[I love how the category "gear" encompasses both a toilet paper anchor AND an eye-popping $800 eurostroller. Let me think about that. [7/04 note: Thought about and addressed.]]
Stokke Xplory, the newest eurostroller. note: insouciant scarf-tying instructions not included
Stokke, the Swedish Norwegian company who broke the high chair mold 30 years ago with the Tripp Trapp, has done it again, this time with a stroller. The Xplory completely rethinks stroller design by raising the kid up, out of car exhaust-level, and closer to the pusher/parent. It's like a Scandinavian-designed IV stand, for your kid.
Xlpory has adjustable seating and footrest positions that accommodate even a newborn, and the height allows it to function as a high chair, presumably while you hang out in Parisian cafes. A couple of other cool-looking details: the handle folds down [see above], and the wheels fold easily together so you can take it up stairs like a handtruck.
So what doesn't make it into the new stroller paradigm? Gear. Storage. The Xplory offers a "trendy shopping bag" and a "stylish changing bag," but compared to the Dumpster-sized bins underneath most travel system/strollers in the US, there's almost no storage space at all. With its higher center of gravity, I bet it would't take many bags and coats draped on it before the Xplory tips over and abruptly sends the kid back down to pavement-level. There's no indication of carseat functionality or add-on adaptibility. Most alarmingly, there are no cup holders. Or, as I like to call them, les holdeurs de Coca Light.
Strollers are another manifestation of the whole US/EU, SUV-vs-Smart Car dichotomy. The Xplory seems perfect for navigating a city's sidewalks, subways, steps and restaurants. It'll be quite an adjustment for Americans who want to roll around the mall with their entire nursery, though. Who can say which way is better? After all, I seriously doubt the pissoir of that cafe has a changing table.
Check out the Xplory on Stokke's EU corporate site or buy it for £489 (approximately $1 million at current exchange rates) at Back in Action [UK]
Well, apart from that the ads don't say anything about if one can push or drag the pram in 2 wheel mode it looks pretty smart. Although from the pictures available online it has this plastic look which makes me wonder how sturdy it really is.
On a side note, Stokke is Norwegian and not Swedish.
hmmmmm... i was in japan recently and saw how many families could not push their stroller, no mater how lean, through their subway gates... quite the conundrum. we truly need something internacional, no???
Uh-oh, I'm just about to take a Bugaboo to Japan. Sounds like I need a new plan.
yes greg... you must take something else. me and my friends watched endlessly as poor hapless families could not push their kids through. quite tragic!! good luck!
Saw this Stokke stroller in a window display recently. Very odd and awkward looking. Passerbys were laughing at it. Not a good sign.
FYI, Stokke is a Norwegian company, not Swedish. There are many fine Swedish baby products companies, like Baby Bjorn, Swan, and Emmaljunga.
L.S.,
Look at the Stokke Stroller forget what you are suppose to think and consider the stroller from the side of your child. Your child has a higher level in this stroller, less exhaust gasses and can look better around him/her. Also as a parent you can save your back by less bending over.
So forget your BoogaBoo (light alloy stroller from the Netherlands) and go foor the real thing.
Regards,
Frank
I have an Xplory.
Its great, sturdy and will stand the test of time. Its quality assures me that i will be pushing my grandkids around in it and then be able to include it in my will as a heirloom piece for my children, I am sure my daughters will fight over it. All four of them.
I got mine in NORGE, where I am from.
Remarkably, it so closely resembles the gratuity baby buggies made from steel tubing that are provided at the Gardemoen, Oslo, Airport, that I could have just stole of them and saved myself the 5000norwegian kroner!
Kudos to Stokke, the important thing here is the EYE CONTACT all the time and the possibility for me to touch my baby all the time, something all my kids respond to.
Amelia.
I am buying one of these - the height is great if you are tall (or small - it goes down to 67cm too) and i think the baby can see a LOT more and have a lot more interaction with both you and the environment than with any other buggy. I'm not sure whether the original poster has actually tried out the included shopping bag - it looks tiny in the pictures, but expands into a good sized haversack type bag which still clips to the base at the front - i think this buggy is great - oh and it's cheaper at the glasgow pram centre!
XPLORY PAPPARAZI GO AWAY!
My mom bought me an Xplory. At first it was fun to receive all this wonderful attention around the stroller. Then I realized they are not looking at me but the stroller. I am new, smartly dressed and quite attractive myself. My mom also relished in the attention at first. She now complains to my Daddy that this is the reason why she is so unproductive while shopping. He is still complaining about something that cost $800
For those of us in the States, babystyle.com has it for $749.
We're thinking about buying the Stokke - for its height adjustment feature, maneuvarability and, truth be told, for the way it looks.
Can anyone weigh in on anything else - apart from the price, weight and limited folding options - that might dissuade us? On the contrary, is there anything to recommend it over the Bugaboo?
Thanks in advance
A compulsively vacillating new family
I've been reading about this Stokke since I saw it featured in Fast Company. We're expecting our first babies - babies because we're having twins - and been debating whether this is really the ultimate stroller to buy. Mind you I have to buy 2!
So my question is for those who owns one, any negative side to the Xplory? Do you really need the 'Changing Bag'?
Thanks in advance.
I've researched strollers extensively for the past five months and have decided on the Stokke. Why? Child height/accessibility, height and tilt features of handle, those of us with long legs can take full strides without kicking the stroller, high-chair like use, unbelievable one-handed steering, and steers through tight areas like an F1 car. Schumacher would own this one! Also, the storage bag expands to get quite large. I would suggest going to a retailer and trying one. Once you do, it will be very hard to get this one off the top of your list.
Xplory is great but way too pricey. Why spend that much money when you can save it for the kid's education?
