TFK (Trends for Kids) Trio Twist Review by Best Buggy

Best Buggy are huge fans of TFK pushchairs. We have had a Joggster Twist, and a Twinner Twist Duo, so we had high expectations that the Trio Twist would have the same excellent quality and level of luxury which we had found on the other TFK pushchairs. We were not disappointed. In fact, we were very surprised how there has been absolutely no compromises made on this “Rolls Royce” of triple pushchairs.

First Impressions

There is no doubt that the first impression is that this is a huge, heavy pushchair….and we mean huge! This is not a pushchair to take on lightly. However if you have the requirement of a triple buggy for three children, the chances are, you probably are prepared to build up your muscles and consider the Trio Twist as an option, especially as there is no question the quality and comfort that this pushchair offers, is absolutely superb. At a huge 111cm wide, the Trio Twist will not be able to take you everywhere that you want to go, however, it will certainly get you out and about, and we are sure that you would find compromises and work arounds, such as using shopping malls with wide doors.

The TFK Trio Twist looks great – stylish, modern and sporty with a wonderfully chunky chassis and attention to detail. As said at the start, we are familiar with TFK products. However, we were very surprised to find that no compromise had been made on the Trio Twist both in terms of quality, but especially on seat size. The Trio Twist is literally a Twinner Twist Duo with an additional full sized seat unit. TFK seats are HUGE anyway – some of the tallest and biggest that we have reviewed here at BBHQ. Little Miss and Master BB couldn’t wait to clamber on board and had an absolute whale of a time playing in the huge seats. It is testament to the comfort that they didn’t want to get out! We were very surprised how Little Miss BB still fits well in the seat aged nearly 7 (120cm tall). These really are large seats.

Child Comfort

The TFK Trio Twist has three comfortable seats which are suitable from 6 months and are certified to carry occupants up to 15kg. There are carrycots available from birth to six months. Each seat can be removed individually, and a carrycot can be placed on the chassis. So there is the option of having three seats; or three carrycots; or two seats and one carrycot; or one seat and two carrycots. So this pushchair will work for triplets; twins with a sibling; or three siblings of different ages.

There is absolutely no question that the TFK Trio Twist will provide its three occupants with maximum comfort. The seats are extremely thickly padded with breathable fabrics to keep the children cool in summer and warm in winter. The seats are can be pulled into an upright position, and also recline into any position from upright to very flat, using a toggle on the rear of the seats. The excess recline webbing can be velcroed neatly to the rear of the seat when not required. The toggle is so much simpler than the old Zip system that was on our Twinner Twist Duo.

The seats all have 5 point harnesses. At this point we have to apologise. We sent the TFK Triple out on a testing period with three smaller children. Unfortunately we have no photos of them to illustrate seat size for smaller children. We took an opportunity to borrow a friend to fill the empty seat of the Triple so that we could test out handling etc. and to take a few photos to illustrate use (Master BB wasn’t in a great mood!). However, the TFK harnesses whilst being some of the best harnesses we have seen, do take time to adjust. There are different settings and loops etc. to ensure the perfect fit (see the close up’s of the seat in our empty pushchair photoset here). There are two height setting loops behind the child as well as two crotch strap settings. We are usually neurotic about having harnesses properly adjusted. However, we simply did not have time to adjust all the harnesses to fit each child in the time scale we had. Rest assured, they can be adjusted really brilliantly for a small child, or as you can see in our photos, there is still plenty of room for our bigger children in the harnesses. The harness pads are large and very padded, but we did find them on the bulky side even on our bigger children. The buckle is robust and the harnesses are easy to do up.

We absolutely love the leg rests on the TFK pushchairs, and the Trio Twist has exactly the same functions as the smaller pushchairs. The footrests have 3 positions. These are altered by folding the footrest in towards the seat so that it is flat against the calf rest; then lift the footrest up, find the desired height level, and then fold back down. On top of this, the footrest also lifts up and is fixed in position with a metal loop. This means that a child at any age can have their feet properly supported, and a sleeping child can also relax comfortably as they snooze.

All round, we think that the TFK seats are some of the best, and most comfortable on the market. I know that for parents with more than one child, giving them all equal space and view is important, and this is why the Trio Twist will appeal. All these seats are absolutely equal with no compromise at all. The children LOVED being next to each other, however, unlike say the Mountain Buggy Duet, the children have sufficient space between them too.

