Joie Prams - What's the Catch?

[Wanderlust20]

Hope it's OK to post here, tried pushchair forum but I never seem to get any replies on there (and the other threads with replies only seem to get a few comments).

Anyway, after searching for weeks for the perfect pram and feeling like my head is going to explode... I recently came across the brand Joie and, honestly, I'm shocked at the features you seem to get for such cheap prams! And when I say cheap, I mean in terms of what I thought I was going to have to pay... Am I missing something?

For info, I'm a FTM (baby due June) and I'm looking at the MyTrax, VersaTrax and LiteTrax - I'm aware I might want to buy a separate carrycot although they do advertise as being "from birth". They seem to tick all my boxes and, previous to looking at these, my favourites were bigger brands with eye watering prices. OK, they're probably a little less stylish than some others but I'm trying to be practical. I could afford to pay more for a pram but I'm thinking why would you, if this brand appears to offer everything that fancier prams do? Also, a few friends have warned me against paying a fortune for a pram that I might toss for a cheaper/lighter buggy after 6 months.

Thinking they seem too good to be true so, experienced parents, what are your experiences with this brand of pram/pushchair or these particular models? TIA!

No experience of Joie prams, but a big fan of joie in general (in particular their car seats). For most things they tend to be at a lower price point than similar models from other brands, although there'll likely be some features that are a little cheaper.

Definitely agree with not spending a fortune. They're so bulky that you'll likely want to switch to a lightweight stroller as soon as you can. Our second baby never even used the pram because he wanted to be held constantly, and baby number one only used the carrycot about three times because she just would not sleep in it.

I've had 2 of their prams, both great and have the Joie stages car seat, had it nearly 3 years, can't fault it at all. Great brand. Oh and a Friend had a fault with her pram, messaged them on FB and they sent a brand new one, next day, no questions

Joie are brilliant. I've had loads of their stuff with my 2 DC's (prams, car seats, bouncers) and never found a catch.

The only thing for me with the joie pram that I had was that it was too big and bulky and I was glad to get rid of it for a lightweight stroller ASAP. But I think that would have been the case for me with any big travel system so it has nothing to do with the brand. They take up a lot of space in the boot and are very heavy to be getting in and out all the time. I was happy to have one when I didn't drive and went everywhere by bus but as soon as I passed my test I bought the smallest folding stroller I could find.

I work at a retailer selling Joie and their basic pushchair must be one of our biggest selling ones coz I see them all the time being bought and don’t get that many being returned . We get customers taking them out of the box on shop floor to set them up and I don’t think there is anything different between the Joie and the silver cross I used to buy for my Daughter when she was younger . I think you are definitely paying for the name and the Joie is cheaper but just as good IMO .

I've got a few joie items including the litetrax. The only downside of the litetrax for me was that the handle height is quite low but I'm pretty tall. Other than that though, it's great. Nice and light, easy to manoeuvre, folds easily and lays flat.

I don't know...but their high chairs are the best!

Had the cheap Joie stroller for holidays with DS and have been impressed with just how much it copes with and how much you can put on it despite only being about £50.

I have a joie pact flex signature. Bought to replace my massive travel system and I love it. Only negative is it sits slightly back so LO is never 100% fully upright but apart from that it’s a great pram

No catch. Spent lots of money on a fancy travel system with my first and got a cheapie Joie stroller for my second. Find the joie better! You are often paying for branding.

My advice is to consider your lifestyle eg do you drive everywhere or is public transport in the equation, do you take long walks? Do you need a place for baby to sleep (carrycot doubles up? And what size car do you have? The fancy large prams look lovely but how much use will it get, the carrycot has to be separated in the car usually etc. Babies need to be able to recline fully but that aside all the other features are optional. Like many I had a big brand system, loved the fabric etc but by 6 months was using an umbrella stroller that cost $20 because it was so convenient

See I go against the grain here and I think the Joie spin car seat is the most over-rated thing I've purchased for DD. I find the clips and catches really clunky and the seat quite often gets stuck so I can't actually spin it. However most people seem to rave about the brand so I might have been unlucky and I've never looked at the pushchairs so they may be better anyway. I'm a maxi Cosi girl, worth a look for an alternative set of choices.

I love Joie.

I have had one of their buggies that broke, replaced and it broke again. I was sad because it was otherwise my absolute perfect buggy for what I needed at that time.

It hasn't put me off the brand though and I have a few car seats and other bits. The Joie 360 spin is great (and so much cheaper than the Cybex Sirona) and their other bits have been brilliant too. One of the best value brands out there.

