iCandy Orange Review by Best Buggy

Sometimes we simply know when a pushchair is going to be fantastic simply from a photo……and it was certainly love at first sight with the Orange. But did the Orange live up to expectations when we got it out and about on the road? Let’s find out!

The iCandy Orange is a single pushchair, with the option to add on a second seat. There are many possible options for one or two seats, one or two carrycots, and one or two car seats, or combinations of these. The icing on the cake is a in-built ride on board for a toddler to stand on at the rear of the chassis, whilst they hold on either side onto the handlebar. Absolute genius!

The iCandy Orange is a pushchair which is in a league of its own. This is a pushchair that can grow with your family, importantly with no compromises on the way. There’s a configuration for every age gap, and every stage, whether a singleton, siblings or twins. There is nothing quite like it on the market.

First Impressions

We were fortunate to be involved with the development of the Orange, but even knowing what was to come, the finished pushchair was beyond all expectations. The first thing that we noticed was the shiny Space Grey chassis and the brilliant Flame orange fabrics – Very eye catching. There are a variety of fabric colours available if you don’t want to stand out too much from the crowd, however this is a pushchair which will turn heads as you stroll by! The fabrics have a lovely underlying black weave through them which lifts the fabric colour and adds texture. The pushchair chassis is super sturdy and strong. The basket is absolutely enormous – deep and spacious. However because the basket is so large, it gives the impression that the Orange is a big pushchair, but it isn’t – the rear wheels are the same width apart as it’s sister pushchair, the Peach.

There is no way you can truly start to understand the Orange until you start to play with is….because with over 30 configurations, this is where the fun begins! The iCandy Orange is marketed as ‘Futureproof’, and as a parent, it is easy to see why. This pushchair can take you from the birth of your newborn through every phase, and can continue to be used when a sibling joins the family. It goes through carrycot phases, has one or two seats, and later the eldest sibling can jump on and off the ride on board if they need a rest. There are so many options and possibilities….more than we were able to photograph and use. We only discovered afterwards that some configurations we photographed were not ‘official,’ which means that they will not have been safety tested, so it is worth double checking in the manual before using any particular configuration.

Child Comfort, Harness and Bumper Bar

The iCandy Orange starts life as a single pushchair, but it comes as a complete package with the seat, carrycot, hoods, risers and elevators included. If you have a second child it just costs just under £50 to convert your existing Orange into a tandem pushchair because you already have the seat and carrycot each on their own frames. This makes the Orange a very cost effective, practical and futureproof pushchair, if you plan to have more than one child. If you have twins, then it is possible to buy an additional carrycot or seat fabric, and then convert the second seat or carrycot frame. It is very possible for many siblings that the carrycot and one seat option, will see the eldest through to the point where you can then let them hop onto the board, thus saving the money on the second seat fabric.

In single mode, the Orange seat can be forward or parent facing. There is the option to add on the risers and elevators for additional height and to bring your child closer to you in parent facing mode. These also push the front seat forwards to give more room for a toddler to stand on the integrated ride on board. The seat has three recline positions including an upright seating position and a flat sleeping position. The recline is adjusted by using a lever on the rear of the seat. It is very simple to do. The seat is a bucket seat which means it isn’t suitable for a baby until they reach at least 6 months old. Until then, the carrycot is very roomy and will easily last a baby until they reach 6 months of age. The Orange carrycot comes with the mattress, a soft fleece liner and also a black apron (seen in this set of photos). Once a baby reaches 6 months there is a padded liner for added comfort, which can be removed as the baby grows. This also helps to keep the pushchair seat clean too. All fabrics are removable and can be sponge cleaned. The carrycot pops on and off by pressing in the circular buttons on each side of the frame.

The Orange seat unit is large and roomy. There is plenty of width and depth to the seat, and the seat back is a generous height. Our toddler tester looked very comfortable with his feet perfectly on the footrest and knees flat. There is no adjustable footrest, however, an older child can rest their feet on the front bar of the chassis when in single forward facing mode. In single mode the seat is certified to take a child up to 25kg so we tested this out with 24kg, 7 year old Master BB. He could comfortably sit in the Orange seat – so comfortably, that we would have liked to have taken the Orange with us on a trip to Disneyworld, but unfortunately we ran out of space in the car! Whilst we know Master BB isn’t the target market for this pushchair, we think it is useful for you to know just how large the seat is. There is no adjustable calf rest on the Orange, but certainly in single mode the child moves to use the chassis footrest, and in tandem mode, we put the eldest child at the rear with their feet in the basket.

