The iCandy Raspberry Review

Back in September 2013 I attended the iCandy 80^th Birthday Bash, and it was here that the new iCandy Raspberry was unveiled to me. For me it was love at first sight, from the smooth contours of the frame, right through to the delicious selection of flavours on offer:

-          Arctic Night

-          Atlantic

-          Lush

-          Beetle

-          Sunflower

-          Wisteria

-          Fushia

I was instantly drawn to the beautifully bright  Sunflower Yellow, that paired with a black chassis certainly boasts the WOW factor for it’s stand out vibrance between the colour combinations, and is certain to turn some heads. Following the release of the Raspberry in the fall of 2014, Leo and I were given the opportunity to truly put the Raspberry through its paces, and obviously we were very excited to do so, especially when it was confirmed that the colour way I had fallen in love with was available!

The iCandy Raspberry was set to be Leo’s very final pushchair review (insert sobs and crocodile tears here!) and it was actually because of Leo’s size and age (He was just turned 3 when we started using the Raspberry) that we were asked to get involved with this particular review. Leo’s a tall 3 year old and we wanted to see how the Raspberry would fare with the top end of babyhood. So now after using the Raspberry for a good couple of months, I am happy to share our personal experience using the iCandy Raspberry.

What’s in the box?

The iCandy Raspberry arrived in 2 boxes, one for the pushchair and another to accommodate the Flavour Pack. In each of the boxes you will find:

iCandy Raspberry Box

-          Chassis

-          Wheels

-          Rain cover

-          Instruction Manual

iCandy Flavour Pack (Sold Separately)

-          Raspberry Hood

-          5 Point harness Pads

We also received the Raspberry footmuff along with our pushchair and this is lovely quality, so snug and designed to keep your little ones toasty warm. Leo is a getting a little too big for the footmuff but we have been able to make use of it with the Raspberry in the chill of the winter days that have been looming over us. Leo was especially pleased with the hand pockets available for him to hide his hands away from the icy chill, and although we cannot do the zip all the way up, it did help keep Leo cozy while we have been exposed to the elements. The iCandy Raspberry Footmuff retails at £90.00 and comes separately to the initial price of the pushchair.

Assembling the Raspberry

Assembling the Raspberry is a simple task that doesn’t take very long at all, it was just a case of putting the seat unit onto the chassis and attaching the Sunflower Flavour Pack, consisting of the hood and strap covers, and then opening the pushchair out for the first time. Granted this is where I struggled, I spent much longer trying to put the Raspberry up than I did actually putting it together. You can read more on this in the next section of this review.

Putting the Raspberry Up & Down

It has been said that I am not one to read an instruction manual unless I really have to, and I admittedly spent the first half hour quite simply working out how to put the Raspberry up... Then when it became apparent that I didn’t have the foggiest idea about what I was doing, I decided to read the instructions and even log online to have a look at the instruction videos. Only to discover that I still couldn’t do it. Of course it turns out I had been going about it all the wrong way, and actually it’s very simple to do.

To put the Raspberry up you simply need to open it out, and to put the Raspberry back down again at the end of play, you just need to squeeze the button on the left hand side and push down on the handlebar. It will then collapse in.

The fold of the Raspberry is compact and folds in such a way that keeps the wheels away from the seat, so that when the wheels get muddy (which they will!) you don't have to worry about getting the seat dirty. This for me is a real bonus, as I am so precious about these things!

First Impression

With the Raspberry complete and standing before me I remembered exactly why I had loved it so much at that first introduction, it’s sleek contoured shape and it’s stand out colour way drew me in all over again, and to say I was a little bit excited about getting it on the road for the first time was a understatement.

The Raspberry is a very solid pushchair and I like this, it’s comforting knowing that Leo is secure in his transportation and I don’t have to worry about it tipping or falling backwards. I am one of those parents who do store their changing bags on the back of my pushchairs (Only if I am confident in the weight ratio between bag and pushchair) and it really would take a lot to make it fall.

Before I could do anything with my new set of wheels I had to adjust the straps in order to be able to sit Leo. This was an easy enough job and I had soon lengthened the straps to the limit and sat Leo in the helm of the seat. I noticed straight away that Leo was at the very top end of the seat unit and the straps were rather tight on him. This meant that I wouldn’t be able to put Leo in a thick winter coat over the colder months ahead of us while using the Raspberry. Aside from that though Leo looked comfortable in the seat and he absolutely loved the colour and told everyone it was ‘My new pushchair!’.

Our first trip out with the Raspberry was a walk into town, the weather had been trying to thwart our attempt with rain, but I was adamant that we were going to give this pushchair a road test imminently. It’s about a 15 minute walk into our local town, and one I always enjoy and having the Raspberry at arm’s length certainly made this experience more inviting.

The Push

This is always an important aspect when it comes to a pushchair, how does it handle? The Raspberry is lovely to push, and having tried it with both Leo and my nephew over the past couple of months I am over all happy with it. Granted there is a noticeable difference between pushing my just 2 year old nephew in it and pushing Leo, but I think that is to be expected. When pushing Leo solely In the Raspberry it does feel a bit heavy at times, this is most noticeable when walking along an uneven surface where I do have to direct it more to be able to keep going in the right directon.

