 G-Luxe vs. Maclaren |
| Review Date: June 20, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Gracejoy, New York, NY United States |
When looking for an umbrella stroller that I could use on public transportation here in the city and for running quick errands, it came down to the G-Luxe or the Maclarens (Triumph and Quest). I test drove them all in the store and went with the G-Luxe, because: 1) it stands on its own when folded, which is REALLY handy when waiting for a train or bus, plus it takes up less storage space in the apartment that way; 2) it's better designed for taller people (both in terms of handle height and feet not kicking the back when you walk); 3) it has a cup holder; 4) the recline adjusts to any position (Maclaren has a few fixed positions, and the Triumph doesn't recline as far); 5) sun coverage seemed a little better; 6) it's cheaper. All the strollers were about equal in terms of having great maneuverability, and all have small but relatively functional storage baskets. The G-luxe is a two-hand fold, but it's super simple and smooth and requires no feet (so you can do it barefoot or in flip-flops); you only need the second hand for a split second, then the rest of the fold is one-handed. The Maclaren fold is one-handed but involve more steps, you have to use your foot, and I found it a bit stiff. The G-luxe fold is slightly less compact than the Maclaren because the wheels are a bit bigger, but the upshot is that bigger wheels = smoother ride (and the difference in compactness is really only slight--they are both compact strollers). The G-luxe is also slightly lighter than the Triumph and more than a pound lighter than the Quest.
The only thing I liked better about the Maclarens were the color options. (I ended up with the black G-luxe, and it's very sleek and classy, but I did love those muted Maclaren browns, blues, and greens.) I also liked the peek-a-boo window on the Quest, but it's not worth an extra pound and a half of weight.
Final verdict: the Uppababy G-Luxe is a great stroller. It's as light as you can get for a full-featured umbrella, opens and folds easily, turns on a dime, and has great features that many umbrella strollers don't, like a reclining seat, storage basket, a cup holder, and the ability to stand when folded--which is hugely convenient. My baby (3 mos.) is happy and comfortable in it.
UPDATE: My son is now 16 months, and we have used this stroller almost every day for over a year. It's still holding up strong, and he is very comfortable in it. Still recommended! |
G-Luxe FTW
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| Review Date: October 13, 2009 |
| Reviewer: D. Seeley, Los Angeles, CA USA |
I have probably bought 1000 items from Amazon in the last 10 years. This is the first time I have felt compelled to write a review.
We bought the G-Luxe a few weeks ago before a trip to Tuscany with our 9-month old daughter. After reading reviews and testing all the Maclaren models in stores we decided to take a chance on the G-Luxe. This stroller is fantastic, and gave me one of those rare consumer moments where I wondered why anyone would buy anything else. Briefly:
The build quality and materials are outstanding. I am a designer and sculptor and know something about industrial design.
Ergonomics are excellent. I am 6' and my wife is 5'-4" and we both found it very easy to push and use.
The wheels handled even difficult medieval cobblestones with no problem. Driving on flat stretches was ultra smooth. The brakes operate better than competitors.
Folding and unfolding operations are very slick and better than competitors.
The freestanding feature is surprisingly helpful.
The recline depth was crucial for us and offered our baby the ability to be fully upright for looking around and deeply reclined for sleeping. The recline mechanism works great and one-hand operation is possible. I'm unclear as to how anyone would find drawback to this simple and reliable mechanism.
In short, buy this. And spread the word about UPPA. |
Fantastic Stroller!
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| Review Date: October 29, 2008 |
| Reviewer: J. Catalano, Chicago |
In anticipation of our first flight with the new (5 months) baby, we decided that our normal stroller (Revolution BOB, also fantastic) was too bulky, and we didn't want the airline to destroy it when we gate checked it. So we started looking around at lightweight umbrella strollers.
The Uppa G-Luxe is a fantasic stroller. Easy to fold, easy to unfold, the kid loved it. It manuvered easily through city streets, airports, and on and off buses. The recline was fantastic for nap times. Its super light, stands up on its own, looks good, has good storage underneath, and is exactly what we wanted.
We also got the G-Lite storage bag for it, it fits, and put the stroller in that when we gate checked it, and had no problems, the stroller didn't get damaged, and we were able to carry the bag in our carryon in the airport. |
Long term review
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| Review Date: October 2, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Robert Konkel, Nantucket, MA |
I have used this stroller daily for 7 months, sometimes covering 5+ miles in a day.
