REVIEW: Silver Cross Zest stroller

Ever since Isaac was born I've used the iCandy Peach as our travel system of choice and have been pretty happy with its ease of use and manoeuvrability, despite its chunky size and weight to lift in and out of the car. However, we recently went on holiday so we decided it was time to invest in something a little lighter, smaller and less cumbersome.

I'm not a big fan of buggies with crazy patterns or pictures on them, I just wanted something that was stylish, simple and affordable, which is why I was attracted to the Silver Cross range of strollers. As well as being a trusted brand, all the strollers were chic, inexpensive and practical. They had a lot of features that instantly attracted me to them such as the fact that the seat went completely flat and the hood came right down over the seat, acting as the perfect sunshade. I also really liked the way the buggy looked and how easy it was to collapse, manoeuvre and generally handle.

I also considered purchasing one of the McLaren strollers because of their reputation and trustworthiness, however after having a play with the two strollers, apart from the hood on the McLaren being a little less clunky to pull down and back than the Silver Cross, I didn't really see or feel a great deal of difference between the two strollers. 

After purchasing the Silver Cross Zest I didn't actually use it until we got to the airport but as soon as we did, I instantly noticed how light and easy to manoeuvre it was, although it was a little less sturdy than my iCandy, especially going across the pebbles in the overflow car park at Cardiff Airport. 

If I'm being picky, I would say that the hood on the Silver Cross stroller is a little clunky. It doesn't pull down and back overly smoothly and can be a little noisy if you are trying to adjust it with a child sleeping in the buggy. Saying that the hood was still a real godsend when we were on holiday as we had it down all the time, even when we had Isaac in the upright position as it was great for keeping him sheltered from the sun. Isaac also seemed to find it really comfortable and had no problem sleeping in it during the day and night.
 

Overall I'd say we were really pleased with the buggy, although unfortunately our particularly buggy seemed to have a manufacturing fault which meant that one day the seat got stuck in the upright position and when we managed to free it, one side of the mechanism broke. This mean't that although it went flat, when we tried to put it back in the upright position one side of the mechanism that was supposed to hold the seat in place had broken meaning Isaac sat at a tilt. This broke after just one week of having the buggy, which wasn't ideal but we managed to cope with it and Isaac didn't seem too bothered that he sat at a bit of an angle. If it had got stuck permanently in the upright position we would have had real problems getting Isaac to sleep in it both during the day and evening but thank goodness we had managed to free it and lived with the broken mechanism for the last week of the holiday. When we returned home I took it straight to Mothercase and they happily swapped it for a brand new buggy. Despite having a few problems with the buggy mechanism on holiday I was still pleased with the way it operated and decided I was willing to give it a second chance. We have been using it with no problems since then. 

Summary:

Good points

• Seat goes completely flat
• Hood comes right down over seat to act as a very good sunshade
• Lightweight
• Collapses easily
• Stylish
• Easy to manoeuvre
• Small when it is folded up
• Foot rest goes up and down 

Bad points

• Hood is a little clunky
• Less sturdy than the travel systems like the iCandy

Generally its a great little stroller. Its stylish and chic. It collapses very easily and quickly and maneuverers brilliantly. I'd definitely recommend it and for £100 its worth the investment.