Cosatto are renowned for their cheeky slogans and funky, fashionable designs. Good looks are often considered to be skin deep, so we take an in-depth look into the substance behind the style of the Cosatto Cabi. Not just a pretty face?
Quick Summary: The Cosatto Cabi gives you excellent value for money that would be very hard to beat. Cosatto's winning key is their looks, they bravely dare to be different where other manufacturers play it safe.
Whats good?
- Value for money
- Fun selection of designs
- Huge shopping basket
- 4 year guarantee
Whats not so good?
- Bumper bar is tricky to release
- Hard to tilt when fully loaded
The first thing you have to mention when you look at the Cosatto Cabi is just how much you get for your money! Unlike some other brands, where everything you need to make the pushchair functional costs extra, pushing the price way beyond the number you first thought of, the Cabi comes with everything. When we say everything we mean EVERYTHING.
The Cabi comes in three colourways, ‘Free as a bird'(aubergine/pink), ‘Pitch’ (Black), ‘Walk in the Park’ (brown/orange) or their latest evolution and our review specimen, ‘Out on the Town’ (charcoal/ light grey).
The ‘Out on the Town’ theme is based around culture and architecture, detailed with cosmopolitan silhouettes of famous landmarks; Big Ben, St Paul’s Cathedral, London Eye, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and the Empire State Building.
Chassis
A modern, fashionable and practical design, the aluminium frame is light and offset with all the functioning parts in black. The plastic moulded wheels click in and can be released at the touch of a button. The front wheels can be fixed or rotational depending on your terrain.
The fold is more simple than if first seems (So read the manual, don’t cheat). It follows a 1-2-3 process, pull buttons 1 and 2 forwards then squeeze button 3, located on the handle and push forwards, then secure it close with the plastic widget .Once folded, it is large but relatively light at only 6.3kg.
Unfolding takes no instruction. Pull the handle upwards until the joints click… that’s it!
Carrycot
This model is suitable from birth using the pram body/carrycot. The soft cotton lining is removable and can be washed. The hood clips into the pram body and can be transferred to the pushchair (more about this later). We love the way that the pram cover extends and clips into the hood to give some extra protection on chilly days.
Clipping it into the chassis is the same for each component, two forks slide into the holes either side of the frame. Locating the forks into the holes is a little fiddly but would become second nature when you are using it every day. As an extra fix, the carrycot has two small Velcro straps that fasten round D-rings on the frame.
Seat
The pushchair seat can be used facing you or facing forwards. As with the carrycot, two small buttons either side squeeze upwards to release the frame. Above the release catches, larger buttons control the recline of the chair, an optional three positions in both directions. These buttons are stiff and must be depressed at the same time, again, with use these would ease.
Given time, a few raisins and a biscuit or two down the line means your pushchair needs a good clean out. Removing the fabric seat in the Cabi could not be easier, in fact it is probably the simplest we have seen. Five nylon zips and a couple of press studs meant it was detached under two minutes. A quick wipe over with a damp cloth and some mild detergent and it’s as good as new.
The hood, as we mentioned earlier, can be removed from the carrycot and attached to the pushchair in exactly the same way. It has two hinges on the sides to ensure it is fully extended. When the chair is in forward facing mode, it has a couple of useful features that come into play, a peephole with a flap to take a sneaky peek at your passenger and an envelope pocket. We love the pocket idea for keeping things like your phone, ipod or purse within easy reach instead of balancing bits on the top as we have all tried and failed to do in the past!
The bumper bar is not the best feature of this 3 in 1. It can be easily adjusted to virtually any angle but attaching and detaching it is difficult. Of course, you can slide your child in behind it but it would make the process much more manageable if it was less complicated to remove. A nicely padded five point harness will also secure your charge in place.
To tie in the with ‘Out on the Town’ theme, the footmuff is decked out with the same Empire State, Millennium wheel and Eiffel Tower silhouettes, not forgetting the inimitable Cosatto stick man. The lining is supersoft and has a nifty little feature on the fold over flap; a pocket/muff for the child’s hands. How clever is that? The top layer is removable to turn it into a fleecy chair liner.
Basket
A day out shopping need not be broken by a trip back to the car to off load some of your bags, as the basket on the Cabi is huge and even when fully loaded would not unbalance the pushchair because of it’s central position beneath the seat.
But just in case you need more room, the gorgeous changing bag that could be used by Mummy or easily pass as a ‘man bag’, is really spacious. Included is a change mat (colour co-ordinated of course) and a zip up wet bag.
Talking of wet; the elasticated raincover is compatible with both the pram and the pushchair and is easy to fit, just what you need if you are caught out by our unpredictable weather.
The large back wheels and swivel front wheels give a smooth ride with seamless cornering, although when loaded with shopping and a three year old, it is tricky to get up kerbs without a little push from your foot on the bottom bar.
Conclusion
The Cosatto Cabi gives you excellent value for money that would be very hard to beat. Cosatto’s winning key is their looks, they bravely dare to be different where other manufacturers play it safe. Plus, with an amazing four year guarantee you can be confident that it will last the distance, trouble free.
In places, their mechanical design lets the Cabi down a little, but these small glitches are not sufficient enough to deter us from recommending you take a look the Cosatto Cabi if you are looking for a great value 3 in 1 pushchair.
