Babystyle Oyster Max Out and About

These photos are of the Babystyle Oyster Max, first in tandem mode, and the last photos are taken in single mode. We suggest you go and read our “Opening the Box” review first as background to this set of photos.

We have put the Oyster Max through its paces on many outings over the last few weeks. As you can see we went to a market and around the shops. The Oyster Max handled the different terrains eg cobbles, paving stones etc with no issues. I could lift the front end of the Oyster Max up easily enough to get it into shops or up high kerbs which given the weight of our two children was quite a feat! However we have been finding that although we can drive head first off a small kerb, we are having to reverse off bigger kerbs and steps. Again, this may simply be due to the weight we have on board the Max. But it has been no issue to reverse the Max off steps even outside busy shops, as the Oyster Max simply turns on the spot, so we haven’t got in the way of anyone else.

We really are amazed at how light and easy the Oyster Max is to push. Its a one handed push, even up hills. I think the Oyster Max probably handles better than most of the tandem pushchairs that we have had in the last 12 months. It really is highly manoeuverable. Some of these photos were taken in the opticians and at one point we had to push the Oyster Max down a tiny corridor which had trolleys parked on one side. At the end was a tiny booth. At the end of the test the optician looked worried about how we would get out, but I simply moved to one side and spun the Oyster Max around on the spot and off we went!! Awesome!!

I love how comfortable my eldest looks in the Oyster Max. We moved house recently and as a result there have been lots of appointments and visits to places where we needed to concentrate on what we were doing, or where we needed both children safe, and so our eldest (who turned 4 during our test period) has been in a pushchair more than usual, and the Oyster Max has been brilliant for her. We knew she was comfy and she was happy to sit in the pushchair, and also to be able to climb in and out herself. We do have a bumper bar for the Oyster Max, but we tend not to use it. Indeed someone today said that they have put their bumper bar on the lower seat, and I think we may well try that too. Our youngest would probably enjoy having some toys on it.

So the positives are HUGE: Easy to manoeuvre, light to push, light to carry, easy to fold, hoods which slide up the chassis giving plenty of room for even a tall 4 year old, a footrest for an older child (and room for feet on the lower chassis too) , good upright seating positions, good upper hood, comfy pivoting handlebar for the adult, good quality fabrics and loads more! I can not stress enough how important the lightness of push and easy manoeuvrability are in relation to the other tandems on the market. The Oyster Max wins huge brownie points here. The seats are comfy, the shoulder pads are thick. The harnesses are good and are easy to adjust. It has been easy to swap the children around which with siblings is important as generally our youngest goes underneath in tandem mode – but in single mode, he needs to go in the top seat, and so the harness on the top seat is constantly being adjusted. I liked how when our son put his hands on the wheel guards, he was nowhere near touching the wheels. I liked how easily and logically the raincover went on. It fitted easily with velcro tabs to hold it in position. We love how neatly the Oyster Max folds – with or without the seat on. I am finding it easy to lift into the car – and I have a very bad back at present.  Although the photos may appear like the Max fills the car – it doesn’t…theres loads of room for other things in the boot and the second seat is laid on top of everything else! The Oyster Max works well as a single pushchair as well as a tandem. There is good basket space in single mode.

So the negatives although they may seem more, are really just mere niggles. One of the biggest is that the lower seat has just two seating positions – an upright and a recline. The recline really is not deep enough for a child to nap comfortably. The photos clearly show how our son’s head lolls to one side. This for me is quite a big issue. As a comparison, look at the photos of the Origami, where he is asleep but his head is straight up – and the Origami doesn’t have a particularly deep recline. If it wasn’t for moving house, I would have added a head hugger to the lower seat, but I couldn’t find one! The other big issue for us is the lack of storage. I have had to add various bags to the Oyster Max to be able to carry basics with us on outings. Our JL Childress cooler bag and Skip Hop Saddle bag have been well used but to be honest I would prefer not to be using them. There IS actually space in the basket underneath the lower seat – but there is no access to it! It would be great if even just the raincovers could be stored and extracted from this area easily – we have suggested that Babystyle consider putting a zip access to the lower part of the basket. We are finding that the basket “catches” on the lower adaptors when opening and closing. We also find that the hood catches under the handlebar when folding with the main seat on – it is worse with the hood in the upper position, but still happens with the hood in the lower position. But this is a niggle rather than an issue. I wish there was a “built in” footrest for a younger child within the frame – as the iCandy pushchairs and the Baby Jogger Versa has. Our youngest isn’t tall enough to reach the footrest when the pushchair is in single mode and I feel he would have benefitted from somewhere to put his feet.

But this is me being nit picky – please do not let my minor niggles out weigh the positives of the Babystyle Oyster Max. Believe me I have tried many tandem pushchairs and the Oyster Max is definitely one of the best – and has a fab price tag to match!!!