UPPAbaby vs Stokke: From City Streets to Park Trails

There are so many different brands of strollers in today’s marketplace that it can be difficult to choose between them all. And sometimes, the most expensive stroller is not necessarily the best one for your needs.

In this article, we take a closer look at two popular stroller brands whose products retail at a similar price point: UPPAbaby and Stokke. We compare several of their most popular models.  So, you will be able to decide which one is the most suitable for your family.

UPPAbaby: Innovation and inspiration – designed from experience

U.S. company, UPPAbaby was founded in 2006. Today, UPPAbaby is one of the most well-known baby gear brands. And their strollers have a reputation for being well-made, cleverly designed, and great value for money.

If you choose an UPPAbaby stroller, you’ll be impressed with the practicality, comfort, and range of features that you get for your money. Safety of the passenger is paramount for UPPAbaby’s designers, as is longevity. So, you can be sure that you’re buying a stroller that will keep your passenger safe and last a lifetime.

Stokke: Designed to be closer

Stokke was founded in the city of Ålesund on Norway’s west coast back in 1932, producing bus seats and furniture for adults. In 1972 the company moved into the children’s gear market with a range of highchairs.

The company launched their first stroller in 2003, which introduced the now hugely popular parent-facing seat. Today, the company makes strollers, highchairs, baby carriers, textiles, and nursery products.

Stokke’s designers create everything with your child’s best interests as a priority, to encourage your little one’s development, and to strengthen the bond between the two of you.

UPPAbaby vs. Stokke

Now, let’s take a look at some of UPPAbaby and Stokke’s best-selling strollers to see how the models compare.

Stokke Scoot vs. UPPAbaby Cruz

The Stokke Scoot

Stokke launched version 2 of their Scoot stroller in 2015. The Scoot is a lightweight, compact stroller with a reversible seat, and it sits in the luxury stroller price point.

Version 2 of the Scoot has larger, thicker wheels than its predecessor and an improved handlebar. The result is a much more comfortable ride for your passenger and an easier push for you. The Scoot copes easily with trips to the mall or into town to pick up your groceries. Plus, the improvements mean that you can also use it for a trip to the park. Uneven sidewalks and grass are no problem for the Scoot, although it’s not designed to be an all-terrain vehicle.

So, the Scoot is an ideal stroller if you live a predominantly urban life. The stroller’s looks are very modern and stylish, which is an essential consideration for modern moms who like to follow current trends. Currently, you can buy the Stokke in one of seven gorgeous colors.

When it comes to comfort for your passenger, the Scoot’s generous, comfy seat with its deep recline is perfect. Also, there’s a large sun canopy that will shade your little one on hot days. The adjustable footrest makes comfortable napping guaranteed. For further protection and comfort for your child, you get a rain cover and bug net included in the price.

The cavernous, easy-to-access underseat storage basket will take all your baby essentials and some grocery shopping too. That’s ideal if you like to go for long walks or days out.

The Scoot’s seat is not suitable for a newborn and there’s no bassinet option. However,  you can buy a “Soft Bag” that you can insert into the seat to create a secure, safe, enclosed environment for an infant. The seat weight limit is a reasonably generous 45 pounds.

The Scoot’s fold is smooth and straightforward, and you can achieve it with one hand.

There are a few things that Stokke could improved when the Scoot goes through its next revamp, including the inclusion of an extra storage pocket on the seat back. The seat recline would be better if it were lever-operated, rather than strap-operated.

The UPPAbaby Cruz

The UPPAbaby Cruz is a favorite with many families and falls within the same class of compact, lightweight strollers as the Scoot.

The Cruz has features you’ll find on a full-size, regular stroller but it’s lighter, with a more compact fold. The Cruz sits between the UPPAbaby G-Luxe umbrella stroller and regular Vista stroller. The model was upgraded in 2017, and it now has a few notable improvements, including solid, polyurethane wheels, rather than hard rubber, for a smoother ride.

