strollberry

All user reviews of Mockingbird Stroller

2.9/5
11 parent reviews

UNSAFE when used in the two-seat configuration.

1.0

Mockingbird's single-to-double stroller is UNSAFE when used in the two-seat configuration. After only a few months of normal use it literally snapped in half with my two toddlers inside and dropped them full force toward the pavement. My daughter came very close to a catastrophic head injury. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS STROLLER WITH TWO CHILDREN.

I have 20-month old twins, who each weigh around 30 pounds. I began taking them in the Mockingbird stroller with the two-seat configuration in mid-2021. Our regular routine was to take one to two 20-minute walks per day in our neighborhood. The walk is entirely on paved streets and sidewalks. There are a few places where the sidewalk is bumpy because of tree roots and one spot without a curb cut where we had to take the stroller up and down the curb. It appears the stroller, at least in the two-seat configuration, is not able to handle these minor stresses, which are typical of a suburban neighborhood. After less than a year of use, a small cross-bar that connects the two back legs is separated at the point where it is welded to one of the legs. I contacted the company on June 10, 2022 and they sent an entire replacement stroller.

After using the June replacement for about four months the same cross bar separated in the same manner. I contacted Mockingbird again on October 31, 2022 and they said they were again sending a replacement. No one from the company told me that the stroller had been rendered unsafe for use (or warned me of any risk that the stroller could completely split in half), so I continued using it while awaiting the replacement. On November 5, 2022, while taking the stroller down the curb at the spot without a curb-cut, it completely severed in half and dropped both of my children full-force toward the pavement. There is a place in the middle of the stroller where the main metal bars connect with a plastic piece that supports a seat. The metal fully snapped at this connection point on both sides. I've since learned that other parents have reported this exact failure point, which caused their strollers to split in half with children inside. My daughter was in the front seat, which dropped forward onto the street. It landed with her face one inch away from impacting the pavement at full-force. My son was in the rear seat, which was also pulled toward the ground. This was obviously a very traumatic incident, but I feel extremely lucky that neither of my children was injured. I believe this fall had the potential to cause serious head injury or even be fatal if one of their heads had hit the pavement at full force.

We always used this stroller as intended by Mockingbird, and never took it off-road, jogging, or even traveling. It was solely used for neighborhood walks. It should not have failed like it did. After the incident happened I googled and found that others are experiencing this EXACT same issue - the same connection point failing in the two-seat configuration, leading to the stroller snapping in half. Mockingbird needs to recall the stroller and fix this before children get hurt.

It has held up way better than I anticipated

3
  • Textiles feel high quality and long lasting
  • Pushes easily, feels really light when fully loaded with the heaviest child in the front (even at a slow jog in the rain, haha)
  • Looks snazzy and expensive. I get so many compliments!
  • One handed fold with seats attached is awesome (albeit big and awkward)
  • Lots of configurations (but not as many as I’d like or as conveniently as I’d like)
  • Huge under storage compartment with a close-able pocket and doesn’t fall apart (or look like it’s going to) when my toddler (45lbs) climbs in it
  • Extra sunshade attachment, especially for the baby sleeping in the bassinet
  • Parent console accessory (extra $) is pretty nice. I do wish the cup holders were insulated but it's spacious and easily clips on and off. Wish it had a carry strap
  • Free wet bag
  • Free stroller bag
  • Stands when folded (but not all the way compacted so again it’s cumbersome and huge).
  • Water repellent fabric on the canopy
  • Plush seats. They look comfortable and my kids keep getting in it and just hanging out. They sleep SO WELL in this stroller (like for 3 hr naps)
  • One-hand adjustment for seat positions (but that has downsides too)
  • The bassinet is free standing and has a handle to carry it around
  • Tires are VERY resilient. I ran over a broken beer bottle I couldn’t see (because of the long stroller in front of me) I don’t see ANY damage. The tires are totally fine
  • The locking front wheels are helpful
  • The suspension feels great. Have pushed sleeping babes through tough terrain and they stay asleep
  • The handlebar is cushy and comfortable and doesn’t rub against the ground when in a standing fold like other strollers
  • The crumb/dirt zipper feature in the footwell has been used way more than I realized.
  • The stroller board. We LOVE this add-on. My husband is 6’2” so a board that goes in front of his feet was not going to work. My 4 year old thinks it’s the best thing ever. I wish I could attach it to other strollers
  • It kinda stinks going up over the curb even as a single (compared to my previous especially). Part of this is because of the next item
  • It felt kinda creaky and a tiny bit wobbly occasionally when we first got it (going up over curbs and into doorsteps and on tight turns when loaded with kids). But my husband and babysitter LOVE this because they say it helps rock the kids to sleep. I personally prefer a sturdier feel. The “creaks” actually improved the more I’ve used it
  • The bassinet is not compatible with the front position and technically can’t be forward-facing when doubled (but I do it anyways and my toddler is just cramped). My toddler LOVES seeing the baby.
  • Bassinet top does not have in-between positions like a normal seat canopy- only up and down and requires 2 hands to adjust in either direction
  • The bassinet is “extra” and smaller (unlike my Chicco Urban which the normal seat converts to the bassinet so it’s very spacious and included obviously)
  • 4 seat positions instead of continuous which prevents the “sneaky” recline when I’m trying to gradually lean my child back to sleep and gets stuck a little when my toddler fights against me.
  • The right upper adapter was stubborn and difficult to disconnect everything but got better with use.
  • Hard to find places to put clip stroller fans, Most convenient places are too thick for my fans to clamp so now I’m looking at buying a different kind
  • The adjustable foot rest only locks in one direction. So I tuck it back and my toddler moves it forward with her feet. But, then she can’t move it back out of the way so she says she needs help and we do this on repeat until I lose my mind. This also causes annoyances when folding. Thankfully the novelty of that is wearing off with time and she’s just flinging her feet out of the seat when she wants more space
  • Canopy is too small. The extension shade is really nice but my toddler hates it (understandably) so I’m using an aftermarket extension that is nice but not attached so she pulls on it and it comes off. She would absolutely tolerate a longer shade because she has on other strollers
  • The ventilation on the canopy is mesh allowing great airflow but tons of sun. What you gain in airflow you lose in the sun's heat. In my old stroller, the ventilation window was made out of a semi-sheer UPF blocking material (similar to the extension fabric mockingbird provides) and that was WAY better
  • The seat liner accessory doesn’t stay put under wiggly bottoms and isn’t a cooling fabric so it’s black and hot. It’s also not full length so anything that drops, spills, etc. into the foot rest area falls on unprotected fabric. It is also not water repellent fabric so if your kid pees (ask me how I know) it will be wet and it might soak through to the actual seat (which is also not water repellent). In other words, diarrhea and pee protection is not guaranteed so I use another cover to seat liner
  • The fabric is not all removable and machine washable. This is one of my biggest pet peeves with basically all strollers! Why make a child product you can’t just wash? Why?!?! Especially one they spend a lot of time on! Did they think it through for the bassinet but not the seat? 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️ it’s definitely NOT totally wipe cleanable as advertised or water repellent like the canopy. I’m so glad I own an upholstery wet vac to wash and suck out the urine and potty accidents. But, as annoying as this is, I won’t send the stroller back because none of the competitors I looked at had this feature either! Grumble. (FYI my baby jogger did have this feature but it was a PAIN to change and reattach but at least you could)
  • Snack trays are sturdy but the angle is awkward with some recline and dumps snacks into laps.
  • It does fold with both seats on but it’s way bigger than my 4 seater stroller wagon when folded. Even though it’s half the weight it’s twice as awkward so I almost always disassemble it