Bumper Bars, Hoods, Storage and Raincovers

The TFK Trio Twist comes with not just one, or even two, but three bumper bars included! There is a single, double and a super large triple bumper bar. This means that you can choose the correct bumper bar for your set up combination of carrycots and seats. The TFK bumper bars have never been the easiest to fit, however, TFK have quite wisely removed the flaps of fabric which used to cover the metal gap where the bars fit, to make it simpler to fit. These used to catch and get in the way of the bumper bar fitting, so we found fitting these bumper bars, a much easier job than on previous pushchairs. The bumper bar does gate open although in triple mode, you would need some space to do this! It is probably easier to remove the bar. Little Miss BB (a tall 6 year old) was too big to fit behind the bumper bar (as you would expect (!) but she did want to have a go!) but Master BB (a small 5 year old 95cm tall) had plenty of space. The neat thing about the choice of bumper bars is that one can be left off for an older toddler who wants to hop in and out, whilst the smaller children get a bumper bar.

There is lots of room under the hoods for even our tallest child. The hoods are not quite as large as the Joggster Twist, but are the same size as the Twinner Twist Duo. The hoods ideally could do with another panel to give better coverage of the child, but there is a good sized padded visor on the front to shield eyes from the sun. Each hood can be individually locked on each side. This is something which we feel could be improved on, because doing 6 locks up each time you need the hood up, and then having to undo 6 locks to fold the pushchair was hard work when most hoods simply pull up and lock into position. It was not necessary to lock the hoods, but they did look more taut. The hoods do push back quite nicely, however, the children, even when upright are sat a little behind the line of the hood, thus you may not be able to see them from behind.
There is a peekaboo window with plastic viewing panel at the rear of each hood. These are covered with fabric held by velcro, and can be rolled up and fastened with a toggle when not in use.

The Trio Twist comes with raincovers – one large one for seat mode, and one large one for carrycot mode. This is easy to throw over the top and it does fold down reasonably well for storage.

Storage on the TFK Trio Twist is superb. The extra seat gives the benefit of an extra large basket. This extends underneath all three seats and is easily the biggest basket we have ever seen on a pushchair. There is access through the back and the sides, although access is restricted a little by the bars. A changing bag size item does push through easily though. It is probably an idea to load the basket up before putting the seats in the upright position when opening. There are also smaller covered storage pockets on the rear of each seat, and also a triangular zippered pocket on each side of the pushchair too.

Wheels, Handling and Brake

The wheels are all air tyres which make for a good push but we recommend Slime-ing the tyres. Getting a puncture with 3 on board would be no fun. The front wheels are lockable / swivel wheels. This is done by turning the knob above each front wheel to lock and unlock. Pressing the centre of this button also releases the wheels quickly and easily. The rear wheels are not quite as easy to remove as they are linked to the M-brake at the rear. The M-brake is disc brake which is operated via a red handle on the handlebar. Squeezing the handle in slows the pushchair down, whilst putting the red pin into position makes the brake hold firm. This takes two hands which is a bit of a pain especially if you are on a hill and are trying to hang onto the pushchair at the same time. We don’t think this brake system is the best for parking, and it relies on the user being right handed to use the brake for slowing down.

The handlebar is covered in dense foam and is comfortable to hold. However, it would have been good if the centre section of the handlebar had also been covered in foam, as this is where we naturally pushed from i.e. the centre of the pushchair! The handlebar is adjustable however, this is really quite tricky to do because you need to be able to push both buttons in at the same time (over a metre apart!) and then also still be able to lift or lower the handle into position. We feel sure that an easier solution could be found such as memory buttons which hold in whilst the other is pressed.

There is a red tether strap on the pushchair. Unusually it is attached to the low rear bar rather than the handlebar. This is in case the pushchair runs away from you by accident.

The fabrics and basket have reflective stitching to help you be seen in winter. I would suggest you add on some pushchair lights too, because you are more likely to need to walk in the road at some point with this pushchair, more than any other.

