Quicksmart Easy Fold Review



Review by: Annabel

Introduction



The Quicksmart Easy Fold Stroller is a lightweight stroller that takes just a few seconds to fold into an extremely compact package. The Easy Fold stroller has a recline, hood, basket and raincover, which makes it a versatile stroller for babies from 6 months of age. Making a stroller so small and lightweight, however, always involves compromise, and the limitations of this stroller are worth considering before deciding if this is the best stroller for you.

Seat design and function


Seat in upright position



Seat fully reclined.



Seat recline clips done up.



Seat reclined with clips undone.



The Easy Fold seat bottom and back are made from padded board. The seat is fairly well supported, but like many stroller seats it does not sit upright at 90 degrees. The seat reclines by undoing two clips on each side of the seat back. The recline, although quite small, is adequate for a child to nap in without their head rolling forward. It is a bit of a fiddle to do the clips up again, especially with a child in the stroller.

This stroller is not intended for children under six months of age, and I personally wouldn't be keeping a child under 12 months in this stroller for long periods of time. My nearly 3 year old's feet rested quite comfortably on the small footrest, however she kept placing her feet on the wheels (which are easily within reach of her feet either side of the footrest). This made the stroller even harder to manoeuvre and did not make for a particularly enjoyable ride!

Seat dimensions

Height of seat back: 45cm or 17.7 inches
Width of seat back and bottom: 31cm or 12.2 inches
Depth of seat bottom: 27cm or 10.6 inches

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Child safety harness




The Easy Fold has a standard 5 point harness with small clips that pinch your fingers if you're not careful! I was able to adjust it large enough to accommodate my (small) five year old.

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Hood or Canopy




This stroller has a small hood which would provide some shade when the sun is high in the sky or behind the stroller.

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Handle design and function




The Easy Fold has a comfortable handlebar with soft foam grip, and at 101cm (39.8in) it is at a decent height for such a compact stroller.

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Storage


Under seat basket.



Net storage pocket on back of seat.



The Quicksmart Easy Fold has a very small and very shallow basket underneath the seat which would barely hold a loaf of bread. There is also a small net pocket on the back of the seat which would hold a drink bottle or a small packet of wipes.

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Wheel brakes


Left wheel brake.


The brakes are applied by pressing a red foot lever on each rear wheel. These levers are very easy to push both up and down.

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Fold mechanism


One of the fold buttons.


Fold step 1.


Fold step 2.


Fold step 3.


Strap to keep stroller closed when folded.


The Easy Fold is simple enough to fold once you have done it a few times and have the hang of which way to push and when to pull. It is essentially a two step process -turning and pulling the large grey buttons either side of the seat, unlocks the frame, which first brings the top third of the handlebar to fold towards you, and this section then folds away from you down to the front wheels. The second step involves pulling the lever under the seat, which allows the back wheels to fold towards those at the front. Once folded, the stroller can be locked closed using a tab either side of the frame.

The Easy Fold stroller has a small and neat square shape when folded, which is very easy to carry and to store. To unfold simply lift the handlebar towards you to lock the first part of the frame, and then away from you to lock the second part, then tilt the stroller backwards to kick the front wheels out away from the back wheels. After a bit of practice the unfold can done in what is close enough to one motion.


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Wheels

Rear wheels.


Front swivel wheels.


The easy fold has 19cm or 9.5 inch solid plastic rear wheels, and double 11cm or 4.3 inch swivel wheels at the front. These wheels handled uneven ground reasonably well for such a small stroller.

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Manoeuvrability

Both inside and out I found this stroller reasonably hard work to steer. The steering is manageable on smooth hard surfaces, but with a 12kg child in the seat I struggled to push the stroller with one hand. Outside I most definitely needed two hands, and a tight grip, to push this stroller, especially when turning corners.

With the front wheels so close together I found that stability was sometimes a problem, and when pushing the stroller on a slope it was hard to keep four wheels on the ground when turning the corner. The stroller did handle uneven ground relatively well though, for a stroller of its size.


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Size

Unfolded dimensions
51cm or 20.1 inches wide
102cm or 40.2 inches high
82cm or 32.3 inches long

Folded dimensions
51 or 20.1 inches wide
23 or 9.1 inches high
56 or 22 inches long

Weight
6kg or 13.2 pounds




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Accessories


Travel bag.



Rain cover.



The Easy Fold comes with a rain cover and travel bag included. The raincover is a generous size which covers the front and sides of the stroller well, and attaches at the top and bottom of the frame so as to stay firmly in place. When folded the rain cover can only just be squished into the under seat basket which is then completely full.

The stroller fits very neatly into the travel bag which has room for the rain cover and a carry strap. Although not made of particularly strong fabric, this bag would be useful when travelling.



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Summary and Rating

Pros

  • Neat and extremely compact fold
  • Well supported seat
  • Recline allows children to nap in the stroller
  • Brakes are easy to use
  • Generous raincover included in price

Cons

  • Steering is less than ideal, particularly when outside
  • Fold requires two hands and two separate steps
  • Extremely small and shallow underseat basket
  • Clips to adjust backrest are fiddly to do up
  • Hood provides limited sun protection
  • Stroller needs to be manually clipped together to stay closed when folded

Conclusion

This stroller, with its structured seat, recline and hood, is a great improvement on the previous Quicksmart backpack model. Just as with the first model, however, this stroller is best suited for people who have a genuine need for a stroller with an extremely compact fold. There are other strollers on the market that steer better, fold more easily, and have a better hood and more storage. They don't fold into such a small shape though, so if that is the primary requirement then the Quicksmart Easy Fold is a good choice.


Rating

star star star half star



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