Customer Reviews

Mamas & Papas Sola Stroller - Black

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm on my 4th (and last) baby and have, as strollers, an 8 year old Graco Quattro which is my pack mule and a couple of Bobs (double and single) which are my serious exercise strollers. I have gotten by with those and they do what I need them to do but I really wanted a stroller that would let the baby face me without being in a bucket. My little dude is 10 months old and tiny, he still fits in his snugride22 - but I think he's tired of being so confined.

I had been looking at budget strollers. This is, after all, my last kid - I can't play the "We'll get so much use out of it" card. But the stores near me don't have many that I see on line and I really want to try before I buy - even with Amazon's easy returns, getting some of these strollers back in the box may prove difficult, so I am wary. The only ones I was able to see in person were the First Years Indigo (pushed like a box through sand, I would advise you to run, not walk, from that stroller) and ... the Sola.

Never in a million years would I have expected to buy the Sola. It is seriously pricey. I put my baby in it sort of as a joke. BUT.

It pushes like a dream. Even with my almost 4yo twins in it (one at a time) it pushed great. No resistance. The seat was deep and tall enough that they were comfortable - but the foot rest is weird, we'll get to that.

The sun shade is pretty generous (although not so steller if laying flat but you can flip the seat if it is an issue)

The back of the seat actually reclines, rather than the whole seat tipping, which is how many of the switcharoo strollers work. I personally like the true recline better. (For one thing you can change a diaper with a real recline, should you need to change a diaper out and about)

The basket is a semi-acceptable size. It has on odd shape, though, and had they made it simply square to fill the frame, it would hold a lot more. You can fit a medium diaper bag, a baby carrier, maybe hoodie in there - but you can't stuff it with the whole family's coats or stuff for a big day out.

The harness is 5 pt, which I think is overkill in a stroller for most kids, and it's a true 5 pt, not the kind you can take part off of, but you can make do and put it just around the waist. I prefer a 3 or 5 pt choice kind of harness. This is, of course, a personal preference - which is why I think you should have the choice! As it happens my 4th kid is showing himself to be one of those Houdini kids who may be better off in a 5pt harness, but I still wish it was optional. It's also a weird design which requires you to puzzle the clips together before inserting them in the buckle, which is a little cumbersome.

It is REALLY easy to flip the seat around.

It is REALLY easy to fold. You can only fold with the seat facing forward, but since it's easy to flip the seat, no biggie. Once the seat faces forward, you push a button and pull back on both sides and - voila. Folded. And it latches shut. It is more compact if you also take the time to remove the grab bar and fold the handle in but without these it still fits nicely behind the 3rd row of my van.

I wish it had some sort of parent console... it's very upright so putting my Bob console on it might be weird. I don't need to carry drinks but I like a place for my phone and keys. I'll figure something out. Maybe stick those snack/cup things they make for the kids to use in a no-tray stroller on the handlebar. The Sunshine Kids/Diono organizer might be perfect.

Now back to the foot rest. There is nothing on the seat itself, for the feet, so there is no foot rest if facing mom. If the seat is facing forward, tall enough kids can use the foot rest on the frame - but there's a huge gap when kids legs will be dangling in the breeze. Many of the flippy type strollers have SOMETHING on the seat itself. I am not sure how big a deal that is. On the one hand if there WAS something on the seat it would bump into the back of the legs if the child tried to use the frame foot rest. On the other, little kids will be dangling.

This stroller is SOLID, easy to flip, easy to fold, and comfy for a wee one. I will update after I've had more time to break it in but I expect this review will remain positive. A BIGGER BASKET and a simpler 3or5 type harness would have made it a 5. I'm wracking my brain to increase the storage underneath and I think I am going to finagle a way to replace the weird buckle.