Britax Affinity at the Harrogate Nursery Fair

The Harrogate Nursery Fair was a great place to see the Britax Affinity. The gentlemen at Britax gave us a really great first look at this smart looking, colourful pushchair.

The Britax Affinity has a very distintive chassis which echoes the curved line of the Britax logo. This chassis comes in a choice of options – black, silver or white. The seat is black and has a choice of removable fabric packs in 6 rich colours – Chilli Pepper (red), Fossil Brown, Cactus Green, Blue Sky, Cool Berry (purple) or Black Thunder. This allows for a change of colour should you fancy a change; or have a new arrival join your family.
The fabric pack includes the hood, a seat pad, a pushchair apron, shoulder and crotch pads and a basket liner.

We loved the feeling of quality of this pushchair. The detailing on the joints, the leatherette handlebar, bumper bar etc. all exude a luxury feel. The Affinity is quite a tactile pushchair – you want to see how it feels to push! And push the Affinity we did! It felt lovely with its superb suspension and air filled rear wheels. The suspension is adjustable via two rotating clips which are situated underneath the back axle of the pushchair.

The wheels easily remove for cleaning or storage. The brake has to be one of the clearest systems I have seen to date, with bright green and red indicator buttons for on and off.
The rotating handlebar means that the Affinity should suit parents of different heights.
There is a generous sized basket for shopping.
The large hood with a hidden mesh section for ventilation on warmer days.
A raincover is included in the box too.

The Affinity folds very neatly with the seat forward facing. The Affinity autolocks, and then can freestand when folded in a one piece package.

There are several newborn options – there is the choice of a sturdy looking hard based carrycot; a newborn wedge insert; or the option to add on a Britax car seat. The carrycot, Baby-Safe Plus SHR II car seat and pushchair seat units all click easily into the chassis using integrated ’Click & Go’ adaptors. We like that there is the option of a newborn wedge because money can be tight for new parents.
At the opposite end of the age spectrum, we love that the Britax Affinity has been certified for use for a child up to 17kgs. 

However it is the small details which caught my eye – the way the fabric grain has been used to great effect on the footmuffs; the way the pushchair aprons are shaped to stand proud away from the child and how it secures to the swing away bumper bar with velcro. Very neat!  Even the detailing of the footrest between the two front wheels.  It is these small things which make a difference.

Britax are also the first company to give each of their pushchairs an individual chassis number so that owners can register their pushchair online. This in theory should make resale of a stolen Britax Affinity more difficult, as the pushchair will remain registered to the original owner.

One of our favourite features is the changing bag! It has been extremely well thought out!! There is a very generous changing mat which forms the outer ‘flap’. This can be rolled out and the bag at the end is left laid horizontal (rather than vertical like most changing bags). This can then be fully opened revealing easy access sections inside which would make any nappy change quick work! In our photos, the changing bag is brown and has been laid on top of a pushchair seat for the demo.

The Britax Affinity will cost £360 for the chassis and black seat unit. The optional colour pack containing the seat pad, canopy, basket liner and apron costs a very reasonable £48. The carrycot is an additional £110. The colour co-ordinating changing bag will be £40. We think that these prices are very reasonable for such a luxurious and stylish pushchair. 

The Britax Affinity is a pushchair that you would be proud to be seen walking down the street with, and we bet with the front wheels locked, that its not bad across the countryside either! It has a great mix of style, quality, safety and practicality.