Ickle Bubba Atom travel system review: a lightweight, space-saving travel system from birth to four years

The Ickle Bubba Atom travel system comes with a convertible lie-flat to seat unit

How we tested the Ickle Bubba Atom travel system

• Used the Ickle Bubba Atom travel system daily for eight weeks

• Tested with a newborn baby

• Used for short and long car journeys, public transport and daily walks around London

Alice used the Ickle Bubba Atom travel system for eight weeks as her primary pram and car seat setup with her son. It was used daily for a mix of short trips and longer journeys, including walks around London, shopping trips and time spent on public transport, as well as regular car journeys in their Ford Fiesta.

Getting out and about with a newborn can be a challenge, so Alice really put the Atom through its paces in everyday family life. She found it became a reliable part of her routine, whether she was heading out for a quick walk or navigating busier days in and around the city. The compact fold and lightweight design made it easier to manage on the go, even when juggling baby essentials.

During testing, Alice scored the Ickle Bubba Atom travel system on eight key criteria including: performance, quality and durability, ease of use, value for money, safety and stability, ease of installation, comfort and adjustability.

Ickle Bubba Atom travel system: what’s in the box?

Alice tested the Atom 2-in-1 pram 6-piece bundle, which includes:

• The pram chassis

• The convertible lie-flat to seat unit

• The pram apron

• A cross body changing bag and mat

• A rain cover

• A cup holder

She was also sent the Ickle Bubba Cirrus i-Size car seat and ISOFIX base to test with her son.

This setup is also available as a 9-piece bundle if you want the full travel system, which includes the Cirrus car seat, ISOFIX base and car seat adaptors to attach the seat directly onto the pram chassis. Or you can purchase the Cirrus car seat and base separately.

How easy is the Ickle Bubba Atom travel system to assemble?

Setup is fairly straightforward overall, with a few small steps needed before the system is ready to use. Alice explained that the sunshade needed to be attached and the base needed to be fixed into the car, which took her about 10 minutes to install.

Once the base was installed, the next step was attaching the car seat. Alice found this required a bit of extra care at first, particularly when lining it up correctly. “It can be a bit tricky to guide the seat into the ISOFIX base: to click in place you have to bend down and check visually if the car seat lines up with the ISOFIX base properly,” she explains.

Attaching the car seat to the pram chassis is more straightforward, using adapters that can be left in place for added convenience. This proved especially useful for quick trips in the early weeks after birth. “It was very convenient for multiple short trips to the doctors and hospital after birth,” Alice says.

The lie-flat to seat unit can be used in both parent-facing and world-facing modes once attached to the chassis, depending on your child’s stage. In the early months, it’s used in lie-flat mode facing the parent to support newborn comfort. As your child grows, it transitions into seat mode from around six months, when it can be switched to world-facing so they can sit more upright and take in their surroundings.

The travel system is available in Stone, Graphite Grey or Black

Ickle Bubba Atom travel system: how does it look?

The Atom travel system has a clean, modern feel to it, with a design that’s very much focused on everyday practicality rather than loads of decorative detail.

Alice liked the look of the Cirrus car seat, especially the black finish with subtle pops of green that highlight the seat belt routing points when you’re not using the ISOFIX base. It has a simple, no-fuss design, with a combination of wipe-clean materials and polyester fabrics that are easy to maintain and work well for day-to-day use.

The pram carries through that same practical, streamlined style. It has a compact frame with two larger wheels at the back and two smaller wheels at the front, which gives it a neat, easy-to-manoeuvre feel in use and better suspension.

The handlebar and gate-opening bumper bar are both simple in design but feel sturdy enough for regular use, and the extendable sun canopy with pop-out visor and viewing window is a handy touch.

One of the more practical features is the storage basket underneath. While it’s not the largest, it can comfortably hold up to 3kg and has a flexible design, with one side that pulls down to make loading easier. This means you can slide in bulkier items like a changing bag or shopping without having to awkwardly lift everything over the top.

