Micralite Fastfold Review

The Micralite FastFold is a high-quality low price stroller that provides a heavyweight experience and a lightweight nimble feel. It's suitable from 6 months all the way up to 22kg, it folds up superbly and even better... it's freestanding while folded! The FastFold has great levels of protection for your baby providing optimal peace of mind for all you tired new parents, and bags of storage so you can be ready for every scenario, all of this, for a price cheaper than any parent can dream of for this level of quality.

Pros & Cons

Features

Specifications, Weights & Dimensions

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What's in the box

• Pushchair
• Air-mesh liner
• Weatherproof hood
• Harness pads
• Buggy basket
• pneumatic tyre pump
• Rain Cover         

Colour Options

• Black
• Black/Fluoro
• Khaki
• Khaki/Saffron
• Teal
• Teal/Orange
• Aqua         

Accessories Available

• FastFold Essentials Pack
• DayPak
• FastFold Foootmuff
• FastFold Seat Liner
• Universal Car Seat Adapter         

The Parent Test

Hey, I'm Kate, a 27-year-old new Mum, I'm currently on maternity leave. I always like to share my experiences with people - the good, the bad and the ugly. There will be no rose-tinted glasses over here!

First Impressions 

The Micralite Fastfold is suitable from 6 months to 22kg, it is lightweight (7.5kg) and slim so can easily get in and out of narrow spots and can be pushed easily with one hand (very useful if you need that coffee in the other hand to keep you going!).

The stroller comes in two boxes, one for the main frame, wheels, tyre pump and rain cover, the other for the seat insert/cushion and hood. The wheels come fully inflated and are advertised as puncture-proof, they simply clip onto the frame of the pram, the front wheels come ready attached. The hood was a little more tricky to clip on as the clips are to be inserted between hardware which is already on the pram (although my helpful assistant come husband, found it pretty straightforward). The rain cover is a handy addition and has a zip at the front to allow the child more freedom whilst still keeping the stroller fabric dry.

Manoeuvrability

As mentioned above, the pram is narrow so great for tight spaces, especially squeezing past those cars parked on the pavement! It is lightweight so easy to push with one hand, however, the pram tends to hold more weight at the back, therefore there is a tipping hazard if you are used to hanging your changing bag from the handle. The manoeuvrability is good, the wheels move freely and seldom get stuck in pot holes or pavement cracks and the suspension gives way to a smoother ride than my foam filled travel system. The Fastfold is equally as good used on grass and gravel.

Folding, Unfolding, Storage & Lifting

To unfold the stroller there is a lock/catch towards the bottom which you need to unclip, then there is a button/leaver which you push down towards the ground until you hear it click, this unfolds the stroller fully, if you don’t hear the click the stroller will fold back up with any amount of weight placed on it. To fold, you need to pull the leaver up and push down the button above the leaver, once fully folded you need to hold the front of the stroller to prevent it unfolding and put the lock/catch back on. I wouldn’t say it can be done one-handed, it is a little more fiddly than my travel system. The handle also has three positions with one being folded in towards the pram for ease of storage. The pram can be stored in a freestanding position which is ideal if you are out and about in restaurants for example.

Comfort & Ease of Use 

Taking into account the seat can’t be removed, it is fairly light to lift for loading into the car boot. We have a Hyundai i30 which has a fairly average-sized boot, while the Fastfold is narrow and this can be seen when it is folded, it is quite long so does go from end to end in the boot.

The seat is soft and as advertised by Micralite has the appearance of a hammock rather than a structured seat. This appears to be comfortable enough for my 10 month old and along with the suspension seems to reduce the amount of bumps and dips for the user. The handle has a soft foam covering which is comfortable to use and aids grip.

Safety

The seat has a harness with detachable shoulder pads and the straps can easily be altered. There is a foot brake underneath the back wheels which can be quickly and easily applied/removed with the use of one foot, you do have to put your foot under the brake to release it but it moves without too much resistance so can still be done while wearing flip flops or sandals.         

The Basket

The basket is quite small and has a strap through the centre which does prevent you from filling it up. I did find this a bit of an issue considering you are unable to hang the changing bag on the handle without the pram tipping. A pram organiser might work better but this wasn’t an option when doing nursery drop-offs. There is a small zip compartment at either side of the hood which is useful if you are just running errands and don’t need a whole load of stuff with you, you can pop your phone, card, money etc in. I have also found these compartments useful for putting baby socks in after you get bored of them being taken off 3710482 times.

Price

The Fastfold is currently selling for £245 on Micralite's website. While in some ways I feel this is a fair price, I do feel there are a couple of things that would make this stroller better value for money, namely the issue with the basket and how easily it can tip over.

Final Thoughts

Overall I like the design and manoeuvrability and have found it a great stroller for short trips running errands or a stroll around the park. I feel the older the child gets the more useful this stroller would be as you may not need to carry as much stuff with you (bottles, bib and stuff for weaning).

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