Hauck Sport

Hauck Sport lightweight buggy lives up to its lightweight claim, with a reasonable price tag to boot.

The Hauck Group has been well established in the UK for many years and the 2009 range comes in stylish new colours ‘spring red’ and ‘quattro navy’.

The buggy is suitable from 3 months and is designed for ease of use, manoeuvrability and control. Hauck boasts of listening to customers’ comments and improving models based on this. The Hauck Sport lightweight buggy has 360-degree wheel turn on the front, 5-point padded harness, removable front bar, adjustable footrest and removable canopy.

I initially used the buggy for a trip to Ireland, and travelling alone for the first time with two children I knew I would need a very lightweight, manageable buggy.

What we love

The buggy is as lightweight as Hauck say and that is a must when travelling with babies. It’s also incredibly easy to put up and down. To close the buggy, there are two easy pull tabs by the buggy seat to pull back, and closing it takes just seconds, although you couldn’t do it with one hand.

To put the buggy up you simply grab the handle and it drops into the upright position and clicks into place. I have managed this one handed with Zac, 11 months, in the other. It is fairly easy to manoeuvre with a comfortable padded handle. There’s a good size basket underneath that’s perfectly adequate for a changing bag as well as a couple of bags of shopping.

I was also impressed that this buggy comes with its own raincover, which many lightweights don’t - a big plus in my book.

What to watch out for

When opening the buggy one-handed, just watch your fingers as it’s a quick motion and I have nearly lost a finger once or twice.

In a busy airport with Zac in the buggy and my 3 year old, Georgia, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and would really put the Hauck buggy to the test. It certainly did and raised a couple of pointers that let it down a little. What I particularly struggled with was attempting to manoeuvre it with one hand, which I really needed to do to hold on to my bags as well as Georgia. This wasn’t easy, as I couldn’t control it at all with one hand, and it was as if it suddenly developed a mind of its own and was off!

I also found the straps for the baby surprisingly stiff and really struggled to strap Zac in quickly and efficiently. The other point to watch out for is that it’s not an easy buggy to get up even shallow kerbs.

Who is Hauck Sport lightweight buggy best for?

Mums after a reasonably priced, fairly basic lightweight buggy.

MadeForMums verdict

You can’t get away from the fact that the Hauck Sport lightweight buggy is a fairly basic model, but this is reflected in the reasonable price tag. It’s reliable and lightweight, suitable for occasional or everyday use. It excels when it comes to folding and unfolding, but doesn’t have the overall comfort and attention to detail more expensive brands may have.