The Cruz has a reversible, roomy seat with a generous recline that’s lever-operated, making it easier to adjust than the strap system on the Scoot. The Cruz also boasts a huge canopy made from very high-quality fabric that now includes a pop-out sun visor for extra protection. Additionally, you can lock the sun visor to keep it in position.

For your comfort, and to add a touch of luxury, the adjustable handlebar has a real leather cover, as does the swing-away bumper bar. Like the Scoot, the Cruz has an adjustable leg rest to keep your child comfortable when napping. You get a big underseat storage basket too that will comfortably hold everything you need for a day out with your child, as well as a small amount of grocery shopping.

The intuitive fold is easy and smooth to achieve, and there’s an auto-lock that holds the stroller together once folded for freestanding storage.

If you like to travel by car, you’ll love the travel system convertibility that you get with this stroller. All you need to do is replace the child seat with an infant car seat. If you want to use the Cruz for a newborn baby, merely replace the seat with the bassinet that you can buy separately. The Cruz is compatible with several popular car seat brands, including the UPPAbaby Mesa, Nuna, Cybex, and Maxi-Cosi.

Like the Scoot, you can choose from seven beautiful colors. Note that the color you pick can affect the price you pay, so be sure to check before you make a decision.

Stokke Trailz vs. UPPAbaby Vista

The Stokke Trailz

The Stokke Trailz is a reversible seat all-terrain stroller that sits in the luxury niche. Stokke designed this stroller with the active, outdoorsy family in mind. It will cope with the weather and terrain, no matter what the season.

The Trailz is perfect for tackling off-road trails, sand, snow, and gravel, and it makes negotiating uneven sidewalks and curbs a breeze. Like most genuine all-terrain and jogging strollers, the Trailz has large, air-filled tires.

Now, that will give you super-smooth travel over lumps and bumps. However, you will need to check the air pressure inside the tires regularly to make sure that they are inflated correctly. And there’s always the risk of getting a puncture. So, you’ll need to invest in an air pump and puncture repair kit too.

The Trailz has a reversible seat, and you can convert it into a pram or travel system for a newborn. The seat has a decent weight capacity of up to 45 pounds that will cope happily with a larger child. Although the Trailz does have a bumper bar, it’s removable, which can be more fiddly than a swing-away design.

You get an infant insert with the Trailz that reduces the depth of the seat and provides small infants with more support. If you prefer, you can buy a bassinet for your newborn. A bassinet will keep your baby nice and cozy in cold weather because of the additional protection it provides against chilly winds and rain showers. The bassinet also comes in handy as an extra sleeping space at home for your baby. And if your little one falls asleep during a walk, you can lift the bassinet off the stroller chassis and bring it into your house without waking the occupant.

On hot days, there’s a large canopy that has a mesh panel for extra ventilation. The Trailz has a five-point safety harness to hold your child securely in the seat. For additional comfort, there’s an adjustable footrest. For safety, the Trailz has a one-step brake, although an automatic brake would be better for this stroller’s weight.

The Trailz has an enormous underseat basket that will easily take your grocery shopping, as well as everything you need for your child on a shopping trip. At 30 pounds, the Trailz is quite heavy. So, you can safely extra bags from the handlebar if you need to without fear of the stroller tipping over.

The fold is easy and straightforward, and you can manage it with just one hand. Although this is a super-quality, robust stroller, the Trailz not the most compact. Consequently, you will need a car with a big trunk to accommodate it. Also, the Trailz is not a cheap stroller, but you do get a couple of extras, including the bumper bar, a rain cover, and a bug net.

The UPPAbaby Vista 2018

The Vista is a regular stroller that UPPAbaby updated in 2018 with a few minor upgrades and some new colors to choose from. Notably, the bassinet has been made a little longer, so it can accommodate a larger, older baby. Also, the front wheels are now made from the same material as the back ones. And for an extra touch of style, the bumper bar and handlebar on all the Vista models now have a genuine leather cover.

