Stroller Offers a Sweet Ride But Could Use a Tire Upgrade
Baby Cargo’s 200 series stroller is an attractive, light weight, solid feeling stroller that comes nearly ready-to-cruise right out of the box. It took me longer to cut the box open and pull out the contents than it did to snap on the wheels and cup holder. Ten minutes after opening the box, this U.S. designed/Chinese built stroller was prepped for use and providing a good first impression.
With three children age 5 and under, we’ve had our fair share of stroller experiences. We’ve tried everything from the $15 bare bones umbrella stroller to a $200 Silver Cross Mini with a couple of jog strollers and some tandem strollers thrown into the mix as well. With an MSRP of $149, this Baby Cargo 200 is pushing into the upper end of the umbrella stroller price range so we were excited to put it through the paces and see how it stacked up.
The Baby Cargo’s 50lb passenger weight limit means if your child is young enough to want to ride, this stroller will likely support them. We briefly squeezed our 44lb son into the stroller for a quick trip around the house but he’d rather walk than ride. So we only truly tested it with an 8lb newborn and his 33lb brother. The newborn sure did seem to like it, sleeping through all the noise and excitement of a trip to the local agricultural fair. The two year old also loved to ride in this stroller. He sat in a more upright position versus the fully laid out position of his little brother. Adjusting the straps back and forth between the two differently sized kids was a snap, as was adjusting the recline angle.
The fabric feels sturdy and the snaps on the back pocket are great. My wife appreciated the large capacity storage pockets both on the back and under the seat for trips to the farmers market and post office. Access to the lower storage area was limited when the newborn was laid back but not so much as to be a real problem. I appreciated the see-through window on the canopy. It wasn’t so large as to let in a ton of sunlight but it was ample for letting me keep an eye on the passenger.
The grips are very comfortable and the height and angle style of the handles felt very natural for both myself at 6’0” and my wife at 5’4”. When you’ve got small kids, you spend enough time stooped over to either pick them up or pick up after them. You certainly do not need to be hunched over when you’re pushing them around town or through the mall. The el-cheapo $15 umbrella strollers we’ve used may be light and small but they also make anyone over about 4-feet tall want to schedule a trip to the chiropractor. The Baby Cargo shone in this regard.
The one big disappointment with this stroller is the wheel diameter. I feel like the designers dropped the ball on this one. I’ll admit that I’ve been spoiled by the roll-over-it-all capability of jog strollers with 12” pneumatic tires, but the 4.5” wheels of the Baby Cargo 200 just don’t cut it. With only the weight of a newborn in the stroller I expected to easily pop a wheelie over garden-hose sized obstacles, but the small wheels not only make it tough to lift the front end, they snag instead of rolling over obstacles. And don’t venture off the pavement or you’ll really need to focus to keep moving. For comparison,
a nearly identical stroller in our arsenal with 6” wheels handles such duties with finesse.
The Baby Cargo 200 is light and very easy to fold/unfold. When collapsed, it tucks into the small trunk of a Honda Civic leaving plenty of room to spare. A neat feature when collapsed is a shoulder strap that allows for hands free carrying. As a parent, my hands are never free. So being able to carry this stroller, and hoist a child onto my hip, and grab a bag of groceries was an unexpected treat.
Bottom line is that we’ve enjoyed using this stroller. Whether or not it justifies the $149 price tag is a tough call. There are a lot of strollers on the market for less but the Baby Cargo certainly feels like a quality product.
Baby Cargo 200 Ultralight Umbrella Stroller
www.Diapers.com
$149
| Durability | 4 |
| Ease of Use | 3 |
| Comfort | 5 |
| I Would Purchase This for My Child |
no* |
| I would Purchase This as a Gift | no* |
| Overall | 3.5 |
* Based on the price.
All ratings on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.
Meet The Reviewer!
Stephen Craig is a father of three boys
ages 5, 2 and 2 months. He is a Quality
System and Regulatory Affairs Specialist
for Chemetrics Inc., and enjoys spending
time with his wife and boys, mountain
biking, cooking and eating.
