Search best buggy:

Easywalker June Review Update by ALK

I have had the Easywalker June for a month and had quite a bit of use out of it in lots of different situations. I have mostly used it parent facing, as I always do with my own pushchairs, then for two outings forward facing to get a feel for it that way. I used the June with my daughter who is 2y3m, measures 83cm tall and weighs 25lb.

I have very mixed feelings about the Easywalker June, it could be a fantastic pushchair with some amendments but as it stands, it falls short of its advertising claims which has really disappointed me to be honest. This is what it states on Easywalker’s website regarding the June and is in part what I had high hopes about:

  • compact- fits easily in a Mini Cooper.
  • complete- reversible seat, suitable for carrycot and car seat.
  • comfortable- for both parent and child and easily manoeuvrable.
  • user friendly- intuitive design, everything works how you would expect it to work.

I found that the June was a bit unwieldy at times; sometimes the front wheels felt like they were sticking and at other times they seemed very easily manoeuverable. It was more responsive when walking at a good pace rather than when walking slowly or looking around shops. It doesn’t take cambers well when parent facing and I found it hurt my arms to keep it on track while walking along a slightly sloped pavement. One really awful aspect in use was that it’s close to impossible to lift up a kerb without a lot of force downwards on the handlebar or putting a foot on the rear axle. I found this a nightmare while crossing busy roads as I had to make sure I had enough time to lift it up a kerb before a car reached me. It does however go straight over lips on pavements (up to about 4-5cm) very easily and can be pushed straight up them without any pressure needed on the handlebar. I was very impressed with that as I would usually need to lift a pushchair up something like that. I also found it great to push on a bit of rough ground, ie. small tree roots, stoney ground, gravel and also on muddy ground. That was unless the ground was also sloped as it would just turn downhill in that case. Using the seat forward facing helped a bit with the ability to lift up kerbs and keep straight on a camber, but I still found it quite difficult. The suspension is good enough to give a smooth ride, but not so soft that it gets stuck going down kerbs. In fact, it was excellent going down a step. I tried going down a few steps once to see how it was and found that the brake caught on the first step so it couldn’t be bounced down at all. I liked having a brake on each wheel (only one needs to be pressed/flicked up) so it could be put on whichever side you were standing on. The narrow width of the Easywalker June was great for tight shops and using on public transport. Even better that the handle tucks right in so it takes up very little space on a cramped bus or train.

The seat of the Easywalker June is tall and would suit a tall child well, but it is also quite reclined in its most upright position. My daughter asked me quite a few times if she could sit up as she wasn’t very comfortable being that reclined. The underside of the seat has the recline mechanism and has 4 notches available but it will only click into three of those positions. The one it won’t click into would make the seat upright but the recline doesn’t reach that last position. The crotch strap really doesn’t help the seating position though; it is placed too far forwards and the child slips down to meet the crotch strap. If it was placed just a couple of centimetres further back, I think it would make for a much better seating position for the child. The recline is easy to use and gives enough of a recline for a sleeping child in my opinion. I love the way the hood works. It tucks behind the seat when not needed, can be moved up and down depending on the height of the child and has a flick out visor so provides really good coverage for a sleeping child in bright light.

The folding mechanism is pretty simple in theory but doesn’t work how it should. You have to squeeze the red buttons on either side to release the chassis and then lift the pushchair in the air for it to start closing. I had one occasion after going to the park when I just couldn’t get it to release the chassis no matter how hard I squeezed. I ended up putting it in my sister’s boot unfolded; thankfully her boot is huge so I could do that! It claims to have a memory fold but in reality, you have to then release the recline of the seat to get the pushchair to fold properly, thus it opens reclined. The chassis doesn’t close as tightly as it appears in stock photos which means it is not a very compact fold. I do really appreciate that it folds with the seat parent facing though, that’s something I look for in a pushchair, but isn’t all that common. I also love that it freestands when folded so it takes up little room when stored at home.

The basket access was a pain to me, you have to put things in from the side but those gaps aren’t even that big so you end up posting things in rather than putting a whole bag in. The basket is an alright size though. I used the Easywalker June footmuff for my daughter the whole time I had it. It’s not huge and she was as big as a child could be while still fitting inside it, but it’s not tiny either. It is lovely and soft inside and came up very high on her so she was kept nice and warm.


My overall impression of the Easywalker June is that it seems like it’s been designed by someone who’s never seen the usual mechanisms on a reversible pushchair. I have always found it pretty easy to look at a new pushchair and work out how to take the seat off, put it back on, recline the seat and fold the pushchair, but this isn’t the case with the June. All of these things left me a bit confused and needed some practice for all but the recline. The method of removing and replacing the seat unit is the strangest I’ve ever seen and seemed unnecessarily complicated. I really don’t know why it couldn’t have the usual two anchor points either side of the seat and handles at the sides to release it.

I don’t think it would take too much effort to create a much better June worth its high price tag. I would move the chassis bars a little bit so that the centre of gravity was a tad closer to the handlebar and therefore easier to get the pushchair up kerbs. The seat needs to be able to sit slightly more upright and the crotch strap moved further back into the seat. Basket access could be made easier even if still only from the side and the seat could be a lot easier to remove and replace. As it is, I wouldn’t buy an Eaywalker June, which is something I had never expected. I thought it would be almost my perfect pushchair.

 

 

Share This

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.