OmniO Rider is a fold-able stroller/ pram that can be collapsed very quickly and worn like a backpack. It is useful for walking your little ones for long distances and then putting them on the stroller when they get the don’t-feel-like-walking-anymore inspiration which is mostly at the farthest distance away from the home. It is designed for 6 months to 7 year old kids as this is the age when kids are learning to walk and they annoy parents the most with their walking mood swings. The stroller is very handy and expertly designed, so much that it won British invention of they year award last year. However, it is currently looking for more funding at indiegogo.
While in the extended form, it doesn’t appear anything special except for the good quality stuff and compact build, it is only when you shrink to its backpack form that you get to know the usefulness of the thing; It is small enough to fit in the car boot and easy to carry around in a public transport. It is very easy to extend or shrink as it takes roughly 30 seconds to do so. The straps at the back provides a comfortable cushioned support for the 6 Kg backpack. The basic dimensions are very tight at 50 x 40 x 20 cm so it can be worn as a backpack effectively. In the expanded buggy form, the OmniO Rider has some good features as well.
It is easy to steer by the parent with its unique omni-wheel steering system. The front wheels by default are Omni wheels that are puncture proof and can also move sideways to steer. The puncture proof nature makes them useful for moving equally efficiently in both smooth and rough terrain. The wheels are also adjustable and can be installed at the back according to the preferred steering style. The brakes are applied by the rear axle in all situations.
The list of accessories along with the OmniO Rider is also very impressive. It comes with a six-point child harness that can be employed to hoist the sleepy child on your back and the fun part is that it can also become a hip and shoulder strap while the Rider is in the backpack mode. It also comes with a sun canopy and rain cover. Other accessories include insulated water bottle carrier, lunch cum camera bag and a foot muff.
The couple behind this sturdy and useful product Marcus and Samantha Warwick tell us that they got the idea for a robust stroller-backpack combo when they used to face the dilemma of taking the average stroller out every time they went out with their own son who always wanted to walk but he would eventually get tired and go swiftly to sleep. They particularly faced problems when going on a bike ride or other situations like public transport when it is difficult to carry the whole thing around.
Having said that, there are a number of other strollers in the market who offer a lot of fun stuff along with it like Longboard stroller or Origami, but OmniO Rider is one of the best portable solutions around.
An early bird price of 350$ is placed on the stroller as of now but once the funding has been secured by the company and the Rider finds its way to retail, it will cost around 400-500$, assuming the plan works out well.