Ickle Bubba Pisces stroller review: the lightest buggy I’ve ever tested

The Ickle Bubba Pisces was tested with a four-year-old and one-year-old

Our verdict

The Ickle Bubba Pisces works best as a lightweight cabin-approved travel stroller: compact, easy to carry and simple to store in a car boot or plane’s overhead locker. For holidays, short outings and quick errands, it has a lot going for it, especially at this price.

With my four-year-old in the seat, it felt light, nippy and surprisingly capable. It handled local trips to the park, playground and town well, and I found it easy to manoeuvre through shops, cafés and narrow supermarket aisles. However, compared with pricier lightweight strollers like the Babyzen Yoyo 3 or Bugaboo Butterfly 2, which I’ve also tested, it doesn’t feel quite as robust.

As a travel stroller, holiday buggy, grandparent spare or compact option to keep in the car, the Pisces is a genuinely practical choice. It folds down very small, is easy to carry and is light enough to make stairs, public transport and airport dashes feel much more manageable.

My friend Nicola tested the Pisces on holiday in Cyprus and used it every day with her one-year-old, including around the resort, on day trips and for naps by the pool. It fitted into the overhead lockers on both flights, which meant no waiting around in baggage claim for the pram to reappear. It also meant she had the stroller with her as soon as they got off the plane, which made the whole airport process easier with two tired children in tow.

The main trade-off is that, while it can be used up to 22kg, which is around age four, the Pisces feels better suited to babies and younger toddlers than larger preschoolers. My four-year-old did fit, and the weight limit gives it decent longevity on paper, but she didn’t have much head support and the canopy mainly covered her head and upper body. For Nicola’s one-year-old, particularly on holiday, it felt like a much better fit.

The Ickle Bubba Pisces extendable sun hood and peekaboo window

How I tested the Ickle Bubba Pisces

I tested the Ickle Bubba Pisces locally with my four-year-old, using it on short journeys around town, to the park and playground, and in the kind of everyday places where a compact buggy needs to earn its keep: shops, cafés, supermarket aisles and the car boot.

Nicola primarily tested it on holiday in Cyprus with her one-year-old. She took a separate Chicco buggy for her three-year-old because he needed the larger seat and sturdier feel of their usual pram. This gave us a useful comparison: the Chicco was easier in some ways because it could be opened and closed one-handed, but it was much bigger and less compact than the Pisces.

What’s in the box and how easy is it to assemble?

The Pisces came with the stroller, rain cover, locking strap and instruction booklet. Set-up was refreshingly quick: I unfolded the frame, clicked the two front wheels into place and attached the sun canopy. It took less than a minute.

The locking strap keeps the folded stroller compact and helps it stand upright when stored. Nicola found it made carrying and storing the buggy much neater, particularly when travelling.

We also tested out the included Ickle Bubba Pisces rain cover

How does the Ickle Bubba Pisces look?

The Pisces has a simple, slimline look. It’s more practical than plush, with two separate handles like a typical umbrella stroller and a very compact frame. 

It’s only available in black, so there’s no real choice of colours, but that does at least keep things neutral and fairly forgiving for travel. It doesn’t have the sleek, premium finish of a Bugaboo Butterfly 2 or Babyzen Yoyo, but then it also doesn’t have the steeper price tag either.

Overall, the Pisces looks neat and unobtrusive, which is half the appeal. It doesn't dominate a hallway or fill an entire car boot, and its slim frame makes it much easier to navigate busy cafés, shops and public transport than a full-size pushchair.

The Ickle Bubba Pisces has a five-point harness and single-bar brake

How safe and sturdy is the Ickle Bubba Pisces?

The Pisces has a five-point harness with three height positions. You do need to unthread the straps to adjust the harness height, so it’s not the quickest job, but that’s fairly common for a lightweight buggy at this price point.

The brake is a single bar that can be applied from either side. I found it easy to use with shoes on, while Nicola found it could be a little stiff getting on and off, especially in sandals. The upside was reassurance: once the brake was on, we both felt confident the buggy wasn’t going anywhere.

The Pisces feels more travel-focused than heavy-duty, which is what you’d expect from such a lightweight stroller. The incredibly low 4.9kg weight inevitably comes with a trade-off as the frame doesn't feel as solid or substantial, especially over uneven ground.

That said, it handled small kerbs well and pushed smoothly, but with my four-year-old in the seat, I could tell she was at the upper end of where it felt most comfortable. It still did the job, but I’d say it’s better suited to younger children than older ones nearing the 22kg weight limit.

My friend Nicola tested the Ickle Bubba Pisces with her one-year-old while on a family holiday abroad

How comfortable is the Ickle Bubba Pisces?

I was pleasantly surprised by the seat space. My four-year-old had more room than I expected and fitted into it without looking squashed. However, there wasn’t much for her to rest her head on.

Nicola found it worked really well for her one-year-old. On holiday, she used the recline for naps around the resort and by the pool, rocking her child to sleep with the seat laid back and the sun hood down. The seat has two recline positions: upright and almost lie-flat. 

I found the recline clips easy enough to use, though a little trickier to push back into place with my four-year-old already sitting in the buggy. Nicola found the recline much easier with her one-year-old.

The UPF50+ sun hood has mesh sides, a pop-out sun visor, ventilation and a peekaboo flap. The magnetic clip on the viewing window is a small thing, but a very useful one. Nicola liked being able to check whether her daughter had fallen asleep without disturbing her, and the magnetic closure meant the flap stayed put in the wind.

