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Baby Elegance Sketch Review by Best Buggy


First Impressions
The Baby Elegance Sketch is a reversible seat pushchair which caught our eye for several reasons. First of all, it is very lightweight. The Sketch weighs a very tiny 6.2kgs, which is extremely light for a full sized, from birth, pushchair with reversible seat. The Sketch also has a compact footprint and feels neat, especially when the seat is forward facing. The chassis is neat with a lovely curved chassis from the rear handlebar down to the front wheels. The Sketch is not fussy at all, and this simplicity is a strength. The colours are beautiful, and the Snuggy Buggy cocoon is absolutely gorgeous.
However the biggest selling point, is that the Baby Elegance Sketch is one of a rare breed of pushchairs which folds neatly with the seat left on the chassis facing in either direction. The Sketch stands out because unlike the other pushchairs which fold compactly like this, the Sketch has a price tag which is a fraction that of all the rest! We don’t often dicsuss price in a review, as we tend to focus on functionality, but it is worth remembering as you read this review, that the RRP for the Sketch is a very tiny £230 for the pushchair. Thus the Sketch is a complete bargain for what it does!!

Child Comfort and Harness

The Baby Elegance Sketch has a reversible seat. Thus the child can face forwards, or face the parent.
The seat has a thick padded liner. This provides a comfortable seat for the occupant. The liner can be removed for washing.
The seat back of the Sketch is not tall, however the seat is wide and a good depth, with a good knee to footrest measurement. Thus the seat will be good for any sitting child, although may be a little short for an older sleeping child. Master BB could rest his heels on the footrest at the front of the pushchair, or he put his feet either side of the brake when he was rear facing.

There is a useful lift up calf rest which supports little legs when sleeping. This is lifted up and down by using a round button on either side. Master BB liked having the calf rest up so that he could cross his legs, especially when parent facing. He looks very comfy sat in the seat. Master BB is 98cms tall, so is at the top of the age range who would use this pushchair, and he is clearly happy.

The seat has a three position recline including an upright seat position, and a lie flat seat position which is suitable for a newborn baby from birth. The recline is accessed using a lever at the rear of the seat; which when lifted up, easily reclines the seat.

The harness works perfectly. There is a good buckle. The shoulder clips swivel so that they don’t get twisted, and they have shoulder pads on. The harness was easy to adjust, and it was simple to alter the harness height settings. There is a choice of two harness height settings, and we were pleased to also see a choice of two crotch strap positions. This allows a good fit for even small babies. The shoulder straps were at maximum extension for Master BB, thus we would have struggled to add on a winter coat or a footmuff, and we think this could be an issue for younger children too.

There is a hinged swing away bumper bar which opens and closes easily. The bumper bar is integral to the seat, (it can be removed) thus the bumper bar fits when the seat is fitted in either direction. The bumper bar is covered by fabric.

Hood, Raincover and Basket

At first glance there appears to only be a small hood on the Sketch. This is held open and taught by two locks – one on each side. However, there is also additional extra fabric at the rear, which can be pulled forwards over a sleeping child. We would have preferred to see a larger hood, or one which came a little further forwards. However, the hood is adequate, and a sun canopy or parasol could always be added for a sleeping child in summer. Master BB enjoyed the unhindered view all around the Sketch which was afforded by the hood being able to be pushed all the way back, out of the way.
We have seen a number of comments about the shape of the hood, and although the hood works well, we think that the look of the Sketch could be improved with a more typical shaped hood.

The Baby Elegance Sketch has a generous sized basket with high sides which contains the contents well. Having more elasticated sides would be useful especially to be able to push a small changing bag or handbag inside. We were unable to fit my handbag into the basket without undoing the clips each time which are fiddly. We did try hanging my handbag off the handlebar, but this rendered the handlebar too low for comfortable use. We probably would have added Pacapods or saddle bags to the sides, to use as a changing bag.

The Baby Elegance Sketch has a raincover included in the box.

Newborn Use / Travel System

The Baby Elegance Sketch has a fully lie flat seat and thus is suitable from birth. Baby Elegance sell the Sketch as a package deal for newborn babies which include a gorgeous furry lined Buggy Snuggy cocoon. This is one of the nicest baby cocoon’s we have seen. We like how the front can be unzipped and held down with toggles in warmer weather, or the front can be zipped right up to the baby’s chin in winter. There is a removable head support, so that the Buggy Snuggy will grow with your child. The Buggy Snuggy has got harness straps incorporated into the rear, thus the baby is held in using the harness straps. There is a choice of two harness height settings and two crotch strap settings for growth.
In the package deal there is also a Baby Elegance car seat. Thus for RRP £325, parents-to-be can purchase a Sketch pushchair, car seat and the Buggy Snuggy, making it a bargain travel system from birth to three.

Wheels, Brake, Handlebar and Handling

The Baby Elegance Sketch has four hard plastic wheels. The Sketch is essentially a pushchair for hard surfaces – great for getting about town. The front wheels are lockable / swivel. There is a small button behind the front wheel to lock the wheels into a straight position for going across mown grass.

The Sketch is very manoeuverable. Even with our 4 year old on board, it has been no problem to steer and whizz him around. We have enjoyed using the Sketch.

The handlebar height is just about right for me (I am 5ft 6ins tall), however, the handlebar rotates downwards to lower positions, rather than a higher one. Therefore, the Sketch is best for people of shorter stature. There is some flex in the handlebar because of the joint. However, this is not noticeable when walking along.
The handlebar is fairly flat and is comfortable to hold. The pushchair in our photoset was a sample model and has a foam handlebar. However the finished production model in our photos above has a lovely smooth leatherette handlebar.

The Sketch has a central flick on and off footbrake. This is easy to access and has worked well.

Fold and Seat Removal

One of the main selling points of the Baby Elegance Sketch is that it can be folded with the seat left in situ, facing in either direction.
Folding the Sketch is slightly quicker when parent facing as it is a one step fold. Simply grasp the sliders on either side of the handlebar – below the pivot joint. Slide these up and the Sketch begins to fold. To fold forward facing, the seat needs folding forwards onto itself – to form a clamshell – before the sliders can be used to finish off the fold.
Although the Sketch folds fairly flat, we found it to be a little too long to fit in one half of our boot (we prefer pushchairs to fit like this to keep the other side free). Thus in our car boot photos, we had to move the handlebar to allow the Sketch to fit this way. The first car boot photo shows the Sketch folded with the seat parent facing , the second shows the forward facing fold.

The seat removal is simple. There are two slider buttons behind the seat unit (white in our photoset; black on the Sketch above which we used out and about). Slide these and the seat pops off. It sometimes takes a tug or another slide to release the rear catches, but the seat removal is easy to do. Putting the seat back on requires a little care mainly to ensure the right parts latch on first. The front of the seat needs lining up and attaching first. Then drop the rear on (with the slider catches). The seat fits the same way in either direction.

In Conclusion

The Baby Elegance Sketch is a really great find. There are few reversible seat pushchairs which fold neatly with the seat left on in either direction. Nor are there many very lightweight reversible seat pushchairs. The price of the Sketch gives a very affordable option for anyone who secretly hankers after these features but can’t afford premium prices. The push has been pleasant although the small front wheels may limit use mainly to hard surfaces. The basket access could be improved; the harness could be longer; and the hood could be improved, but these are minor details as everything functions well. However, overall the Sketch is an excellent pushchair, and we would recommend it. The Baby Elegance Sketch has earned itself a Best Buggy 5 gold star rating.

With many thanks to Nick and to Baby Elegance for their help doing this review.

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