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Review: Micralite FastFold

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I really have fallen for Micralite. I know they are not the tiniest folded, but to me this is not the most vital aspect. But I do need a lightweight all-terrain capable stroller for my toddler. Because I was a bit unsure whether I wanted to get myself a Micralite SmartFold or FastFold I just had to test out FastFold as well. 
Some technical data:
  • Weight: 7.5 kg
  • Footprint: 44 x 66 cm
  • Seat back height: 52 cm (official measurement is 51 cm)
  • Seat + footrest 29 cm
  • Folded dimensions: 104 x 40 x 44 cm (measured myself)
  • Suitable age: 6 months to about 100 cm
  • Carrying capacity: 22 kg
  • Carrying capacity of the shopping basket: 3 kg
So, FastFold is the lightest stroller Micralite makes. The seat is like a hammock, which does not really remind me of any other stroller I´ve seen. There is no metal connections between the seat and frame, so the child will feel no shaking even at the roughest terrain. Most of the stroller is very similar to Smartfold. You can see my review on it here.

The seat is still an ergonomic seat, there is no real footrest, but the feet are supported still and it did not feel as if the child was uncomfortable in any way. 
What makes it different from SmartFold? 
  • No bumper bar option
  • The hammock seat, for winter they have a separate winter seat liner and footmuff.
  • The handle bar is not covered with leather as in SmartFold but dense foam material.
  • Bit (physically) easier to fold as the seat folds together really easily.
  •  There is much easier access to the storage basket as there is no footrest blocking it.
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  • The canopy on FastFold is completely different, different shape, size and there is only three ways you can have it (shown on pictures below): pushed back, open, open with extra sun shade at the front. I thought first that the canopy might be too narrow for the kid and she would mind it, but no, she didn´t allow me to push it back again.
  • The canopy has pockets on the sides.
  • The seat recline regulation is a bit simpler mechanism, easier to use, as the seat itself if much lighter. However, the seat reclines in a very different way. For example my 90 cm kid sat very comfortably but when in reclined position, her back was in the seat, but neck straight up, did not feel like a comfortable position to sleep in, honestly.
  • The materials are still very nice, not as smooth and luxurious as SmartFold, but a bit more sporty. I love the color selection on FastFold a lot more though.
  • When folded FastFold is comparable to SmartFold in every way except the depth, it is a bit shorter. Both fit perfectly in the trunk of a small Honda Jazz. 
  • FastFold is a bit cheaper than SmartFold.
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I am not really sure who is the target for this stroller, it looks like it would be great for babies, but then it is not parent facing. It seems great for toddlers, because of the seat without footrest and forward-facing seat. I have seen pictures of both of these groups in this stroller. And it looks great, also the push is excellent (even a bit better than SmartFold), but I don´t think it is suitable for 90+ cm for sleeping in it. So in that sense I am really sad that this stroller did not exist before my kid got this big. 
As said in the previous paragraph, the push is very easy, it can handle all urban terrains and probably some rural ones as well.. have not gotten around to that yet. Perhaps not ideal on large gravel, but there very few strollers that are. I love the fact that I can just lift up the front wheels very easily if there is an obstacle for the smaller front wheels.
I tested the special edition of FastFold, FastFold Festival, that is with blue frame (love it!) but the other alternatives have calmer colors and black frame. Again - love the green-blue and turqoise together with orange combinations, but also LOVE the black. So it would have been a really tough choise with this stroller for me. As you might have not picked up, FastFold is not for us, due to my kids height not being ideal for sleeping in the FastFold.. for everything it would have been perfect of us.
 When you buy it, you get the seat liner, rain cover and pump with the stroller.
So what do I like about Micralite Fastfold?
  • Look
  • Weight
  • Push (my kid felt light for the first time after a while, she is 12 kg)
  • Fold
  • Seat looks very comfortable
What could be improved?
  • Material of the shopping basket (here with slush and rain, would be nice to cover with with something - like Thule has)
  • Adding some sort of a pullout/foldout type of footrest - ideally it would be some fold-down or pull-out system.
  • The canopy could be a bit wider
  • The handle could have leather cover
  • Bumper bar option...but I doubt that is possible
  • The winter seat liner should be the default seat liner not the other way around
  • I wish the headrest on the seat would go more horizontal
  • Ideally I would love if I could change seats - for sleeping SmartFold, for everything else FastFold. Again, probably utopia. 
So in conclusion, this is a very good lightweight stroller. Great to push, easy to move around, proper suspension. For a smaller child great place to rest in, for an older child to take to the park or daycare. I would love to take it on a holiday somewhere, but then ofcourse I would need a stroller bag, which Micralite does not have at this point. Overall, I think Micralite has done a pretty good job with their second coming... the strollers are still not yet ideal, for many people no matter how clever and different their fold is will not love the fact that the folded measurements are still quite large, and a lot of people need to get over and embrace the different look of the frame. So not ideal, but close enough.

 I would really love to get myself a Fastfold, but for the sake of my kids naps I am going to go with SmartFold this time. Maybe someday...

You can get them both from Stroller24.

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