We can’t pretend that using this pushchair is particularly easy. It is heavy and wide. It poses challenges where you would never expect for example, although a pavement may be wide, lamposts, bins and bus stops all encroach on the width of a path. Gates and doors are rarely built to accommodate anything this wide although shopping malls are a godsend to a parent of 3 using this. You need to be realistic about whether this pushchair is right for you, and for where you need to go. We have found it a challenge to go anywhere with it, and it took careful planning. One of the parents who was in our user trials couldn’t even fit it in her large MPV boot, and had to walk it back to us! But also being realistic, you would not even be contemplating a triple pushchair unless you really needed one, and with that comes accepting it’s limitations. Having used some of the alternative triple pushchairs on the market, all have pros and cons. However, the TFK Trio Twist is one of the most beautiful and more thought out pushchairs. It is certainly modern and smart to look at. This would be an awesome pushchair to get the family out and about in the countryside with. If you owned this pushchair you would find solutions to most problems that you are likely to encounter.

Fold

In theory, the fold is simple. It is exactly the same as the Twinner Twist duo – simply undo the black clips on either side of the pushchair, fold the upper half of the pushchair forwards, and release the red safety catch as you go. Then grasp the bars which are now pointing towards you, at the base of the seats, and pull those down and towards you, whilst the front of the stroller slides together forwards. In practice this is much more tricky with the Trio Twist than it was with the double, and I admit to struggling. The handle will probably fold back to form a neater fold, but we didn’t try this. There is a rudimentary fold lock – simply slip a piece of webbing with a hole in it over a rivet.
Opening the Trio Twist was easier but still tricky. The fold lock needs removing, and then either the front wheels can be slid out first, or the top can be lifted up, and the front wheels flicked out as you unfold. We tended to do the latter, and push the wheels forwards as we lifted the seat up.
The weight and size of this stroller is a big issue for folding and lifting. The Trio Twist weighs a huge 25kg which is excessively heavy for a pushchair. It is clear why it is so large and heavy, and in return you get a very robust, high quality pushchair. I couldn’t lift the Trio Twist at all. Thankfully the pushchair can be towed or even pushed along on two wheels. See the photo at the bottom of our photoset here.
A vehicle with a very large, accessible boot is required. As mentioned above, don’t assume this will fit into a standard MPV.
Ensure you have the space at home to store the pushchair too. It is still large when folded and does not freestand. It needs to be propped against a wall.

In Conclusion

The TFK (Trends for Kids) Trio Twist is a unique pushchair. There is currently nothing else like it on the market, and for this reason it fills an important gap. In return the expectation of anyone wishing to purchase a Trio Twist will be because they require one, and that they fully expect a wide, big, heavy pushchair to potentially carry three good sized toddlers. No one is going to go into buying a Trio Twist without weighing up where they are likely to be able to go with this beastie, and accepting its limitations is important. What is also important are the practicalities of folding and unfolding, lifting and storing.
All this aside, TFK pushchairs are exceedingly strong and good quality, and no compromises have been made on this in this awesome triple. Your children will be travelling in maximum comfort, in spacious, padded seats, with adjustable, lift up footrests. It has been well thought out, and has anything that you would expect a pushchair to have. The basket and storage is excellent. The hoods could be a little larger, and you do need carrycots from birth. Take time to set the harnesses up correctly, and this is a pushchair that will grow with your family until you no longer require it. If you like an outdoor lifestyle, but need to also not lose the children in different directions, then this is definitely the triple stroller for you.

We have contemplated what star rating to give the TFK (Trends for Kids) Trio Twist because we can not fault the quality and features on the pushchair. We gave the TFK Twinner Twist Duo a 5 star rating, and the Trio Twist is no different in manufacture – except it is for three children instead of two – thus is bigger. However, the Trio Twist is SO much heavier, wider and larger that we have had to consider this. Our negative points are all created by the fact this is a triple pushchair, thus it is heavier, wider etc., and with that the expectation of anyone wishing to purchase this pushchair, is that they will be buying such a large pushchair with their eyes wide open, knowing all the facts, and thus accept this. The conclusion we came to was that the TFK (Trends for Kids) Trio Twist deserves a Best Buggy 5 Gold Star Rating for the quality, functionality and engineering which went into building what is the best triple pushchair we have ever seen. Well done TFK for helping all those who really need a good quality, sturdy triple buggy!