To fit a second seat or carrycot requires the tandem adaptors. These clip onto the chassis easily and can be left in situ without affecting the fold. This is very useful if you need to be able to adapt your pushchair to your particular needs on a daily basis. Our Orange was tested by a childminder who thought that the options were amazing, and gave her versatility to have one pushchair which had all the options to work for any of her children on any given day. There was no need to convert any seat frames, or add on converters and she could ditch the wobbly stroller toddler board! The risers and elevators do need adding, and whilst at first glance these look like lots of parts to fit together, in reality, you leave them stacked ready for use on the next outing. There are so many configurations that there is something for everyone, whether you like a parent facing carrycot; or your children like to see you; or you prefer to chat to your children. For us, the ‘cinema style’ seating is what makes the iCandy Orange stand out from the crowd, and is what makes this pushchair special. To have the ability to see and chat to both your children parent facing as you stroll along is fantastic. Equally, if both children wish to see out, then that can happen too. This is particularly important for parents with twins who want to give their children an equal view of the world. Up until now, if you needed a tandem pushchair, one child was usually tucked underneath the other with only the seat in front to look at. In tandem mode each seat can take up to 15kg. There is so much room between the seats, that the rear child is unlikely to annoy the front child. It is difficult to see the front of the pushchair in tandem mode, so look out for the front child’s legs if you have the front seat forward facing, because the seat protrudes a fair distance in front of the front wheel.

There is a sturdy 5 point adjustable harness with the round iCandy one press-to-open centre. The harness can split into 5 parts but not easily – the top pieces only fit through the slot a certain way. There are shoulder harness pads to cushion the straps for your child. The harness is a generous size and still fits Master BB, even with a winter coat on.

The seat has a leatherette bumper bar which doubles up as the carrying handle on the carrycot. These neatly swing open to allow access to the child. This is a first for an iCandy pushchair, and a brilliant innovation especially for those with toddlers who like to nip in and out.

Hood, Raincover, Storage and Ride on Board

We love the fabric of the Orange hoods. This is a thicker more canvas type of fabric to the hoods that we have seen on the Apple2Pear and Raspberry. This gives a lovely shape to the pushchair as well as feeling snug and protective. The hood height is fixed at a fairly low level which does make the seat appear smaller than it actually is. It is a shame that there aren’t different hood height positions so that the hood could be clipped on higher up as a child grows. In true Best Buggy style we did experiment with different hoods, and whilst it isn’t the place to discuss these, there are certainly other brands of hood which fit on perfectly and give plenty of height underneath for our 7 year old to fit!

The hoods have several surprises – At first glance the hood has two panels with black lines on it. Each black line is a hidden zipped section. There is an additional zip out solid panel in between the two visible panels, which gives additional coverage especially for a sleeping child; and at the rear there is a zip out black mesh panel at the rear for ventilation. This also increases the hood coverage even further. At the front there is a flick out padded sun visor. So all in all, an excellent hood.

iCandy give you a raincover for both the seat unit and the carrycot in a small drawstring bag which can be easily hung onto the chassis or thrown into the ginormous basket! If you purchase a second carrycot or seat unit, then you also get another raincover too.
The basket can hold a massive 64 litres. This has to be the biggest pushchair basket on the market. The access is also clear too – in every mode, there is access to the basket. It is restricted when there is a carrycot in the lower position, but it would just take careful packing. This makes the Orange the perfect companion for day trips or for shopping. We loved being able to put a large bag or shopping bags straight underneath.
Our only warning is that the huge basket would be very tempting for a toddler to sit in, particularly if they get tired of standing on the ride on board. If this is likely to happen, then please take the second seat with you, because the basket is not intended for a toddler to sit in, and is only certified to carry up to 10kg of weight (it says 5kg in the instructions!).

As we said at the start, having an integrated ride on board for a toddler is genius. We are really not fans of add on stroller boards because it is rare to find one which is easy to clip on; that you don’t constantly trip over; where you don’t have to waddle like a duck behind it; and where every kerb is usually a nightmare waiting to happen. Having a toddler standing in front of you is really no problem, and the child can forward face or they can stand facing you, so that you can chat. They are clear of the handlebar, so that you can still push easily. The handlebar width is comfortable for a little one to hold on tight. The pushchair does not increase in length, so you don’t trip over anything and can walk normally. The ride on board at the back is wide enough for even Little Miss BB’s adult size 4 feet and can hold child weight up to 20kg.

