Silver Cross Wave Travel System Review

The Silver Cross Wave is a superb top-end travel system for any needs your family has. With huge amounts of basket space, great tandem-riding configurability, and an easy steering experience, travelling with your little one (or little ones) becomes a breeze. And with premium materials used in every inch of the Wave's production, your pram will be sure to look and feel luxurious for as long as you use it.

Pros & Cons

Features

Specifications, Weights & Dimensions

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What's in the box

• The travel system comes delivered in 4 separate boxes: 2 for the car seat, and 2 for the pram
• Box one has the Isofix base
• Box 2 has the car seat
• Box 3 has the pram chassis
• Box 4 has the bassinet, seat, covers, wheels, adaptors

Colour Options

• Charcoal
• Zinc
• Indigo

Accessories Available

• Changing bag,
• Carrycot Stand
• Cup Holders
• Ride-on-board
• Tandem Seat

The Parent Test

I'm Emma, mum of three children under the age of 5, with newborn Matilda the most recent tiny to join our family. She is now 12 weeks old and we have been using the Silver Cross Wave as a travel system since her arrival, testing it out and seeing how it fits our needs and lifestyle. The system takes daily use on weekdays when I do the school run which, depending on weather, is either a walk through woodland or a short local drive.

So we have had plenty of use of both the car seat and the pram with bassinet. We also take frequent trips to the shops, attaching the car seat the chassis when we get there. And we have made a couple of long journeys north to visit our relatives in Scotland with the kids in the car for up to 7 hours at a time (with stops). So overall lots of opportunity to test the full system with the exception of the pram seat which Matilda isn't quite big enough to use yet.

First Impressions

As would be expected there were a lot of boxes for a lot of equipment and it was all perfectly packaged and protected which I would like to see from a premium brand and product. The downside is that it is so much packaging to get rid of afterwards. We took a trip to our local recycling centre ASAP. For households without a garage to temporarily store this in please bear it in mind as it is very bulky to have lying around.

Once out of the box the pram was exceptionally easy to put together, I almost didn’t need the instructions, although they were included in the box and easy to follow if required. The wheels simply click on to the chassis; the bassinet, seat and car seat were all already assembled. The pram arrived with the incorrect adaptors for the car seat to attach to the chassis, which was frustrating at first as I simply could not work out what I was doing wrong and why it wouldn't attach. Once I realised Silver Cross sent the correct adaptors very quickly.

I immediately loved the brown leather details on the chassis and bassinet, it gives the whole product a really luxe feel. It would be amazing if Silver Cross offered a neutral colourway for the pram bassinet and seat to complement the brown leather. I also quickly established that the handle of the chassis extends significantly which is perfect for our family where everyone from our 5-year-old girl to 6' 4" Daddy pushes the pram so there's a handle height for everyone,

I did however notice how heavy the chassis is, however, I can completely forgive this as it can quickly and easily convert to a tandem system with the inclusion of the tandem adaptors and the chassis is sturdy enough to make the tandem set up feel safe and durable.

Manoeuvrability

The pram is the smoothest glidiest (is that a word?! Lol) pram I have used. It is so easy to manoeuvre. We walk on pavement, shops, and through woodland with the pram and it is a joy to push on all terrain. I often push it with one hand while simultaneously holding my daughter’s or son’s hand and this is easy enough too… it only becomes tricky when there’s lots of turns or a camber on the road when the weight of the pram can hurt my hand a bit while trying to steer it.

When in the tandem set up the pram becomes very long in-depth making it a bit awkward when trying to manoeuvre in tight spaces, but I much prefer the way the tandem system works on the Wave compared to the side by side options on other models as it makes accessing in and out of shops and doorways so much easier. Just be aware of how deep the pram is as it's easy to forget when it's so easy to push around.

Folding, Unfolding, Storage & Lifting

For a tandem system, I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the chassis. It is not too cumbersome, although some people with a small car boot may find it slightly tricky to fit in. I have a people carrier (Volkswagen Touran) and with the handle completely down to its shortest height the chassis JUST fits into the boot wheels in first with the bassinet sat next to it side by side. If your boot space isn't as deep it would likely be a squeeze.

As I have mentioned above the weight of the chassis is significant. When collapsed it can feel quite an effort to pick it up and put it into the boot of the car with most of the weight obviously at the side with the wheels, away from your body when you pick it up, and weighed towards the ground. The bassinet, seat, and car seat are all absolutely fine weight wise and not bulky. The Isofix base has more weight in it of course but it is so easily installed that this isn’t an issue.

