Mountain Buggy have released the fab new bagrider to make travelling with children a breeze. Here's what we found when we put it to the test.
Quick Summary: The bagrider is as easy as pie to use and eliminates the need to take a bulky and awkward pushchair through the airport with you. You won't be left appeasing and carrying around a tired and heavy baby after your pushchair has been put into the hold as you can push the bagrider right onto the plane and fit it straight into the overhead lockers.
Whats good?
- Hand luggage sized
- Fun & alternative way to travel
- Easy to push
Whats not so good?
- Weighs more than your average carry-on so may have to pack a little lighter
In a bid to solve some of the age old problems that we encounter whilst travelling with children, Mountain Buggy have released a fab carry-on cabin bag that doubles up as a ride on seat for children! Literally with the twist of a button, this problem solving pal will transform from suitcase to stroller and make life on go that little bit easier!
Design
Parents who travel with young children on a regular basis have been crying out for the release of the bagrider for years! Gone are the days of balancing your little passenger on a suitcase or coping with meltdowns when their little legs are too tired to carry them any further.
The bagrider is a hard bodied carry-on piece of hand luggage which can be pushed on (super stable) wheels whilst your child sits on top.
The bagrider arrives in a compact, neat little box and it takes just a few moments to thread the soft padded seat and harness over the suitcase handle.
The overall design of the bagrider is undeniably simple but at the same time, completely genius! It is certain to catch the eye of parents in search of a hassle free travel and it will excite children too!
The actually hard bodied suitcase of the bagrider is excellent quality and rivals that of top luggage brands with ease. It is hard wearing and will withstand the inevitable knocks and bumps that all luggage takes whilst travelling on planes, trains and other transport.
The carbon black colour way is classy and simple with its subtle shimmer adding to the celebrity like status that the bagrider gives you as you stroll around an airport or train station with your little one sat snugly on top of it.
The bagrider is slightly heavier than your average carry-on suitcase, mainly thanks to the wheels and frame that make it morph into something so special. This means you aren’t able to pack quite as much as you usually would (depending on the airline you are travelling with) when you are flying. There’s still plenty of space and weight for essentials though.
The extendable handle is strong and easy to operate via the button on the centre of the handle.
The clever wheels might look tiny but they give a super soft ride and literally glide over smooth floors. To release the rear wheels and support arms just turn the circular button on the rear of the suitcase to the left (there is a clear unlocked padlock sign) and the wheels will pop out. When the wheels are extended, the bagrider is totally stable and there is no need to worry about it toppling or wobbling – it’s definitely rock steady!
If you’re not convinced by the size of the bagrider then there really is no need to worry – it has been designed to be pushed straight onto a plane and stored in the overhead lockers. It fits perfectly down the aisles of planes and other modes of public transport and when the wheels are folded back in (twist the same round button to the right and push them in) and the handle is fully down, it stores perfectly in the overhead lockers. One thing that you do have to bear in mind is that to pop the handle right down and put the suitcase into the locker, you will need to slide the seat unit off and pop it somewhere safe. We tended to slip it into a little corner of the suitcase itself but you could easily pop it into another handbag or changing bag that you would have with you.
Driveability
So, chances are you won’t be purchasing one of these genius bags unless you have a little passenger in mind for it. The bagrider is suitable as soon as your baby is able to sit unaided. From experience of using the bagrider, we would say that realistically, your baby wouldn’t be 100% comfortable or secure sitting on the seat until they are about 10-11 months old.
The seat cushion however is nice and comfortable and we never had any complaints from our testers when they were riding along, so the bagrider passed the comfort test easily!
Popping baby on and off the seat and strapping them in was literally as easy as popping them into a pushchair seat. We found it helpful to just pop our toes behind the suitcase to stop it rolling away as we adjusted our little one to make sure they were super comfortable. The harness is just as easy to adjust and fitted the shortest and tallest of testers securely. All of the children that we tried on the bagrider felt happy and secure.
As parents of small children, we were amazed at how easy this clever suitcase made a usually very tiresome part of our travels. We didn’t need to worry about little legs not being able to keep up if we were rushing, and the children seemed more happy and relaxed too.
There is of course the added bonus of the admiring looks that your little one will get when travelling in the seat of the bagrider! We had several compliments and questions on every outing we took it on!
Conclusion
The bagrider is as easy as pie to use and eliminates the need to take a bulky and awkward pushchair through the airport with you. You won’t be left appeasing and carrying around a tired and heavy baby after your pushchair has been put into the hold as you can push the bagrider right onto the plane and fit it straight into the overhead lockers.
The comfortable and practical seating option for babies and children up to 15kg has been combined with a practical and hardwearing storage solution that makes travelling that little bit easier with kids in tow!
You can push or pull the bagrider with just one hand and when your child no longer needs to hitch a ride, just slide the seat unit off the handle, retract the rear wheels and it can revert back to your standard suitcase on wheels. Still ideal for trips even when your little one has grown too big for a ride.
If you travel regularly and are faced with the problem of carrying tired children through busy airports or train stations, then the bagrider is a must for you!