On my taller four-year-old, the canopy coverage was limited unless extended. Even then, it mostly covered her upper body. 

The Ickle Bubba Pisces proved to be a compact and lightweight travel companion

What’s the Ickle Bubba Pisces like to use day to day and for travel?

This is where the Pisces really stands out. It is very, very light. In fact, it’s the lightest stroller I’ve ever tested, and that makes a huge difference when you’re lifting it in and out of the car, carrying it up steps of a plane or folding it in a rush.

On everyday trips, it was smooth on tarmac and handled grass and park paths better than I expected. It also coped well with small kerbs. The small wheels are clearly designed more for travel and urban use than bumpy countryside walks, but for everyday pottering, short journeys and errands, it performed well.

I also tested the included rain cover, which attaches over each handle and Velcros to the frame. It feels a little thin, but it gave good coverage and kept my daughter dry. There’s no separate rain cover bag, which would have been handy for storing it neatly when wet or not in use. 

For travel, Nicola’s experience was the real test. As a cabin-approved stroller, the Pisces was brilliant for navigating busy airports, compact enough to take on board without any fuss and fitted easily into the overhead locker on both flights. That meant it was ready to use as soon as they got off the plane, rather than having to wait for it at baggage claim. 

She used it every day while away in Cyprus and, since returning home, has continued to use it as her one-year-old’s day-to-day pram because it’s so easy to manoeuvre.

The main thing to bear in mind is that the Pisces needs two hands to fold and unfold. It’s simple once you’ve got the hang of it, but less convenient if you’re travelling solo with a baby and hand luggage. Nicola managed it fine overall, though she found it trickier when she was already holding her child or juggling bags.

The storage basket is easy to access albeit a little small

What’s the storage basket like?

The basket is very much in travel stroller territory: fine for airport use, short trips and holiday essentials, but not built for a heavily packed day out. It just about fits a backpack, so you’ll need to keep snacks, spare clothes and extras to a minimum, or use a separate backpack or buggy organiser while on the go.

I loved the ultra-compact fold

How easy is the Ickle Bubba Pisces to fold and unfold?

Unfolding is fairly straightforward once you’ve done it a couple of times. You pull the frame up, the buggy unfolds and clicks into place, then you lift the canopy and Velcro the back of it to the frame. Nicola also found it easy enough to unfold on holiday, though she did note that needing two hands was less convenient when she was travelling with a baby and bags.

Folding took me a few tries to master. You put the brake on, un-Velcro the back of the canopy from the frame, fold the canopy forwards, lower the handlebars using the levers, then use the same levers to fold the buggy over on itself. I found it easier to fold from the front rather than the back.

You need two hands because you have to lift the levers on both handles at the same time. Once you’ve got the knack, it’s quick, and Nicola found it easy to manage overall at the airport and on holiday. It’s not as effortless as a true one-handed fold though. The fold strap works well and keeps everything compact, but an auto-lock would make life easier.

Once folded, the Pisces feels tiny, especially compared with other buggies I’ve used. It can fit in a car boot or footwell and stores easily at home. You can carry it using the bottom of the frame, but I’d have preferred a shoulder strap, like the one on the Yoyo. There’s no carry bag included, which would have been a useful addition for travel, but you can buy the Ickle Bubba carry bag separately.

I compared the Ickle Bubba Pisces to both the Babyzen Yoyo and Bugaboo Butterfly 2

Is the Ickle Bubba Pisces easy to clean?

I didn’t have any major cleaning disasters during testing, but the Pisces was easy to keep looking tidy after everyday use. The black fabric is fairly forgiving, and marks from pavements, park paths and general travel wiped away well with a damp cloth and a little bit of mild detergent for more stubborn stains.

Easy to carry and easy to store

Is it good value for money?

With an RRP of £119 RRP, the Ickle Bubba Pisces is a lot cheaper than many of the big-name compact strollers. Crucially, it still does the things a travel buggy needs to do: it’s very light, folds down small and is cabin-approved.

You can tell it’s not as premium as the Babyzen Yoyo 3 or Bugaboo Butterfly 2. It doesn’t feel quite as robust, and you don’t get extras like the Yoyo’s shoulder strap or more polished finish. But the Pisces is similar in folded size to the Yoyo, smaller than the Butterfly 2 and noticeably lighter to carry at 4.9kg, compared with the Yoyo’s 6.7kg.

For a main everyday buggy for a bigger toddler or preschooler, I’d be tempted to spend more if budget allows. But for holidays, grandparents, nursery runs, public transport, keeping in the car, the Pisces is very good value, especially as it also comes with a rain cover. All in all, it’s a proper travel stroller at a budget price, rather than a compact buggy trying to pass itself off as one.

About the author

Laura Westerman is an editor, writer and Deputy Head Editorial Content at Mumsnet. Mum to a four-year-old, she is fully invested in finding the best and most affordable products for families.

With over 10 years’ experience as a full-time editor, including eight years spent writing, commissioning and editing product reviews and round-ups, Laura has developed particular expertise in buggies and car seats. She has a keen eye for what parents genuinely value and is passionate about delivering honest, practical reviews that help make parents' lives that little bit easier.

In addition to her work as a writer and editor, she has also appeared in a number of product review videos for Mumsnet's YouTube channel.