Best Baby Strollers

Finally! Bugaboo has made a stroller that addresses the shortcomings of the Bugaboo Frog, Gecko, and Chameleon. Although the Bugaboo Bee is meant to be an entry level stroller, it succeeds where the other Bugaboo models fail. Better still, the Bugaboo Bee costs much less than the Frog or Gecko, although I still find its $530 price tag rather unreasonable.

Parents have been complaining about the shortcomings of Bugaboo strollers for a long time. While Bugaboo has always made a quality product, there are some design flaws in its hallmark models. The Bugaboo Frog, Gecko, and Chameleon all come as two part systems. Trying to pack up a stroller by disassembling it every time you get in the car is too much of a pain, especially when you’re paying over $700 for a Bugaboo stroller. Other complaints about the early Bugaboo models include their lack of sunshade and impractical storage basket. The Bugaboo Frog, Gecko, and Chameleon are also far from compact, making them less than ideal strollers for city dwellers who need to save space.

All of these problems have been addressed with the Bugaboo Bee stroller. The Bee is the first Bugaboo stroller that has a one piece fold, meaning that parents in a hurry no longer need to worry about wrestling with their stroller or putting the stroller seat on the dirty ground. The Bugaboo Bee comes with a huge sunshade, which is a great plus in my opinion. Not only does the Bugaboo Bee’s sunshade give the stroller its iconic profile, it also protects your baby from UV rays. The Bugaboo Bee’s storage basket is still not ideal, but it’s much better than the bizarre drawstring bags that come with the Bugaboo Frog, Gecko, and Chameleon.

The Bee continues the tradition of Bugaboo’s ultra-smooth ride. While the Bee doesn’t have the unique chassis that make the Bugaboo Frog, Gecko, and Chameleon stand out, it does have front and rear suspension and a “swivel wheel system” (swivel wheels are a “system” now?) that make the Bugaboo Bee super maneuverable and easy to push. The Bugaboo Bee also features a one-handed seat adjustment that is a huge improvement over the other Bugaboo models. The Bee is much more stable than the Frog, Gecko, and Chameleon. Some parents report that they can actually hang bags off the Bugaboo Bee’s handle without having to worry about it tipping over.

While the Bee is an improvement over the other Bugaboo strollers in many respects, it does have its own faults. Yes, the Bee is a one-piece system, but it still doesn’t fold down as compactly as most other light strollers. The Bee will easily fit in an SUV, but a standard car trunk may be a tight fit. Like the other Bugaboo strollers, the Bee can be a little tricky to figure out at first. While the Bee’s adjustments are a little more intuitive than the Frog or the Gecko, they still require practice to master. While I’ll still look for something more affordable for myself, I’m glad to see that Bugaboo is listening to parents with the Bugaboo Bee.