Needing to dot around the city with your little ones? Check out the slimline phil&teds dot.
Quick Summary: We love the functionality of the dot, the quick one handed fold is fantastic! It could be improved in places, but if you want small, clever pushchair with a tandem option already in the box, we think you should put the dot on your list.
Whats good?
- Very slimline
- Double kit included
- Versatile
- Clever functions
Whats not so good?
- Fiddly recline
- Poor hood material and attachment
- Raincover optional
Chassis
As the masters of inline pushchairs, phil&teds have updated their popular dot pushchair to create something even more practical. With their products designed to help parents ‘adapt&survive’ when kids arrive, with a quirky edge, we are excited to take a closer look in our phil&teds dot review.
The assembly of the phil&teds dot is pretty simple, and only needs the wheels and mud guards to be attached and the hood fitted. Then it’s just a case of fitting the double kit, if you’re ready to use it.
Once set-up, the first thing that strikes you about the phil&teds dot is just how slim-line it is. At only 59cm wide, there’s no danger of catching your wheels with this skinny minnie. The striking black tubular frame carries the two seats with style and because of the design, it’s great to push too.
The multiple positions on the handlebar are from 66-116cm, so sufficient for any parent. The curved shape and foam covering make it very comfortable to hold.
With three 10″ puncture proof wheels, the aerotech technology offers a smooth ride without the risk of a flat tyre – they definitely do the job over rougher terrains. To make things even easier, the front swivel wheel can be locked by turning the knob underneath the footrest, to the back of the wheel. This is a little fiddly to get to, and could be a messy job in wet weather. The black tyres and wheels are highlighted with a white rim, adding to the design flair of the pushchair.
To keep the pushchair from running away there’s a red brake placed to the right of the chassis near the back wheel. It’s simple to press on and push up to take it off, though may not be comfortable with flip-flops on.
Imperative for busy mums and dads is the feature of a shopping basket. The phil&teds dot can carry 5kg of shopping or baby essentials. If you have two children, with one in the double kit, their feet will rest in the basket, and access is restricted, so you might not manage to get your changing bag in there.
As well as an inline tandem, the dot can be adapted into a travel system when you purchase the phil&teds car seat adaptors. Even better, you can still use the double kit to take your baby and toddler shopping! The seat fabric can either be removed or left in place, as the adapters slide into where the bumper bar usually sits.
Seat
As with all of phil&teds pushchairs, one of the best features of the dot is the generous seat size. At 63cm from top to bottom, this seat is definitely one of the tallest available on the market. Great, as the high maximum weight load of 20kg is your average 5 year old.
Included for both the main seat and the double kit is a padded, coloured liner. Rather than an extra, it is an essential for this pushchair, providing the cushioning and support that your child needs.
The 5-point harness on the dot has three different height settings to cater for a growing child. It’s easy to adjust, by unthreading the harness through the liner and sliding under the correct straps. To adjust the harness length, there are plastic sliders that can be locked off, meaning for a perfect fit without any tails. The round button at the centre of the buckle releases the four straps of the harness separately. Though this can make for a better fit, it does take longer to fasten.
Missing out gate opening, the bumper bar has to be completely removed from the frame by releasing the silver pins, though there is sufficient room behind to take your child out with it still in place.
The recline on the dot is three stage that goes from upright to flat. You can achieve the first part of the recline by undoing the buckle, which lowers the seat slightly and reveals a strap recline. This can then be loosened to lower the seat further. The angle of this part would be sufficient for a napping toddler, and can still be done with the double kit in place. A full, lay flat recline can be achieved, but the double kit needs removing from the lower position first. Reaching into the seat, there are two zips, one at either side. Once these are unzipped, the seat is released and will lay fully flat – perfect for a newborn. We would suggest keeping a hand under the seat as you unzip, as it does then recline quite fast! When the seat is fully reclined, there is a gap with no material, which makes checking on your little one quick and easy. If you do want to keep them sheltered, phil&teds provide a piece of plastic that Velcros to the hood and keeps drafts out. When your little one has fallen asleep, it would be handy to have a quick way to lay them down. In the case of the dot, it is quite a fiddly process.
