I have V2 Cruz that I bought new for my 2021 baby who was born in the East coast winter. I did not need the bassinet because I didn’t want to push a stroller in snow/slush. On nice days I went for walks baby wearing, then I used the car seat clipped into the stroller. We transitioned to the rumble seat at 12-14 weeks old (ps I believe the actual seat is the same for the Cruz versus the Vista).
I love the Cruz. It’s super easy to manoeuvre in stores (smaller footprint than the vista), it’s lighter than vista and it’s more compact in my vehicle.
My first started walking at 9m (Dec 2021) and only used the stroller sparingly the following summer when he was 18m(ish) old since he preferred to walk everywhere. But it certainly wasn’t too small (even though he was 99%ile height). I find the carriage space fine (I’m using it now for my 8 month old, it’s completely fine to get groceries with).
As for car seats, if you’re considering the Nuna Pipa and the uppababy stroller, do yourself a huge favour and get the UB Mesa. It’s so nice to have a seat that just clicks in with a single button and not have to worry about adapters.
I did end up picking up the UB bassinet from marketplace and used it as an indoor sleep space for my Jan 2025 baby… but I never actually used it with the stroller before he grew out of it (at 11-12w… 99%ile problems)
With my first we got the uppababy Cruz and I love this stroller. Many of my friends got the vista, but find it is harder to manoeuvre to run errands (and heavier to lift in and out of the vehicle and takes more space). I got the chicco keyfit 30 for the seat, and my 99%ile height baby had basically outgrown it by 6 months anyway.
Agree with all this! I just used my Cruz to navigate some tight doorways at a recent doctor appt (older building) and anything bigger would have been a real challenge!
I’ve had two babies (Jan and Feb) and live in NB. Both outgrew the bassinet before it was warm enough (and also not too slippery/nice enough weather) to walk them outside.
My first was an early walker and hasn’t been interested in the stroller since they were 16-18m old.
Personally I wouldn’t do a double! I really liked my Uppababy Cruz and if you wanted a bassinet they are often on marketplace.
As others have stated, you will need to buy multiple pieces.
Choose the stroller first. Then decide if you’re going to go with the compatible infant seat (or get an adapter for a different brand).
We got uppbaby Cruz and I love this stroller. It does not come with the bassinet attachment, but I found one in new condition on marketplace. We used it as an indoor sleep space (winter babies). When I was done I sold it on marketplace. With my first I had chicco keyfit 30 and the adapter. It was annoying to not simply snap the seat off with one button (the Mesa). I ended up splurging on the Mesa for my second baby.
Both kids outgrew the infant seat at 6m (99%ile height babies), so we transitioned to the Nuna Rava convertible seat. When my baby moved into the Rava, we upgraded my oldest to the Aace. The one thing I will say about luxury brand car seats is that the installation is extremely easy. I was car shopping pregnant with my 4 year old and I could easily transfer the Aace from my vehicle into the one I was test driving (in fact my between car salesman of 20+ years experience couldn’t believe how fast I swapped the seats!).
If you’re looking at Nuna products, they often go on sale twice a year.
If your main use is “off road” a 3 wheel stroller will be the best option. We used ours mostly on sidewalks and running errands (stores/parking lots) and loved the uppababy Cruz. Size was perfect and it’s super easy to manoeuvre with even a single finger.
That being said, it would be terrible at the beach. But most strollers are going to be hard to push in sand. When we go to the beach we always baby wore. Then when they got bigger they road in a wagon until we hit the sand.
We had the Cruz and Mesa. Only downside is trunk space if travelling with it! (Unless travel means fly, in which I would get a smaller stroller for air travel)
I did a ton of stroller research but I LOVE the strollers we have. It’s been almost 3 years and now our second baby is using them in addition to our toddler. Once I figured out what we wanted I watched FB marketplace for good condition used options. No regrets!
(We have a Uppababy Cruz v2 that we used during newborn days with a bassinet attachment, as well as a Thule urban glide jogging stroller. Also have an inexpensive and simple travel stroller we got off GoodBuyGear.com Open Box for a big discount)
We’re only three months in with a 23 month age gap and so far no regrets NOT getting a double stroller. My 2 year old mostly wants to walk. We have loved our Uppababy Cruz. We did just get a bike trailer that can be used as a stroller for walks around the neighborhood but even with that she doesn’t want to be contained too long.
When we go out with both kids, we usually have both parents, so we carry/wear one and the other is in the stroller.
I have the Cruz V2 (v3 wasn’t out yet years ago) and it was our main stroller for the first year of my toddler’s life. Once she started walking and became less interested in the stroller, we got the bugaboo butterfly which is compact and super easy to open/close and lightweight. Now that we have #2 on the way, I got a riding board attachment for the Cruz and the minu duo because I have a feeling toddler will be a bit jealous seeing baby sit in a stroller. I love the Cruz and the minu duo seems to be really smooth as well.
