled product, the 4 wheeler been the new addition. But I'm not totally sure what this product is aiming itself at in the market place, or who? As it isn't a bargain, it doesn't do anything new, and the only things I can see it trying to target is either the M&P Aria, or the Quinny Zapp or the Petite Star Zia. And if this is the case then it fails, as its too BIG!! Its awkward to fold compared to them and again too BIG when folded too!

Then there is the B-Smart, which is essentially a copy of the Vigour +, but don't go thinking it is the award winning Vigour +, its a totally new product, but with no new features, which if I had been spending the time and money on developing a replacement for the Vigour I'd have ensured that it was a move on, a step up the ladder, so that it had something new to offer to the market, or even was keeping up with the market. But no, its just a copy, and the reason for this, basically to try and avoid paying the license payment that Britax were paying on selling the Vigour product, as it wasn't their design. So I guess they'll be expecting the lawyer letter any day soon rather than an uplift in sales on this one.

Then there is a new product called the B-Dual, a Phil & Ted style tandem product, but there is a point of difference, in that both seat units can be used for newborn children unlike the P&T products. Essentially though this product is developed by the Australian arm of Britax, and based on the Strider single pushchair, that was seen briefly over here in Argos, and can now be purchased under the Brio brand. Its a very robust product, so yes that also means heavy, but I'd be confident in the quality of this one, as the Australian arm of Britax is very experienced in strollers unlike the European team. My only concern would be the swivel wheel locks that are positioned in a great place that will be the first thing to hit that door as Mum bashes into it to open it.

But one thing that I did notice when looking at these in Mothercare was that there was a slight difference in colour between the pushchairs and the infant carrier, which most would not spot, but its that kind of attention to detail that is not going to give them a premium brand image on wheels this year, and maybe the Italian fabric house that used to design and select the fabrics might not be the ideal people to use this year?

Baby Gear, Toys, Strollers, Nursery Furniture | Spilling The Beans Blog

Baby Gear, Toys, Strollers, Nursery Furniture | Spilling The Beans Blog

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Another product to watch out for in Europe this Autumn is from Baby Jogger.

First seen over on Spilling the Beans, I've managed to track down a more clear image.

Also a winner in the ABC show products.

If this combines the great patented folding system from Baby Jogger with the tandem options of Phil and Teds, then prepare to see the market taken by this new player.

I'm also aware that Britax are also preparing to launch a tandem system like this, but even before its launched they're on a back foot with this new product coming out at the same time.