Search best buggy:

Anex Air-X Review by Best Buggy

First Impressions

The Air-X from Anex is sure to impress on arrival with its neatly folded package. It was hard to believe that everything included came in one small box and will last a child from birth up 3 or 4 years of age. The Air-X isn’t all about its tiny fold though. The Air-X offers lots of great features whilst also being a lightweight and compact pushchair.

Child comfort, Harness and Accessories

The spacious seat is well padded. It has hard wearing wipeable material over the calf support. We sat our 5 year old who stands at 118cm tall in the seat and found that he sat comfortably and the harness had enough length to secure him. We wouldn’t advocate using this pushchair for a child of this size but were impressed to see that he looked well seated and the harness could be fastened easily around him, which should demonstrate that the Air-X seat is large enough for even the tallest child weighing up to 15kg (usually age 3-4). Equally the harness can be adjusted down small for a newborn. The calf support is easily adjusted with a button either side of the seat to offer 2 leg rest positions. The padded swing away bumper bar has a leatherette cover giving a more luxurious finish and the Air-X can be folded with the bumper bar attached.

The Anex Air-X is suitable from birth as it features a fully reclining seat, the recline is adjusted using a strap system so can be positioned anywhere between fully flat to fully upright. The strap recline is a squeeze toggle which is very easy to adjust, squeeze the toggle and let the seat recline to a position you want and to move to an upright position squeeze the toggle and push the seat back up. The fabric from the top of the seat comes up to meet where the hood attaches.

The fabrics used on the Anex Air-X are a high quality and we liked the use of wipeable and water propellant fabrics in areas that would gather the most dirt such as the calf support and pop out sun visor. The fabric also has UV 50 protection which makes it sun safe too. There are currently 3 colours for the UK market: Black, Gray and Toffee.
A bumper bar is included and this can be swung away from both sides. The bumper bar is well padded with a wipe clean leatherette cover.

The 5 point harness features 3 height adjustment positions. To adjust you need to feel the back of the seat for the D-ring attached to the strap and manoeuvre it through the hole in the seat back board. We found this slightly difficult at first as the seat is fully covered by fabric but it just takes a little time. The waist strap position is not adjustable but there is plenty of length in the strap. The harness splits into 3 pieces with the shoulder and waist being joined so it easy to strap a child into. The shoulder straps have harness pads which although aren’t fixed do stay in position well without slipping and help prevent the harness from twisting. The harness length is easy to adjust.

Hood and Storage

The hood is attached with loop fastening to the sides and a zip at the top and features high quality fabric and a sun visor at the front. The hood has a viewing window to the rear and a zippered extendable panel which also features a mesh ventilation panel. The hood coverage is excellent we were especially impressed with how many features it had whilst just being one part of the pushchair. A lot of thought has clearly gone into making this a very functional pushchair.

The Air-X features an under seat basket which offers a 5kg load capacity, there is good access to the under seat basket from the rear of the pushchair and when the calf support is up there is access from the front.  The basket size is impressive considering the compact footprint of the Air-X. To the rear of the seat unit there is a zippered pouch to keep your essentials secure, the pouch will easily fit keys, phone and a small wallet.

Rain cover and Mosquito Net

The Anex Air-X does not come with the rain cover and mosquito net included, so these are an additional expense. The rain cover comes in a handy pouch is simple to attach and gives plenty of cover, it doesn’t sit too snug to the seat so there is still plenty of wiggle room for little feet underneath. The rain cover is attached by simply throwing over the front and pulling under the handle the joining the front and back with velcro strips down the sides. At the front there is a velcro loop on either side to attach to either side of the chassis. There are ventilation holes on either side just below where the hood comes down to. The mosquito net was a little trickier to fit, at the top is a stretchy band which pulls around the hood and secures either side with a pop fastener around the frame at the base of the handle, but first you need to find the velcro strip on the underside of the calf support and attach the strip on the bottom of the net to it, there are small straps with pop fasteners which need attaching around the frame under the seat and then you can fit it at the top, once attached however it is an excellent fit and gives full coverage of the seat whilst also having a slight stretch for little feet pushing against it.

Handlebar

The Air-X handlebar has a padded leatherette cover and is at a good height of 106cm (approx) at 5ft 8ins I found this very comfortable to push and although the handle is where the fold mechanism is situated it does not get in the way of pushing.  There are positions on either side of the handlebar where a cup holder can be attached (available as an additional accessory).

Wheels, Brake and Suspension

The Anex Air-X features small solid PU wheels measuring 16cm rear and 13cm front. The rear wheels pop off easily by pushing a button located under the frame on either side. The front wheels are lockable and this is done by flicking a small switch on the inside of each wheel and then turning the wheel into the right position until you hear it click into place, to unlock the wheels just flick each switch back.

The brake is operated with a small flip flop friendly foot pedal on the frame by the right rear wheel.

The Air-X features front and rear wheel shock absorbers, although the front suspension is much more noticeable in its presence overall the Air-X gives a smooth ride and easier push.

Fold

The Air-X fold is performed by holding the handle in the middle and pulling in the button on the underside of the handle whilst pushing forwards and downwards so the frame folds down in a tri fold, with the bumper bar attached you might find that you reach the bumper bar before the frame folds fully I found it easiest at this point to use my other hand to push down on the frame where the hood is attached and the pushchair will then fold neatly into one compact unit. When folded the pushchair stays locked in the folded position but does not self stand. The Air-X will fold one handed though it just takes a little practice.

The Air-X comes with a useful travel bag included. It is not as snug a fit as some others in the same category though and is therefore easier to fit the pushchair into, the travel bag also has a carry strap and toggle closure as well as rubber grips on the bottom where the wheels would rub to prevent wear.

Unfold

As with the fold of the Air-X to unfold the pushchair you need to place your hand on the handlebar pulling in the button on the underside and rotate the handle towards you then lift until the pushchair unfurls itself, it helps to place your foot on the bottom bar where the brake is located and push down. The fold and unfold can be done one handed with practice but is slightly heavier than some of its competitors so the flick motion that is demonstrated to unfold may be less comfortable.

In Conclusion

The Anex Air-X is a very impressive pushchair with a wide range of great features it is certainly hard to find fault with. In its category prices vary widely but the Air-X holds its own with its sleek design and sturdy chassis, the hood is excellent with large coverage and options for viewing window, ventilation and sun visor. The wipeable fabric is a great feature that I’m sure will be widely appreciated and the under seat basket offers plenty of space. The seat offers plenty of room to grow into with a large seat height and 3 adjustable harness height positions. The rain cover and mosquito net are extra accessories. The Air-X is noticeably heavier than some of its competitors but this is outweighed by the sturdier chassis.

We have awarded the Anex Air-X a Best Buggy Gold Star Rating of four and a half stars because although this pushchair has some great features it is on the heavier end of pushchairs in this category. Overall a very impressive offering from Anex and definitely one to be considered if you are looking for a compact travel stroller or pushchair for city living.

Share This

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.