Babystyle Oyster Max Review

Having owned a Phil and Teds Navigator and a Baby Jogger City Mini Double side by side I was a little nervous about buying a Babystyle Oyster Max. I had originally gotten rid of my phil and teds after suffering an accident with it and finding that the back of the main seat in the upright position was in my toddlers or baby’s face (which led to distraught and whingy youngsters).

Now, I absolutely love my BJCMD, it’s a fantastic pushchair, so easy to push etc but unfortunately with an impending move a side by side is absolutely useless. I cannot get it on most of the buses in the area, certainly cannot get it on a train without collapsing it (which with a 21month and 10month old is out of the question when travelling on my own). And 95% of the shops in the area we are planning to ove have narrow doorways which only just accommodate a wheelchair and certainly not wide enough for the BJCMD at 75.5cm wide.

So, with a move on the horizon I decided to look at tandem pushchairs once again. Now I liked the look of the Jane TwOne but was less than impressed with some reviews and the fact that the child’s face when in the lower seat once again looked to be close to the back of the upper seat and a toddler in the main seat could look slumped. This brought me to look at the BabyStyle Oyster Max and I think I have made the right choice.

I am very impressed with the room in the seats. The seats are quite wide (in comparison to the seat widths on the BJCMD). My toddler looks very very comfortable in both upper and lower seats and my 10 month old baby is also happy in either seat. I absolutely looooovvvvveee the space between the back of the upper seat and the face of the child in the lower seat, I can very easily and comfortably see the child in the lower seat and there is plenty of light around her (unlike in the phil and teds where the child looked shrouded in darkness). I love the seat positions as well, so many combinations and looks great as a single as well as a double.

As far as the push, I find it easier to use (particularly to bump up and down curbs) with the toddler underneath. This is more than likely because I have a strength problem with the muscles in my left shoulder and arm and also suffer with upper back and neck pain. For me having something easy to manoeuvre is essential and having rear and front suspension has proved invaluable for me in a tandem. Once I get that initial push behind me the max is a breeze to push both on uneven terrain and uphill.

I do find the chassis feels loose, I’m not sure if the testers and other reviewers here have noticed this but I did find one person post on a social site that they had play in their chassis and was told this is normal and I also ran into a lady with the max in single mode and hers does the same and she mentioned that she had a play with 3 in different stores and they were the same so I’m guessing this is perfectly normal. To be honest I do worry about it when going up and down curbs but its still early days for me and the pushchair. I did also wobble the phil and teds in mothercare and theirs also has a bit of play and wobble in the chassis. I imagine I had forgotten that feeling after using the BJCMD every day for 6 months.

I love the built in insect mesh on the underneath of the upper seat, fantastic idea. I also like that the rain covers are independent, only niggle is the lower one is close to child’s face as the hood is smaller and this bothers my eldest so if I go out when it’s already raining I place my youngest underneath and toddler in top.

I do love this pushchair and love how happy my children seem to be. Whenever my eldest walks past the pushchair she tries to climb into the back seat, she actually wanted to get back in it after we had been out and she wouldn’t come out except by bribing her with her favourite snack of a yoghurt lol.

The only complaint I have is the basket. I know other reviewers have complained about the basket on the prototype being small and as I have the final version the basket extends to the front but I do find a negative with the basket even in its modified state. There is hardly any space. I can place a blanket, pack of baby wipes and a bottle of drink in there, I also place the upper raincover in the mesh pocket at the front of the basket and the lower raincover under the lower seat to minimise the space they take up. Now my biggest problem is my toddler and the basket. My toddler is tall for her age and whilst she has lots of leg room she has this habit of stretching her feet out and pushing the basket further forward, this results in the front of the basket rubbing on the front wheels which slows me down somewhat, this is more my toddler than the pushchair though.

So in conclusion I think the Oyster Max is fantastic. Its a little on the pricey side for my husbands liking but Babystyle has definately put thought into the seat units. After using the pushchair a few times I believe that I have made the right decision and am so glad I went for this purely for the happiness of my children and the space the lower child has.