Kiddy have been popular in the UK with their child car seats for a number of years now. Known in around forty countries worldwide for the innovation, safety and comfort of their designs, here we have their pushchair in for review - the Kiddy City ‘n Move
Quick Summary: The Kiddy City ‘n Move isn't your bog standard umbrella fold stroller, it has quirks and unique touches that let it stand a little apart from the rest of the herd. The aesthetically pleasing curves to the frame, colour options, bumper bar and the hood are all top notch and great additions.
Whats good?
- Stylish
- Exceptional hood coverage
- One handed recline
Whats not so good?
- Drafty seat
- Large fold
Kiddy are best known as manufacturers of children’s car seats both here and on the continent and have been established in Germany for over 30 years now. More recently they have moved to the UK and have just released their lightweight City ‘n Move travel system compatible stroller which we take a close look at…
Chassis
The frame of the Kiddy City ‘n Move pushchair is sturdy and robust; made from lightweight silky smooth aluminium it’s surprisingly light for the chunky feel of it. It also looks good – gentle sweeping curves to the main part of the frame give a pleasing and eye catching look.
The angled, none adjustable handles are covered in a soft foam that is reportedly kind to skin, giving you a perfect grip and preventing sweaty hands.
The basket of the Kiddy City ‘n Move stroller is a fairly generous size for this style of pushchair, but usable capacity is reduced by the cross struts of the frame inside the basket itself. Access to the basket is fairly standard – best approached from the rear, and not very practical if you have the seat reclined, although there is a handy zip allowing you to create more of a gap to poke items in one by one from the side. Its not bad, but by no means perfect and the cross struts really get in the way.
The front 15cm diameter hard plastic swivel wheels can be easily locked if you are going over rougher ground. There is suspension at both the front and the back, although not an excessive amount, so you might prefer to stay close to the tarmac for a smoother ride. The rear wheels are similar in style and design to the front, so double sets all round giving an easier push. The rear linked brake is a simple push down, lift off cog mechanism, easy to locate and swift to use. Its surprisingly effective if a little clunky.
When fully loaded the Kiddy City ‘n Move is nippy and easy to push and manoeuvre, you would feel happy out and about in town with it. It’s well balanced for getting up and down kerbs, and the brake is nicely out of the way if you ever needed to pull it up stairs.
Seat
The well padded ventilated forward facing seat on the Kiddy City ‘n Move is a good size. It has a nice high backrest with nice stitched details and discrete Kiddy logos. The seat base itself is well padded and soft. The abundance of padding needs a special mention, this is one comfortable seat. Plus the well padded backrest should make it comfortable for even larger children. The only downside to the seat is the extensive use of mesh panels. These have been used on either side of the seat, and in fact on the seat base and backrest On hot days this will certainly allow a healthy breeze to blow through – especially in a fully reclined position, but on cold days – brrrrr…
There is an adjustable calf rest for little legs, it can be raised up by just lifting it, with sliders on either side underneath that need to be used to lower it back down. It’s well padded and comfortable – giving a nice supportive surface for little legs – especially when napping. An easy clean rubber footrest is provided for longer legs between the two front wheels.
The City ‘n Move’s padded flexible bumper bar can be left on the pushchair permanently – not needing removal for folding. The sockets that the bumper bar attaches too are where you would attach car seat adapters so are pretty heavy duty. Press the button behind the point where it attached to the frame and pull and away one side comes. The fabric covering the bumper bar is the same as that covering the seat, and can be zipped off for ease of cleaning. One thing to note though; interestingly, the bumper bar does not lock into position, when attached to both sides, it can be swivelled up and down very easily, your little one should be safely strapped and it is not a safety concern, but this won’t stop them fiddling about with it. It may prove annoying enough to make you want to leave it at home!
The seat recline is well thought out, it can be operated both up and down with one hand – just lift a lever on the top of the back of the seat (no toggles and straps!) and drop the backrest down to one of four positions. Simply push the backrest back up to sit your child up again. The most upright position is nice and vertical for nosey toddlers, and the fully reclined position is almost fully flat and perfect for naps – especially with the added capability of being able to raise the calf rest up.
The Kiddy’s five point harness is adjustable in terms of length, and the location of the shoulder straps can be altered between one of three height settings – although this is a fiddly task to perform involving some serious poking around. Chest pads are included as standard, and are nicely padded and easily removable by means of Velcro for ease of cleaning. Each strap can be done up separately and the harness buckle is stiff enough to prevent easy opening by little fingers.
The Kiddy City ‘n Move has further headroom above the seat backrest towards the hood so there is plenty of scope for growth. The hood itself also features some nice touches. A concealed panel AND a flip out visor allow for extra extension to the hood coverage, and with both of these in operation the coverage is exceptional – further increased by the fact that the hood fabric itself offers SPF 80 UV protection. There is a large covered peephole window, which, with the hood fully extended could also be used to allow taller toddlers to see out a bit more than if they were just completely covered by the hood – reducing the potential feeling of claustrophobia from such a large hood.
Lastly the Kiddy City ‘n Move comes with a rain cover. It’s simple to fit and effective so nothing to should about but nothing to complain about either. It will work perfectly well.
Fold
The mechanics of the Kiddy City ‘n Move will be fairly familiar to you if you have experienced an umbrella fold stroller before, but the resulting fold may not be.
To fold, first lift the bumper bar up and retract the hood, then lift the handle at the rear of the stroller, and depress the latch on the side of the stroller with your foot to release the secondary lock. The pushchair begins to fold and you can push the handles forward and down to shut the pushchair, a lock will automatically engage.
Once folded, it is really quite far from a compact umbrella fold. The curving frame leaves the wheels poking out by quite a considerable amount… but… (you will like this bit) you can then tip the pushchair right the way over and it will happily stand up by itself – great for poking into a tight corner.
To unfold just undo the lock and heave the handles upwards, pushing down on the rear of the frame to open the pushchair fully and lock it into place.
Car Seat
The Kiddy City ‘n Move comes with adapters to turn it into a from birth travel system with use of the Kiddy Nest infant carrier. Alternative adapters are available for use with the brand new Kiddy Evolution Pro Group 0+ infant carrier and Maxi-Cosi infant carriers.
Conclusion
The Kiddy City ‘n Move isn’t your bog standard umbrella fold stroller, it has quirks and unique touches that let it stand a little apart from the rest of the herd. The aesthetically pleasing curves to the frame, colour options, bumper bar and the hood are all top notch and great additions.
A couple of things let this stroller down. It seems to be a little more suited to slightly warmer climes than our drizzle prone country, the hood would be great for sun protection and the mesh sides will allow plenty of air through, but if its cold, well make sure wrap your child up. That said, this makes the City ‘n Move perfect if you travel to and from a warmer place regularly whilst using it full time here too, perhaps visiting relatives abroad. Also the fold is a little large and the basket has issues. But and you should take note of this, the product quality is excellent and there are some excellent little details that will make ownership a pleasure.
Overall – the Kiddy City ‘n Move is a well made, quality, sturdy stroller with plenty of nice features. The ability to add a car seat makes it a great ‘do all’ option for someone needing something light and nippy for the urban environment. It’s worth taking a look at when you are next stroller shopping.
