Bebecar celebrated its 45th birthday in 2009 and is well known throughout Europe for its innovative and functional travel system designs. The award-wining Ip-Op was launched to meet the needs of parents looking for a modern-style design that’s suitable for mums who need to travel with their baby on a regular basis.
The Ip-Op is the lightest and most compact pushchair in the Bebecar range. Every Bebecar pushchair available, including the Ip-Op, is designed so that it can recline fully for your baby's first few months, and after this the seat can be forward or rear facing so your child can learn both from you and the world they see whizzing past the pushchair.
To turn the Ip-Op into a travel system, you just add the Bebecar Easymaxi infant car seat. This is a Group 0+ car seat, suitable from birth to 13kg. It weighs about 4kg, and attaches to the Ip-Op chassis (or any Bebecar pushchair chassis) with an “easy one-click fit”. It’s easy to install in your car without any need of an additional car seat base.
What we love
Putting the chassis and pram together was dead simple.
Manoeuvring the Bebecar Ip-Op along the road, the steering felt heavy, but the construction is sturdy and Nathaniel didn't seem bothered by having a bit of a bumpy ride and barely awoke from his slumber.
As a lady who loves to shop, the storage underneath was well thought out. I liked that the basket was lower at the front, meaning that I could easily access packages without disturbing my son.
Taking the Bebecar Ip-Op on a bus was easy and took up relatively little room in the buggy park. On some buses I even managed to get from the front driver's area to the middle without having to ask the driver to open the middle doors, so it is a great buy if you live in a house with a narrow passageway.
The Bebecar Ip-Op folds in a scissor style by turning the handle and pushing in a couple of buttons, although remember to take the pram off first! The chassis easily fits into a medium-size car or can stand upright on its own when you are storing it folded at home.
What to watch out for
The Easymaxi car seat was a cinch to strap into my car, although I didn't feel it was held in place as securely as my usual brand of car seat.
Weighing nearly 14kg, the Ip-Op it is actually quite heavy to lift into a car boot.
The luxury padding and free mattress in the pram is as good as any I've seen, but you couldn't tuck in blankets properly. This is fine when your baby is young, but as he nears the sitting-up stage, Nathaniel can kick and twist and almost push his blankets off.
I also found that to position Nathan correctly lying down I needed to put up the hood, then take off the apron and blankets completely, as the hood folds into the mattress and gives you less space. But when the hood is up it comes quite low and I needed the top apron space to lay Nathaniel comfortably. If you have a longer-than-average baby, you might also find that your child outgrows the pram mode quickly.
The handle is adjustable but it adjusts by swivelling up and down to give you the extra height rather than telescoping out, and as a taller-than-average mum I found it difficult to get it at the right height without it bringing me too close to the Ip-Op.
One thing I did find annoying, as I was pushing the Bebecar Ip-Op is that I often needed to use my foot to get it up kerbs, and having the foot brake on the right-hand side of the axle bar meant I had to be careful that I was lifting the buggy rather than putting on the brake. It could have been quite dangerous stopping unexpectedly at the side of the road!
Lastly, the covers, although removable, are not machine washable and could get water stains if you need to sponge them down a lot.
Who is the Bebecar Ip-Op travel system best for?
Fashion-conscious parents who want a good, sturdy buy and aren't constrained by a budget.
The Bebecar Ip-Op travel system offers a stylish and safe ride. However, its price tag packs a punch and its heavy construction lets down what could have otherwise been a great pram.
