I've been a busy bee since my last post, I'm now 6 months pregnant and once again I'm plunging into the expensive and extensive world of baby products! Warning this is a long review I've gone into lots of detail as I know how important knowledge is when buying a pushchair!
My amazingly clever and beautiful first born is now a nearly independent three year old so I had disposed of the pushchair's (I had/have an addiction to finding the perfect wheels...!!) and moved onto the world of scooters and bikes! No more! I was offered the chance to snap up the Mamas & Papas Mylo Pushchair Preloved at an irresistible £35 and the rest is history! I must say when it arrived it looked nothing like the pictures on here, it had a Black hood and cream seat and was in need of a service and jolly good clean and the lovely people at Mamas & Papas spares department supplied me with a new hood, seat cushion, harness, Strap pads, bumper bar, back panel and basket for a reasonable £55 and I was left with a rather gorgeous looking set of wheels! I decided to write this post after looking for reviews and finding very little out there on what the Mylo is like and so buying this was a bit of a punt as I didn't really know what to expect but here is my verdict!Whats it like?!
Once the pushchair had been cleaned and made beautiful I got to have a really good look and with my trusty assistant, my son, we tested it out!!
The first thing to say is the seat is HUUUUUGE! Its very roomy and my tall robust 3 year old son fits in the seat with no problem so this will last if its suitable for your needs. The seat itself is nicely padded, and looks stylish and modern. The five point harness gives a nice secure hold to your little one and is reasonably secure with a reassuringly stiff release button to thwart any little Houdini's! It has a leather covered gate opening bumper bar that can be removed if you wish. The bumper bar is one of the little touches on this particular pushchair that just screams quality the Handle bar is exactly the same, Black Leather with the M&P logo embossed on it and they just give it an air of luxury.
The hood is very impressive it extends to give almost full coverage and I think if you got caught out without the raincover it would keep your little one dry. I must add that this is the newer style hood, the original hood that came is considerably smaller and does not extend so fully so please bare that in mind if you too buy Preloved that it has recently had an update the shopping basket also has changed but more on that later!
The Mylo can Parent face or outward face and is easy to swap around it has two paddles under the seat that you pull up and then it just lifts off and you replace in the desired direction. It also reclines and the footrest can also be altered. Its pretty fool proof and easy to do and is well designed for any flustered mums or dads trying to get it apart with a screeching child in tow (we've all been there!!)
The shopping basket is a waste of time its not particularly big this is the latest version so the style you will get on the newer Mylo's the older version is a triangular bag like thing that sits in the same place is slightly smaller but has zips both side that enclose it. It too is useless!! Attaching it takes about an hour and you will end up red faced swearing and cursing the damn thing although I'm sure they now come already attached for this very reason when purchased new. As I said waste of time you wouldn't want to put say four pints of milk in it if you'd popped to the shop as I just don't think its very strong, you can just about fit the raincover in it but it hangs out the other side, other than that a blanket a coat and maybe some wipes would go in but you really wouldn't want to put anything heavy in it as its so flimsy I could see it ripping or falling off.
An optional extra you can buy is The Mylo saddlebag in grey which attaches to the frame on the back between the rear wheels and gives you a bit more of a sturdy storage option. This I would put my milk in and not worry about it falling off!! Its deceptively roomy has lots of pockets/ sections, an insulated bottle holder, a zip section and I think you could easily use it for short trips out as a changing bag as you could fit the essentials in and even a few of your bits like purse and keys. It retails for around £30 but is well worth it in my opinion.
The Raincover I have is the newer style that can be used both on the pushchair and the optional extra Carrycot which is a nice idea so you don't end up with two bulky covers to store as it is bulky and not compact at all but I think its features make up for that and indeed so does the design. It covers the whole seat unit and has a zip that runs along the edge of the hood which if you go in a shop or on a bus you can just unzip and voila your LO is no longer in a bubble and means you can just leave it in position and use as and when. As I said before you can squeeze it and only it into the shopping basket but that would be all you could put in there and I really can't think where else you could put it when out and about as its huge! But its huge for a reason my three year old with his size 9's fit under it feet inside so you really will get use out of it, it also feels like its well made and of a high quality which is important as to replace these are around £39 so you wouldn't want to fork out that too often!
