a stroller expert answers:

A light from-birth stroller for under 400EUR/500USD

Abdo & Reem • 08 Apr 2024

Hi,

First of all thanks a lot for the amazing website and for offering this great advice.

About the stroller we would like to have, we set a budget of 300-400 euros (I would say up to 500 USD give or take). Our lifestyle is mainly urban, we do not go hiking much or go running but we can get on some rough terrains going to a lake close to our home or so.

About the child size, since we are expecting by the end of next month, we still do not know the size of the baby.

Our priorities is the ease of going up and down stairs and I believe being light should be an important factor. I believe also loading and unloading to the car trunk is of great importance and of course durable enough since this is our first baby and we are expecting to use it later for the next baby/s (hopefully :)). What we do not want is a stroller that breaks in the middle of use or uneasy to fold and load in the car trunk, and for sure we do not want bad maneuverability.

We are an Egyptian couple living in Munich, Germany, quite inactive (which is something we are not proud of), so main usage would be going for a walk, shopping, run errands and so on. We also travel by plane at least once a year, so if within the budget, it could fulfil this (we can carry it on plane with no extra fees or so) that would be great. But we do not mind that we buy a lighter buggy for the plane travel. Also, our main concern is where to put it, in our building, most neighbours put theirs in the cellar which is one floor below ground floor and we live in 1st upper floor (second floor, in American standard). So going for shopping or so, would require us to bring it upstairs then downstairs when we are back.

We are in between Joie Chrome Dlx 2-set (since we can borrow the car seat from friends) or ABC Design Turbo 4 3-set. We are leaning more towards the Joie since it is cheaper (100 euros less) and lighter and the ABC Design does not provide what really says I am willing to pay more, it has its cons as does Joie and vice versa. However, speaking from an inexpert point of view, we do not know if there is a better option that is available for the above price tag.

Again, I would like to thank you for this amazing website, it has been really useful comparing strollers.

Eli • 08 Apr 2024

Hey guys,

Watch out just to know that you'd want your stroller to be light and kind of compact but also sturdy AND kind of low priced. That all is a bit hard to combine, it's normally quality OR price (with everything, not just strollers), so just be ready for making compromises, which shopping always is about. :-)

Another thing, you also talked about traveling by plane, but for a from-birth (newborn) model, I would NEVER recommend a travel-sized one, the baby will not have a sturdy enough environment. Either you'll need to get another secondary travel buggy (e.g., like Kinderkraft Nubi), OR you will need to check your stroller in.

About your two choices, I personally would probably prefer the ABC Design. I mean, the Turbo is not the best option, really, in terms of weight and bulkiness. It also makes pushing it a tad harder. However, the Joie Chrome is much smaller, bassinet as well as seat-wise, and also rattlier. For very undermanding use and a small-sized little one, it could work. But if you need a surdier model, ABC Designs are a bit better, and also much more roomy.

I would also suggest looking at NEW strollers, either Kinderkrafts, ABC Designs, or Moon ((the Moon Resea S could really work here, for example), all these brands are rather affordable and offer smaller models, too. And you can always browse classifieds to find better prices if your budget is lower than what's not on the market.

Your -very berry- Eli.

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