The Wheels

Up until using the Raspberry I did use a pushchair with air filled tires and this has accustomed me to just being able to bump up curbs, with the Raspberry you do have to tilt it back and lift it up the curbs as it does seem to struggle with the bigger lips you find when mounting the pavement. I have found that it is quite a tricky pushchair to tilt in order to do this because of how the weight seems to be distributed, but as I said earlier the Raspberry is a solid pushchair and I am happy in the knowledge that it  isn’t particularly easy to tip!

The wheels themselves are completely different to anything I have used before, they are made out of a plastic type material and are ideal for nipping around the town centre or shopping precinct. The Raspberry has been designed as an urban pushchair for those living in the town or city, to aid their urban lives. The wheels are ideal for urban terrain and they even handled the grass in our local park rather well considering the overall size of them.

The Basket

The basket is a feature of the Raspberry that I quite simply just love, it’s spacious and accessible which makes it really useful and incredibly practical. It makes shopping a breeze as you can store so much in the basket space. I can fit my much adored Emilia Changing bag in the bottom along with a coat and shoes for Leo and even my camera tripod should I need to, and I can take absolutely everything for Leo without having to worry about taking a bag.  I think for people who rely very heavily on a pushchair in the absence of a car, this basket would be perfect for nipping to the shops and getting the essentials and being able to conveniently transport it all home.

My favourite feature for the basket has to be the hidden storage compartment built into the body of the pushchair. This is where the rain cover is stored so that you can always keep it with you and not take up valuable basket room (Well done iCandy!). It is also a great place to store your valuables such as your phone or wallet, items that you may not want to entrust solely to your basket. 

The Hood

Now the hood on the Raspberry could be comparable to marmite, you are either going to love it or hate it. Personally, I really like it. It's unlike anything else I have ever come across and I quite simply love the soft material that has been used. It's a very generous size and can completely cover Leo when it comes to saving his eyes from the low sunshine at this time of year. It doesn't handle the rain very well, but I always have the rain cover to hand just to be on the safe side.

Living with the Raspberry

We have been living with the Raspberry since mid-September and over the months it has certainly been well used. I do a lot of walking from my home into the local town centre, and with it being too far for Leo to walk, I always pop him in the Raspberry for the journey in. Usually when we arrive he will get out and walk around, but I like to know that we have the pushchair on hand for when he starts to get tired, or more usually…Mischievous!

I find that the Raspberry boasts many positive features that have made using it a real pleasure, but there are a few points that I have noticed over the course of our time using the Raspberry.

Seat Size – Having an older child who is still in and out of a pushchair, I noticed straight away that the Raspberry seat was not as big as we are used to. Leo fills the seat in both directions, but still sits comfortably inside. The biggest realization about the seat unit is the 5 point harness, before our first trip with the Raspberry I extended the harness to its maximum sizing, and still this is tight on Leo. This has meant that he cannot wear a winter coat while he is in it because it quite simply won’t do up. Obviously Leo is at the very top end of the scale at 3 and half, and he is big for his age. My nephew Josh sits beautifully in it and he is an average size 2 year old, so aside from the harness maybe benefiting from having a bit more leeway we are very pleased with the seat unit.

When we first started using the Raspberry it took me a while to adjust to how low down the seat unit was, but 3 months on it is just something we have become accustomed to. In those early days I did feel that Leo was really low down to the floor and that the handle felt quite long even on the shorter extension, but  Leo never minded, he was far too busy pointing out the world as we strolled past turning many head’s with the Raspberry’s flush design and striking colour way.

The brake system on the Raspberry is another aspect that I like, it’s a simple flick on, flick off using your foot, a very simple feature that is yet another luxury for a busy Mum. The only not so great aspect about the brake that I have found is that it is rather low to the ground, and when I take big steps I occasionally find myself catching it with my feet.

Overall…What did we think?

Over all I like how the Raspberry handles and will definitely be keeping it around for baby number 2 (One day!). I love how the Raspberry looks, and I like how it handles itself in the urban setting. Living in a small town it has been ideal to take out and about with us on our strolls into the centre and then of course down to the local park for a play on the swings and to feed the ducks. We haven’t used the Raspberry on public transport at present as I drive and the occasion hasn’t called for it, so I cannot comment on how the Raspberry would be in those instances, but for our needs, and the location we live in, the Raspberry has been ideal.

I don’t think it will be long now before Leo completely outgrows it (he is now 3 and a half) so the Raspberry can accommodate older children, but it has been a bit of a squeeze what with the five point harness. If you are interested in the Raspberry I always recommend finding a local place to go and test drive one for yourself, just to give you an idea of exactly what you need, and to get an idea of what it is like to use. Of course if you have any questions, I am happy to help where I can. The Raspberry will most certainly be used again when (not if) baby number 2 makes an appearance!

The iCandy Raspberry retails at £420.00 and is available to buy directly from iCandy.

 Disclaimer: I was sent the iCandy Raspberry for the purpose of this review. All views and opinions expressed are completely honest and my own.