Babystyle Oyster2 Review by Katherine

I’ve been trying out the Babystyle Oyster 2 with the Ride On board for a few months with my 20-month-old and 4-year-old and am having a love/hate relationship with it! More love than hate, though.

Positives first! This is a lovely looking pushchair – modern and stylish, and the model I tested was my very favourite shade of green, so got instant brownie points from me. The seat was easily big enough for my son, and he still has loads of growing room. He is very happy in there and sleeps brilliantly, which says a lot as he is a very squirmy, hyperactive child! I think a small baby might get a bit lost in the size of the seat, but for a toddler it’s spot on. The hood is giant – perfect for naps and sunny days, and I like that there is a zip to adjust it to a smaller size to allow a nosy toddler to see out. However, the solid metal edge has trapped his fingers more than once, albeit from messing about and not normal use!

The seat can be either forward or rear facing, although I used it exclusively forward facing because of my son’s age. The recline options go from completely upright (which is great as my little one does not like leaning back unless he’s sleepy) to almost completely flat for little babies and naps, and it is really easy to switch from one to the other with the child in there.

I loved the inbuilt rain-cover – I’m forgetful, so am constantly getting caught out without a rain cover and this totally solved the problem without detracting too much from the storage space in the basket (which is massive).

We used the Babystyle Ride On board a lot and I was very impressed. I found it fairly easy to avoid kicking it as I walked, although I am only 5’4”, so this might be a problem for taller people! In use it was as unobtrusive as a buggy board can be, and wheeled happily along, going over bumps and kerbs with ease. When no longer required it flips up easily, and tucks out of the way very well. The only downside I found was that it is quite easy for the child riding on the board to take the brake off while they’re on there, and we had a few hairy rolling moments before I got her to stop doing it! I also felt like the handle could have extended just a little further to better accommodate a child riding on the board.

The biggest negative of the Oyster 2 for me was the size when folded. I would never be able to fit it in my Ford KA, and though it fits easily in our S Max, it seems to slide around a lot when driving and is forever bumping from side to side, to my husband’s endless annoyance! It is also quite unwieldy to unfold, definitely not easy to do while holding onto a baby, and it is not so easy to lift into the car while holding a baby either – I always felt I had to put the kids in the car first and then attend to the pushchair – not great in heavy rain!

Overall I was impressed by the Babystyle Oyster 2 and if I didn’t have to put it in the car, I think I’d probably completely love it! Although personally it wouldn’t be my top choice, I would definitely recommend it. A lovely pushchair with only a few annoying features.