The Petite Star NJOY Bubble is something you've not seen before. The name doesn't give you any clues as to what makes it so unique, so read on and I will reveal all.
Quick Summary: With very little to complain about, the Petite Star NJOY Bubble is a triumph in novel, well executed design. No longer is the buggy a poor cousin; it mutes the moaning parents that deem the stroller an inferior means of transport due to its fixed seating position. Congratulations Petite Star, the Bubble will fill a gap in the market that has been waiting for a viable solution for a long time.
Whats good?
- Seat faces forward or parent
- Folds with seat in either direction
- Large reversible hood
Whats not so good?
- Limited access to basket
- Poor brake
I had to laugh when I pulled the Petite Star NJOY Bubble out of the box, not because it is comical or has go faster stripes but because it has a brilliant, yet obvious twist. So simple and so effective, I can’t believe it’s not been done before.
Strollers are a fabulous alternative when your child gets old enough for something nippier, however, for some parents, they have an insurmountable drawback, that they only come in forward facing flavour. In the past, only those with the advantage of a detachable seat have offered a parent facing option but they also pose the disadvantage of being two pieces when folded.
The genius of the NJOY Bubble is that the back of the seat flips away from the handles to make it a parent facing seat or alternatively flips towards the handles to create a world facing seat. Quite spectacular!
The RRP of the Petite Star NJOY Bubble is £199
The NJOY Bubble comes in two colours: Black/Silver, Black/Purple
The concept of the flip seat is so brilliant and so blaringly obvious that stroller manufacturers the world over will be kicking themselves for not having come up with it sooner. By their very nature, strollers are convenient but are often maligned for their stability and the fact that a lot of mums feel their children want to be parent facing for longer than stroller manufacturers deem possible. Well, Petite Star has gallantly overcome at least one of those foibles with the NJOY Bubble.
Chassis
OK, the Petite Star NJOY Bubble is a stroller and should be simply viewed as such before we start to factor in its snazzy party trick. It folds just like any other stroller, by flicking up the pedal in the centre back and pressing down on the pedal/switch on the right to collapse the frame forward. It has an automatic lock – always a bonus – so that once folded it doesn’t take on a life of its own when you try to transport it.
Unfolding is merely a matter of releasing the lock and re-tensioning the frame by pressing on the centre back pedal. Anyone familiar with strollers will recognise this routine as completely normal and the same for 90% of strollers on the market.
The aluminium frame on my Black/Purple specimen is white – another ‘stand out from the crowd’ factor. Foam punch-hold handles are squidgy but firm and give you a good grip on proceedings.
At the bottom; double, 14cm, EVA foam wheels give you nippy steerability with the normal lockable swivel feature on the front for occasions when rougher terrain requires less manoeuvrability. The linked brake sits over the rear wheels with a central pedal to control. As with most strollers it’s ok but does not have the best grip given the nature of the super smooth EVA wheels.
Moving up the chassis; the basket sits squarely beneath the seat and although it’s a sufficient 30cms wide by 34cms long and 16cms at its deepest point, it’s completely inaccessible apart from the small zips that allow a letterbox of access to the sides. The raincover is about all that fits into the shallow gap and a changing bag is out of the question. It’s a shame that it isn’t more practical considering the versatile nature of this stroller.
Seat
Here is where the NJOY Bubble begins to bring out the big guns. Some strollers are better than others due to extra padding or better wheels etc but fundamentally they are all very similar. However, the Petite Star NJOY Bubble changes any preconceived ideas you may have and takes the stroller a step further towards being your first and only pushchair of choice.
In front facing mode it differs little from anything you’ve seen before; it has an adjustable footrest, a padded, five-point harness and reclines in three positions. However, the handle used to recline the seat, which sits just above the head, is multifunctional, with a squeeze of the button it can be pivoted forward, away from the handles, to create a parent facing seat. You don’t even need to remove your canopy – it’s reversible! So now you have a parent facing stroller with all the same properties as its world facing flipside. Genius! It even folds with the seat in either direction!
Each side has its own five point harness which can be height adjusted in two positions. It’s easy to alternate between the two due to the fabric opening around the ‘flipping’ handle; sliding your hand down this cavity will allow you to rethread the vertical straps with ease. The head hugger and shoulder padding needs to be placed onto whichever side you are using; depends upon the age of your child.
The simplicity of this needs no further explanation but if you haven’t grasped the concept, think of the drawings you must have seen as a child, where the same face can be turned upside down to reveal a completely different character: one way revealed an old woman, then when turned about, a young girl. The Petite Star NJOY Bubble takes on two faces: the younger, needier, parent facing child or alternatively, the older, more confident world facing child and satisfies them both in comfort and style.
The canopy is enormous and reversible so you don’t have the hassle of having to remove it if you want to alternate between forward and rearward facing; it just turns inside out on itself. The size of it means you won’t have to purchase a third party sun shade because it is large enough to virtually cocoon your infant and cast a long shadow over your toddler. It’s also made of the dense, high quality, nylon fabric that is normally only found in third party products and being reversible means all the seams are beautifully finished on both sides.
Aesthetically, the fabrics are soft and appealing and the Bubble logo is clean and contemporary, in conjunction with the white chassis it makes an attractive and appealing package.
Conclusion
With very little to complain about, the Petite Star NJOY Bubble is a triumph in novel, well executed design. No longer is the buggy a poor cousin; it mutes the moaning parents that deem the stroller an inferior means of transport due to its fixed seating position. Congratulations Petite Star, the Bubble will fill a gap in the market that has been waiting for a viable solution for a long time.
The Bubble does have some minor glitches that come hand in hand with strollers, namely the poor access to the basket and the ‘ok’ brakes. But you have to bear in mind that it also hurdles the capabilities of many superior systems, with a fold that is blind to whether your seat is in parent or forward facing mode – no fiddling, no seat removal, just fold and go. It even boasts an auto frame lock which some manufacturers seem to think insignificant – try telling that to a mum who’s managed to strap a hungry, screaming child into their car seat but gets more stressed trying to load an unruly pushchair into the boot! #beenthere!
For stroller doubters, the NJOY Bubble has overcome the stroller’s main downfall and for that Petite Star can be saluted, this is bound to be a success. Add the ability to attach a car seat, improve the niggles and this will be a force to be reckoned with, even against the more established travel systems.
