Joie Litetrax 4 Pushchair REVIEW

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If you currently have the Joie Litetrax 3 and are looking for an upgrade, you’re going to want to check out the Joie Litetrax 4.

In my opinion, you simply cannot beat a high quality pushchair. When I was expecting my second daughter, I started to look at the Joie travel system amongst others, keen to have something lightweight and versatile that I could easily manage whilst also looking after a three year old. When Joie gave me the opportunity to review their Litetrax pushchair with the Joie Ramble carrycot to create a Joie travelsysten suitable from birth, I was over the moon. Visually, the Joie Litetrax 4 is one of the best looking pushchairs we have seen for a while!

We have now been using the Joie Litetrax for around 2 months now (as soon as I was able to walk again post sepsis!!!) and therefore I feel well placed to share our review!

About the Joie Litetrax 4

The Joie Litetrax 4 is a step up from the predecessor – Joie Litetrax 3, and is described  as a ‘trendy transporter with a fuss free fold’  – it certainly doesn’t fail to deliver on its promise!

The key features of this Joie pushchair include:

• One hand, quick compact fold,  easily accessed in the middle of seat
• Suitable from birth with flat reclining seat
• Pairs perfectly with gemm and i-Gemm infant seats, no adapters needed
• Pairs with the Ramble carrycot using the Litetrax 4 adapters (available separately)
• 4-wheel streamlined chassis
• Extremely compact in folded position, perfect for small boots
• Automatic fold lock
• One hand, smooth recline system
• Multi-position, flat reclining seat and adjustable leg rest provide cosy resting options
• Includes matching footmuff
• Large, expandable hood provides ultra shade options
• Parent tray with storage and cupholders
• All wheel suspension for a smoother ride on rough surfaces
• Locking single front swivel wheels
• Secure, removable bumper bar keeps child safe
• Single step, ShoeSaver brakes keep shoes scuff free
• SoftTouch, 5-point harness system adjusts to 3 heights

How much is the Joie Litetrax 4?

The Joie Litetrax 4 retails at around £200, and the Ramble carrycot (as pictured above) is available separately for around £85 to help create an entire Joie travelsystem. The Joie Litetrax 4 won Gold in the Mother & Baby awards 2017.

Check current prices of the Joie Litetrax 4 below:

Currently Joie Litetrax 4 is cheapest at Boots.com  – Get yours here

Alternativelty you can pick up the Joie Litetrax 4 Air Buggy at Amazon below, Online4Baby or check PRELOVED for second hand options.

Our Experience

Does the Joie Litetrax 4 require assembly?

The Joie Litetrax 4 comes in a compact box with everything you need inside. Setting up the Litetrax 4 is very straight forward. Although getting all the parts out of the box can be a bit daunting at first, the instructions are very easy to follow, and my other half had the pushchair set up in no time at all. I think even I could have done it (and flat packed furniture is NOT my forte!!) – the wheels just simply push and click into place. It was great to see that lots of accessories were included in the box, such as the large rain cover and even a padded foot muff that wasn’t actually listed on the box. This was a pleasant surprise and looked like it would be really cosy in the winter months.

First impressions

The Joie Litetrax 4 is a Joie stroller that comes in a number of different colours depending on personal preference. We opted for the Rust colour and I am really pleased with our choice – it is quite a unique orangey/red shade, and looks fab – we have had lots of positive comments from other parents whilst out and about. Unlike other travel systems I have used, the pushchair seat doesn’t need to be removed in order to attach the ramble carry cot, it simply lies flat, creating a concertina style hood underneath. This looks great, and much less faffing around when alternating between the two. The ramble simply attaches using two adapaters (sold sepeatrely) which slide in easily before clipping the carry cot in place.

The Joie Litetrax 4 is quite large when in use with the Joie ramble carry cot, but that said, I didn’t have any difficulty getting it around in the shops. When folded, it stands freely (which is VERY handy) and folds up into a compact size with a clip to hold the pushchair closed.

How compact does the Litetrax 4 fold?

The Litetrax 4 measures L82, W31.5, D59. 3cm when folded.I can easily fit the Litetrax 4 pushchair in to the back of my Golf, leaving plenty of space for shopping and other items in my boot. If I needed to make it smaller (i.e. when going on holiday with a large amount of luggage), the wheels can also be removed so that it can stack flatter and take up less space.

It is surprisingly light to carry. After my sepsis nightmare my body wasn’t as strong as it could be, yet I was easily able to lift this in and out of my boot without too much difficulty. Made from aluminium, it weighs around 9kg.