I had the joie travel system and joie I-gem baby car seat. Brilliant quality, we used the baby car seat for nearly 2 years for our DS as he was so tiny. A few wear and tear scuffs but still really good quality and have saved them all for if we have a 2nd child. The travel system was really good, decent size basket, easy to unfold and attach either the car seat, carry cot or pram seat.

We then moved onto the joie nitro stroller. Bought it 2nd hand. Used it from summer 2019 until lockdown. Even took it on holiday with us, easy to fold and compact.

We chose Joie products as we wanted good quality but nothing to showy off as my DH didn't want something too flash.

Hi @KY2021 could I ask how tall you are I’m thinking of buying the litetrax but I’m 5,5 and my partner is 6,1 just wondering if it’d do us both?

We had Joie Mytrax and it was fantastic. We had other ones but the Mytrax was by far the best. It was smooth over our rural roads, easy to fold, easy to clean and the adjustable height handle was great for us.

The only issue we had was getting punctures but that is more to do with our roads than the quality of the pushchair. I ended up keeping a spare tube and pump with it so I could quickly switch it out if needed.

@Tmum9 I'm 5'11 and find it too low for me. It's ok for occasional use but it's not comfortable for me to use regularly.

I had to replace a lost icandy and bought a joie (chrome I think). Honestly it's brilliant and I wish I had saved my money all those years ago with the expensive travel systems and got a joie! They're sturdy, easy to push and collapse and look great too.

Joie pram handles usually adjust in height

We use Joie everything and we don't have a complaint about anything!

Versatrax is on my list too!!

I agree the price is amazing and I always considered them good quality

The first pram we had was a mamas and papas and had no complaints but in comparison they're super pricey now!

Not had one of the Parma / travel systems but we had an umbrella stroller which was great - excellent value for money: and we have one of their car seats, which is excellent.

I used Joie car seats and pushchairs for DC1 and currently using the same brand for DC2. They do the job and are sturdy enough for me to know they're comfortable and safe.
They also must be very popular because I love DC1's pushchair at the airport - took him out of it for a few minutes to go through the metal detector and the next thing I knew it was gone!

I think they are really clever actually and get the price/performance ratio absolutely spot on.

Unlike some cheaper brands they don't scrimp on quality and design - they seem to prioritise these things, which is good because to be honest that's what really matters with a product that you use every day.

You won't get quite the quality of some of the higher end brands. For example, the suspension in their buggies isn't as good as a proper off-roader, but then again you're not paying the price for a serious off-roader. The carrycot doesn't attach as securely as for example an Uppababy carrycot does. But on the plus side it goes onto the car seat adapters, so you don't need a whole different set, which is a really brilliant touch, and you find this kind of thing all over their products. And it does the job.

They don't use fashion to promote their brand so there isn't any fashion pricing involved, which I like. Because TBH I couldn't care less if I have a branded buggy as long as it works for me. I actually think they are fairly equivalent in quality, possibly better in some aspects, to a lot of brands that artificially inflate their prices to establish the image of an upmarket brand, without necessarily delivering the same performance. Joie also make/design all their products themselves, they don't outsource this to a generic factory selling to the highest bidder for the lowest price, they actually seem to take customer feedback into consideration and I think they know the market very very well. They have great customer service too and it shows.

For the car seats, again, you'll find some issues that aren't there in the really premium high quality high end brands, but then you're not being asked to pay the prices of these high end brands. And the performance/safety is miles better than anything else in the same price range, and even some things in a slightly higher price band.

Cots, high chairs, rockers etc all the same story. They keep things fairly simple as well. For example they will have 1-2 colourways for a bouncer rather than 6-8. Some of the products have interchangeable parts which keeps manufacturing costs down. They tend to streamline their range fairly often and try not to have too many similar models on the market at one time, this keeps manufacturing costs low.

They have to cut corners somewhere so you will find aspects which don't quite perform like premium brands, but I think the value for money they represent is excellent. It's cheap done well. Not cheap for crap quality, poorly thought out products, and not low-budget products at a premium price, but using the budget really carefully and in a smart way. Their profit margins for retailers are pretty low as well compared to some other brands.

I have just ordered the Joie Versatrax with carrycot and i-snug car seat with isofix base as a bundle. I really liked the easy fold and the carrycot looks really snug and soft for newborn.
I had to pre order expected 1st December so it must be popular. I am due late December so fingers crossed it is here in time!

@Overgroundunderground I am planning to buy Joie Versatrax travel system. Would you still recommend it?

Any issue/flaws that you found?

Also considering joie chrome so any recommendations will be useful.

We bought the litetrax 3 travel system and although it's a little bulky, it copes with our countryside walks, trips to the park and manoeuvring around the local town. We also have the car seat- it is such a simple system and can clip straight into the pram.
All that being said, it just about fits in our boot.