Design
The phil&teds smart is an aluminium stroller like we've never seen before. It's been adapted to accommodate a seat unit or bassinet, has two 7" rear wheels and looks very slick & nifty.
You have two options when purchasing the smart; chassis & seat unit, or chassis, seat unit & bassinet. phil&teds says the seat unit is suitable from 3 or 4 months. With the shallow recline I'd recommend a minimum 6 months, you'd want your baby to be sitting up independently before you popped them into the seat unit.
With an additional adapter the smart also converts to a travel system and is compatible with the Safe-n-Sound Unity Capsule.
At the moment the smart comes with a black seat unit however watch this space for new seat colours coming soon.
The smart is quite a solid pram with its light but strong chassis with well designed & made components.
Features
The smart features a unique aerocore seat unit with five point safety harness, one level recline, comfy foam cover handles, shoulder & crotch pads & wheel guards.
The hood is unique in that it's made from a lightweight UV resistant fabric. It's a great size and is designed to follow the sun. It also covers the bassinet quite well.
The under-seat basket is a little on the small side, you won’t fit much in it. On the plus side the large rear wheels make the smart very stable. Although I'd always suggest caution hanging bags from the handles of any stroller, we felt confident hanging a baby bag from the smart handles. You'll need a good set of pram hooks though, we'd recommend the Think King brand for the smart.
Performance
The smart is a comfortable ride, particularly on smooth surfaces. The light-weight chassis combined with the front swivel wheels makes this pram very manoeuvrable. However, the smart doesn’t have any suspension or lockable front wheels which make this stroller OK to take to the park but not for off-road activity. Despite the two handles you can push the smart with one hand for a reasonable distance.
Also the larger back wheels are great for getting the pram up & down stairs and also on and off public transport. If you need to fold the smart to use public transport its worth keeping in mind that you need two hands to fold it.
The aerocore seat is one of the stand-out innovations of the smart. When you first look at it it's a bit off putting because it looks hard. However, when you touch it you can feel that it has give and provides a comfy seat for your baby. The unique seat design is ventilating, insulating, water proof & hypo allergenic. Do we love it that you can clean this seat by wiping it down with a cloth - oh yeah!
The smart is generally intuitive to use. It took 5 minutes to put it together out of the box, another minute to slot in the seat unit and adjust the harness and the stroller was ready to go.
The fold is easy but takes 6 steps; mainly because of the two locks on either side you have to open and close each time you fold it. To open it takes 5 steps, basically the same in reverse. The trick of the fold is to remember to pull the seat towards you using the cut out handle, the smart doesn’t collapse if you push the rear wheel base like many other prams. The smart folds flat and is medium size.
Take a look at phil&teds demo video.
The brakes are a single on/off tab on the right hand side of the rear wheel base. They are easy to flip on but require a bit more effort to flip off. You always use the ball of your foot so the brake is sandal & thong friendly. When you engage the break you may need to roll the pram very slightly until the stroller is locked. Once locked the brake is firm.
I'm not so fond of the recline mechanism of the smart. Mainly because it’s not a very smooth action and also because it’s at the front. I would expect some babies & toddlers would be distracted by it. The recline level itself is quite shallow so you don’t get much of a layback anyway. Soon you will be able to buy a seat adaptor called Verso. It will allow smart parents to reverse and further recline the seat.
The combination of the size & function of the smart makes it a great option for travel with a child from birth. It you are creative you can fit the pram + bassinet in the travel bag, ready to go under the plane. The fold size means if you have an accommodating flight attendant they may store your pram in the closet for you.
With the bassinet
We found putting the peanut bassinet together a challenge. Mainly because the instructions need to be more detailed.
After a few attempts this is how we got ours together:
1. Turn the bassinet upside down and undo the elastic toggles on the bottom. Gently pull the bassinet stands up so they upright somewhat (you won’t get them stable). If you feel any resistance when you are pulling the stands up - stop. Move the stands up and down the slot in the rim of the bassinet until they are in a position where you can pull them up without resistance.
2. Turn the bassinet face up and gently push the base to the bottom of the bassinet. Using one hand to keep the base in place reach underneath to move the stands and slot them into the clips on the bottom of the base (the instructions say to do this with the bassinet facing down, we couldn’t).
3. Gently lower the mattress into the bassinet and smooth out. Our mattress had a little hump in it which you do not want. Use the palm of your hand to gently smooth the mattress into place (circular motions from the centre, smoothing outward) until you have a nice firm fit with no movement.
OR this would have worked for us too:
1. Ask the sales assistant in the store you purchase your smart to put together your bassinet before you leave.
Once constructed the bassinet is easy to get in and out of the pram and the bassinet unit itself is nice quality & cosy with lots of head room for ventilation.
Drawbacks
The seat unit is a little on the small side width-wise. If you have a toddler who is wider than average they might start to get a little squished from 3 years onward. Length-wise the foot rest does not adjust but there is plenty of room for a tall child under the hood.
The handles are a little on the shorter side. I'm average height for a female and I found them just a little too short and had to find a comfortable stride where I didn’t kick the rear wheels. If you are a taller parent you might want to give the display model a test drive before you buy.
I have a little features wish list; telescopic handles, larger under seat basket, lockable front wheels and suspension. I know design-wise not all of these features are possible and a few of them might increase the cost of the pram, however a few more features would make this pram a little more parent friendly.
P.S. I'd also like a rain cover as standard. I always do.
Finally that hood is an invitation to a cheeky toddler for a game that will drive you crazy. It took our toddler tester 3 days to figure out that pulling the sun shade up and down made a great(ing) game.
Conclusion
phil&teds is onto a winner with the smart. Although we had a few hiccups with the bassinet we're pretty impressed with this mini stroller with interchangeable seat unit & bassinet.
Also we're pretty impressed with the price. For once, with the smart, you get more pram for less money.
About phil&teds
phil&teds is a New Zealand company best known for their compact inline prams. The company also makes a range of innovative baby gear. The smart stroller is its first light-weight compact stroller.