The hood is of a good size and has a flip out sun visor to help in the brightest of weather. With a white circular design on the sides of the hood, the zip at the front slightly detracts from the aesthetics. The material of the hood is quite flimsy and scrunchy and did not quite live up to our expectation. It also slides up and down on the hood rods and has nowhere to attach to the back of the seat, though there are two bands that secure it to the side of the chassis. A peekaboo window allows you to keep an eye on your little one riding in the main seat.
The footrest isn’t adjustable, but does start quite close to the end of the seat. It is plastic and therefore easy to wipe down and keep clean.
Finally the seat base doesn’t have any padding and this is particularly visible at the leading edge. The seat liner does cover this, but it would be nice to see a bit more padding in the liner to provide more comfort.
Double Kit
The phil&teds dot double seat is a really innovative piece of kit, capable of being used in several different ways to suit you and your family. It even has a one handed recline to offer the perfect angle for a quick kip. With three positions for harness height, it is the same as the main seat, with the same harness.
Used in the main seat to create a parent facing seat for one child
When the double kit is used in the main seat, it enables the child to be parent facing at a reclined angle. It simply sits on the main seat with the top attached to the bumper bar with the security buckles to keep it upright. It’s possible to pull the hood completely forward to still keep them covered. One of the things that may put some parents off a phil&teds pushchair is the fact that you can’t turn the seat around, so this is a great idea that really opens it up to a wider audience. The maximum weight for the seat in this position is 12kg and can only be used when there is one child.
Double kit on the front, with a newborn below on the main seat
phil&teds provide adaptors for you to attach the double kit on top of the main seat, in place of the bumper bar. This allows you to use the main seat underneath in a fully lie flat position for a newborn baby. The main seat cleverly has different positions for the harness to allow for the baby to lie comfortably. The child at the front can be a maximum of 20kg, so still more than some pushchairs main seat!
Double kit below the main seat
The double kit can be fitted in the standard inline position, below the main seat. It slots onto the metal of the frame at the back and locks off with silver pins again. Because of how the recline on the main seat works, both the main seat and double kit can be reclined to some extent at the same time. phil&teds recommend the smallest of the two children to ride in this seat, at a maximum of 15kg.
You can also use the double kit in place at the bottom when you have a car seat in place of the main seat.
Drivability
Because of how phil&teds pushchairs are designed, they are a joy to push. The weight is positioned to be distributed over the back axle, so a kerb pop is always easy, even with two tots in place.
The puncture proof aerotech wheels remove the worry of a flat tyre and still offer the cushioned support of an air tyre.
Fold
With two kids in tow, it can be a big plus to get your pushchair in the boot with one hand. This is definitely possible with the dot. By reaching under the end of the seat, above the footplate you can grab hold of the bar. Push aside one of the red buttons and squeeze the large black button which allows you to rotate the whole bar. Next, just pick up the whole pushchair and push it together. The auto lock keeps it all firmly together.
To get it back up again, release the auto lock and pull the handlebar up until the chassis clicks into place.
Conclusion
The phil&teds dot is one of the most compact inline tandem pushchairs, weighing only 11.7kg and measuring 59cm wide. It still offers the space and functionality of one of its big brothers. With a seat back of 63cm in the main seat, a 5 year old will still have room to catch a ride with their younger sibling.
The quality of the materials used in places could be improved. We would like to see the leading edge of the main seat given a bit more padding or a different shape for better support and comfort when the seat is reclined. In addition, the hood needs looking at, the material quality is not up to phil&teds usual standard and is not held in place as it should be.
However, there are some big advantages to the Dot, the doubles kit makes taking two children out a breeze – it is really clever, and with the three different tandem options, there really is a solution for all ages and sizes. Also it is fantastic to have a parent facing option when in single mode.
We love the functionality of the dot, the quick one handed fold is fantastic! It could be improved in places, but if you want small, clever pushchair with a tandem option already in the box, we think you should put the dot on your list.
