Britax B-Ready pushchair review

In fact, it was Britax who helped put in place the original R44 seatbelt legislation in 1981, and invented ISOFIX with Volkswagen in 1997 – so you’d expect its safety credentials to be solid.

The B-Ready is part of Britax’ B-named pushchair range, alongside the, all-terrain B-Motion 3 and the lightweight B-Agile 4 buggy.

It is most similar to the Babystyle Oyster Max (single £439, double £568), Twone by Jané (single £499, double £549) and the Vibe by Phil and Ted’s (single £549, double £678), in that it's a tandem single-to-double pushchair.

As you'd expect, the seats unit on the B-Ready can be used from 6 months, but you can use the pushchair for newborns with a carrycot, which is sold separately for £105.

You can buy the Britax B-Ready pushchair direct from Britax, or from Amazon, or Boots.

How long does it take to put the B-Ready pushchair together?

Putting the B-Ready together was simple, as many buggies are. The buggy comes folded up so all that’s required is to release the catch and out it springs.

The rear wheels can be popped in by pressing the central button at the axel, and the front ones just pop in.

As usual for a stroller, the instructions come in a vast number of languages, making them unnecessarily difficult to read and the diagrams are too small to be of much help. But it really is easy to use, so you're not likely to need them. However, if you are stomped at any time your best bet is to watch Britax’s video with the instructions in hand just for back-up.

It’s worth noting (as it's not entirely clear from the advertising) that the standard seat cannot fit on to the lower adaptor. For this, you need the separately available second seat, which is an £105.

The carrycot, however, will fit both on the standard upper fitting and the lower one.

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This buggy is being sold on growing with the family, as it’s a convertible pushchair. Does it work better as a single or double buggy?

As a single, it looks a bit over-sized, because presumably the large chassis is there to accommodate the second child underneath the first.

For a single-seat stroller its folded-down size is pretty big. As a double it’s large of course, but all doubles are.

It actually works very well as a double and of course, ultimately that’s what it’s been designed as. It shows. It would be best for someone with children not more than two years’ apart.

Any larger than that and you’re throwing money away and creating a lot of work for yourself. Twins would suit of course, but then you’d need two carrycots (2 x £105!) plus £40 for the double adaptor and, later on, the second seat (another £105) to go with the main seat, which comes with the buggy. That adds up to £950 to get your twins from carrycots into child seats.

How does the B-Ready ride?

The ride is good. Mainly because the design has the wheels trailing (like on a shopping trolley) rather than being pushed and the back wheels are quite large, which helps with the ride.

Our mum, BabyTree also commented on the B-Ready's ease of use on our forum, saying; "it is fairly easy to use & comfortable to push. It also feels very sturdy when pushing & going up & down curbs. I love the clip in/clip off feature. This makes it a lot easier when getting the pushchair in & out of the house. The pushchair is fairly easy to fold & unfold with the handy clip in feature. The pushchair frame also fit very well into the back of my smallish car (audi a2) which I didn't think it would."

Can you use the Britax B-Ready buggy on the underground or a London/major city bus?

Yes, you can. As a single buggy, it’s not the most compact or lightest city buggy out there, which is what you'll really need in a dense city. When you think of a single, city pushchair, you link small and lightweight, and the Britax B-Ready couldn't compete with some of the most compact single buggies out there.

But as a double it’s about as good as it gets. Its rigidity and clean construction help it in urban environments.

Buses are still tight (aren’t they always though?). Trains less so. It gets up and down kerbs without a problem – even with two kids on board. The weight distribution has obviously been well thought out, and the strong, rigid chassis helps here.

Tree roots have always been a buggy’s nemesis and the B-Ready is no different. You can lock the steering on the front, which helps though. It’s pretty light, but one-handed steering with one child in the main seat can be tricky.

When being used in double mode can it handle kerbs?

Thanks to its rigidity, the B-Ready handles kerbs fine with a push on the handlebar.

How compact is it?

You couldn’t call it compact! The design of having the second child behind and below the standard seat means it’s bulky at the back, although it doesn’t bang your legs when walking.

How compact is it when folded?

Double buggies are obviously always going to be big, and this one’s no exception.

In its defence, the wide back wheels of the B-Ready means the carrycot can fit ‘between the legs’ of the chassis when folded and the seat can then sit on top, so we could get it in the boot our little hatchback.

And the back wheels can be popped out easily (by pushing on the centre) to give you more space.

How easy is it to store?

It’s going to take up space. It won’t stand up on its end, and with a cot and seat, you’re better off lying it on its side.

The different carriers fit together nicely though when in storage. Again, it feels like things have been thought out beforehand.

