These are exciting days for my wife and I. We’re expecting our first baby. As a result, we just went and bought the UPPAbaby Vista stroller. This UPPAbaby Vista stroller review is based on my wife’s and my firsthand experience with the UPPAbaby Vista stroller.
We took our stroller research seriously because we like walking. We walk every day for at least an hour. It’s important we get a good stroller for walking outside on pavement and trails.
Why would an UPPAbaby Vista Stroller review be on a site about back pain?
Because, as we discovered, the type of stroller you buy can have repercussions on your baby’s musco-skeletal health as well as the parents’ back health.
What we learned was that it’s much better for infants up to 6 months to ride in a bassinet than an infant car seat. You see, most strollers for infants simply use an infant car seat that “plugs” into the stroller.
An infant car seat is great for riding in a car, but it severely restricts an infant’s movement. A bassinet, on the other hand, makes it possible for your baby to stretch out and move comfortably. Therefore, we immediately decided that only a stroller with a bassinet would serve us.
The bassinet stroller solution is also good for the wallet because now we don’t need to buy an infant-only car seat. Instead, we can buy car seat for infants and toddlers that permanently installs in the car. For transporting our baby, we’ll use the bassinet that comes with the stroller.
Also, the bassinet that comes with the UPPAbaby Vista stroller is perfect for a bassinet in the home. We bought an inexpensive bassinet cradle so now our baby can be near us throughout our home.
Parents’ back health
The UPPAbaby Vista stroller is good for taller people (I’m 6’3″). However, its one disadvantage is the handlebar does not lower that far down. In other words, it’s not ideal for shorter people.
Stroller features we wanted (and got with the Vista):
Extremely easy to assemble
My wife and I assembled this stroller in about 10 minutes. The following is a picture of the separate parts:
Front and backward facing baby seat
This was crucial for us because we want our infant to be able to see our faces in the early months. Then, when our baby is older, he (yes it’s a boy) can face forward. The bassinet attaches so our baby faces us. The seat (for when he’s older) faces both backward and forward.
Bassinet integration
For the reasons set out above, we wanted a stroller with a bassinet for our infant instead of using an infant car seat. This was one of the major deciding factors in us choosing the UPPAbaby Vista Stroller.
That said, if you prefer to use an infant car seat, the UPPAbaby Vista integrates with select infant car seats (Graco). We don’t anticipate going this route, but you never know.
You can see the bassinet on our assembled UPPAbaby Vista stroller as follows:
Sturdy frame
We pushed around dozens of baby strollers in several stores. We found that many are flimsy. We simply didn’t have confidence that they would weather out anticipated heavy-use. Like I said above, my wife and I love walking and plan on using our stroller daily.
The UPPAbaby Vista’s frame is made of aluminum alloy instead of plastic. It’s reasonably light (could be lighter, but then it would cost more), but as soon as you give it a try, you notice how sturdy the frame is.
Smooth ride
I think my wife and I fell in love with the UPPAbaby Vista stroller as soon as we gave it a push in the store. The sturdy frame and large wheels (not jogging stroller large though) provided for an silky-smooth ride.
Elevated rear-wheel axel
The Vista stroller’s rear-wheel axel is elevated so you don’t kick it with your feet when walking. Check it out:
2nd Seat possible
We can add a 2nd baby seat to the UPPAbaby Vista which is great if we have another baby within the next couple of years.
Fabric is baby-friendly
The interior bassinet fabric is made of all natural cotton and organic soybean fibers in the bassinet. We know that a chemical-free life isn’t possible, but we’re taking many steps to dramatically limit exposure to chemically-based materials.
Moreover, the bassinet water-proof cover is detachable which is good when using the bassinet indoors.
Maintenance-free wheels
Although we weren’t opposed to tires that require air, we preferred getting a stroller with air-free rubber tires. The UPPAbaby Vista stroller’s wheels don’t require air. They’re rubber which is good for traction and are large enough to adequately navigate dirt and gravel paths. Apparently (according to the store sales person) it also wheels well in the sand when you lock the front wheels from spinning.
Frankly, this is one aspect of the UPPAbaby Vista I’m a little nervous about. It may well be that air-tires are superior.
Easy to fold and unfold
The entire stroller collapses into a fairly flat fold. Unfolding it is easy by moving a latch and then simply lifting it by the handlebar.
What we don’t like about the UPPAbaby Vista stroller
- The front suspension is not good resulting in a bouncy ride. This is corroborated by other users. That said, the rear suspension is excellent.
- Heavy: this is a fairly heavy-duty stroller and you can feel it by its weight.
- You need to buy a water-proof bassinet cover separately; that’s if you want one.
- The handlebar doesn’t adjust up and down much at all. The lowest position is not that low and may be too high for many users.
My wife and I are doing all we can to not break the bank buying baby furniture and gear. Our purchase of the UPPAbaby Vista will be our biggest splurge by far. After all, we and our baby will be using it often and therefore we wanted to go for quality rather than saving a few hundred dollars.