Handlebars, Handling, Wheels and Brake

The iCandy Orange has a perfect handlebar. It is just the right thickness to feel comfortable but solid. The handlebar is leatherette with a solid plastic centre where the handlebar adjustment button sits. This button extends or retracts the telescopic handlebar height. There are 5 different positions which range from 97cm to 115cm tall. We like a tall handlebar, but this is enormous. It is worth noting that the higher the handlebar, the more space there is for the seats and a standing toddler, and the easier it is to pop the Orange up a kerb. So if you are of short stature, you may wish to test out the height before purchase.

As a single pushchair, the Orange is on the larger side, but it isn’t heavy or cumbersome. It is very agile and is extremely light to push. We have had the Orange in some very tight spaces, and its performed well. We have also had Miss BB on the board at the back, and believe us it has still been easy to push. In fact with both (heavy) children on board its actually a more balanced push than with just one child in the seat! Weird but true! Having the board integrated means there are no handling issues when cornering, or going up and down kerbs.

The front wheels are lockable, swivel, removable wheels. The rear wheels also remove by pressing the centre button and pulling outwards. The wheels are soft touch but hard wearing. There is excellent suspension.

The brake is sensibly located to the right hand side of the chassis. It is a step on, and flick off brake with a satisfying audible click. The brake works well although the button itself is possibly a little small.

We tried the Orange out with two Kiddy Evoluna i-Size car seats (see this page) to see if we could get two lie flat car seats on the Orange – which to our delight we could! The Orange is also compatible with the Maxi-Cosi Cabrio Fix, Maxi-Cosi Pebble, Maxi-Cosi Pebble Plus, BeSafe iZiGo, Cybex Aton Q, Cybex Cloud 2, Joie iGemm, Nuna Pipa, Recaro Privia and BeSafe iZiGo Modular, Kiddy Evo Lunafix, Kiddy Evolution Pro2.

Fold

The Orange is really simple and easy to fold. The front seat can be left on or removed to fold. The elevators can be left on the seat if desired; and the tandem convertors can be left in situ on the chassis too.
On either side of the handlebar are two sliding rings. These pull towards you, and the chassis ‘breaks’ and starts to fold towards the floor.
The elevators and risers can all be removed by pressing in a button on the side of each piece and pulling.
For anyone who is used to a stroller board, there is no need to detach the board, or fold the pushchair with the board flapping! The board is simply the back of the basket and folds in with the pushchair. The toddler board is just there, ready to use, whether you need it or not. The board is identical to the front of the Orange basket, and so doesn’t stand out as being odd if not required either! It is simply part of the chassis.
The Orange opens fairly easily – simply unlock the chassis by pulling the lock away from the chasssis; pull the handlebar upwards; and flick the pushchair open onto its 4 wheels. One negative here is that the fold lock is quite tricky to access through the chassis with the seat on. It is coloured light grey to stand out against the darker chassis, but every time we look for it, we fail to spot it first time. It is simpler really to remove the seat to see the lock.
The folded chassis is quite large even with the seat removed, and this is something to be aware of because the Orange only fitted lengthways in my large car boot. However, it will stand on its side eg. at the back of the boot.
The pushchair will also freestand, which is very useful for storing in the house. The chassis and the seats could also easily be hung up if space is at a premium.

In Conclusion

The Orange is a superb single pushchair. The quality is excellent. The fabrics, chassis, wheels and finish are all top quality and it looks stunning. As a single the Orange perceptually feels large because of the huge spacious basket although the footprint is no bigger than the average single stroller. The massive benefit of the Orange is to be able to cheaply extend the pushchair into a tandem when a second child is on the way.
Over the years we have tested nearly every tandem pushchair currently on the market. With every other tandem, there is usually compromises to be made, whether it is storage space, seating positions, or seat size. The iCandy Orange designers have resolved all potential issues, and provides a perfect solution for a growing family or for twin families with no compromise anywhere. There are two spacious seats, both with a great view out for each child. The adaptors, risers and elevators are simple to fit, and the whole pushchair folds down easily into the space of a single pushchair.
We are delighted to say that the iCandy Orange absolutely does live up to expectations. The push and handling is superb and the Orange is sheer pleasure to use. It is infinitely practical, and performs superbly in real life. The Orange really is future proof, with so many options. There really is nothing more that you could possibly need in a single pushchair or a tandem! For this reason, the iCandy Orange HAS to get our top Best Buggy 5 Gold Star rating, without any hesitation or question. We have never tested any other pushchair that is this versatile, nor which performs so well for one or two children. Well done iCandy!
The iCandy Orange is the tandem which Best Buggy has dreamed about finding for years – it is our ‘Best Buggy’! Our job here is now done!