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iCandy Apple v’s iCandy Apple 2 Pear

These photos show the new iCandy Apple 2 Pear side by side with an iCandy Apple.

The new iCandy Apple 2 Pear is up to 40% lighter than the iCandy Apple. However the chassis’ of both pushchairs look very similar. We headed off to our friends at Nurseryland in Wakefield, for a close inspection of both the old Apple chassis, and the new Apple 2 Pear chassis, to see if we could spot the differences!

The most obvious difference between the Apple and the Apple 2 Pear is the seat unit. The seat has been totally redesigned for the new Apple 2 Pear. The new seat is sleek and streamlined. There is no footrest, however the new seat has been designed to give support for a child underneath their thighs. This seat design does appear to support the legs of our children well – certainly they look comfortable in the seats.  Our 4 year old says she finds the seat comfortable, and she has no complaints which is always great! However as my photos show, my son is never quite sure where to put his feet. Sometimes he puts them straight down, sometimes he brings them up to his knees, and sometimes he dangles his feet over the sides!  But to be fair he does this on many pushchairs, even with footrests, if you have a look through recent photos here on Best Buggy.
The Apple 2 Pear seat is considerably lighter than the old Apple seat. Whilst the chassis is also lighter, the difference between the weights of the two seat units is remarkable. There are no bumper bars on the new Apple 2 Pear seats. We prefer this for easy access to the children. However I know our eldest did feel uneasy sat in the upper seat and I think it was because she felt exposed with no bumper bar. Our youngest loves being at the front and giggles away!
The Apple 2 Pear have easy to slide off seat covers to facilitate easy fitting of the newborn cot(s) when in tandem mode.

Another big difference are the wheels. The Apple has rear air tyres. The Apple 2 Pear has lighter EVA wheels. The front wheels are slightly smaller on the Apple 2 Pear but they are spaced further apart on the axle. The chassis of the new Apple 2 Pear is lighter than the Apple chassis, however not vastly different. We believe that the air tyres v’s EVA wheels are where most of the weight difference is between these two chassis’.

There are some differences in the basket area – the basket shape is slightly different but the size is similar. The brake on the Apple 2 Pear is curved, instead of straight, which allows for easy access when in tandem mode. The rear suspension springs are not enclosed as they are on the Pear. There are some other more subtle differences, but these are the main ones with one exception – the hood! The seat sockets on the Apple 2 Pear have been restricted, so that the seats can not be fitted parent facing, thus keeping the occupants safe. The newborn cots however face each other on the Apple 2 Pear, whereas on the Pear, both newborn cots face in the same direction.

The hood on the Apple 2 Pear is quite unlike any of the other iCandy pushchair hoods. iCandy hoods are generally made from firm thick fabric. However the Apple 2 Pear hood fabric, although lined, is fairly thin. The best way I can describe it is that its similar to some of the Jané hoods e.g. the TwOne and Muum. The front of the hood has a flick out visor. This is wired so that it forms a good shape when unfolded. The visor is also slightly padded to make it stiff. Whilst the visor is a useful feature to have on the Apple 2 Pear, when the hood is folded back, the padded visor makes the Apple 2 Pear seat look smaller than it really is. So, we wondered whether an Apple hood would make the seat look bigger?

Therefore, we took our Apple 2 Pear off Baby Wonderland in Castleford, who very kindly helped us put an Apple hood onto our Apple 2 Pear seat, and allowed us to take some photos. Bearing in mind that these hoods are fundamentally a slightly different shape (the Apple is more square across the front and the Apple 2 Pear hood is rounded), they do look quite different on the same seat unit. Whilst this is not a precise science, when you look closely at these photos, there is barely any difference in where the hood from rim of the hood is on both pushchairs. It is simply the padded visor which is perceptionally making the Apple 2 Pear seat look smaller.
What we are trying to say is, don’t let the padded visor make you think the Apple 2 Pear seat is small or short. It isn’t!
The Apple 2 Pear seats 48.5cms tall which makes them amazingly 2.5cms taller than the Peach seats (with the liner in); and 3.5cms taller than the current bigger Blue Pear seat; and 4.5cms taller than the current Yellow Pear seat! The Apple 2 Pear seats are also identical in size and shape, so thus interchange well.

We did find differences with folding these two pushchairs, but we were not sure whether this was just an anomaly of these two pushchairs, or a difference. The Apple 2 Pear folds by squeezing in the button on the side of the handlebar and pushing the handle firmly along the diagonal of the frame. The Apple 2 Pear will then fold with the front wheels tucked under in the same way that the Apple does. The shop Apple pushchair, required the handle button to be squeezed in before the side button was depressed, and then the Apple could be folded.
A subtle difference, but I found it easier to fold the Apple 2 Pear.

Overall, iCandy have definitely kept the essence of the Apple and Pear in the chassis – and it is worth remembering that the Apple 2 Pear is a redesign of the Apple and Pear to improve it, rather than it being a completely new pushchair.
The seat units are completely different in single mode. In tandem mode the differences are even more striking with the replacement of the huge Pear Pip Convertor with some tiny adaptor brackets for the upper and lower seats (As the photos show, the lower seat adaptors have been left in situ despite the Apple 2 Pear being used in single mode). The Apple 2 Pear seats are identical, which is better for both siblings and twins. Best of all, it is very obvious that the Apple 2 Pear is much lighter. The small highly manoeuverable front wheels make the Apple 2 Pear extremely whizzy and nippy even when fully loaded. We are extremely glad that the chunky double wheels and huge turning circle of the tandem Pear will be no more. The one drawback for some people of the Apple 2 Pear is that the seats will not parent face. Whilst we appreciate that people buy the Pear rather than another tandem for this reason, we never liked that the smallest child was the one hidden behind its bigger sibling who had a great view of the parent. The Apple 2 Pear gives you a great view of the child in the lower seat, carrycot or parent facing car seat, whilst the bigger child gets a great view of the world from high up at the front.

We are loving the iCandy Apple 2 Pear! It really is a huge improvement on the current Pear.

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