As my Facebook followers will have seen, we have yet another pram added to the collection! MumPanel have very kindly asked us to review the Urbo for Mamas and Papas.
On Tuesday I was so excited about it’s arrival that I actually cleared out the under stairs cupboard. It used to be my pram cupboard but recently has been a dumping ground for all sorts of junk useful things. Literally as soon as I shut the cupboard door, the doorbell rang! I literally snatched the clipboard from the delivery man to sign for my sparkly new pushchair. I rushed it into the house ecstatic that the boys were both asleep, giving me time to unpack it and play with it without worrying about my toddler trying to “help.”
I was shocked at how light it was when I pulled it from its box. I placed it down and admired it’s “footprint.” Now here is where I struggled. I never open pushchair instructions because I’d rather that it was simple enough for me to work out on my own. I spent a good ten minutes trying to work out how to unfold the Urbo. It seems really obvious but the catch just would not budge! I gave up and got out the instructions where I saw that you slide the catch rather than pull/push/prod/yank etc. The hubby came in and I said it was impossible without instructions. Straight away he unfolded it and flexed his muscles declaring it must be a “man thing.” (Yes darling pushchairs are VERY manly!) Once I had established how to unfold it, the rest was simple. The handle bar slides up and I was very impressed by the top height. Being 5’11″ often means some pushchairs are immediately discounted because I hate the handles being too low. I also loved the leather finish.
The chassis is shiny aluminium and looks very stylish. Coupled with the leather handle and bumper bar, from the front it is a very good looking pushchair. However the back of the reversible seat is white plastic and looks like plastic. It’s almost as if they forgot to give it the same stylish finish as the rest of the pram. The seat looked a great size and I was impressed by the cushioning. The back rest seems awfully hard and I was worried about it being uncomfortable but the padded cushions are all in the correct places for comfort and support. As I was looking around the whole pushchair and taking in every detail, I noticed that the basket looked quite shallow but when I pressed my hand in, I saw that it was elasticated allowing it to go deeper than you first imagine. The brake really lets this pushchair down. It’s very solid and holds really well which is what it is there for but I had bare feet when it arrived and couldn’t release the brake meaning that it is definitely not flip flop friendly. I like brakes to flick on and off and still have the ability to hold the pram on a hill which more of my other prams do. The hood is amazing. Its HUGE! There is a sun visor that folds away and then two settings. Fully extended it almost completely covers the seat which is brilliant for shielding babies from the sun and from all the noise and lights when you want them to sleep. It does have a peep window that is firmly held shut with magnets, another feature I love because Velcro on other prams has often woken Spike up.
After a thorough inspection I was about to sit and sulk about not being able to test it when Spike woke up. I ran up the stairs to get him and immediately plonked him in the seat. I was stunned. He looked so comfy and had tons of space. The Urbo is really slim and fits through my cupboard door unfolded which no other pram is yet to accomplish yet it has one of the widest sea. We had a good old play in the living room before Spud woke up and then put it away ready to be taken on the nursery run the next day!
Keep watching for more of our thoughts on the Mamas and Papas Urbo!
