Silver Cross Halo

This is a great travel system. It is really easy to fold down and put up, and very compact when folded. It moves easily and has an elegant design. The wheels are for urban use, though I have pushed it over rough ground, it wasn't ideal. The handlebar is not adjustable, though I've found it a perfectly good height for myself (5'7")

The only rear-facing mode is with the car seat attached. This was lovely when my baby was still small enough, but he is heavy for his age and I had to stop using this most of the time around 6 months. The baby's weight is quite far forward so once he got heavy it became difficult to push, a month or two before he outgrew the car seat. In this position you can use both hoods at once to create a nice sleeping space for the baby.

In the forward-facing mode the seat can be continuously adjusted from upright to nearly horizontal by pulling a strap just under the handlebars. The seat hinges at the baby's hips so he can stretch his legs when lying down.

The five point harness can be used without the shoulder straps so that the baby is just held in at the hips. This is useful for us as my baby often likes to sit bolt upright rather than lounge against the backrest. It doesn't have a bar for him to hold onto, although this doesn't seem to matter to my baby as much as I thought it would!

The hood is really generous, so I use it to carry small things in when it's down. When it's up it comes far forwards enough to just throw a big scarf over when the baby wants to sleep. It keeps light rain off very well too, though there is a rain cover supplied with the buggy which we've used a couple of times.

Before I bought this I was put off by the storage: it's just a fabric shelf with elastic crossing over the top. I don't think it's perfect, but it has turned out to be a lot more convenient than I'd anticipated. I usually put everything in a big fabric holdall and it fits in there just fine. I think this shelf is worth it for having such a compact frame.

One thing which is lacking is a peep-hole in the back of the hood so you could check on your baby when he's facing forwards.

I wished I could chat to my baby more on long walks now that he is too large for the rear-facing mode, so bought another buggy- but I hardly ever use it since my baby is much more comfortable in the halo. No buggy is perfect for every purpose, but if I could only choose one this would definitely be it!