Best Baby Strollers

Quinny is a Dutch brand long popular in Europe and gaining fans in the US. Like their rival Bugaboo, Quinny makes strollers that are minimalist, eye catching, and father friendly. Both companies market to high-end consumers; that’s why you see so many movie stars, politicians, and social elite pushing Bugaboos and Quinnys. If you simply must have the stroller of the stars, you’ll want to consider the Bugaboo Gecko or the Quinny Buzz. This side by side comparison should help you decide.

Design
Let’s face it, design is the real reason you are considering buying a Quinny Buzz or a Bugaboo Gecko. You could find plenty of strollers with similar features for a lot less money, but none of them would look as cool as a Gecko or a Buzz.

Cosmetically, both strollers are nice to look at. The Bugaboo Gecko is older by a few years, and it shows in its slightly boxier design. The Quinny Buzz has a shallower seat that looks a little more modern, but the Gecko’s seat looks more comfortable. The handle on both strollers looks about the same. The real difference between the Buzz and the Gecko is in their chassis. Based solely on looks, the Quinny Buzz has a sleeker chassis with a sporty three-wheel design. However, the Bugaboo Gecko’s four-wheeled chassis is more versatile and can be used in more places. Both the Quinny Buzz and the Bugaboo Gecko feature larger, air-filled rear wheels that give a smooth, effortless ride.

Both the Bugaboo Gecko and the Quinny Buzz come with pointless storage systems that are too small to be practical even if they do look cool.

Function
If you are going to use your stroller primarily in the city, both the Bugaboo Gecko and Quinny Buzz will perform beyond your expectations. The Quinny Buzz is smaller and features a compact fold that opens by itself with a little nudge from you. The Buzz’s narrower wheelbase comes in handy when using public transportation or navigating crowded streets and shops.

If you plan to take your baby off the beaten path, the Bugaboo Gecko is a much better choice. The Buzz doesn’t handle snow, sand, or rough road well. The Bugaboo Gecko by comparison can go virtually anywhere thanks to the chassis’ ability to transform into an all-terrain vehicle.

Value
Both the Bugaboo Gecko and the Quinny Buzz are expensive. The base model of the Bugaboo Gecko comes with chassis, stroller seat, bassinette, weather covers, and a 2-year warranty for about $680. The Quinny Buzz comes with weather covers, car seat adaptors, and a sunshade for around $500. The purchase of the Quinny Dreami bassinette brings the cost up to $690, making both the Quinny Buzz and the Bugaboo Gecko equal in cost.

There is a lot of buzz about Bugaboo strollers, especially since they are favored by Hollywood megastars like Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow. Sure, movie stars can afford to drop nearly $700 on a stroller, but what about the rest of us mere mortals? Does the Bugaboo Gecko really live up to all the hype surrounding the brand?

First of all, let’s be honest. Unless it’s plated in 24 karat gold, no stroller is worth $700. However, the Bugaboo Gecko does have some advantages over the competition. The Bugaboo Gecko is definitely cool-looking, and it does have a lot of nifty customizable configurations. For the base price you’ll get the Bugaboo chassis, bassinette, stroller seat, and a few other bells and whistles.

The Bugaboo Gecko’s bassinette is detachable and it comes with a mattress that is comparable if not nicer than many other baby beds, so you can use it as your baby’s primary bed for the first few months. Both the Bugaboo Gecko’s bassinette and stroller seat are reversible, so baby can face you or look out at the scenery. The Bugaboo Gecko’s chassis is also quite a marvel. Bugaboo has designed the Gecko’s chassis to convert from a more maneuverable form, suited to the city or the mall, to a sturdier all-terrain form for long walks over mildly uneven terrain. By all accounts, the Bugaboo brand of stroller has the smoothest ride of any brand out there. Every single review I have read mentions how easy the Bugaboo Gecko is to push and maneuver.

All that being said, the very customizability of the Bugaboo Gecko is also its downfall. On the Bugaboo website, there is a “3D Movie,” designed to illustrate all the possible modes of the Bugaboo Gecko. I’m fairly sure it is supposed to be an exciting bit of marketing, but, frankly, the whole thing made me feel a little sick. As the Bugaboo Gecko transforms from one form to the next, little red arrows indicating the direction of adjustments and where to make them start popping up. In some instances, there were half a dozen little arrows flashing in various locations across the Bugaboo Gecko’s frame. I felt like I was getting ready to play a video game instead of operate a stroller. Also, the Bugaboo Gecko’s stroller body kept disappearing in the video while the chassis was contorted in various ways. I couldn’t help but ask myself where the stroller body is supposed to be while you are adjusting the frame. You certainly couldn’t hold it since it clearly takes two hands to fiddle with the Bugaboo Gecko’s chassis. What’s more, where is your baby all this time? It seems like it takes an awful lot of work to use all the Bugaboo Gecko’s fancy features.

Ultimately, the Bugaboo Gecko is like a lot of things that are popular among Hollywood’s elite. It’s pretty to look at and fun to use but value is out of the question, and you’ll need some hired help to make the most of the Bugaboo Gecko.