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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think Stokke pushchairs look ridiculous?

232 replies

olimpia · 02/06/2012 22:08

Honestly I turn around whenever I see one. The futuristic look is quite ridiculous and they look like a heap of cheap plastic.
Can't imagine why anyone would spend £800 to buy one!

OP posts:
flightty · 05/06/2012 13:30

I really like the Tripp Trapp. We don't have one, though I have the baby kit bought in a dream from Mothercare sale basket.

Just in case, you know Grin

I think they arouse strong passions because they LOOK so impractical, a bit odd, and ungainly. So a lot of people assume they are some poncey sort of gesture to fashion instead of a useful baby item - this is not helped by the fact stokke charge a fortune for all their stuff.

It makes it look like it's for show offs and it also does look like you're doing something daft with a baby rather than looking after it safely.

That's just the appearance though and probably not that accurate - though I'm confused now as someone down thread said they had one and it was a total nuisance.

So I'm not sure what to think.

flightty · 05/06/2012 13:32

talking about the Xplory btw. Not the chair. I can understand the chair and it looks as practical as it apparently is.

how can something that looks (sorry) less than useful actually be very good?

MrGin · 05/06/2012 13:39

My dd was pushed around in an Xplori for a few years. I thought it was brilliant. dd loved it.

The resale value is pretty good too.

MissCoffeeNWine · 05/06/2012 13:47

Oh I've seen these. I wondered what they were. They do look odd, must have done to stand out to me because I couldn't give a fig about buggies. I think it stood out to me as the first one I saw was parked next to a bench where the baby's parents were sat and the baby was much higher than the parents heads Grin

I have to say I prefer babies high up and at adult level rather than at knee level. Or facing away from the parent. I've always done that by carrying the baby but if you can't do that these would have their uses. I always have a high chair with me though so that's never going to be a selling point, and I'm always on and off full buses so anything I can't shove in my handbag when not being used is never going to find favour with me.

MammaBrussels · 05/06/2012 13:49

YANBVVVU!

I love mine. It's really easy to push, solid and sturdy but not too heavy. I'm 5'11" so the handle height is great and there's no bar between the wheels so I can use my normal stride when walking without constantly bashing my feet/ shins on the sodding pram. I love the fact that you're closer to the baby. You don't need a high chair when you're out as the child can sit at the right table height and it deals with the Brussels cobblestones fantastically. It also flips to a two wheels trolley style thing that you can drag up stairs and through sand and snow really easily.

MammaBrussels · 05/06/2012 13:53

I meant YABVVVU! Ooops

Katiepoes · 05/06/2012 13:54

Are they only new in the UK that people think they look 'futuristic'? We have a second hand one that was six years old when we bought it. It was the only one my husband could comfortably push (he's very very tall). I love it, turns on a button, our toddler can see everything and enjoys sitting so high. We have a foldup number for flying (tarvel to Ireland a lot) and when she's in that I miss facing her and hate how low she is. They may look odd and unstable to some but they really are not - ours is now eight years old and apart from a couple of scratches on the seat is in great condition - our daughter is the third child to use it.

We have the Tripp Trapp and the Sleepi too...Stokke fans here.

LordFlasheart · 05/06/2012 13:59

Th only buggy necessary is a MacLaren Techno. Comfortable, practical, small , relatively cheap.

Anything else is just showing off.

FACT.

Geranium3 · 05/06/2012 14:18

OMG they look like outsized playmobil!!

osterleymama · 05/06/2012 14:23

I also have the Tripp trapp and while I like DS being at the table with us it's a BITCH to clean. Lots of wooden nooks for mashed up food.

madmouse · 05/06/2012 14:27

Lordflasheard - I take it your child is able bodied then? I'll stick with the mountain buggy thanks so my ds has some support and comfort.

osterleymama ds has used the TripTrap for almost 4 years and I've never found it that hard to clean. Even the cushion wipes down well.

LordFlasheart · 05/06/2012 14:31

Yes, mine is able bodied. I understand if you need special kind of buggy if your child is not able bodied. But i presume most are not bought for that reason?

madmouse · 05/06/2012 14:35

Probably not. But it may be me you encounter on that bus and make a judgement about. Because unless ds was wearing shorts and you saw his splints or you were very observant and noticed the bend in his right arm you would not see anything unusual other than a mother with a big toddler in a big buggy.

Just not impressed with you declaring all everyone needs is a McLaren.

