New Easywalker MINI Stroller Review by Best Buggy

We have been fans of the beautiful Easywalker pushchairs for many years. The quality and finish is always superb.
Easywalker have been evolving their stroller style pushchairs for a few years now – through the June, and the old Mini Stroller, and more recently, the Mosey. We recently gave the Easywalker Mosey a Best Buggy 5 star rating for excellence, so we had high hopes for the new MINI Stroller too.

We have had the new version of the MINI Stroller on review at Best Buggy HQ for a few months now. It is one of the best pushchairs we have ever had here, and we absolutely love it. The new MINI Stroller is easy to use, with some great features, and quality chassis and MINI branded fabrics.

First Impressions

Opening the Easywalker new Mini Stroller box was like inviting an old friend to visit. The new Mini Stroller is almost identical to the Easywalker Mosey in essence. The chassis looks the same and the seat and hood is similar in shape and style. However the new Mini Stroller has Mini branded fabrics and a leatherette handle which is stamped with the MINI logo.  We have the blue denim Union Jack design, and we like how this design is bold but also more subtle than the older MINI Union Jack design. It has certainly been eye catching with lots of positive comments as we have travelled around.

The new Easywalker MINI Stroller has good quality, strong fabrics, on a sturdy, solid chassis. Everything about the MINI Stroller exudes quality. There have been no shortcuts in producing this excellent pushchair.

Child Comfort, Harness and Bumper Bar

The new Easywalker MINI Stroller seat can both parent and forward face. It has a large seat which is taller and wider than the old MINI stroller seat, however, it is not quite as deep. This makes it a good sized seat for a typical child under 3 or 4.

The seat is simple to turn or remove. Underneath the front of the seat unit is a red handle. One pull of this handle, and the seat pops off easily. The seat then drops into a large square-ish hole on the base of the chassis.

The MINI stroller has a matching liner included in the box. This adds padding to the seat to make it comfortable. The liner echoes the Union Jack styling and looks very smart.

The harness is easy to adjust and use.  There are matching shoulder pads on the harness. These are not fixed at the top like the old MINI stroller ones were which means that they slide up and down and make adjusting the harness easy. We love that there is a huge adjustability which will keep both a young baby or an older toddler, secure. We love the chunky circular buckle with the ‘MINI’ logo in the centre,  which nestles inside a large crotch pad.

The seat has 4 recline positions including a very upright seating position which is brilliant for toddlers, and a lie flat position which is suitable for a baby from birth. There is an adjustable leg rest for a sleeping child. This has two positions – up and down. It is moved by simply placing a hand through the hole at the top of the footrest, and then moving the footrest up or down to suit. The recline is hidden at the back of the seat: there is a cut away hole in the hood inside which are three black bars. The middle bar can be squeezed upwards which releases the recline.

We love that the pushchair comes with a swing away bumper bar. This is attached directly to the seat unit, so remains on when the seat is facing in either direction. The bumper bar can be removed if not required. The open/remove buttons are not the most logical to find.

We like Easywalker products because of the high 20kgs seat capacity; however the seat is not as deep as the older MINI stroller (8cms less), and this makes a big difference to an older child, for whom this pushchair could be a very good option.

Hood, Raincover and Basket

One of the best features for us is the hood. It is absolutely enormous with lots of different options to find the perfect option for your child. Initially the hood may appear small, however, there is a zip out section at the rear, and also a flick out visor at the front – giving a total of 4 sections. The hood can also be moved up or down, so that a child can have the hood close to their head for sleeping, or higher up to give shade whilst they look out. It also means that the MINI Stroller has a wide height adjustability and an older child will easily fit underneath the hood. Best of all, we like how the hood can be folded back and down, so that it hides behind the rear of the seat. This gives a perfect view of your child, and allows your child to see all around them. There is no peekaboo window.
Our MINI Stroller hood uses the Union Jack design slightly off centre to striking effect. The only downside to the MINI fabrics are that they are slightly thicker than the Mosey fabrics, and thus we found it more difficult to move the hood past the handlebar e.g. when reclining or folding.

A raincover is included with the new MINI Stroller package. We like the child’s peekaboo window, and how that there is room for an older child’s feet.

The basket on the Easywalker MINI Stroller is a decent size. It is not huge, and access is limited at the front and rear when the seat is forward facing. However, I can fit my handbag through the elasticated sides and into the basket, although there probably is not enough room to push an average sized changing bag in. When the seat is parent facing, there is good access from the front of the basket and you can fit a larger changing bag in. We have had the basket well packed with picnic bags, coats etc. and it has held everything we needed for a day out. There are additional bag hooks on each side of the handlebar which are very useful to be able to hang a changing bag or handbag on, if it does not fit into the basket.

Wheels, Handlebar, Handling and Brake

The new Easywalker MINI Stroller has white foam filled wheels, but there is a choice of black or white wheels when ordering. The wheels are heavy to lift, but the pushchair is lovely to push. The solid rubber wheels mean that you can go anywhere without worrying about punctures.  There is also the choice of a black or silver chassis and a range of different fabrics.