I have had it for almost 2 years and my kids have not been gentle. It has held up great, way better than I anticipated. My kids climb ALL over it and it has never fallen over. My favorite thing now is the off to the side rider board.

  • Price
  • Features
  • For 1 & 2 children
  • Bulkiness, takes up the whole trunk & more
  • Heavy (to me)
  • Not for terran

Cool features, given the sum we paid for it. It’s important to say, though, that the folded stroller is incredibly large and will take up your whole trunk (if you even manage to fit it inside).

There are better

3
  • price
  • the quality matches the price (my friend owns an Uppababy and it's an incredible difference when we both walk on the street... I'm a bit jelly)

Good for the price. There are better.

I'm so glad there's a page with some normal words about this pram. The hundreds of absolutely unreal (paid? IDK) reviews on the Mocking bird page made me feel like I'm crazy it doesn't feel so good to me.

I mean, it's a budget-friendly option and it feels like one. I don't get the "perfect in every way" - it is not. It's simply OK - for the price. But I tried others and it is true, the higher-priced ones are simply better, often even much better.

  • Stylish
  • Nor pricy
  • Variability
  • Large basket
  • Fine for one kid
  • The peek a boo window position is a joke
  • Not too much sun coverage and who wants to put the UV mesh on all the time (my son starts screaming when I do that)
  • Flimsy
  • Handle pivots so my tall hubby kicks the stroller all the time
  • Not sturdy for two in my eyes

A good price-performance ratio but I wouldn't use this as a double pram. Doesn't feel sturdy enough. With one kid, OK (with the price tag in mind).

Great features but weak materials

2
  • cheap
  • gorgeous on the pictures
  • impractical little things (like the viewing window is too far and high, the basket they claim accepts only weight under 2 kg...)
  • leatherette on the handle
  • rattly over time
  • cheap - quality reflects the price
  • hard to get up curbs

Great features but weak materials, compared to the luxury options. It gets rattly over time.

  • price
  • looks
  • similarity to the Uppa baby
  • internal patterns ❤️
  • frame quality - you can feel the price
  • almost no suspension, honestly
  • handle joints
  • if you forget the sun shade, the canopy is short in the laying position

I needed something budget-friendly and this was it. The raving reviews are a bit of an overkill - I mean, you do get what you pay for in terms of quality - but it's a rather good-looking nad it works. Not the softest ride though, and a bit wobbly over time.

I thought as everybody recommended it, it will be great. It isn't. The seatback is short, the carrycot is narrow, the sunhood's short, the plastics are awful. And what's with the basket capacity of 3 pounds?!

Happy with my purchase

4
  • Beautiful
  • Convertible
  • Very affordable
  • Did I mention beautiful? 😉
  • VERY VERY bulky (but our car has a large boot)
  • Not lightweight at all, not carrying friendly
  • Bucket seat (I like lie-flat ones more)

I wanted a beautiful option that can convert later on and got the Mockingbird. I am happy with my purchase. We'll see how it performs over time. 😊

OK but I wouldn't buy it again

3
  • features (on paper)
  • affordability
  • not sold everywhere, hard to try out first
  • details and finishes
  • suspension (weak to none)

It's OK but I wouldn't buy it again. There are these little details that bother me. But it looks good and even better 'on paper.'

2.9/5
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