Is it affordable for what it is?

The standard package of base and child seat is average with minimal features at £450, even though the build quality is excellent, but realistically you’re only going to buy it with the next kid in mind.

What do you think of the seat size?

Fine. It’s snug on little ones but with room for bigger kids.

What do you think of the height of the buggy?

At 110cm, it’s a little tall I’d say and looks top-heavy, but it doesn’t feel like it’s ever going to topple over. Again, must be good design…

Is the frame strong, durable?

The frame gives confidence, both for safety and stability and for longevity. I can imagine it giving good service for at least two or even up to five years.

Would you recommend it for use from birth?

From birth you’d need to buy the carrycot (£105) and, if using it as a double, the adaptor (£40). The seat that comes as standard is from six months. We had a carrycot and would recommend it. It’s a well-made piece of kit.

What do you think of the fold system?

Excellent. Two levers just down from the handlebars are eased down and with a little push on the handlebars, the buggy quietly folds down. A latch holds it in place and is flicked off again to allow it to fold out when next needed.

How does the Britax B-Ready manoeuvre?

With two hands on the pram, it’s not bad, although on a camber it’s hard to keep the pram going straight.

But the difficulty of steering with one hand with the carrier in the standard position, for example when your toddler doesn’t want to go in his seat, is infuriating – it’s as good as impossible to steer unless you’re on a US-sized pavement (or sidewalk…) and it’s dead flat.

Surprisingly, when we put both the kids in (our six-week-old underneath in the carrycot and our two-year-old in the seat above) the steering became a lot easier, presumably because there was more weight on the wheels, which made them more responsive.

The same rule seemed to apply when our toddler got out and we just pushed our newborn in the lower seat. It was pretty easy to steer.

How comfortable does it feel for your little ones?

Both the carrycot and the child seat seem very comfy for our kids.

How is interacting with your little ones when in the buggy?

It’s actually better than with some models, where you often can’t really see you child from behind. Also, because the seat is positioned quite high up, they are a little more at the height of grown-ups, so they don’t feel so left out when you meet a friend on the street.

What do you think of the hood? Can it be used as a sun protection?

The hoods on the seat and the carrycot are excellent. They are made of good thick material so give complete sun protection and also keep the wind right out.

The carrycot hood goes well over the vertical and so keeps the wind and a fair amount of sun out.

And the rain covers work very well, and even covers up both buggies without too much trouble.

What are the basket and storage pockets like?

The basket has more space than most and also has a useful front-access zip. This comes in handy when you have two kids on board and your normal rear access is blocked by the lower seat. Brownie points to Britax for that one.

What do you think of the tyres?

The tyres are just right. Not as hard and therefore bumpy as some models, but not so soft that that they mark up and bring mud and rubbish back into the house.

Tell us about the brakes.

There’s a foot pedal on the right rear wheel and a coloured indicator panel to confirm that the brake is engaged. Because of the decent tyres, it can hold it in place on a steepish hill (not that I ever leave the kids there!)

Does it fit in the boot of your car?

It does fit in the boot of our small hatchback, which is pretty impressive considering how large it is when up and running.

The wheels pop off to help this. Generally speaking, its large size means it can loom in your front room, especially when you’ve got both seats in, and make you wish it would roll off into a garage or somewhere else that would suit its bulk.

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What age child is it best for?

The standard package comes with a seat for six months to three years or 17kgs. With the optional extra carrycot or infant carrier (car seat) you can take care of your newborn.

The Britax B-Ready pushchair system will take carrycots, seats and ‘infant carriers’ (car seats), and is well made, so will last for years of heavy use. It’s competitively priced in the middle of the market and is a name you can trust. It handles two children very well and can still carry a fair amount of shopping and take your baby bag too.

The only downside is the difficult steering we encountered when the stroller was empty, or we had one child in the standard upper seat, and especially when we were holding our other child’s hand as he walked alongside it.

Apart from that, there’s very little to fault anything on this pushchair. And we found that with two kids on board, steering and getting up and down kerbs and even up hills was pretty good, so all in all, the B-Ready does a very good job of dealing with the tricky problem of getting two kids of different ages from A to B with shopping and a baby bag!

Is the Britax B-Ready pushchair value for money?

Yes, I think so. As far as price for a complete double B-Ready, it's comparable to the Bugaboo Donkey, (£1,199), Joolz Geo Duo (£999) and the iCandy Peach Blossom 3 (£1197). Saying that the Britax buggy build quality feels so good, so if it lasts the distance after the initial outlay then it would be hard to complain.

MadeForMums verdict:

Competitively priced, well-made convertible double stroller that functions well when fully loaded up, but slightly hard work as a single.

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