Design
The Combi Urban Walker has a style of its own, it's a compact pram and its signature feature is its brightly coloured seat and brushed aluminium frame.
It comes in three vivid colours; aqua, magenta and orange. There is also a Prestige version with extras in Champagne and Navy.
The Combi Urban Walker is solid for a compact pram, well constructed and all of the components are well designed and made. Considering its lightweight frame I'm surprised at how sturdy it is.
Features
The Urban Walker has lots of features including; unlimited recline positions including flat, a multi-position five point harness, bumper bar, nice comfy padded handle, extra soft seat and an adjustable leg rest.
The hood is a great size and will almost completely cover your child in most circumstances. It's designed for hot and humid weather and has two large windows/ventilation windows with UV protection.
The Combi Urban Walker has a good sized under-seat basket which can be easily accessed when the seat is fully reclined. However it's a little sloped and soft at the back so be a little careful that you don't lose your load if it's full.
Performance
The Urban Walker's ride is comfortable. It has front wheel suspension and the front wheels are also lockable which give the Combi a smooth ride on uneven surfaces. The suspension and lightweight frame give it a bit of a bouncy feel when you push it. This is just a different feel from your typical European designed prams.
The Urban Walker is a slim pram and quite maneuverable, making it very easy to get around the supermarket, small shops and other confined spaces. It is an Urban Walker though, it's not made for off road activity apart from your usual visits to the park.
The fold is my favourite feature of this pram. You can fold it with one hand but it's easier with two. You just need to press two leavers on the handle together and pull in towards you to close, or flip your wrist out to open. The Urban Walker folds standing and you can push it around folded with ease and store it standing. The fold is medium size.
Don't be fooled by the size of this pram, there is plenty of room for a toddler to fit comfortably. The seat is wide where it's needed and slimmer where it's not. Our little toddler tester is long for his 2.5 years and fits comfortably. I would expect he would fit for at least another year.
The brakes are a flip on tab on each of the back wheels. It would be tempting to flip on one brake if you were in a rush but I'd recommend (and I'm sure Combi would too) that you always engage both brakes.
The handle is easy to reverse and you can switch the handle over while your baby is sitting in the pram. Just be careful that your child's arms are out of the way. The pram's swivel wheels are at the front so the Urban Walker is not as easy to steer when the handles are reversed.
The recline is a pulley type mechanism at the back of the pram. Generally I don't like these types of recline mechanisms but this one works effectively and is safe to use when your baby is in the pram.
The Combi Urban Walker is a good option for public transport users. If you use the bus you can hold your baby in one arm, fold your pram and wheel it onto the bus and park it next to you with the other. As a parent who regularly travels on buses with all sorts of different prams I can tell you, this is pretty impressive.
The seat cover is fully removable and machine washable. The seat cover is made from soft breathable fabric so treat it with care.
This easy fold, combined with its light weight make the Combi Urban Walker my pick for parents who have limited mobility due to caesarean delivery, illness or disability.
The Urban Walker is also my pick for travelling, especially with an infant. What you lose in the more compact umbrella fold you make up with an easy-to-use, lightweight and fully functioning pram. A travel bag will be available mid 2010.
The last thing I'd like to mention about the Combi is that the handle is tall and comfy. It's not what I'd expect from a Japanese pram and it's great for your taller sized parent and even your medium sized parent (like me).
Drawbacks
I hate it when a good pram doesn't come with a rain cover but at least a Combi rain cover will only set you back $29.95. The big hood is waterproof, we found this out in the recent Sydney downpours.
You can open, but you can't remove the bumper bar unless you unscrew it. It is quite flexible and easy to use but I prefer to be able to remove and attach bumper bars when I like. Also there is no logical place on the handle for the wrist strap. As a result it always falls down the handle, pretty much rendering it useless.
Finally, the instructions lose a little in the translation and I had a few questions to ask about them. If you have questions or require clarification the distributors of Combi are happy to help you out.
Conclusion
9 out of 10 is a high score for a pram and the Combi earns its by offering a great combination of features at a reasonable price. It's almost a one pram fits all solution.
It's dosn't feel as strong or smooth as its similar competitor, the Bugaboo Bee but it does have a few features of its own that make the Bee blush.
About Combi
Combi is the new kid on the block in Australia but is a well established brand in Japan since 1957. Combi make a wide range of baby products including their small, light prams including the Combi Well Comfort which weights a tiny 4.2kgs.
