Lightweight Strollers

About

There's a moment at the bottom of a set of station stairs, or at the boot of the car in the rain, when the weight of your pram stops being a specification and becomes the whole problem. A lightweight stroller is the answer to that moment, folding down small and lifting with one arm while the other one's holding a toddler. Who Gets the Most From One City families come first, particularly anyone using public transport or living somewhere with stairs and no lift. A small boot is another good reason, since a compact fold leaves room for the shopping. Plenty of parents buy one as a second pram, keeping a full-size model for daily walks and a light one permanently in the car for shopping centres, cafés and daycare pick-ups. And if you're flying, a stroller that meets carry-on dimensions means gate-checking becomes optional rather than compulsory. If you're on your first baby and unsure whether one pram can do everything, it usually can for a while, and a lightweight second pram tends to arrive around the time you start travelling. The Fold Is What You're Really Buying Weight matters, though the fold matters more. A one-handed fold you can trigger while holding your child is worth a great deal more than half a kilo saved, and a stroller that stands up on its own once folded saves you from leaning it against a wall and watching it slide. Check the folded dimensions against your boot and, if you fly, against airline cabin limits, which vary between carriers. Then think about carrying it. A shoulder strap or a proper carry handle changes how a set of stairs feels. Practise the fold in store a few times before you commit, because a mechanism that seems clever in a showroom can be maddening in a car park. What You Give Up and What You Don't Smaller wheels handle footpaths and shopping centres well and are less happy on grass or gravel, so a lightweight stroller is a companion to an all-terrain pram rather than a replacement for one. Baskets are usually smaller, which is worth k