iCandy Strawberry Parent Review

My name is Carrie-Louise and I live with my husband Nathan, daughter Becki and our newest addition to the family Theo, who arrived in January. We enjoy spending time as a family and also with our friends. We are often seen walking the country lanes, visiting playgyms and local attractions. We love visiting the local park to feed the ducks and play on the swings. I recently took redundancy from my job in marketing and am now a full time mummy and enjoying every minute. Life is busy with a 4yr old, newborn and two house cats but very rewarding.

Quick Summary: We've had the I candy since Theo was approximately 4 months old and we have put it through its paces on many terrains and outings. The pram has been great and we have had no issues with it technically. The pram folds quite large and takes up a lot of boot space. We have really enjoyed using the pram and putting it through its paces.

Whats good?

• Easy to put up and down
• Height adjustable handle
• Large
• accessible basket and hidden pockets

Whats not so good?

• Hood clicks loudly when closed or open
• Bulky fold
• Small shallow seat

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First Impressions

A knock at the door and I’m greeted by a strawberry iCandy it was like Christmas.
The pram chassis was easy to construct once all the wrapping is removed just click on the back wheels and the chassis is complete.

The carrycot was just as simple push two bars in place and refit the mattress. What struck me first was how deep and narrow the carrycot was. Can’t wait for our first test drive.

9th May 2012

Our first test drive of the iCandy. Theo was happy to be in the carrycot and seemed amazed by how white the inner was – he just stared at it. What I have noticed is how far down he seems and from me it’s a deep carrycot. The bumper bar when added really restricts vision of baby. Off we set for a walk. Great to push and easy to alter handle height. I’m guessing Theo approved as he was soon sleeping.

Looking down when the carrycot bumper is attached the view of baby is restricted.

17th May 2012

Making the most of the sunshine as we don’t see it often we took the strawberry on the country lanes to visit the neighbours. I have noticed when walking if like me you have quite a long stride you tend to catch the bar at the rear of the pram with your foot a bit. While visiting our neighbour I think he was confused that this strawberry wasn’t edible!

23rd May 2012

Decided to test the iCandy in town today. Theo was happy in the carrycot but can’t help thinking at 16 weeks he’s not going to be in it long. Being a big baby anyway he’s certainly filling it. Anyway the iCandy was easy to manoeuvre around the shops. Struggled with the bags as its very hard to get to the basket with the carrycot on. Hopefully once he’s in the main seat the basket will be more useful.

7th June 2012

We decided to head to knowsley safari park today and took the iCandy with carrycot. After a long car journey the carrycot was the best option for Theo.

I’ve noticed it takes up quite a bit of room in the boot of the car but still space for coats and shopping. Really liking the iCandy to push it feels really light. Bit bumpy over some ground but so far a good set of wheels.

18th June 2012

A trip to ikea with the iCandy today to get new playroom furniture. I’ve not got the smallest car boot but it certainly takes up plenty of room I was a bit concerned how I’d fit everything in.

I found the iCandy easy to manoeuvre single handed while also pulling a flat trolley with boxes on. If you have a small boot I don’t think the strawberry with carrycot would leave much room at all.

15th June 2012

A bit of dry weather and out we went for a walk. Becki wanted to push the pram. The best thing is how low the handle goes so at 4yr old she can have a little push of the pram. She managed to push up the hill.

19th June 2012

Took the strawberry to the city today as we had an appt. at the hospital. Had a wander around Leeds and didn’t see any other strawberry iCandy’s a few pear and peach. Used the carrycot today as I knew Theo would be in it for a while. The iCandy was easy to get around the busy city centre and into a cafe for lunch. A long walk to the hospital and the strawberry was still light and easy to push even with a few bits of shopping in the basket.

20th June 2012

Today we had a lunch date with friends and as it was such a nice day I popped Theo into the seat rather than carrycot so he could see more. The basket is so much more accessible with the seat on rather than carrycot. I do find folding a bit tricky still as you do have to push the handle down quite a bit to be able to collapse the pram. It’s great that with the seat unit on it can be folded as one and when re-opened the seat returns to the previous position.

