We have already talked about the advantages of free-standing strollers, the importance of the basket and when swivel wheels are best.
Design, colours and patterns are important but you only appreciate the value of certain ‘details’ when you use a stroller day in and day out.

A frequently stressed detail is the stroller’s fold. Nowadays, strollers that can be easily collapsed are something we take for granted. Just think of what it was like before :-O Obviously you want a stroller that folds, but how should it fold? Book fold or umbrella fold? What’s the difference?

The first difference is linked to the model you wish to buy. If you are looking for a stroller with an excellent performance record that is actually quite bulky (such as our GT3), you will inevitably have a book fold. This closing system is required to ensure the balance needed to make even a bulky stroller easy to collapse.

‘Normal’ strollers, such as lightweight or highly manoeuvrable strollers, can have a book fold or an umbrella fold.

A stroller with a book fold (such as the Aria model) can be opened and collapsed very quickly and easily. With this kind of fold, hopping on and off buses is effort-free.

With an umbrella fold, you can collapse the stroller with one hand (our umbrella fold strollers include Pliko Mini, Sì, Pliko P3 and Switch). This kind of fold can make a big difference if you are walking a dog as well as pushing the stroller.

A rule of thumb seems to be “two handles: umbrella fold, one handle, book fold” but do not let that fool you because there are exceptions. Our Pliko Switch Easy Drive, for example, has one handle (which makes it very manoeuvrable) and an umbrella fold. It can be steered and closed with one hand, which are the features we wanted this product to have.

Regardless of the book fold or umbrella fold, our closing systems are designed and tested to ensure mothers can deal with strollers with as little stress as possible.
And the dog? Sorry, you will have to think about that…