Zooper Boogie comprehensive review
Introduction
The Zooper Boogie™ is a three-wheeled jogger-like stroller from New Zealand featuring inflated tires and a huge storage basket. Its most compelling features are the smooth ride, the build quality, and the inclusion of all accessories in one reasonable price. Some high end strollers charge extra for every accessory (Maclaren). We were very impressed by Mountain Buggy® and the Bugaboo® strollers. However, they were out of our price range.
In this comprehensive review, I will try to explain all of the salient features we used to evaluate strollers. After two years of use, we are extremely satisfied and would strongly recommend this stroller. Even if you choose not to go with Zooper, I hope that this detailed review will help guide your evaluation of other strollers.
Infant Car Seat Compatability
First and foremost, we required that the stroller be compatible with many infant car seats so that we didn't have to buy a separate starter stroller, like the Snap-N-Go. We have personally used the Zooper with the Graco SnugRide and the Britax Companion. The infant seat sits atop the stroller's main seat and rests against the stroller's seat handle bar. A clever set of straps are used to secure the car seat to the stroller. The strap has a standard detachable clip attachment (like on a backpack) and is secured to the seat harness on the stroller. The strap system on the Zooper felt at least as secure as Graco's own Quattro Tour™ stroller in which the infant seat snaps onto the snack tray and the stroller frame. When properly secured, I had no trouble lifting the entire stroller with the infant car seat's overhead handle (not that you would do that, but that is how secure it was).
Ride and Handling
The large air-filled tires are very smooth and shock-absorbing. The freely rotating front wheel gives the stroller a tight turning radius. When combined with a slight backwards movement, the stroller practically rotates in place. The front wheel can be locked forward by a cable lever located on the stroller's handle. Locking the front wheel straight could be useful for off-road or negotiating uneven surfaces. Personally, we almost never lock the front wheel because we favor the maneuverability. We often see parents with traditional joggers at the mall struggling to maneuver their cumbersome strollers around aisles and between people.
When the tires are not inflated well, the ride is a bit sloshy. We had a problem with the front tire "sticking" whereby the stroller was unresponsive to minor direction changes. This annoying quality was permanently fixed by applying some lubricant to the front wheel axle and by maintaining proper tire pressure. Afterwards, the Boogie turned easily and could be steered with one hand. The smooth and quiet ride is able to keep a snoozing baby sound asleep (for which we are eternally thankful).
Size and Weight
There is no question this is a "full-size" stroller. It weighs close to 30 pounds and can be tough for some people (especially a pregnant woman) to lift into a car trunk. The weight is similar to the Graco Quattro Tour, which is "ginormous". In car terms, the Graco Quattro Tour is like the Cadillac Escalade of strollers. The Zooper Boogie is more like a Lexus RX330, being a bit smaller and more refined. The width of the Zooper is narrow and can navigate easily on crowded sidewalks and in stores. Although the Zooper is heavy, it rolls much nicer than any similarly priced or sized stroller. When folded down, the Boogie is smaller than the Quattro Tour, but it still takes up a lot of space. We feel that the trade-off on size is worth the high quality parts and smooth ride.
Everyday Usability and Design
The Boogie's best feature is its smooth ride. The next most significant feature is the large accessible storage basket. The thing is cavernous and easy to get into when the seat is angled up. When the seat is folded flat, the basket contents are still accessible, but large rigid items like boxes cannot be removed without angling the seat a little. Having a large accessible basket is a lifesaver whose importance cannot be underestimated. Trendy expensive strollers tend to have less functional (but cooler looking) baskets. The Zooper easily accommodates groceries, a huge diaper bag, lunch box, cameras, jackets, toys and more.
The seat can be easily switched from forward-facing to rear-facing. I've only done this once, when our walk had a glaring late afternoon sun. I faced the seat away from the sun for both the walk to and from the mall. Although the stroller looked pretty silly when the seat was rear-facing, it was worth it. A five-point restraint was a non-negotiable quality, but we rarely strapped in our toddler. The buckles are standard plastic clips that are very firm. I've torn off skin when my hand got trapped by the closing clip. The built-in sun shade is adequate. It has a clear vinyl window on top with a zip cover so we can see through the top to check baby. The materials are very durable, but seem a bit too padded and thick for California. Since our stroller has black and gray fabric, it feels very hot in the summer. The included sun shade/mosquito net seems to make the interior even hotter. Although our Zooper was not a great performer in the heat, it was fantastic in the cold. The newer models now come with a switch-out mesh that you can use in the summer. The included rain guard fits nicely and the winter bootie came in handy on the coldest days.
I am somewhat annoyed that the Zooper doesn't have a drink holder for the adult. The Quattro Tour has several drink holders. I know it's a minor thing, but it really would be nice to have a place to put a water bottle or other drink. I've trapped cups in the sun shade or put them in the basket when I've needed to hold a beverage. I'm also a bit annoyed that after folding closed, the stroller is unbalanced. It will fall over and bash the front of the stroller against the ground if one is not careful. In comparison, the Quattro Tour folds down onto its own four wheels and the Ingelsina Zippy folds and stands up on its own.
Competitors
If we did not get the Zooper, we probably would have bought the Ingelsina Zippy. We were very impressed by the Zippy's fold up feature. In the end, we favored the three-wheeled air tires over Zippy's standard complement of four rubber caster tires. We also were concerned over the Zippy's restrictive basket. The frame supports blocked a lot of the useful basket space. The Quattro Tour was just a bit too much stroller for our tastes. There was no way we were going to pay more than $300 for our stroller which rules out the Bugaboo.
Purchasing
We scoured the Internet for photos or descriptions of the Zooper Boogie, but came up empty handed. The official site didn't tell us enough information. We wanted to see what it actually looked like. There was only one local toy store that had a demo for us to see. We purchased the stroller from them (2 years ago) because their price approximated what we could get online, and we also liked their store (knowledgeable sales people). They were also very personable and offered a generous return policy. Because this was such a big purchase for us, we felt good about buying from a local retailer. We paid about $280 including tax.
If we were to purchase again today, we would almost certainly buy it from Costco (it retails for about $350). They currently offer a blue Boogie for $249 online, including shipping.
Useful Links
Zooper Boogie official site
Costco Zooper Boogie product page