The Mothercare Spin is a light (11.2kg) 4-wheeler that can be used in lie-flat pram mode as well as upright. In pushchair mode or with the car seat on, you can easily change the seat direction with the one-hand spin mechanism. The seat is removable and easy to fold with one hand. For £420, you get the Spin pushchair, pram liner, pram apron, chest pads, cosytoe and raincover.
To create a travel system, you simply add the Mothercare Spin Infant Car Seat for £79.99. The Spin is also compatible with the Maxi-Cosi Pebble, Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix, Britax BABY-SAFE Plus SHR I and Britax BABY-SAFE Plus SHR II, if your purchase Mothercare's car seat adaptors (£19.99 for the Britax ones and £29.99 for the Maxi-Cosi ones).
The Mothercare Spin Infant Car Seat is a Group 0+ rear-facing car seat. It’s suitable from birth until 13kg, which depending on your baby is about 12-15 months. It weighs 2.55kg and you use the car’s adult seat belt to secure it in your vehicle. Mothercare also say you can use it as a rocker.
What we love
The Mothercare Spin is a head-turner – my mum friends all lined up to take turns! The silver-grey colourway I tried was just so stylish. The cosytoes are incredibly soft, and are partially responsible for Mimi heading straight to sleep on our first test run! Her slumber is also due to the Spin’s comfy ride – there’s just enough ‘bounce’ to lull your little one.
The Spin’s ability to change from rear to forward facing is ideal for Mimi – at 6 months old, in just one outing she can go from being happy facing me to straining her neck to get a better look at the world walking past her. And true to its claims, the Spin really does covert with one quick spin. Just twist the handle, lift it and spin it. You don’t need to take you baby out of the pushchair or pause for long – seriously, in less than five seconds you’ll be sorted. It's so simple.
Mimi and I clock up a lot of miles each day, and the Spin is a joy to push. It's lighter than our usual buggy, and steering it is easier, too. In our narrow hallway, it managed to do a U-turn without hitting a thing. Another plus is that when you push it one-handed there’s not a lot of sway. What I mean is, I spent a 10-minute phone call pushing the Spin with one hand and it remained straight the entire time.
The Mothercare Spin car seat slots in easily in place of the carrycot/seat. Both the carrycot/seat and car seat are light and can be removed with one click. The car seat is pretty standard with a quick and easy 3-point harness, but it has the same space-age silver styling as the Spin, which makes it look great. What's really good about the travel system is that you can still ‘spin’ the car seat, giving you the option of using it as forward and rear facing on the pushchair chassis.
Other features I really liked about the Mothercare Spin are: the useful basket underneath that carries 2kg, the removable bumper bar that makes it easy to get your baby in and out, and that the seat can be removed to transfer a slumbering baby.
What to watch out for
It took a while to get the right angle for the seat - one minute Mimi couldn't see over the bumper bar, the next she was too upright. However, after you get used to it, you’ll be able to find the position you want.
The rear wheels are quite wide, making it difficult to squeeze onto the bus, but this is the case with plenty of 4-wheelers.
While easy to fold one-handed, having to remove the seat every time might be a bit of a faff. It folds up to fit in small spaces, and the wheels can be removed to make it even more compact, which is great for small-car owners. But if you’re after something that’s easily collapsible because you use public transport a lot, you feel it’s a bit annoying.
The price won’t be within everyone’s reach – while certainly not the most expensive travel system out there, at a total of £499.99 (£420 for the Spin pushchair plus £79.99 for the Mothercare-brand car seat).
Who is the Mothercare Spin travel system best for?
Style-savvy mums after a user-friendly travel solution.
While not a budget option, the expense is justified for the nifty, innovative spin feature that allows your baby to change between forward and rear facing modes with no hassles. Offering a comfy ride, the Spin is easy to steer one-handed and folds away compactly so you don’t need to upsize your family car to fit it the boot. While not necessarily quick to collapse to this small size, for those who don’t use public transport all the time, this small level of fuss is well worth it.
First reviewed 03/11/2009. Updated 24/02/2012.