Like the Trailz, the Vista is suitable from birth until toddlerhood. You can use the stroller in bassinet mode, convert it into a travel system, and use it as a regular, single stroller. Also, you can add a second seat to transform the stroller into a double. If you have an older child who likes to come along too, you can add a stroller board. All in all, the Vista is much more versatile than the Trailz.

Also, the Vista weighs in at just 26 pounds; that’s a whole four pounds lighter than the Trailz!

Although the Vista isn’t an all-terrain stroller, it still copes well with uneven sidewalks, playground mulch, and grass thanks to the four-wheel suspension system. However, you might struggle to push the Vista over snow, sand, and on very rough terrain. On the plus side, the Vista has solid wheels, so you’ll never be stuck with a puncture, as you could be with the Trailz.

The Vista’s seat is very roomy, it’s reversible, and the deep recline is lever-operated for ease of adjustment. And there’s an adjustable leg rest to provide your child with extra comfort when napping. The sun canopy is enormous, and if the basic size is still not enough, you can extend it with the pop-out, SPF 50+ sun visor. If you fancy a shopping trip, you’ll find plenty of space in the massive, underseat storage basket. Like the Trailz, the Vista has an adjustable handlebar to suit parents of different heights. The fold is intuitive and takes just one step to achieve.

If style is important to you, the Vista has you covered with a choice of nine colors to pick from.

Stokke Xplory vs. UPPAbaby Vista

The Xplory V5 sits firmly in the luxury end of the regular stroller market, although it’s a different animal from the UPPAbaby Vista.

This stroller has a unique frame design that makes it look totally different from any other stroller out there on the market, including the UPPAbaby Vista. Also, you can adjust the seat if you want to bring your child closer to you. The Xplory V5 also has an adjustable handlebar, making it ideal for parents of above and below average height.

The Xplory V5 is aimed at families who live in a city environment and want a stroller that they can use for trips to the store, coffee shop, or friends’ homes. Although this stroller copes very well with smooth sidewalks and mall surfaces, it’s not so great with rougher terrain. And it doesn’t measure up well to the Vista when taken off-road.

On the plus side, the Xplory V5 has a massive canopy with a mesh ventilation panel. The seat is roomy and comfortable, as well as being reversible. The stroller’s brakes are white, making it easy to see where you need to step to engage or disengage them. Like the Vista, you need to use a carrycot, car seat, or bassinet if you want to use the Xplory V5 for a newborn. Note that you’ll need to purchase a car seat adapter separately. With the seat or carrycot, the Xplory V5 weighs slightly more than the Vista at 27 pounds.

With the Xplory V5, you get a bumper bar, bug net, rain cover, and storage bag. However, there’s no cup holder included, which seems a little stingy, given the price of this stroller.

Unfortunately, moms who purchased the Stokke Xplory V5 have had a few gripes about the stroller, including:

• Multiple-piece, bulky fold
• Poor storage options
• Non-swing-away bumper bar
• No “sleep” position recline when the seat is in front-facing mode
• The ride is very bumpy away from a flat surface

Of the two strollers we compared in this section, we recommend the UPPAbaby Vista over the Stokke Xplory V5. When you consider the retail price of these strollers, we think the Vista is the better value. Also, the Vista copes better with off-road terrain than the Xplory V5, has a big storage basket, adjustable suspension, and is also lighter with more seating options.

Wrapping it up

UPPAbaby and Stokke are both well-respected stroller manufacturers who produce high-quality products for the luxury market.

Whichever brand you go for, you can be assured of a long-lasting, comfortable stroller that will deliver on performance. That said, it’s important to understand that Stokke’s strollers are very much “horses for courses.” Contrastingly, UPPAbaby’s models tend to be more versatile, and even their regular and lightweight umbrella strollers can cope with more challenging terrain where Stokke’s fail.

 

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