As you might already know, I am currently in a competition to win a much coveted ambassadorial title with Graco. For now, I have been sent the stylish Graco Evo to review. I’d been eyeing up this travel system for some time so it’s great to get up-close-and-personal with it. I’ve got lots planned to show off just how fabulous this system is (and I suspect I might even look like a prat over the course of the next weeks), but I thought I’d share our first impressions with you all.

For the Graco’s first outing, we went Christmas shopping with Dexter. It was set to be a long day as it was our last possible shopping day before the 25th. This is Craig’s first (and only) opportunity to buy me some present’s and I’m notoriously hard to buy for. Craig is not the most decisive man ever and it was clear from the outset he was relying on me to casually pick out things so he could dart off an hour later on his own to bag them. Still, it was lovely to get out and about together as Craig works bloody hard to provide for us.

As far as putting the travel system together, Craig had this mastered within minutes. This won’t earn me any ‘mum-points’ at all but I must admit I wouldn’t know how to collapse any of the chairs / travel systems we own. We have a kitchen large enough so that don’t have to collapse and store them away, and as Craig is the only driver in our household, he’s always there if we travel. I really should learn but it’s worked out quite well so far - if it’s raining, I just fiddle with the radio in the passenger seat whilst Craig does all the heavy lifting (… I’m in sooo much trouble when he reads this).

I’m seriously impressed with how easy it is to set up too. All of the buttons to collapse are located at the top of the chair so there’s minimal bending over. It’s also very compact and fits easily in our 25-year-old little run around (Ford Focus). I’ve owned some 4 different travel systems since having Dexter. This is definitely the best for cars with limited boot space - just look at this…

I also loved the steering. The turning circle is so tight you can turn easily in a small lift or confined spaces. This was ideal for Christmas shopping as it was predictably busy. We took a few videos of us scooting through Debenhams’ kitchenware section with thousands of pounds worth of breakables precariously displayed at elbow height, crowded underwear sections (yes, my Craig always buys me something cute to wear), and busy walkways. I’ll be sharing these videos here in a few days time when I’ve sussed out how to upload them and edited out a few dodgy frames with my bum in.

Finally, no Christmas shopping trip with be complete without bags (and lots of them). The Evo has the biggest storage basket I’ve ever seen on a travel system frame. This is simply invaluable and a major selling point. The ability to stow away both change bag, handbag, and extra shopping means you can go hands-free to focus on baby. As you so often feel like you should pin a ‘Wide Load’ sign to your bum as a new mummy - it helps not to have bags over your shoulders making the problem worse.

So what does Dexter think? Well I think he’d give it a thumbs up for comfort! So far, so good. If you’re in the market for a new travel system / pushchair - keep an eye out for more from me on the Graco Evo!