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Babyhome Emotion Xtreet Review by Rachael

I have had my Xtreet for just over a year now, having discovered it through some random googling and importing one from Spain in the hope it might just be as good as it looked. Well, I think it is and better.

The very first thing I want to say is that this buggy is perfect for what I was wanting it to do, which was live in my tiny car boot, fold easily and be used for probably a maximum of 2-3 hours at a time.

I’m going to start with pros and cons as I see them, cons first – this is a fairly shot list but could be crucial depending on what you would want to use it for:

  • Hard wheels, so noisy on rougher tarmac and pavement etc. Think of the natural home of the Xtreet being a shopping centre, supermarket, anywhere with lovely smooth surfaces. For me this is the worst thing about the buggy by some margin. I avoid using it around where I live because there are lots of rough surfaces. I have never had any complaint from the buggy’s occupant, the suspension seems perfectly adequate for a buggy like this (ie categorically not designed for rough terrain) it does seem to be exclusively a noise problem.
  • Clip that holds the buggy folded does not engage on mine, they may not all be like this as it is a moulded plastic hook in effect As I only lift mine in and out of the car it doesn’t matter to me but if you needed to carry it often it would be very annoying.
  • Adjusting the straps is time consuming compared to some other brands. Also if you want to fit a footmuff or liner it’s a fiddly to get the straps disconnected from the backrest.
  • Backrest positions. Even in fullest upright it isn’t fully upright. When I got mine there was a bit to stitching in the recline strap that prevented pulling it even this upright. I unstitched this using instructions from a translated spanish messageboard! My occupant has no problems with this, if she wants to sit more upright she just does so, I leave her enough give in the shoulder straps. It is categorically not supportive when sitting fully upright however. For this reason alone I personally would not get this buggy for full time use.

 

The pros, (this should be a much longer list):

  • It’s tiny! Width of just 47cm inclusive of wheels. Yes, I know umbrella strollers have similar widths however this has a bar handle, it’s sooooo much easier to handle with one hand.
  • Light, yet robust – 5.5kg and child weight of up to 18kg. Sometimes I find it difficult to believe the reported weights of pushchairs… but this really is as light as it claims to be. It will roll away quite easily if empty, down any slight incline or just any old way it pleases if it’s windy. I haven’t had a problem with it tipping over but I suppose given how light it is that’s a possiblity. As it has a bar handle I have never hung anything on it, if you did I suspect it would tip backwards.
  • The seat is large considering how tiny the buggy is, most noticably in height. My 18.5kg 108cm 3 year old fits comfortably and there is plenty of space above his head with the hood up or down… not that I’m pushing him anywhere in it mind you! Technically he is over the weight limit however a quick push in the dining room did not suggest anything was about to break nor it wasn’t even particularly any harder to manouvre with him in.
  • Really well designed rain cover. The rain cover, which is included, zips directly to the hood then poppers to the chassis down by the feet. The foot area is made of the seat material and has a piece of boning to keep it standing up away from a toddler’s feet. Mine still kick it but it has stayed intact so far. Easily folds flat and sits in the bottom of the basket taking up almost literally no room at all.
  • Insect net included. This zips and poppers to the chassis in the same way as the raincover. I would love to know whether it was sun protective in any way but cannot find that info anywhere so I am assuming it is purely an insect net and provides to sun protection to my knowledge. I have sewn a piece of upfb50+ sun protection mesh to the inside of my insect net to stop the mild sun getting in the child’s eyes. Therefore the darker section that you see next to the hood is not there on the original insect net.
  • Excellent hood for the type of buggy. Granted it’s not as good as a Baby Jogger City Mini and the like but what is?! Almost every buggy I have ever used I have felt like it needed just one more section to stop glare from directly in front. Quite a few buggies have this now. The Xtreet does not however for an umbrella type buggy the hood is quite a good cover.
  • Modern looking. I have included this is pros, I’m sure some would disagree as it is quite striking so it might be just as easy to take a dislike to it. I love it however and have not got bored of its looks in the time I have had it. Ideally I probably would have chosen black (like virtually every other buggy I’ve ever owned) but green was the only stock when I got mine, it has definitely grown on me.
  • Travel bag included. In theory I love this idea and hoped I would be able to protect it in the car boot using this however it’s just that bit too time consuming to put in the bag for that sort of use. Would be perfect for holidays etc. no need to buy anything else to protect in on a plane etc.
  • Big basket. The basket on this is great, 3kg is the weight limit according to the manual. I fill it on a regular basis, with little thought to how much the contents weigh… I mean who does?! Access is good as the recline is not a full flat one so there is always a big enough aperture at the back below the seat to put things in and out. You may struggle with a full size nappy bag however. The small size of the whole buggy invites me to take the bare essentials, which suits me down to the ground. If you need a really large basket for major shopping, this is the wrong buggy entirely.
  • Has a recline. There are some buggies like this on the market that have no recline feature, or like the zapp xtra for example do have a recline but in exchange for a 2 piece fold. The buggy is suitable from 6 months. I used it from 4 as I only use it for an hour or two at a time so felt that a full flat recline wasn’t an absolute requirement. My baby always seems comfortable, she slept and woke in it as normal, starting to put herself in a upright sitting position from 5-6 months with the slight support provided by the backrest.

Overall I love it. Absolutely love it. I bought and immediately returned a bugaboo bee during the time I have had this because I felt that although an excellent buggy the only extra thing it was offering me was the rear facing position. Turns out I was unwilling to sell on my Xtreet to fund this single extra. Of course the major factor in that was my little buggy occupant, who has a tendency to rebel when faced with my face (I’m not looking too deeply into that one!) In terms of quality personally I would say this in on par with a bugaboo etc. and would not look out of place as part of their range. My main buggy is a gecko and in its own way the Xtreet is just as good.

Now if they both just had a bumper bar my life might be complete…!

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