We have followed the Easywalker pushchairs through their various reincarnations and the handling has improved across time. The new Easywalker MINI Stroller is sturdy to push. We love that there is no flex in the frame and it drives beautifully. It is easy to steer and push and the narrow width is bliss in small spaces, or in aisles in shops. We have had fun going off road with the MINI Stroller too, and it has handled a variety of every day terrain well e.g. grass, playground bark chips, gravel, lumps and bumps. It is clear to see the suspension working at the rear as you push the pushchair along. The Easywalker MINI Stroller is weighted towards the rear, thus whilst it is easy to tip the pushchair up a kerb with the seat forward facing,  the pushchair flies up a kerb when the seat is rear facing.

The handlebar is leatherette with the MINI logo stamped into the centre of it. The handlebar is absolutely the perfect thickness for my hand – not too thick and not too thin. Lovely.

The brake is neat in the centre of the bar. It clicks on and off as it enagages.

Newborn Options

There are several options for a newborn baby. There is a gorgeous carrycot which has a unique lie-flat function. We have been able to test the carrycot out, and it has been fantastic. It is good quality and is lined with a comfortable mattress. The outer fabrics are thick and we love the off centre Union Jack logo on the zip off apron. The carrycot is a good size with plenty of room for a baby up to 9kgs (6 months).

The carrycot requires an adaptor – it is a block shape – and it simply fits into the centre hole in the chassis ready for the carrycot to fit on. It is easy to remove by squeezing on either side if not required. This block can be left in position to fold, or if switching between carrycot and car seat mode.

It is so easy to fold the carrycot flat for travelling, and then simply pull it open again at our destination. The fold flat function is done via two toggles at the foot end of the carrycot. One toggle pulls the carrycot open; the other pulls it flat again. The carrycot is removed from the chassis using the handle at the head end. Pull and the carrycot releases. It can then be lifted off using the handle situated in the hood. However, the carrycot does not have to be removed for folding. The carrycot can simply be left on the chassis in either the open or the folded position, and then the whole pram can be folded as one piece. It is a bit of a shame that the tag on the carrycot apron, with the MINI logo on sticks up, because the logo is then upside down.

The new Easywalker MINI Stroller can also be used with the pushchair seat from birth. The seat lies flat, and with the leg rest up, and the hood down, it makes a snuggly seat for a small baby. The Easywalker MINI Stroller footmuffs are gorgeous and would cocoon a child of any age.

The new Easywalker Mini Stroller can also be used as a travel system with the addition of car seat adaptors. These wrap easily around the chassis. The Maxi Cosi Cabriofix and Pebble; Cybex Aton and Besafe iZi Go are all approved for use on the new MINI Stoller. We are a little surprised that the car seats approved for the Mosey are not officially listed on the Easywalker MINI compatibility list – these include the Nuna Pipo, Kiddy Evolution Pro / Evo-lunafix. We have used an Evo-lunafix on our MINI chassis because at the time we could only find the link to the Mosey compatible car seat list. However, we recommend you check this out with Easywalker before use if you prefer to use one of the other car seats.

Fold / Unfold

The fold and unfold are extremely simple on the new MINI Stroller. The fold and unfold can in theory be done one handed, however it is easier and more practical when done with two hands.
To start the folding process, the seat needs to be folded in half. This is done by squeezing the middle black recline bar and moving the top of the seat downwards the footrest. The handle also needs to be lowered. When the seat is forward facing either step can be done first, but when the seat is parent facing, then these two actions must be done in order. To finish the fold off, simply lean down underneath the seat. Squeeze in the red ‘roller’ and press in the black button. The pushchair will fold easily forwards until the chassis locks closed.
Opening the pushchair is easy. Undo the fold lock and nudge the pushchair open until it is standing on all four wheels and the chassis locks into open position. Then simply extend the handle using the clips on either side, and open up the seat into the desired position.
The Easywalker MINI Stroller will freestand when the seat is forward facing, but not when the seat is parent facing. The fold is neater when the seat is forward facing, but either way it is fairly flat.

In Conclusion

The new Easywalker MINI Stroller really is a great all round pushchair which can easily be taken anywhere whether it is about town or out in the country. It ticks all our boxes for what we require from a pushchair: it looks great; it has wheels which will go anywhere; it has a large seat with good recline positions, bumper bar and a leg rest; it has a decent sized basket and handlebar clips to carry sufficent for a day trip; it has an extending multi positional hood; go anywhere wheels; a simple and neat fold; easy to push and manoeuvre; a narrow chassis and a super adjustable handlebar. The only minor negatives are basket access when the seat is forward facing, and the hood fabric is a little too thick to get past the handlebar without a push, but neither of these are really an issue.

All round we LOVE the Easywalker new MINI Stroller. It is definitely deserving of  a Best Buggy 5 gold star rating, because for all round functionality and practicality, the Easywalker new MINI Stroller, like the Mosey, is hard to beat.