25th June 2012

Used the iCandy with seat on to go shopping and the basket is so much more accessible without the carrycot. I was impressed how much I could fit in with ease. Theo enjoys the seat unit and I think we will be retiring the carrycot very soon as he is such a nosey baby the seat is ideal for him and he looks very comfy.

3rd July 2012

Made the most of the weather being dry and took Theo out ……. We used the carrycot as he just looks so comfy in it and sleeps so well. Putting the hood up and down is so noisy with the loud clicking he jumped awake but was soon off dozing again.

13th July 2012

We aren’t liking this weather at the moment as it means we can’t get out and about as much as walking in the rain is no fun. Today was Nathan’s birthday so we went out for a birthday lunch. It was his turn to push the pram today.

20th July 2012

Made the most of a dry day and took the iCandy to the local shop. Love the little pocket to pop things in without needing to take a bag.

The basket is so much more useful with the seat on rather than carrycot and more accessible. I hope we have more dry days to come.

28th July 2012

A spot of sunshine meant we went to a local childrens event ‘big family day out’ it was in a local park so what a great opportunity to get the iCandy through the field. Once the wheels were locked on it was easy to push through the short grass and single handed.

What I have noticed is from the folding and unfolding if you happen to touch the chassis bars at the sides they are quite greasy from running through the folding mechanism.

2nd August 2012

A nice sunny day so a trip into town followed by an afternoon in the park. The iCandy was put to the test again over the grass and cobbles. Theo seemed happy enough watching everyone playing.

8th August 2012

Another trip out today with friends. We don’t seem to be getting a summer. For some reason Theo slips down alot in the iCandy seat I think it’s the seat liner that’s a bit slippy.

24th August 2012

A rare dry day so off to the seaside we go. We packed the raincover just incase but it wasn’t needed. A lovely day out had by all and the basket under the iCandy came in useful for coats and bags. We are certainly putting this to the test.

26th August 2012

A trip out to Gullivers World today. The iCandy is loaded ready to go. A nice day out and Theo enjoyed looking around and no need for the rain cover.

3rd September 2012

Well Becki starts school today. As we live near we will be walking daily, 20 minutes each way. The Strawberry will know its own way before long. The hill home is very steep but so far the iCandy isn’t feeling too heavy to get up the hill.

12th September 2012

We went to Jo Jingles class today and one of the mums also had the iCandy strawberry. We were comparing thoughts on the pram and she was happy with the pram and commented it was the lightest pram she had looked at from the iCandy range.

16th September 2012

We went to a model railway ride today. Wasn’t sure what to expect but the iCandy got over the rough ground and grassy areas great. We had a few rides on the trains which was pretty scary at times ! Not something I’ll hurry back to. But great off-road driving by the iCandy!

27th September 2012

Another walk to school but this time a dry one! It’s a nice country lane walk to school including the big hill. Theo is still parent facing in the iCandy which I’m hoping to keep him for a while yet as he’s just gone 8months.

8th October 2012

Today we had a clicking back wheel all the way to and from school which I couldn’t get rid of at all even taking the wheel off to see if anything was stuck didn’t help. It was only when we set off out again I saw a stone very well stuck into the back wheel, removed this which thankfully didn’t cause damage and hey presto no more annoying clicking.

18th October 2012

It’s certainly autumn with the leaves all over. Had a bit of trouble with dry leaves getting stuck in the front wheel covers. They make a constant rustling noise so we kept having to clear them out. I can see once the weather gets a bit worse other things getting stuck in this little gap between the wheel and chassis but we will keep an eye on that.

7th November 2012

It’s getting colder so it’s snuggly suit weather. Think it’s time to also invest in a footmuff for the iCandy for when the really cold weather starts. He’s certainly filling this pram out in his suit.