YouBrokeMySmoulder · 05/06/2012 14:37

These have made me roll my eyes on two occasions, the first was at ds nursery when a woman couldn't get it in the buggy shed and was having a complete flap about it.

The other was on a hoppa bus round here where their footprint is so big that some poor woman had great difficulty getting it on and then it didn't fit in the buggy space properly and so was constantly in the way of the old ladies whose tutting was a sound to behold.

I was in the buggy space with an xt and any normal buggy would have easily fit next to me as they take three side by side but she was basically in the middle of the aisle. But still, at least her tiny baby wasn't overcome by fumes.

YouBrokeMySmoulder · 05/06/2012 14:38

Is it the trip trap in those awful YouTube videos?

LordFlasheart · 05/06/2012 14:44

Ah well madmouse. On MN you can guarentee that even on the lightest-fluffiest-flippantest thread you will unimpress someone.

Katiepoes · 05/06/2012 14:48

The Stokke footprint is no bigger than any of the Bugaboos or iCandy or Quinny. It's can be made even smaller if you pull in the wheels. If the seat is upright it looks big but it's not - anyone struggling with a Stokke is causing the problem themselves.

ListeringArnacles · 05/06/2012 15:04

I bought a Stokke for my DS over 3 years ago. I can't/don't drive and was forever hopping on and off buses with it and power-walking in various Croydon parks! It was fab!

  • Used it as a highchair everywhere I went (you can adjust the seats to go higher and lower)
  • DS was high up so didn't have to keep bending over to listen to him, pick up whatever it was had dropped to his side
  • Easy to push, pull, get on and off buses etc using just one hand
  • Ample storage in the shopping bag, but also attached velcro HappyMummy Hook and Strolls to the handle = I could hang extra shopping bags off it as well
  • The angle of the main bar meant that I could take a nice, big and strong umbrella with me and tuck it into the shopping bag at the front and align it wtih the bar when not in use
  • I could easily get it in two-wheel mode for stairs/escalators, if wanted to create a bit more standing room on buses for others etc
  • DS was so high up he could see out of bus windows, chat away with me and other people etc
  • Very comfy - he loved sleeping in it, even at home sometimes!
  • In the almost 3 years it was used, it NEVER tipped over once!
  • Turned beautifully with almost no effort on my part
  • The best bit - In the rain, I could push it (loaded down with masses of shopping/groceries, a changing bag and a heavier-than-average DS) with one hand whilst holding an umbrella with another. None of that hunching over business or bothering with unflattering and useless parkas!

I only just gave it away a few months ago to a family member with a new baby but, by God, I miss it! However, I'm very happy it's making another mother out there as happy and as smug as I was! Grin

TheCunningStunt · 05/06/2012 17:34

madmouse I never said pushing ability was an unusual feature. Somebody asked how easy it was to turn/push, so I answered.

Tizzylizzy · 05/06/2012 18:15

I think the are so ugly and look like an alien pod. When there is a brand new baby in one this isn't a flattering effect, being that many new babies look like aliens (except mine of course)

FamiliesShareGerms · 05/06/2012 18:32

They do look a bit odd, bit only because they're different, I guess.

Might be a bit off topic, but I don't get why people have these sorts of prams / buggies for their first, but when number 2 comes along they think it's fine to sling the baby in something else. As if all the benefits of the Stokke are essential for the PFB but not for the second born.

Bagofholly · 05/06/2012 18:45

I've never seen that Familiessharegerms. Stokke is one of the few (only) prams that will do from birth to about 4. If only they did a double. If they did a double, my life would be PERFECT in each and every way.

BuntyCollocks · 05/06/2012 18:53

Agreed, bagofholly. I want a stokke double. So. Much.

FamiliesShareGerms · 05/06/2012 18:57

Maybe I didn't put it very well, and I guess not many of the Stokke type buggies come in doubles but...

I don't get why parents put their first baby in a Stokke, for eg, to give them a good view of the world, lift them out of car fumes, etc etc. But then when there are two, the new little baby doesn't get the benefit of the Stokke but is in a double Maclaren stroller, for eg. Doesn't the second one need the same benefits of being able to see around, not sit in car fumes etc?

osterleymama · 05/06/2012 19:12

Madmouse- Perhaps your child is a cleaner eater than mine then. Our Tripp trapp's paint is flaking on the legs too. It's 20 months old.

I ALSO bought the stokke cot (mental pregnancy decision and though the mini cot was cute it is the most pointless thing I bought. It's just a cot. But round and four times the price.