It has held up extremely well, I chuckled when I read that it was consrutcted to "retain new appearance and feel" but I must say it has lived up to the claim. Where I live 80% of the terrain I cover is uneven brick sidewalks and cobblestone streets & paths, which must potentially increase wear 5 fold, but it still looks and performs as new, the fabric amazingly has neither faded nor shows signs of stress or wear. Below are some bullet points of the features I like about this stroller.
*Lightweight, I can easily carry this stroller in one hand with my 24 pound 18mo in the other, up two flights of stairs. Im the dad, but mom can easily do the same.
*Comfort, My toddler is able to rest on the go thanks to the cushy reclining seat.
*Storage, the netted basket under the seat holds with ease; a diaper me darling stuffed with 4 diapers and a plastic wipe container, a 12x10x6 soft sided luch pouch stuffed with a sippy cup, snacks, bibs, etc. A full change of clothes in a netted cinch sack, and a 3x2 lightweight blanket. and a few loose toys. and there is some room to spare, less if reclined.
*Durability. As I mentioned, we are really tuff on this stroller, banging it around brick & cobblestone streets, stuffing it in the back of the car with luggage and golf bags, exposing it to hours of sunlight, repeatedly spilling juice, accumulating sand and mud, puddle stains, etc. and it all cleans up easily and always looks new.
*Shade: The umrella shade has three fixed positions, and offers ample protection.
*Ergonomics/ease of use: I am 5'10 and can walk comfortably in an upright stance without ever kicking the wheels due to its upright forward positioning. The grips have a nice shape and are very comfortable. The cup holder is a nice touch as well. Some people have mentioned its hard to unfold, and the foot mechanism is hard to depress. Yes, it takes some foot power to press into place, but not an exorbitant amount. I attribute the force required to its sturdy build quality. It takes the same amount of force to open it today as it did day 1, and that is a very good thing.
Summary: After 7 months of daily use I am extremely pleased with my purchase. If I had one gripe, it would be that the wheels are nearly shot after 7 months hard use. They are plastic. Rubber material strechted over aluminium would be a nice touch, or a nice available upgrade option. Keep one thing in mind though, it is at heart an umbrella stroller, not to be confused with the size, comfort, and features of a full sized stroller. However, that being said i'm sure its build and features rival and even surpass most low end full size strollers. I would highly recommend this stroller to anyone. My baby was very comfortable in it starting at 10 months when we purchased it, she is now tall for her age of 18mo and still is very comfortable and doesn't appear to be outgrowing it anytime soon.
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Couldn't be happier!
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| Review Date: May 30, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Melanie P. Light, Orlando, FL |
I REALLY love my Uppababy G-Luxe. You don't see many out there yet because it's a new model, but... My petite 2 month old daughter (11lbs) rides comfortably in it with the help of a snuzzler, and my 8 month old nephew (a VERY chunky 25lbs) loves it too. Some of its best features:
-It's got a really simple recline (from sitting really straight up to almost lying flat, and any position in between - without clicking between positions)
-a very nice-sized basket for this type of stroller
-really nice squishy handles that are pretty high up (I'm 5'10, and it's very comfortable for me)
-breathable mesh seat... super important for us here in crazy hot Florida!
-suuuuper easy to fold - just release two latches on the handles and push them down to the ground... it attaches to itself automatically (no wonky foot action). Equally easy to open: release one latch, and push down with one foot.
-PRICE! For the quality of this stroller, you REALLY get your money's worth, and more. (It's HALF the price of the Maclaren ones!) I think it's because it's supposed to be Uppababy's "cheap" stroller, in contrast with their AWESOME but bulky Bugaboo-like Vista model. I'd go so far as to say that for the quality, it's pretty underpriced when you compare with the "comps" out there.
-It turns on a dime. Really. Excellent one-handed steering.
-Uppababy is famous for being good for people with long legs (Brooke Shields is a fan of the brand), but all their models are simply less annoying because they're made with the rear bars up higher... so you don't kick the stroller while you're walking.
-it stands ON ITS OWN when folded up (it has a little foot that balances it)
-a SHOULDER strap! So when you're dealing with any other sort of transportation, you can just throw it over your shoulder with the diaper bag, pick up the kid, and go. It's AWESOME.