Indeed we saw the Stokke Xplory at the only reseller/distributor in Hong Kong. The minute my husband and I saw it, we knew this was 'the one'. We immediately placed an order for 2- since we are having twins. Can't wait to get our Xplories....
For the person moving to Japan, I recommend the Inglesina Zippy. I lived there for my son's first 8 months of life and went everywhere with this stroller (except on the oldest subway lines with no elevators or escalators) with absolutely no problem. The 1-hand fold is perfect for getting in and out of cabs quickly and it fit through all the train/subway turnstiles I ever went through.
As for the Bugaboo/Xplory debate, I was totally infatuated with the Xplory at first sight and went to test-drive one in Tokyo. Was prepared to plunk down the price for one until I experienced how plastic-y it felt, how unstable it was for my son (he was in it) and how close to tipping over it was many times whenever I drove it around a corner or stepped off a curb. Also, it was maddeningly annoying how you had to use TWO hands and your entire head to make any adjustments such as moving the footrest. They say it's adjustable -- what they don't tell you is that you have to dismantle other parts with both hands to move it. Also, it just did not handle as lightly and smoothly and dreamlike as my friend's Bugaboo Frog. So despite going to the shop with every intent of buying the Xplory I went home empty-handed.
Upshot of all this: I've bought the new Bugaboo Cameleon for a lot more than the Xplory price but with no regrets: at the end of the day, it's the quality of the drive for me (no back pains and one-hand drive!) and the comfort and safety of my son that matter.
As for the Inglesina, I would have happily stayed with just this one stroller except that I needed one that drives a lot more lightly on all sorts of terrain. Otherwise, I believe it is the perfect Tokyo stroller, better even than the Cameleon since it is 1-hand fold and skinny enough to get through all their tight spaces.
moving to the Netherlands and in need of good stroller...I like the closeness of the baby to parent of the Xplory, but will it withstand the uneven sidewalk terrain (and miles of walking per day) of Holland? Any suggestions for good strollers, bring it on. thanks!
I would like to ask - how do you buy an Emmaljunga pram if you are in the US? I would really like to have one - where are they?
i am trying to find where i can buy an emmaljunga pram in the united states?
Has anyone ever had any part of their Bugaboo Frog or Cameleon break? Part of one swivel wheel on my Cameleon broke during a plane trip and am wondering how easy it is to get a replacement part... would really appreciate hearing any helpful advice on this.
[Bugaboo's pretty good about replacement stuff and customer service. just email them via bugaboo.us -ed]
We saw the Xplory in Fast Magazine and I HAD to have it. My levelheaded husband convinced me that we did not HAVE to have it. I thought he was right so instead we bought the Consumer Report #1 rated Graco. Friday while we were shopping, my husband saw and bought on sight the red Xplory and now the Graco is sitting in our garage (when we told the sales staff at the super trendy baby store that we had a Graco they sneered as if we just told them that we had leprosy—the same look that we got pushing that stroller around in our super trendy neighborhood where there is a Bugaboo sighting every 2 seconds). The Xplory is the easiest stroller to push. We can even maneuver the bumpy uneven Chicago sidewalks one handed. Our baby can face us or face out and when we went to a dinner for breakfast, it was as if she was actually sitting at the table with us (instead of down by our feet). Best of all, it is unique in this Bugaboo infested world. We have had our Xplory for 3 days and have had at least 6 people stop us on the street to ask questions about it (and complement us on such a beautiful daughter).
Here’s the truth dad, when your significant other says that they HAVE to have the Xplory for the new baby, you have two choices: You can be right or you can be happy!
My wife and I have 4 strollers and the latest addition to our collection was the xplory. My wife went out with our bugaboo before I went to work and when I got back she was pushing an xplory around the loungeroom. Imagine my surprise when she told me (reluctantly) how much it cost and then told me to take a test drive. When I pushed this akward looking contraption around for a while I realised it is a great invention! My daughter loves it because she can see her parents clearly and my wife is happy because her friends don't have one yet. I would recommend this pram to anyone thinking about buying it because of its geat style and versatility! I have barely seen that pram since we bought it because my wife is out shopping or walking around everyday just so people stop her in the street and say "Oh what a lovely pram that is, and oh my look at that baby" Pram first, baby second
Well paul consider yourself lucky at least your wife knows when to stop! Our bubba is 2 months now and we have 14 strollers!!!!!!!!!! My wife bought one for every day of the week for two weeks! She now updates them once a month so we now have 4 bugaboos(all different colors), 2 xplory's, 1 Quinny, 1 layback stroller she saw in a celebrity magazine two days ago, A peg perego bessinette-pram, A bugaboo frame for our car seat(we also have 5 carseats ranging to suit ages from new baby to 6 years old) A bertini mio, a bertini trio, a valco runabout deluxe edition and a silver rose old style buggy. We also have some pram designed by some singer called rock star on order from the UK. But the question I wanted to ask was does anyone know which would be the best pram to take to france? We are already taking the silver rose, the bugaboo, the xplory and the valco but we want to know if there were any others that could be recommended as we will be there for a few months and will be doing alot of walking as we are staying in our newly bought house with the family and everyone just seems to want to take little bubba away from as for walkies we wanted to know if there were any prams that could be recommended that we should take.
Much appreciated
Jake
I have the Xplory, and I LOVE it!!!
I was deciding btwn it and the bugaboo, but my friend who has one, talked me out of it. She her bugaboo to me for one week, it's a great stroller for walking, but the folding of it was a b*tch. the Xplory is just as good as the Bug interms og ease of movement and mauverbility, and it claps much easier. If something happened to my Xplory, I'd get a 2nd on just like that *snaps fingers*
Does anyone know of ANY other strollers that ride high like the Xplory? I can't even seem to find anything similar. (Yes... others are similar is style, but I mean in structure).