During our first visit to Playmobil Fun Park we spotted German families with older and younger children towing carts instead of using pushchairs. They had the cool box and other “essentials” for a family day out in there; Sometimes even a child or two.
I really liked the idea. These carts or toddler wagons looked so practical.
Last year we bought a garden cart from Robert Dyers’. It cost £50, so not cheap, but cheaper than most pushchairs. However, the first weekend we had it, on our trip down to the river for a picnic it kept tipping over. I was in tears with the frustration by the time we got back to the car. It went back to the store on the Monday, returned for a refund as it was totally unfit for purpose.
I was really pleased to discover Outwell, a brand I really like, were bringing out the Outwell Transporter. I ordered it as soon as I could.
Our transporter arrived after the May bank holiday, so the first trip we could take it on was our half term trip to France.
The transporter is a neat, compact package when folded. The base, that slots into the bottom to add rigidity also folds and is stored in the pocket of the protective case.
This summer we haven’t taken pushchair with us on our trips, just a baby carrier rucksack and the transporter in the boot of the car, for when I needed to lug more things around.
During our week in France the transporter was relegated to glorified wardrobe. It held all our clothes in the tent. It was very useful to keep the tent tidy and the clothes organised and off the ground.
When we camped in Folkestone on our way back it came into its own: It was our mule to take stuff to the beach and the toddler nap bed.
The road down to the beach was steep and the concrete and tarmac broken and patchy. It was a rugged ride.
The campsite manager joked with me, asking whether we were moving down to the beach, when he saw us walk past with the transporter in tow. The transporter was packed full! I had food and drink for a picnic and bbq in there, wetsuits, towels, beach tent, a parasol, picnic rugs, beach toys and my mum’s handbag.
We got down without tipping over! RESULT!
Pulling it along the shingle and sand mix beach was not the easiest, but no more difficult than a pushchair with similar sized wheels. In fact probably easier, as you are pulling the swiveling wheels instead of trying to push them.
We had lots of admiring looks and quite a few questions from folks around us.
Later when Max was ready for a nap, I put some of the towels in there, popped the parasol above and it turned into the perfect beach bed.
Since our trip the transporter lives in our car boot and has transported picnics and toddler several times. The Germans had the right idea about having a cart to carry things around once the kids can walk!
I’m now contemplating how I can pimp it and add a rainproof cover to it for future festivals and trips to the beach. So far I’m pleased with every aspect of materials and construction on it. After a full summer of use and abuse, it will welcome an oiling of the moving parts and a wipe clean of the fabric, that’s all.
My friend Chelseamamma took her transporter to Camp Bestival and I loved the simple touches she added to it. Check out her blog post and pictures on Camp Bestival.
Our transporter works so well for us and I recommend it to everyone. (I’m even buying one for my mum for Christmas. Shhh!)
Do you have any kiddy gear that you spotted away from home and adopted?
That is a fantastic transporter, not just for the kids either, but for all their junk too! 😀 Hope you had fun at Playmobil Land! 🙂
We had a Radio Flyer when my eldest was little – it was really great, very similar but less good on all terrain than this.
This looks amazing, I have one of those wheelie boxes which are quite funky x
The Transporter looks amazingly helpful, I could do with one of those for my allotment!
I really wanted one of these but couldn’t find one anywhere so went with a different one in the end. They do look fantastic and I can’t help but wonder if we should have waited until they became available again. As for adding to it – I read that hula hoops work well as frames for some waterproof covers. Great review and well-tested!
We are definitely going to get one of these for Camp Bestival next year x
Oh wow not come across these before! These are ideal!
I keep seeing these about this year and they look so big and useful. I’ve resorted to my granny shopping trolley!
We borrowed an older Outwell one a few years ago for Camp Bestival from my father in law – which he uses in his garden for weeds and lugging stuff about – actually a really practical use for it! We loved it!
What a brilliant idea! This looks so useful for lots of adventures and great that you can fit so much in, as well as children!!
That looks so cool – I would have loved one of these x x
I love it and wish we had something similar when the boys were smaller
Yes, we have got a step2 wagon which we love…so much easier than a pushchair – which my youngest refuses to go in now anyway!! This one looks great.
What a great idea – it looks like it did just the job as well! x
Thank you for the mention! We got, literally, hundreds of comments when we have used ours at Camp Bestival, LolliBop and the air festival. I love the fact it folds up so small yet is every bit as sturdy as the metal framed ones. All we added to ours was a string of bunting, some solar fairy lights and the ikea leaf for shade at festivals xx
I wish I had come across the toddler wagon sooner. Our son gave up on his pushchair a while ago, but am sure he would have loved this!