Being a cheapskate I bought the Carrycot in a different color to the Purple the rest of my pram is, this is called Raspberry Ripple and Plum and I bought this colour purely because the matching carrycot was £200 new and this was £35 preloved!! I personally can't justify dropping £200 on something you use for such a relatively short time especially if bump is anything like her big brother who outgrew his carrycot by 3 months and hated lying flat, But I love it! You can buy a new mattress that is suitable for sleeping on for long periods and a Stand that means you could effectively use it as a Moses basket and it is a good size. It also is adjustable inside so you can have the mattress slightly sloping, ideal if your LO has reflux or has a cold. It also on the bottom is rounded so it can be gently rocked if you take it off and put it on the floor you can also pull out two little feet that stop it rocking which is a really nice touch.The hood can be pulled up by the head for ventilation and you can also buy a mosquito and sunshade for it. If I'd known how big it was and had a spare £300 to buy all the extras I would have bought it new with the stand as I do think its worthwhile especially if you use it as a Moses basket too or if you go away its a ready to go travel bed! Other nice touches are the magnetic apron and the little leather carry handle on the hood for lifting it off.
I also have the Mylo footmuff which again is well designed easy to wash and reasonably sized. Nice touches are the magnets that hold it round the bumper bar when the tops folded down and there is a zip that extends it at the bottom to make it roomier for the bigger child oh and best thing is that you don't have to unclip straps etc to put it on it Velcros on around the harness so any accidents food spills sick etc means it just pulls off and you can throw it in the wash no problem. These retail for around £89 new.
I did buy the Matching Changing bag but I hated it. It was mahoosive and hung awkwardly on the frame so I quickly flogged it on, but that's just me and I know others love its size you could actually squeeze in the kitchen sink and the quality was really good it just wasn't for me. They retail for around £80.
I've added some Photos of it folded up so you can see what it looks like, it is quite bulky you can fold it in one piece the best way to do this is to have it parent facing as its slightly more compact when folded as one however it will fold either way. The fold itself is so easy you just twist the folding part where the seat connects to the frame and it folds you can do it one handed easy peasy. I personally find it easier to store as two bits as the seat unit pops in the cupboard and I leave the frame up with the carrycot on in the kitchen! I've also put a picture of the break on, this is brilliant it just kicks on or off is flip flop/bare feet friendly and again just well designed.
Conclusion!
I love the Mylo! Its got flaws like all pushchairs and its not perfect but it is good looking and its really well designed with some well thought out touches such as the fold the seat removal and then just the little things like the bumper bar and the handle bar. I think realistically if you live in a rural place it may not be for you as its not designed for fields or rough terrain however it does push really well, I tried it out with my son we went for a walk around the neighborhood and I managed to get his royal self up and down curbs with no problem. I also like the extras that are available I don't like the prices but then I'm happy to search out Preloved Facebook and eBay bargains or wait for Sales. If you're not and you prefer to buy it new I think to get everything including the stand car seat and all accessories you could be looking at around £1000 which I personally feel is too much to spend but then I'm a pauper!! That said I have seen Mamas & Papas do some amazing deals and sales so I think if you do want it new hold out or if moneys no object splurge!! Either way its a beautiful pram and I've in the past bought Bugaboos, Quinnys, Maclarens, Phil & Teds, Silver Cross and all sorts of other prams and pushchairs in my pushchair addiction but when this arrived I got rid of everything and kept just this so we'll see when bump arrives how it pans out but I'm optimistic that it'll be great choice and now I just need to save up for the stand and all the other tempting little extras that keep calling to me from the Mamas & Papas website!!
Hope this helps anyone who's interested in the Mylo feel free to ask any questions I'll try my best to help
xxxx