The Great Stroller Debate
The Great Stroller Debate
Wow have things changed since I had my daughter 12 years ago! I remember going to Target and picking out basically EVERYTHING I needed for a newborn in one day - including the stroller and car seat. I literally looked at the Graco travel system and was like “this works, let’s go”. But the year is now 2021 and strollers aren’t what they used to be - they have upgraded. And with all these new features and upgrades have also come an upgraded level of OVERWHELM.
If you follow me on Instagram, you will know that deciding on a car seat and stroller have been one of the most anxiety inducing baby decisions I have made. I was inundated with blogger mom luxury stroller recs, budget savy recs, and everything in between. I was probably recommended every stroller on the market at one point or another, and was even told “don’t worry about it, you don’t need a stroller”.
But I definitely used a stroller a ton with Torrin when she was little, and even though I am going to attempt baby wearing more with my little one on the way, I still wanted a nice functional stroller that works for us.
I’ll share which one we chose at the end so feel free to scroll down to learn which one and why, but first….
Here is the list of the top recommended strollers!
Uppa Baby Vista V2
The Uppa Baby is a stroller I had seen around the gram A LOT but always wondered if it lived up to the hype, and I must say that people are PASSIONATE about their Uppa Babies - particularly the Vista. It is definitely a luxury stroller and costs just shy of $1000 without a car seat so it isn’t exactly budget friendly, but many moms say that it is completely worth it.
What they love: the luxury, how smooth it is, the large under basket, the bassinet, and so much more. This stroller is great if you plan on having more than one kid in stroller ages because it easily converts into a two-seater.
What I didn’t love: it was BIG. Very big. While it folded easily, it was still pretty difficult to ease in and out of a car (particularly my tiny Honda Civic). The bassinet was also big and while some love having it (it can also be used in the house), to me it seemed to like it would be taking up too much unnecessary space (which I don’t have much of). While I didn’t appreciate the huge price tag, if I had absolutely loved it I wouldn’t have totally ruled it out. But it was just too much stroller for me. I also debated on the Uppa Baby Cruz which is their smaller stroller but went another direction instead.
Baby Jogger City Mini GT2
The Baby Jogger City Mini was a highly recommended stroller for sure, and as I did my research it was commonly nominated as the “best overall stroller”.
What they love: great for many types of terrain, can be an every day stroller or can handle some jogging/running, great price point (less than $400), can get adapters to connect with many types of car seats.
What I didn’t love: I honestly wasn’t crazy about the style. After spending hours looking at strollers it just wasn’t visually appealing to me - which yes I know sounds crazy. But another big turn off to me was that the seat is stagnant, you can’t remove the seat to just accommodate a car seat to the stroller base which is something I really wanted.
You can get the stroller solo here, or check out the travel system here.
Doona Car Sear & Stroller
Ohhhh the Doona. If you watched my Instagram stories you will know I have lots of feels about this one. But some people ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT and say it’s the most convenient thing ever.
What they love: 2 in 1! The car seat turns into a stroller which is pretty dang cool, can’t argue with that. I think the convenience is why this one is so highly recommended. The price is $500 which for a car seat AND stroller is a pretty good deal.
What I didn’t love: there’s a lot. The idea of the dirty wheels being inside the car kind of creeps me out. I was told the wheels get safely tucked away and it’s not a big deal but it still doesn’t sit right with me. No storage down below which is a major downside to me (you can apparently buy an add on for some storage though). It gets HEAVY. I had multiple moms reach out saying it’s great when baby is small but as they get bigger it becomes really heavy to lug around. It has a time limit - as soon as baby is too big for the infant car seat, the stroller is no longer useful so you’ll need to buy a bigger one eventually.
You can grab it here.
Britax Travel System
I’m definitely dropping the ball with this one because I can’t remember which Britax was specifically recommended, or necessarily WHY, but it was definitely up there in top recommended.
What they love: I wish I remembered more specifics but I think it ultimately came down to the quality for the cost (travel system is $399.99) and functionality.
What I didn’t love: similar to the reasons I didn’t go with the Baby Jogger is why I didn’t go with the Britax, but I’ve only heard amazing things.
You can check it out here.
Chicco Bravo Travel System
I think this one wins for best bargain travel system for sure.
What they love: gets the job done for a killer price - $379.99 for the car seat and stroller together. Good storage. Large canopy. A notch above Graco with not much more of a price tag added to it.
What I didn’t love: after copious amounts of stroller hunting, I decided I would rather spend more on exactly what I wanted. Would have considered this if I was prioritizing saving on a stroller. I decided being able to move the seat was a big factor for me personally.
It is linked for you here.
BOB Gear Revolution Flex Jogging Stroller
BOB wins for best jogging stroller!
