Last week I was invited to preview the Omnio Stroller at the Gadget Show Live at the Birmingham NEC.
The Omnio Stroller promises to compact so well that it can become a ‘wearable stroller’ that can pass as cabin baggage size, so after lugging my Bugaboo, with its two separate pieces, on my recent trip to New York I was excited to witness this design. I was also certain that the boys would totally love visiting the Gadget Show Live, so it promised to be a great day all round.
I’d read about the couple behind the design of the Omnio Stroller, Samantha and Marcus Warwick. They were just a normal couple who had struggled, like so many parents, to find a pushchair that was highly practical as well as stylish, suiting a variety of situations and ages so they decided to design their own.
It was lovely to meet Samantha, Marcus and the team at the show and get a hands on preview of the Omnio Stroller initial production. Samantha was clearly very passionate about her design; she gave us a great talk through and allowed us to get hands on with the stroller.
It is suitable from the age of six months up to 22kg (which is around 4yrs) and as well as the innovative folding aspect, it has all the features of a good stroller. It has multi position recline as well as easily adjustable straps that grow with the child. When the Omnio folds down, the straps that are used for the child when sitting in the seat are then used by the adult as the straps to carry the folded stroller. They are padded and comfortable, which is great for both the adult and the child. There is a sun canopy and foot rest as well as a selection of matching accesories.
Mr DaisLikeThese and I were both impressed with the Omnio Stroller. For me it was how easy it was to manoeuver. This is something that is really important to me as I do the school run everyday with the dog walking next to me – one-handed steering is a must. The great manouverability is down to the really cool front wheels, or ‘Onmio wheels’, which are made up of rollers which allow the wheel to not only move backwards and forwards in the normal way, but to also swivel left and right with ease.
When folded the Omnio is not too heavy, probably similar to my folded Bugaboo. Mr DaisLikeThese tested it out as a backpack and felt that while it was comfortable and would be very handy in certain situations, it stuck out a bit far and he might struggle with the size behind him in a busy place.
We sat Baby DaisLikeThese in the stroller, she is 7months old so right at the lower end of the suitable age range. Adjusting the straps for her was super simple (as you use a popper strap on the front of the seat, rather than faffing with straps behind) and when adjusted she looked comfortable.
To be honest, I was a little sceptical when I heard about the Omnio Stroller but we were genuinely impressed. We would certainly consider one for our family when we get to the toddler stage again.
Samantha explained that the Omnio is going to be available for purchase, initially at a discounted price with pre-order installment options, through www.born.com and you can register your details and get more information at http://omnioworld.com/.
As for the rest of the show; there was plenty there to keep the boys happy! They had a chance to drive an electric vehicle which is specifically designed to give kids a head start in learning to drive, they played golf powered by iPad, drove some remote control Land Rovers and Freddie even got on to the Guinness World Record leaderboard for some kind of iPad game (it was a bit complicated but basically he had to play at the same time as someone else, swiping the screen to chop pieces of fruit that dropped down. Not only did they have to get a high score, but they had to get exactly the same score to qualify).
Disclaimer: We were offered free tickets to the show, but there was no obligation to review the stroller. As always, all opinions are my own.