Britax B-Lively Review

The canopy on the B-Lively is large enough with a seat back recline flat enough for napping.

Britax launched in the US in 1996 after a successful start in Europe. The company has been creating baby products for over 70 years including their best-selling infant car seats. Britax's goal is to develop safe and useful gear whether it is convertible car seats or strollers. Britax works with governments, manufacturers, and experts on safety to bring parents products for their children.

Performance Comparison

The Britax B-Lively is a nicely priced stroller with better performance than much of the competition with comparable prices.

The sections below show how this stroller performs compared to the competition in detail.

The Lively bin has front access with a pull tab secret door.

Ease of Use

The B-Lively is average for ease of use earning only 6 of 10 for this metric where it suffers from lack of features.

Fold and Unfold

The B-Lively has an easy fold with a quick pull handle on the seat. It has two steps and needs two hands. Unfolding is also simple and can be done one-handed, though some testers felt it wasn't as easy as the fold and required some practice to do well.

The single action brakes of the B-Lively was easy enough to use, but larger feet will need to be steady to avoid kicking the wheel.

Brakes

This stroller has single action brakes that are very easy to set and release with a process that is simple and foot-friendly with a press to set and release.

Storage

The storage bin (above left) is somewhat large but it has a useful and fun access portal on the front not found on all of the competition. The bin fits our large diaper bag and has a limit of 10 lbs. This bin is very similar to that found on the Britax B-Agile 3. The Lively also has pockets on the back of the canopy with two small pockets and a medium zippered pocket.

The peek-a-boo window on the B-Lively is really more of a ventilation strip with only a fabric cover to keep out the sun and no way to use the window without letting in cool air.

Sunshade

The Lively sunshade is also similar to the B-Agile with an expansive size, and a large mesh peek-a-boo window. The peek-a-boo window has no real "cover" with only additional fabric to fold over it. You cannot view little ones without letting in additional airflow which could be ill-advised in colder weather.

The 5-point harness on the B-Lively is nothing to write home about with rethread height adjustment and limited adjustment options.

Harness

The 5-point harness on the Lively is only average to put on and harder to take off. Adjusting the harness is easier even though it is the less desirable rethread design. The harness has three shoulder height positions and an adjustable crotch strap.

The B-Lively recline is a basic toggle with two straps. This design is easy to recline requiring only one hand but it requires two hands to raise.

Seat

The seat on the Lively is a sling style seat with non-adjustable padded leg rest and narrow footrest. The seat back reclines with the use of a toggle and can be operated with one hand to drop and two to lift. The seatback has an infinite number of possible angles including almost flat for napping.

Car Seat Compatibility

This stroller comes compatible with all Britax infant car seats. With side adapters, you can attach each seat to the frame of the stroller without removing the main seat or canopy. Attachment requires lining up both sides simultaneously and applying pressure straight down.

Ease of Setup

Te B-Lively is similar to other strollers in the Britax lineup with a slightly faster assembly time of just over 5 minutes.

This stroller requires snapping on the three wheels and the canopy. You don't need any tools and the manual is only so-so with instructions that start a few pages into the manual and aren't as good as some with the quick start instructions.

Maneuverability

The Britax B-Lively isn't the best mover with a score of only 6 of 10 for maneuverability. This score is about average and is likely a result of the use of plastic foam filled tires instead of rubber. This stroller is small which makes it good for smaller spaces but it struggles over grass and gravel with difficulty turning if the grass is thick. It feels similar to the Britax B-Agile and the Baby Jogger City Mini. The dual front wheel design is one that historically struggles in testing to stay on track and we prefer single wheels per leg to help avoid pushing problems.

The B-Lively is the smallest folded option in the group, beating the Britax B-Agile by a hair.

Weight and Folded Size

The Britax B-Lively earns an 8 of 10 for weight and folded size with a relatively low weight and the smallest folds in the group (even smaller than the Britax B-Agile). This stroller weighs 18.9 lbs and measures 6,612 cubic inches. If you have limited space or worry about where you will put a larger full-size stroller this is a good option and should fit in most reasonable spaces.

The B-Lively is a nice looking stroller but the overall fit and finish has some cheaper details we dislike over previous iterations of Britax strollers.

Quality

The Britax B-Lively is average quality, about what you'd expect for a buggy with this price tag earning it a 5 of 10 for this metric. This stroller has a similar frame to the B-Agile but with an angular look and more pieces which could translate to more flex over time. It has medium weight fabric that is no longer the nice ripstop but it does offer a padded seat and wipable footrest. The wheels are foam filled plastic which impacts maneuverability and could deform over time calling into question long-term durability for this stroller. They cheapened the details over previous Britax of yore by replacing magnetic closures over peek-a-boo windows with no closure for the window cover and Velcro for the leg rest hatch instead of the nicer zipper. So, while it looks very similar, the details are lacking and indicate a turn for Britax in regards to overall quality and final fit and finish.

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