The new phil&teds dash is ready to take on cities and parks, so let's take a closer look.
Quick Summary: For parents of one child thinking about a second, or with two children close in age, the dash will make getting out and about much easier. The suspension and Aeromaxx tyres creating a really smooth push and ride.
Whats good?
- Lovely fabrics
- Huge sunhood
- Large seat and high weight capacity
Whats not so good?
- Very fiddly zip recline that is hard to get to
- A few steps to the fold
Chassis
There’s not much assembly for you to do before the dash is ready to go. The seat comes already on the frame, with the wheels, sunhood and bumper bar separate for installation. After attaching the mud guards, you can then slide the wheels into the chassis. The front wheel is next, which again slides into the front of the frame. The sunhood and bumper bar both clip on to the frame easily enough, but you do need a bit of force to get them fully on. The hood has two small Velcro patches to keep it attached to the back of the seat. Although the provided illustrated instructions are pretty clear, we think that it would be better with some wording to clarify the stages.
The dash has the iconic looks expected from phil&teds inline pushchair range. With three wheels designed to tackle different terrains – kerb pops in an urban setting or bumps across a field should be easy.
With 12 positions from vertically upright to the furthest down, the foam covered handlebar adjusts to cover comfortable pushing, whatever your height. The range goes from 77cm to a whopping 116cm. There’s two buttons on the inside to squeeze as you rotate. Once locked into a position, the handle feels solid and comfortable to manoeuvre the pushchair. As with all foam, there is a chance of splits from the inevitable wear and tear.
The dash features three 12″ wheels made from Aeromaxx™. This means that you don’t need worry about picking up any punctures on your travels. Although not air tyres, the ride feels very smooth over both rough and smooth contours. With lots of suspension on the front wheel, the rider shouldn’t feel much of the bumps of cobbles or ditches either. We think that the white detailing on the wheels looks great. The dash comes with a mud guard for each rear wheel, which protects you from additional splatters. Even better if you have the double kit in place, as it will keep little fingers protected from the wheels. The front wheel can be locked with a push down lever if you’re going over rougher terrain.
Along with other 2015 phil&teds pushchairs, the dash has a smooth handle to the right of the handlebar for the brake. It is colour coded red and green and indicates on or off. Much easier to do with only one hand required. We think that this is a big improvement to the usual foot operated brake, as it’s much more accessible for parents on the go.
There’s easy access to the basket from the front, sides and rear, and with a 10kg weight limit, it should be able to take as much shopping as you can throw at it. Although not the deepest shopping basket, with the front of it angled up, the sides just keep your bags in place. We tried it with a medium sized changing bag and 3 carrier bags and it had room to spare! If you need your purse, phone or keys closer to hand, there is a handy little zipped pocket on the hood.
The dash is compatible with the phil&teds alpha, Mountain Buggy protect, Maxi-Cosi and Cybex car seats to create a travel system. By purchasing the relevant dash adaptors, you can add either one or two car seats. There’s also the option to add the snug carrycot. The material from the main seat can be easily removed so that you can just have the frame with the car seat on the adaptors.
Seat
New to the phil&teds pushchairs is the material. The lovely Grey Marl is thick and soft to the touch and complements the sleek aluminium frame. Included with the pushchair is a thick, plush seat liner that offers much needed support for ultimate comfort. As it can be removed easily, you can hand wash it. If you want to mix it up, you can also purchase the seat liner in contrasting colours, there’s bright Purple, Pink or Jade to choose from. The full fabrics from the main seat can be removed, to enable you to add the dash snug carrycot, double kit in parent facing mode, or car seat.
Measuring 60cm high, the main seat on the dash is a great size that should last until your child is well up to the maximum weight limit. While we are on weight limits, the dash can carry 25kg! Looking at the ‘average’ weight of a 4 year old boy – around 18kg – it really should last you for as long as you need a pushchair. Even if you have an older child that needs a ride, the dash can cater for them.
A new feature for phil&teds is a change to their harness. With a large central buckle, the 5-point harness clips into position separately. It’s nice to see a padded bumper bar that is covered in material rather than foam that can be bitten and marked. With one side removed, the bumper bar is gate opening to make getting your child in and out easier. For children of different shapes and sizes, the harness has 3 shoulder height setting and 2 for the waist straps.