The Ickle Bubba Cirrus car seat is only 3.3kg and comes with an ISOFIX base

Ickle Bubba Atom travel system: what are the safety features like?

The Cirrus car seat that comes with the Atom meets the latest R129-03 (i-Size) safety standards, meaning it’s tested to current regulations and designed to offer a secure fit based on height. It’s suitable from birth up to around 15 months (40–87cm) and includes enhanced side impact protection with pop-out panels for added reassurance.

There’s also a supportive newborn liner to help keep smaller children snug, along with a one-hand adjustable headrest so you can easily adapt the fit as your child grows.

From a day-to-day perspective, Alice felt confident using the Cirrus car seat with her son, noting how secure and supportive it felt once fitted. “The seat feels sturdy and there’s ample protection on the front and sides,” she says, adding that the three-point harness was easy to tighten and stayed firmly in place: “So far, my [son] hasn’t been able to get his arms out of the straps!”

There are a couple of small usability points to note. Alice felt the padding and shoulder straps could be more cushioned and found the buckle slightly tricky to close initially. “The buckle can be a bit fiddly to click into place as the cover often gets caught making it difficult to close so not ideal in a hurry,” she explains.

The pram itself feels stable and supportive in use. The two larger rear wheels help give it a more grounded feel when pushing, while the chassis offers solid support for the lie-flat to seat unit. Both the car seat and lie-flat to seat unit click onto the frame easily using a simple push-and-lock mechanism, feeling secure once in place. Overall, it sits somewhere between a lightweight stroller and a more robust all-terrain option in terms of weight and manoeuvrability.

How comfortable is the Ickle Bubba Atom travel system?

Comfort is generally good across the travel system, although Alice felt that it doesn’t feel as generously padded as some more premium options. As mentioned, the lie-flat to seat unit offers a supportive and comfortable space in both lie-flat and more upright seat modes as your child grows. The car seat also adapts well over time, with a removable newborn liner and adjustable headrest helping to maintain a good fit.

“My son is comfortable in the car seat both in the car and attached onto the pram, with padded straps (albeit thin) that can be adjusted and padding for newborns which does offer some extra cushioning,” she says.

From a parent’s perspective, it’s comfortable to push too. The lightweight frame and smooth steering work well on everyday routes like pavements and around shops. The handlebar is fixed rather than adjustable but sits at a comfortable height for most users, while the bumper bar gives older children something sturdy to hold onto when sitting upright.

What is the Ickle Bubba Atom travel system like to use day to day?

In practice, the Atom is easy to live with day to day thanks to its compact fold and lightweight feel, which makes it noticeably more manageable than heavier travel systems when getting on and off buses or trains. “We live in London, so public transport plays a big part in our routine, although we also used the car and car seat every few days, mainly for shorter journeys,” says Alice.

For context, pushchairs like the Mamas & Papas Ocarro 2 are significantly heavier at around 13.9kg and rely on a separate carrycot, which can make them less convenient for frequent lifting and transport. Similarly, the UPPAbaby Vista V3, at around 13.2kg with the carrycot attached, is also more substantial to carry in and out of the car or store away.

By contrast, the Atom’s ability to fold with the lie-flat to seat unit still attached, as mentioned earlier really stands out, making day-to-day use and storage much simpler, especially in smaller spaces. In a smaller car like a Ford Fiesta, the ISOFIX base does take up some of the middle seat space, which means the outer seats are best suited to shorter journeys when both are in use.

Ickle Bubba Atom travel system: how easy is it to fold?

Folding the Atom is fairly straightforward once you get the hang of the sequence, and importantly it can be done with the lie-flat seat unit still attached, which adds to its everyday practicality.

To fold it down, you start by lifting the clip at the back of the seat when it’s in lie-flat mode. From there, the seat unit folds in on itself and then tucks down neatly onto the chassis, sitting over the storage basket.

