Mamas and Papas Twin Aria Review

Overall Rating

Very lightweight and compact (considering that it's a double). I liked the fact that the trays at the front can be completely removed, or can swing up in order to make putting the kids in and taking them out easy. It's also suitable for newborns. It's large enough to accommodate a two year old comfortably. The seats can recline or sit up as much as you want them to, as they do not clip up in stages; they have a pull cord. It's also easy to clean, as the seats etc are all easy to wipe down. Fits easily into the (tidy) boot of a family car. It's easy to fold down and put up, and it also has a carry handle.

It says that it can fit easily through standard doorways. I found that in most cases I had to tip the pram on the back wheels to make sure that the front were lined up, and push it through that way, as the front wheels sometimes have a mind of their own when trying to get through doors. I found it was difficult to get in and out of some lifts, resorting to pulling the pram in sideways. I also found the same when trying to get on and off buses that are designed for easy access with a pram, as some just didn't have a wide enough isle. The shopping tray is large, but not very deep, so not a lot can be stored there, and if anything heavy is put in the bottom then it weighs the tray down and it drags on the ground, and as it's fabric, this can cause rips. Sometimes difficult to bump up stairs as the brake can get caught on the stair and lock on.

All in all, I would like to continue to use the Mamas & Papas Twin Aria buggy, but as I do not drive, I find that getting on and off some buses in the area that I live (Glasgow), which have narrow isles, is difficult if I'm on my own. Due to this I will have to get a tandem pram.

If I had thought about it I would have maybe chosen something similar, as I sometimes find shopping difficult, as the shopping tray at the bottom does not hold much. But I have resolved this by buying some bag hooks to put onto the handlebars. I would suggest to the manufacturer that when making prams like this in the future, that they make the wheels larger, and therefore the shopping tray would be deeper and hold more.

I have also found that whilst looking after my nephew who is two, with him and a 4 month old in the pram, it is still very easy to push. I have twins, so I am normally used to the weight being round about even.

All in all, I would recommend this pram to other mums of twins, or to those that have to use a twin pram for one reason or another. In fact, as I am getting a new pram next month, I am giving mine to my brother-in-law to use for his kids.