Key features of Joie Litetrax:

When looking at the Joie pushchair, one of the real positives of the Joie Litetrax 4 is that it has a very large under chair storage basket which has plenty of room for shopping bags and/or changing bags. That said, when using the pushchair flat (for newborns) or with the ramble carry cot, the basket is not very easy to access, as the hood covers some of the area where you would things in and out. When the pushchair is inclined, full access to the basket is restored.

I absolutely love the ‘Parent tray’ attached to the handlebar, with space for two cups to be held (i.e. both my coffee and my daughters beaker cup!) The storage pouch with Velcro close is also great for popping in some loose change or your house keys if you don’t want to take your handbag out with you.

Is it really a one handed fold?

My favourite feature of the Joie Litetrax is the one handed close. With a toddler in tow, this has been a real benefit in that I don’t have to worry about my eldest running off whilst I battle with putting the pushchair up and down. Using a strap hidden under the material of the chair, you simply pull up in a swift motion and the chair folds in and down, before automatically locking and clipping into place. To open, simply unclip, and push down the centre of  the chair until it clicks into place.

What is the hood like on the Joie Litetrax 4?

The super-extendible hood on the Joie Litetrax is AMAZING, and has so much coverage that I can finally say goodbye to my annoying parasol – lets face it, most of us spend the entire time walking round the block fiddling around with the parasol to try and adjust it into the perfect position! I hate the things!! The fantastic hood on the Litetrax4, folds out far beyond other pushchairs that I have seen, including a zip that opens it up further so it covers low over the child’s face. There is a mesh section so the child can see up and out if they wish, and this is also great for ventilation on hotter days.

There is also what I would describe as a parent peep hole, where you can have a sneak peak and check if your baby has nodded off. This is accessible via a little Velcro patch – it can be a bit noisy opening it though so don’t peak too often!

Suitable from birth, when not using the Joie Ramble carrycot, I have been using the Litetrax 4 in it’s lie flat position. I love that this pushchair can be used from newborn because of the lie flat feature, as my previous travel system could only be used from 6 months. As my daughter grows bigger, it is  reassuring to know that adjusting the recline is easy to do one hand using the handle at the back. These movements are not jumpy, so I could easily do this whilst my daughter is asleep.

The seat itself has a 5 point harness, which has its pros and cons. On the positive, 5 point harnesses are the safest form of restraint, in that in the event of a collision, or your child being knocked in the pushchair, the force is spread across their body. At the moment Neve is pretty tiny, so the strap pads are a little on the large side in terms of scale, and even at its tightest setting, they is a bit of growing space! I can imagine getting the straps on a more wriggly 6 month old or toddler could be MUCH harder than a simple strap and clip method and at times may seem a little fiddly. That said, what is great about the 5 point harness is that if the baby falls asleep, you can easily remove the straps without waking them!

Does the Joie Litetrax 4 come with a raincover?

Yes! The included raincover is large and easy to apply to the seat when required. It doesn’t fold as small as I would like due to the plastic rim on the hood element of the cover. This means it takes up quite a bit of room both in the car and in the pushchair basket.

How easy is the Litetrax 4 to steer?

The Joie Litetrax 4 is really easy to manoeuvre with large wheels and I found it easy to push on most surfaces with the exception of our pebble drive which is a nightmare with any wheels to be honest!! The Joie Litetrax has a simple foot break which is really easy to apply and remove as required.

I think the Joie Litetrax 4 is fantastic value for money with an RRP of around £200, especially as it can be used from birth until approximately 4 years (15kg). I have previously had another travel system that cost almost £400 and was nowhere near as easy to put up and down as the Litetrax 4.

Overall, we are really impressed with the Joie Litetrax 4, which is a great upgrade if you have previously had then Joie Litetrax 3. I am enjoying using the additional features such as the multi recline and the footmuff as my daughter grows.

Pros:

• Value for money
• One handed close for easy and quick set up and putting away.
• Super extendable hood with maximum sun coverage
• Light and compact
• Chic and trendy looking

Cons:

• The single position handle bar is fine for me at 5″6 but if you are particularly tall it may feel a little on the low side. It didn’t work particularly well with the buggy board as my daughter was too big to fit underneath, so walking with her behind the handle bar was a bit yampy to say the least!
• The five point harness was a bit of a faff at times, and the comfort pads came off quite easily.
• Despite multi position straps, I couldn’t get them as tight as I would have liked on my newborn, but as long as she was wrapped in thicker clothes she was fine.

You can learn more about the Litetrax 4 on the Joie website.

*Disclosure – I was sent a Joie Litetrax 4 from Joie free of charge for the purpose of this Joie pushchair review, however all thoughts and opinions are my own*