Next, you press the button on the handlebar, which allows the frame to collapse. The pushchair then folds down into a compact unit, with a clip securing it in place so it stays locked when stored or lifted.

To unfold, it’s simply a case of releasing the same clip, opening the frame back out until it clicks into place, and then lifting the seat unit back up. Once it’s open, you can unclip and return the seat to lie-flat mode if needed.

Overall, it takes a couple of tries to get used to the folding sequence, but once familiar it becomes quick and intuitive in daily use, which is why it scored 8/10 for ease of folding and unfolding.

The Ickle Bubba Atom travel system was used for naps on the go in and around London

Is the Ickle Bubba Atom travel system easy to clean?

Yes, the Atom is easy to keep on top of day to day. The fabrics on both the pram and car seat are designed with practicality in mind, with wipe-clean surfaces that handle everyday spills and mess pretty well. The seat covers can also be removed when needed, which makes it easier to give everything a more thorough clean rather than just spot-treating.

Alice found it simple enough to maintain during regular use, especially for small, day-to-day marks rather than deep cleaning. The materials don’t feel overly delicate, so quick wipes after snacks, spills or muddy shoes are usually enough to keep it looking presentable. The changing bag and accessories are also low fuss, with wipeable surfaces that are easy to manage on the go.

Is the Ickle Bubba Atom travel system good value for money?

Yes, Alice felt that the Atom offers very good value for money, particularly considering what’s included in both the 6-piece and 9-piece bundle. One of its biggest strengths is that it uses a lie-flat to seat unit instead of a separate carrycot, so everything is built into one travel system from birth. This helps keep the overall cost down compared to many travel systems, where extra components can quickly push the price up.

For context, many travel systems sit well above this price point once you factor in a pushchair, car seat and accessories. Even the pushchair element of systems like the Cybex Talos S Lux sits at around £580 on its own, before you add a car seat or base, so the Atom stands out as a more budget-friendly option in comparison. The Ickle Bubba Cirrus car seat also comes with an ISOFIX base in the bundle, which adds further value straight out of the box.

At £269 for the 6-piece bundle and £400 for the 9-piece bundle, it feels competitively priced for a complete travel system. The pram apron also helps reduce the need for extras like a separate footmuff, keeping newborns warm and cocooned in the early months.

That said, at this price point you’re not necessarily getting the most premium fabrics or some of the additional features found on higher-end models. For example, the iCandy Orange 4 (around £1,000 for a 9-piece bundle) offers a larger storage basket and a higher maximum weight capacity of 25kg compared to the Atom’s 22kg, along with an integrated ride-on board for older siblings. Additionally, some of the pushchairs from the likes of Bugaboo, Silvercross and Cybex are standalone products with their own features and benefits.

In contrast, the Atom focuses more on lightweight practicality and ease of use rather than those added extras. Alice also found the practical touches useful in day-to-day life, including the changing bag and mat, the cup holder and flexible under-seat storage basket. Overall the Atom is a budget-friendly all-in-one option that takes away the guesswork and cost of having to piece together a full travel system separately.

About the author

Tammy Jacks has over 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, holding key roles such as Managing Editor and Health & Beauty Editor for Woman & Home magazine in South Africa, and Assistant Editor for Living and Loving - a parenting title focused on children's health and development. She has also contributed to various lifestyle publications (including magazines, journals and newspapers) and edited books for fitness influencers and health professionals.

As a researcher and writer, Tammy specialises in children's development, wellbeing and safety, particularly focusing on car seats, having written extensive guides for Mumsnet on rear-facing car seats as well as car seat regulations in the UK.

Her expertise in this area is informed by both professional knowledge and personal experience as a mother. As a keen runner and cyclist Tammy has also reviewed numerous baby travel products with her daughter in tow, including strollers and pushchairs, child bike seats, all-terrain prams and the best running buggies on the market, thus offering valuable insights into safety, comfort, and convenience for families.