Steering
How comfortable you will be trundling out and about will be affected largely by the weight of the pushchair, the size and type of its wheels and the type and height of its handle.
- All the different types of pushchair were rated easy to push on firm, flat ground
- Three-wheelers and pushchairs with separate handles are not easy to pull one handed
- Lockable swivel wheels are available with at least some models of each of the pushchair types. They are helpful for manoeuvring round tight corners and obstacles when swivelling, and when locked for going over rough ground or up and down steps. Check you can lock them: some need careful alignment to press down the locking pads and can be fiddly or stiff to engage.
- It is not just the double side-by-sides or trendy all terrains with huge splayed wheels that need careful lining up through narrower doorways. A fixed-wheeled buggy needed careful manoeuvring through restricted spaces too.
- Pneumatic tyres and medium to large size wheels are worthwhile if you often travel over rough ground. Larger wheels are also good for kerbs and for pushing down or pulling up steps (the way most testers tackled steps).
- Small, solid wheels tended to sink into gravel with bits jamming the wheels.
- A pushchair that is too low will be more painful on steps.
- Avoid pushchairs that are simply too heavy for you on steps or if their weight is badly distributed: testers talked of not feeling in control - that the front was going too far away from them down steps.
Next Page: Putting up and folding