11th November 2012

We went out to a well known baby shop today (m) to look at car seats and while there the shop assistant asked about the iCandy as apparently they get alot of people in asking for them. She wanted a demonstration and a push around. Suddenly 3 other staff members had appeared for a look too. The thoughts from them were that it was heavy, bulky when folded and a small seat. They did like the frame and style along with the fact it opens back up at the position the seat was in before folding.

22nd November 2012

With all the rain the prams had a good wheel wash! The rain cover has never been needed as much. It’s kept Theo lovely and dry.

30th November 2012

We’ve been unofficially ice skating today in the iCandy. Fortunately it did quite well and wasn’t too unmanageable. Apparently we are expecting snow this weekend too, not sure we will venture out in it if we do.

14th March 2013

We’ve been a bit slow with updates recently. With the snow and other bad weather we had we didn’t really venture far. We’ve also had a few birthdays to attend since Christmas.

The iCandy has had outings as well as Theo deciding he likes to nap in it through the day so he’s been happily sleeping in it.

At last the sun has been out so we’ve been walking to school again and getting more walks in. Theo is now 13 months and really does fill the pram when he’s all tugged up in coats etc. he is quite tall for his age and is filling the length of the pram seat!

28th March 2013

We had no car today so agreed to meet friends for lunch locally. With still a fair amount of snow on the ground it was time to get the icandy through the snow. This was not an easy task. With the wheels locked on it was hard going getting through what we needed to. Theo was thrown about a bit but didn’t seem to mind. Now I know why we don’t venture in the pram when it snows. It was certainly a work out on the arms !!

7th April 2013

Took a walk to the local farm to see the lambs being born. The iCandy did well down the farm track and over the grass. Think its time to turn Theo forward facing now 🙁

9th April 2013

Another walk to the farm this morning to see how the lambs are doing that we watched being born on Sunday. Theo is now forward facing. I can’t believe the difference in the pram to push now its forward facing. Its much lighter to push as I guess the weight distribution is better and its appearance and access to the basket is much better. He also seems to sit alot better in the forward facing position.

21st April 2013

I’m really liking the pram forward facing its so much lighter to push especially up a very steep hill we walked up today. We thought we should make the most of the weather this weekend. Yesterday was a trip to a local children’s attraction – eureka. The iCandy was easy to manoeuvre around the place and the many children running around.

30th April 2013

Another nice walk to school today. The iCandy is in need of a wash after that walk – the roads were very muddy with all the water coming down from the hills. Hopefully the weather stays fine today so we can get the chassis washed down to get the splashes off it.

6th May 2013

A lovely back holiday out in the sun visiting a park. The pathways were very gravelly and it was a bit hard pushing over this but on the grass we had no problems. I saw lots of iCandys out today for a change.

26th May 2013

A lovely trip out today to Yorkshire wildlife park. It was a warm day today so we decided to take a picnic. Thank goodness for the large basket space to store the picnic bag. We had a cheeky wallaby checking out the pram when we were walking through the enclosure not sure if he fancied pinching the picnic bag or trying out the icandy strawberry.

1st June 2013

A tiring day playing in the sun today so time for a nap!

8th June 2013

A lovely hot sunny day today so we decided to head to the local gala to watch the procession of decorated floats and marching bands. Parked Theo up in the I-candy at the road side while Becki sat on her chair. A combination of the heat and the pram lining meant a sweaty Theo ! He wasn’t phased tho and enjoyed the procession!

Final Summary 2013

We’ve had the I candy since Theo was approximately 4 months old and we have put it through its paces on many terrains and outings. The pram has been great and we have had no issues with it technically. When we initially received the pram we used it with the carry cot and it was perfect – a lovely deep crisp white inner carry cot however it did restrict how easily you could access the underneath basket area for storage. The seat unit has worked great along with the easy recline system and the pram is much lighter with the seat in the forward facing position. The seat isn’t overly big so you may not get long term use if you have a larger child in height.

The pram folds quite large and takes up a lot of boot space.

We have really enjoyed using the pram and putting it through its paces. Theo has always appeared comfy and happy in the pram.