Joie Litetrax Pro stroller review

With our son, Wilfred, hitting the one-year mark recently, we decided it was time to upgrade his pushchair. His previous buggy, a Mothercare 4-wheeler designed for newborns and small babies, had served him well but was no longer big enough.

After we'd done our research, we chose a Joie Litetrax Pro as the replacement. We came to this conclusion for several reasons:

Portability: apparently, it was light-ish and easy to fold & store
Durability: we walk a lot, so need something that will last hopefully until he's three or four years old
Comfort: good protection for Wilfred against the weather, good reclining options
Safety: a good brake system plus strong frame and reliable harness system
Storage: areas to place 'baby stuff'!

So it was that we got ourselves a 'Pro' three months ago and have been using it pretty much daily ever since. Generally speaking, it's lived up to expectations in that time. It's a top buggy and represents excellent value for money.

For the most part, we don't have any complaints (though there are one or two minor things we feel Joie might want to look at should they update the design moving forward, but we'll come to that later in the review).

Scroll down to read my full review of the Joie Litetrax Pro.

Testing the Joie Litetrax Pro

Putting the Litetrax Pro together out of the box was easy. Like, properly super-easy! My wife Daisy usually sets herself the challenge of putting things together without reading the instructions first (not to be recommended, it's just how she is!) and she managed to get the Litetrax up and running in no time straight after it was delivered.

We quickly got to grips with the innovative folding system, which is superbly designed. Lift the padding in the middle of the buggy and you'll see a push-button and strap. Push the button, tug the strap and Bob's your uncle - the Litetrax will fold, with a nifty locking arm securing everything tightly in position.

When folded, the Litetrax fits easily into the limited boot space of our Ford B-Max. Indeed, it takes up less space than its Mothercare predecessor (which is nice) and significantly less space than the other buggy we use at the moment, the Thule Urban Glide (which we predominantly use for running and pushing Wilfred over more demanding terrain).

In fact, the Litetrax Pro is so easy to fold and secure/put in the boot of your car, you can do it in one hand while you hold baby in the other (not that we would recommend that, of course). There's no need to remove wheels, or anything like that, and at 9.71kg in weight, the Pro is not so heavy that you'd struggle to lift it, either.

Build quality

Put bluntly, as things stand, thus far we can find no fault with the built quality. And we do try to, believe me!

Working from the bottom up, the tyres are made from high-grade rubber and are foam-filled to protect against punctures.

The all-wheel suspension is spring-based and seems effective: Wilfred has slept comfortably in the Litetrax Pro many times, thanks possibly to the quality of material, the depth of padding and the fact you can fully recline the basket so it's in a lie-flat position.

The frame is sturdy, offering considerable protection, and there's a detachable/pivoting arm bar (which we recently removed as we have found we don't yet need it, though that might change as Wilfred grows. It's still in place in the picture so you can see it).

Safety

Top of every parent's list of questions before you buy a product for your baby should be, 'how safe is it?' We have no safety qualms so far about the Joie Litetrax Pro.

As just mentioned, the build quality is robust. Additionally, there's a braking system that seems reliable and secure - one tap on the brake pedal engages the brakes and secures the stroller safely where you want it, including on steep slopes.

The harness system is easily adjustable and secure thanks to five harness points and is very well padded, for baby's comfort.

There's a durable, UPF 50+ water-repellent canopy that offers considerable protection against the rain and sun; while a full rain cover is also supplied and is easy to fit.

The canopy also has a very neat 'peekabo' flap you can peel back if you want to, so you can keep an eye on baby as you walk.

Using the Joie Litetrax Pro

As we've said already, we've had our Pro now for three months. In that time we've used it daily: mostly on pavements, sealed surfaces, indoors and on the grass of the local park.

We don't use it on rougher terrain or while out running (ie, at Parkruns) as we have a more specialist buggy that, honestly speaking, is better suited to those situations (plus the vast majority of prospective Litetrax Pro owners won't be buying it to take off-road or for running purposes, we're sure!)

There is one thing I would like to recommend Joie look at, and that's to make the handlebar more adjustable. Specifically, I'd like to be able to pull it out more horizontally - ie away from the buggy, toward me - to help prevent my feet from catching the back wheels occasionally when pushing Wilfred.

This is only a small point but for a tall bloke like me with long legs, it'll just make things that little bit more comfortable.

Storage for shopping, nappy-changing kit

In terms of storage, nice touches include two coffee cup holders on the handlebar, plus a small, sealable container area for phones and purse/wallet.

There is further decent storage available under the basket, for shopping perhaps (or for nappy changing kit, etc) - although we cannot get our (rather large) nappy changing bag into it, which is slightly frustrating, though not a massive hassle.

Car seat and carrycot compatible

Finally, although my wife and I don't take advantage of these features - so can't report back on them in this test - it's worth pointing out that the Litetrax Pro also has three 'modes' that make it car seat and carrycot compatible.

Joie claims that owners of the Litetrax Pro can 'switch between car to stroller without unbuckling or waking' the baby. Which for us, if we could do that, would be a tremendous thing... A lot of the time Wilfred has been asleep in our car when we get home and we've had to sit with him until he wakes up! This would alleviate that specific problem, so perhaps we'd better investigate getting hold of a car seat that's Litetrax compatible - especially as Wilfred might be growing out of his current car seat sometime soon.

Final verdict

Overall, we love the Litetrax Pro and recommend it highly if you're in the market for a new stroller for a baby that's anywhere between 6 months and four years old.

It's a solid, comfortable stroller that Wilfred seems to enjoy being in - we say 'seems to' as he's not speaking yet, so we can't ask him!

It's super-portable, easy to fold and store, and with front wheels that either swivel or can be fixed, has first-class manoeuvrability.

It's a super bit of kit. Well done, Joie.

Dad-of-one Jim Foster writes The Geriatric Dad for Mother&Baby where he recounts everything he experiences being an 'older' dad - no holds barred. His day job involves helping look after this website, as well as various apps for Bauer Media. He was formerly a journalist, magazine editor and publisher.