I have the Cruz and got the bugaboo when my toddler turned 14 months. I love it so much. It’s so light, smooth to push, and compact. We never use the Cruz anymore but are keeping it for when we have baby #2.
I have a 22 month old and just found out I’m pregnant with #2. I have the uppababy Cruz and bugaboo butterfly which are single strollers and don’t regret those purchases. My toddler doesn’t like sitting in strollers anymore but I’ll probably get the riding board for the strollers I have in case she doesn’t want to walk.
We have 3. Started with the uppababy Cruz which we used as our main stroller when my toddler was younger. The roads in my neighborhood aren’t smooth and have tons of small rocks so her head kept bouncing around on walks which led us to get a BOB jogging stroller. Once she could walk and was less interested in the stroller, we got the bugaboo butterfly to keep in the car and now use that when needed. All 3 serve different purposes and although I haven’t used the Cruz in a year, I’ll be using it once my second comes in the summer.
It all depends on where you live and your uses. We have 3 different strollers for different needs. We have the uppababy Cruz that we used when going out for the first 11.5 months until she could walk. Once she could walk, she’s been less interested in the stroller so we got the bugaboo butterfly as a travel stroller that stays in our car. We also have a BOB jogging stroller for neighborhood walks since the roads in my neighborhood aren’t smooth and she was bouncing around a lot in the uppababy.
I don’t recommend the doona because babies tend to grow out of it quickly. I’d go with the minu and aria v2. The minu is small and compact. I have the Cruz and used it with a Nuna pipa with adapters for my first. I had the mesa max at first but baby wasn’t comfortable in it. I got the aria for baby coming in June and am hoping this will be a better fit for him.
Echoing the other comment, I highly recommend a rotating car seat such as evenflo360 or Graco turn2me once baby is older. It makes it so much easier to get them in and out. I switched my first over at 6 months because she was getting too heavy in the infant car seat.
I actually didn’t have the bassinet with my Cruz because it has a lay flat option and I don’t recall having issues with her sleeping/sitting in it. In the early days, we didn’t take her out for long periods of time so 2 hours in her car seat wasn’t an issue. She was very fussy as a newborn and born in the winter so our outings were limited.
I’d recommend having 2 strollers. I have 4 and they all have different uses. Uppababy Cruz for infancy and going around town, Bob jogging stroller, bugaboo butterfly as a travel stroller (was the main stroller for my toddler), and the uppababy minu duo since we just had our second.
I’d get the single first because you don’t know if your older child will care to sit in a stroller by the time you have a second. My toddler did not care for the stroller once she started walking at 11.5 months old. We have the uppababy Cruz and will use it for baby brother and got the riding board attachment in case she decides to want to use it. I also got a wagon for when baby brother is big enough to sit independently.
We have the Cruz V2 and it’s been an amazing stroller. We’re on year 3 now and it’s been put through some serious abuse and still handles like a dream (but we don’t get a lot of snow so I’m not sure about that). I know the converters seem annoying but keep in mind your baby may not be in a bucket seat for long. We switched to a convertible car seat at 4-5 months as our son grew out of the Mesa and started to hate it. If you can get a cheaper, compatible infant bucket car seat (with converter) I would do that instead, or if you have a friend who no longer needs their Mesa or Aria that’s even better. We canvassed our friend network and ended up getting my friend’s Mesa that was only 8 months old (her baby grew out of it early too). There’s not much of a second hand market for car seats because of safety concerns so friends you trust might be glad to have you take it off their hands for $100 or something. UB products are really popular in my area so getting other secondhand stuff for the stroller like the bassinet and rain cover, accessories, etc. was really cheap and easy.
This is the way. I have the Cruz V2 and there’s 4 stairs to our parkade with a heavy door at the bottom and its much easier to keep baby in the stroller and use the back wheels over the stairs rather than take baby out and carry the stroller.
I just got back from Mexico with a 2 year old and we ended up abandoning our travel stroller there lol. We got a cheap umbrella style one second hand because we were worried about damaging our Cruz and it’s bulky and heavy for loading in and out of vehicles. We flew out of YVR with WJ and did gate check which was a breeze. However my 2 year old was so excited about the airport on both ends that he wanted nothing to do with a stroller and we had no use for it in Mexico because we stayed at an all inclusive. It became a hassle because it wasn’t big enough to put our bags in so we were stuck moving luggage, personal item bags, his diaper bag and an empty stroller around both airports.
I would say it depends on your child but if they’re pretty active it might not be worth the risk to your good stroller and I would bring a cheaper/lighter one.
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