-it is SUPER lightweight... only 11lbs! That was the clincher for me. It's the lightest reclining stroller out there. But I'm always carrying so much, I was worried it wouldn't be able to hold my diaper bag without my baby in it... but it miraculously DOES... It doesn't fall over!
The only negative things I can say about it is that the seat recline is a little tough to adjust from lying down to sitting up if the baby's in the stroller, and when the seat is reclined, you can't really get to the basket. Also, it doesn't come in very many colors or any cute patterns. :) But those are pretty minor problems, I think.
I've heard some people complain about how hard it is to fold... I discovered that if you lift the switches, and then just press the handles down toward the floor, it clicks closed really easily (instead of pulling the wheels up toward the handles, which makes it - admittedly - almost impossible to squeeze shut!)...
In any case, if you're looking for something with the ease of an umbrella stroller to take around with you, but that's quite a bit more comfy and adjustable, I really think you can't do any better than this one. |
Get the 2010 model!
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| Review Date: March 27, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Lalagirl, @the beach in Southern California |
We have a Vista stroller (also by Uppababy) so maybe we're biased, but we really like this stroller. Our purchase came out of necessity as we were going on our first road trip with our 9mo baby. As we were planning what to pack, my husband came to the realization that it might be a tight fit for the Vista and all the other stuff we needed for us and the baby in our car. 3 days before the trip he said to me, "maybe we need one of those umbrella strollers." Couldn't believe he thought of it first, but I immediately started to research strollers. Since we were going to a sunny beach area I knew we needed a stroller with a great sunshade. I also wanted one that reclined. It came down to the g-luxe and the maclaren triumph. I really liked the fact that the g-luxe had such a huge sunshade and I liked the look of it as well. Also, the maclaren recall made me a little nervous. My husband went to our local baby store (where we got our Vista) and picked up a g-luxe, but it was a 2009 model without the deeper seat and larger sunshade. I had him take it back. I called around and found a retailer near our destination that had the 2010 model, so we picked it up when we got there before going to the hotel. The stroller is nice and light, easy to fold/unfold and quite sturdy. The sunshade was great as it was very sunny, and it even helped with keeping the full force of the wind off my baby. I had no problems pushing the stroller one-handed. The height is also good for me (I'm 5'6") and my husband (6'4"), though he says it's basically at the limit of what is comfortable for him (any shorter and he'd be in trouble). The stroller rolls nicely over varied surfaces - great on paved sidewalks and non-plush carpets, less so on grass or highly textured carpets. Storage is fine, though not that spacious. I augmented the storage by putting my purse (2nd diaper bag) over the handles. The stroller did not tip back with the extra weight (probably about 5-6lbs.).
We have no complaints at this point and feel we gave the stroller a pretty good workout over the 4 days we had it on the trip and since. I only wish we could've waited for the blue one (Harrison). Since we needed it right away we had to go with the black (the color the store had). |
Excellent stroller
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| Review Date: January 15, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Nicole Shepter, CT |
We flew with our 8-month-old yesterday for the first time and today I am even more a fan of UppaBaby, if that's possible. We have the Vista, which is awesome, but bulky - no way I'd gate check that thing. Enter the G-luxe. Light, so maneuverable, easy to use. The sunshade is awesome. Folding it one-handed is a breeze. Unfolding it one-handed is also a breeze. So glad I chose this instead of the Maclaren, especially as the week after I bought it all those strollers were recalled for amputating fingers. Plus I bought this off E-bay for a bit of a discount. In retrospect I wouldn't have minded spending 160 for this bad boy.
I felt sorry for all the people traveling with kids who didn't have an UppaBaby. They were struggling to make their baby gear work, while we seamlessly moved from the plane to the car. Also, the fact that there is a carry strap and it stands up by itself is an excellent feature.
I'm 5'9'' and my husband is just under 6 feet and this is a comfortable height for both of us. The only two slightly negative things I can say: one side of the shade keeps popping off. Not a big deal. Also, I know that this brand is made for taller people with a long stride, but I do have to say - my feet do hit the wheels while I'm walking. The reason is that the double wheels are a bit wide, not because they're too low. I can only imagine how bad this problem would be with another stroller that isn't made for those with a long stride. |
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