One of my favourite features of the pram is how easy it is to attach and detach the bassinet and seat from the chassis, whether in single or tandem mode. They can be lifted and dropped by the same levers that are used to detach them from the chassis, and because they are so lightweight it's really easy to do. The adaptors for the car seat are also very easy to click on to the chassis with the depression of an obvious grey button.

My only gripe is that the car seat is tricky to align and click on to the chassis and even harder to remove. The system would benefit from some arrows or something to help you know when the seat is in the right position… every time I attach it I have to do some fiddling which is difficult the bigger and heavier baby gets. Also, when removing, the good thing is that one of the buttons presses and stays depressed rather than you needing to try and push and lift both buttons on both sides of the car seat at the same time which is near impossible (I've had that on a previous travel system I had). However when lifting the car seat off with both buttons pressed in it is really sticky and jolty, I have been unable to remove it without the car seat making a big jolt in the 3 months I’ve had it. Again, the bigger Matilda gets the harder this becomes and it's super sore on my back.

The chassis folds so easily. It is a two-handed fold, which some may find difficult if holding the baby of course but as yet I have never been in the situation when I have needed to hold the baby while folding the pram as she has always been in her car seat, or I have already moved her from bassinet to the house. Once folded a handy little clip automatically engages keeping the chassis closed and preventing it from being awkward to lift. It is an easy clip to reopen when popping the chassis back up again, hold it open with one hand and lift on the handle with the other hand. Again, two-handed operation which is important to note.

Travel System Component Changing

The travel system is really easy to work and navigate. I didn't need to refer to the instruction manual at all as it is very intuitive. The bassinet and seat click directly onto the pram chassis with no extra adaptors. Adaptors are required for the car seat to attach and in the case of dual pram use. All adaptors are provided with the pram and very simply and easily click on the frame with instructions on exactly where included. They remove just as easily for conversion to another set-up. As I mentioned above, removing the car seat from the adaptors is sticky and jolts on removal which, if baby is sleeping, is a bit of a frustration, but that is my only concern.

Comfort and Ease of Use 

I would love to see a couple more extras included in the package for the price. A parasol for sunny days that can protect baby from the sun, and a coffee cup holder too. Both of these items I will purchase separately which for a luxury package I think should be included. The bassinet is narrower than many, which is actually a good thing as baby is less likely to shake around as much when being pushed. I need to roll up a blanket around baby when in the bassinet or otherwise her head bounces around a bit and she sinks and slips to the bottom if it when being pushed along woodland terrain on my school run. I've never seen a baby insert for a pram bassinet before but think this would be a great product addition for any travel system to provide more snug comfort for baby when in the pram.

I particularly like the harness and straps on the car seat and seat sections of the travel system. My previous pram had a terrible 3 point harness that wouldn't stay on the baby's shoulders and just didn’t feel comfortable. The Silver Cross has padding and cushioning to spread pressure across her upper torso, and makes the harness feel really snug and secure and comfortable.

I have previously mentioned the leather-trimmed handle which is nice on your hands on cold days, and the extendable handle is amazing for tall parents as it extends much higher than any other pram I have tried or tested. The wheels are nice and big and spongey which is fab for using across all different kinds of terrain. But remember the pram, as it can be used tandem, is relatively heavy so one-handed control on uneven surfaces can be hard.

Safety

The traffic light system on the Isofix base is a favourite. You can see the video of the pram for an idea of what that looks like. It makes it so easy to understand that baby's seat is in properly and safely.

The Basket

The basket on the silver cross wave is brilliant. It has 4 sides and is not open on one side which is amazing for keeping contents safe and secure. It is extremely easy to access, deep enough to store a changing bag/rucksack, and a couple of carrier bags of shopping. However, in the tandem position, the basket cant be accessed remotely as easily so bear that in mind if using as a double pram. Also, if full of heavy shopping (eg I bought 2 litres of milk and a crate of cola cans when out shopping once) then it adds to the heaviness of the pram overall increasing difficulty of manoeuvrability with anything other than 2 hands. This is just important to note if your walk home from the shop is on uneven or tricky terrain or you have other children to tend to while pushing the pram as you will very much need both hands to control it with the basket full of heavy shopping.

Price

I think the price is fair for what you get in the package with my only preference being the addition of a cup holder and parasol as part of it.

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