Product Review: Mountain Buggy Urban Elite (it’s a pram)

Interesting Dad stuff about the company:

Country of Origin: New Zealand

Mountain Buggy started in 1992, with a cool Dads need to create a buggy with all terrain agility, to enable him to enjoy the New Zealand mountain trails with his baby. This very much aligns with the cooldad.net philosophy of engineering your way out of a man problem (refer to the Innovation Centre).

So, (in this cool dads shed probably) he crafted the foundations of Mountain Buggy’s platform. The design and technology of the platform evolved over the years to a deliberate design aesthetic influenced by clean lines and functional style. The Mountain Buggy philosophy is expressed in what they call the DNA in the design process, as shown in the diagram.

          

Cost: Lowest new price found online $469 (normal range $460-600)* Most of these strollers are now a few years old and there are some good examples on eBay with a range between $200-450* used with all accessories).    *prices at January 2013

This product is no longer manufactured by Mountain Buggy due to being replaced by Urban Jungle.

Versatility: This stroller has an easy two clip attachment to the main frame, it literally takes 5-10 seconds to remove the carrycot and then a minute or two to change into stroller mode.

Practicality: getting into car, manoeuvrability, storage in stroller, going up steps all good (is a little heavy though)

Weight: 16kg (this seems to vary online so I weighed it and it was 16kg)

Accessories: No standard storage on handle, but can buy generic ones that fit. Mountain Buggy however have other accessories, including a bassinet, rain cover and sleeping bag.

Freerider: Mountain Buggy developed the freerider, just look at how cool that kid is!

Cooldads.net likes this innovation. Read more here: http://mountainbuggy.com/free-rider-buggy-board-and-scooter

Longevity: From birth onward (altough if they’re still in there at age 16 I think it’s time to upgrade)

Speed: This stroller is considered to be a jogger as it’s known in stroller circles due to the large diameter wheels and large tyres but also the ground clearance. In summary, it’s pretty quick.

Criticism: After a quick scout round several review sites and parents review sites across the net, this stroller seems to universally please, it also seems to do the job for people who do want to jog with it. Some criticism has been directed at the stroller being a bit wide (for some supermarket checkouts), it being a little bit heavy and accessories being expensive (but you can pick these up really cheap on eBay now). It is also difficult to adjust so that the baby/toddler is sitting upright.

Overall Score: 8/10

Cool Dad Factor: Mountain Buggy gets 9/10 (Company started by a cool Dad for cool reasons)