Why they love it: jogging! Some car seats may be compatible but you would need to double check about that.
Why I didn’t love it: as with almost all jogging strollers, they are made for jogging but not necessarily best for all other everyday functions. I decided to prioritize everyday function with the stroller I picked but we’ll see if we decide to get a jogger as well somewhere down the line.
It is linked here.
Graco Modes Travel System
As I come to the end of my stroller round-up, I can’t leave without an honorable mention to the OG Graco.
Why they love it: classic, easy, convenient and great safety features all at the best price - $299.99 for the car seat and stroller! No shame in that Graco game that’s for sure!
Why I didn’t love it: I actually loved this for Torrin 12 years ago. It definitely got the job done and was functional. But at this different stage of life I decided to upgrade a bit and go for something a bit higher quality with additional features (also at a higher price tag).
You can shop Graco here!
And FINALLY - the stroller I chose…
Who actually read through the whole blog post first and didn’t immediately scroll to the bottom? Anyone? No? Thought so.
Nuna Triv
The biggest deciding factor on going with a Nuna stroller was that I had already decided I wanted to get the Nuna Pipa Lite Lx infant car seat and the stroller compatibility was a big decision maker to me.
Quick side note on the Nuna Pipa Lite Lx - this was the most recommended car seat by far and is also the most lightweight available on the market at around 5 pounds. The base is easy to install and ensures for proper adjusting which is a win. It’s important to note that the Nuna Pipa Lite series ONLY work with the base. If you need a car seat that doesn’t require a base all the time, the standard Nuna Pipa or Nuna Pipa Rx connects with the seat belt as well and doesn’t require the base. I almost went with the Pipa Rx just in case but ultimately we will always have the base so we went with the Lite Lx which I am VERY excited about.
The Nuna strollers work more seamlessly with the Nuna car seats, but other stroller brands make adapters so even if you want to go with a Nuna Pipa for the car seat, other stroller brands are not totally ruled out!
That all being said, I kind of had this gut feeling I wanted to go with a Nuna stroller for a while after I was talking to a mom in a store who was using a Nuna and she was telling me how she loved it and compared it to the Uppa Baby (basically if you know you’re going to have more kids, the Uppa Baby is a good way to go, but if you’re not sure or if you don’t think you will - the Nuna is a great option for one and more convenient). But back to the gut feeling - I was leaning towards a Nuna but wasn’t sure which way to go and then I got flooded with various other stroller suggestions and I quickly became overwhelmed and less sure of my gut feeling.
So I did all the research, watched all the Youtube videos, went to baby stores and found my way back to the Nuna - but still wasn’t sure which one to go with. The Nuna Mixx is their most popular stroller, but after watching a video comparing the two different Mixx strollers along with the Triv - the Triv just felt RIGHT.
Why I love it: it’s gorgeous and I can picture myself pushing around my little babe in this stroller. The seat can face forwards, backwards, or be removed completely to attach the Nuna Pipa Lite car seat with the ring adapter (it comes with it) - this was HUGE for me. Loved this. It collapses like magic and has a hand pull for easy carrying when folded as well. It even folds WITH the car seat ring adapter and ends up being super light weight. Another huge deciding factor for me. It glides smoothly, has good tires and suspension for a calm ride for baby. The seat reclines so it’s almost a built in bassinet without needing a separate one (but they do have those if you want one). Great storage in the bottom. Not unnecessarily bulky. Handle adjusts for various heights. It just seems to be the perfect combination of everything I was looking for in a stroller. You can see it in action here.
What I’m not crazy about: it’s not cheap. Also in full transparency when I decided on this stroller I thought it was a couple hundred dollars cheaper than it was because I got it confused with the Nuna TAVO. But after falling in love with the stroller we determined it was worth my sanity to go for it rather than to continue stressing about strollers. The Triv is $699.99, not including the car seat, so not exactly a budget friendly option. But it is more affordable than the Uppa Baby Vista. And I definitely want to state spending $700 on a stroller is SO NOT NECESSARY, your little bundle will be just fine in whatever you choose and what makes sense for your family and your budget. We are personally going with quality over quantity when it comes to all baby things and keeping things minimal, so we don’t have too many baby purchases which makes spending this much on the stroller more doable for us.
Other than the price, there’s not much I don’t like about the Triv - obviously it’s probably not the best jogging stroller but I wasn’t shopping for that. It doesn’t have a cup holder (most don’t these days I guess?!) so I’ll need to buy an add on.
I am just so excited I finally decided on a stroller and can’t wait for it to arrive. I’ll be sure to share when it arrives and film some stories with it for sure.
You can get the Nuna Triv here!
So there we have it! Drop all your stroller feels below!
*This blog post contains affiliate links - I would greatly appreciate you shopping for your stroller through the links provided if you found this blog post helpful!
