Please tell me your experiences of Stokkes being BAD?!

[Turry]

They were my heart's desire, til I read reviews about them being actually a bit crap... So I bought a Vista instead.

Now everywhere I go I see Stokkes and babies all high up near to their mummies (it was only ever about the height for me!) and I'm coveting, and can't remember a single reason why I chose not to get one...

So please, remind me quick! They're terrible, right? Better off without... ?!

[tiredteddy]

Not helpful but they do look like office chairs!

[FumblesandFrolics]

no suspension from what I hear so a bumpy ride. Look a bit plasticky for the money.

But great accessories, and babies always look happy in them.

[rosieposey]

Oh dear im not going to help matters - i bought my first one 3 weeks ago (ds is 4 months ) I never believed in spending lots on a pram and had bought a Graco at toys r us for ds but i hated the way it pushed and when it was facing me it felt cumbersome and well a bit rubbish really.

I have no idea what possessed me to get an Xplory but i had seen a couple around and decided to buy a second hand one. I have loved it since the minute i got it home. I am a mum of 5 and 41 so have been buying pushchairs for 20 years and i have never used such a brilliant pushchair. It feels great to push admittedly it is probably not amazing off road (although i took it to Cotswold Wildlife Park twice last week and it was fine on grass and uneven ground).

I have unfortunately bought into the whole Stokke thing now though and have a winter kit (for next winter) a summer kit (for the summer that is not coming) footmuff, parasol, changing bag, shopping bag - even the special blanket that has poppers to attach it to the hood (to be fair ds is a nightmare for sleeping when its too light - thats my excuse and im sticking to it).

You can also get different textiles if you dont want to stick to the same colour (but you will bankrupt yourself in the process be warned). The seat unit faces either way and the whole 'high up baby' thing is great - you can use it as a high chair, the handle is adjustable so for either really tall people or really short people or people like me with really short arms its wonderful to push, faces either way ect ect ...

You can get car seat adaptors for maxi cosi and a couple of other makes. Stokke do a seat as well which is the besafe izi sleep ( it lies flat when not in the car) but this was waaaaay too expensive for me - by the time you had bought the isofix base it was nearly another £350 whereas i already had a maxi cosi and two bases anyway.

Cons are its a pain in the arse to collapse - you have to remove the footrest and the seat to collapse the chassis and you'll need a generous boot - its probably not going to fit in a Corsa or Micra. I think if you needed to use public transport it would be too difficult to fold as well. All this said i could not recommend it highly enough its a lovely bit of kit - go on get one

[rosieposey]

Gawd - sorry about the essay but as you can see i am a convert.

[Tiggywunkle]

I completely dont "get" Stokkes. There's a matter of a few inches between the seat height of the Xplory and Vista - yes I measured them. The Xplory looks higher because of the high hood which TBH I find too high. The suspension isn't great. The shopping bag is a PITA when you literallly need to find your purse to pay for something quick. I hate all the bending down, all the buttons etc. The seat isn't the right height for a table and moving it with a child on board is hard. They look out of place in say a baby clinic - I felt embarrassed to have mine at times. There's no space for a decent amount of shopping but I like that the changing bag clips on. The Xplory is good in snow which is surprising, and my LO did look comfy in the seat. However there's no leg support and I hated to see his legs dangling if he couldnt reach the footrest settings plus I hate that he kicks the plastic footrest constantly with his shoes - the banging still resounds in my head and for that alone, I sold mine on. It drove me mad!! Oh and they are massive folded, take ages to fold if PF and all round stick with your Vista - its MUCH simpler and better IMHO.