The recline is not the easiest. To recline just a marginal amount, there are 2 buckles placed on the back of the seat. These can be loosened to lower the seat and then tightened to get it upright. For the main recline, there are two zips running around the inside of the seat. If your child is asleep and you want to lay them flat, you have to reach right into the seat to get access to the zip, so you’d need to push the hood out of the way.
The lay flat position is great and will keep the baby or child in the optimal sleeping position. When the seat is fully reclined, you can unzip the backscreen and roll it up out of the way to offer better airflow and ventilation. It can be hard to get the zip done back up without it getting in the way.
The hood on the dash is immense. Not only does it pull down to completely shade the child, there is also an additional sun visor that flips out, bringing the hood down to almost touch the bumper bar. The fabric has 50+ UPF sun protection and the zipped pocket on the side is very handy for your small essentials.
Though not a traditional adjustable calf rest on the dash, the seat features an adjustable foot rest under the seat. This is a simple bar that pulls out, giving a bit more support to small legs.
The storm cover for the dash does need to be purchased separately at £20, but it’s definitely an essential for the British weather. It’s great that it covers as either a single and double.
double kit
Capable of transporting two children with the addition of the the phil&teds double kit, there are several ways to attach it to the pushchair:
Front of the pushchair (forward or parent facing) for a toddler, while a newborn lays flat underneath on the main seat.
Front of the buggy to use as a parent facing seat (fabrics can be removed for a cleaner look).
Rear of the buggy with a child in each seat
Rear of the buggy with a car seat in place of the main seat
Included with the double kit are adaptors to attach the seat to the frame of the pushchair. If you are fitting the seat to the front of the dash, then the bumper bar needs removing.
Once attached to the frame, it’s really simple to clip the seat into place. It just slides into the adaptors and there’s an audible click. To remove again, there’s a button at each side, allowing the seat to lift smoothly up. When used on the front of the frame, the seat can be either forward or parent facing.
As with all tandem pushchairs, there has to be some compromise on the second seat. Though they have plenty of room, the height of the double kit seat is slightly smaller than the main seat at 46cm. It also has a lowered weight limit compared to the main seat of 20kg if used on the front or 15kg if used on the rear or as a parent facing seat.
A great feature to the dash double kit is the recline. Although not flat, it’s a really good sleep position. Even though the seat sticks further out when reclined, we didn’t find this caused an issue with the push.
If you’re looking to use the dash with the double kit in the rear position, it’s worth bearing in mind that the basket size is reduced. It is clever though as you can still have access from the front of the basket. phil&teds sell pannier bags should you need that extra storage.
Though there’s no hood, the dash double kit comes with a sun mesh cover to offer some protection to the lower seat.
Drivability
Like all of phil&teds pushchairs, the dash has a very smooth and solid feel to it’s push. Even with 2 children on board, the kerb pop is easy to do because of the weight distribution.
Though it doesn’t feature pneumatic tyres, the new Aeromaxx tyres are almost as soft, with the risk of punctures on a busy day removed. The suspension on the single front wheel takes the majority of the bumps, so the ride for the kids is good too.
Fold
There are a few stages to the fold on the dash. First of all, the bumper bar and lower part of the main seat need folding completely up. There’s a button on the left of the frame which you need to pull out. While pushing onto the bar underneath the seat, the lock of the fold is released, allowing you to push the top of the pushchair back down on itself. Keep pushing until it locks into place. Then to get it back up again, just release the frame lock and pull the handle back up.
With the second seat in place at the back of the pushchair you need to fold the bumper bar and lower part of the main seat unit up and then fold the bottom part of the double kit seat up. Pull the button out on the left adaptor and press the right adaptor. This lets you push the entire seat forward against the main seat. You can then progress with the rest of the fold as above.
The fold is pretty compact for such a large pushchair capable of taking 2 children, even if the double kit is attached. If you do need to make it smaller to fit into a smaller boot, then the wheels are quick release. We like the freestanding fold – nice and neat and perfect to stand unassuming in your hallway.
Conclusion
For parents of one child thinking about a second, or with two children close in age, the dash will make getting out and about much easier. The suspension and Aeromaxx tyres creating a really smooth push and ride.
It’s easy to use, the biggest bug bear is the recline, but if you can get over that you’ll love the dash.
The new double kit is great, the cushioned liner makes sure the child in that seat is just as comfy, and with the recline now added, they can still nap.
We think that the phil&teds dash ticks lots of boxes. It will last you right up to the end of your pushchair days, whilst keeping everybody comfortable and happy.
