Being a petite mom who travels often and lives in a city condo with 4 flights of stairs, I get lots of questions on lightweight compact strollers!
We have been using and loving the Babyzen Yoyo+ since our daughter was born, but we also received the Colugo Stroller recently as a press sample and tested it out!
Also check out our IGTV video featuring a friendly competition featuring these two strollers! (Disclaimer: winner of the race does not indicate our favorite stroller…)
BABYZEN YOYO vs. COLUGO
This is not an apples to apples comparison as these strollers are at very different price points. It really depends on your needs, where you live, and how you plan to use it! Both are compact strollers with interchangeable/removable seats and canopies for easier washing. To us, the Yoyo looks more stylish, and feels like it’s better quality and better-made, and is more easily maneuverable in tight spaces. It’s the most compact high-quality travel stroller we’ve tried in terms of size and weight, and it’s priced accordingly.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Overall, the Yoyo is our preferred option. We love it for life in a busy urban area, or if you travel a lot and want a stylish stroller compatible with select infant carseats, and don’t mind the smaller under basket. The Colugo is a good option if you want a compact stroller that works for occasional travel and don’t want to pay $$$.
Another popular lower budget option that my good friend has is the Mountain Buggy Nano. It folds up very similarly to these two and can strap in an infant car seat. My friend’s honest review is the Nano does not look nor feel high end, but it is compact and functional.
COST, PortabilitY & size
Here’ are the raw numbers for comparison sake:
Colugo Stroller
Base Price: $295
Folded Size: 17” x 24” x 10”
Weight: 16 lbs
Babyzen Yoyo+
Base Price: around $449 for the frame + seat
Folded Size: 17″ x 20” x 7″
Weight: 13.6 lbs
On paper and in photos, the Colugo only seems a little bigger and heavier than the Yoyo. But after having used both, the Yoyo feels much more small and compact. It fits more easily into our small car trunk loaded with other stuff, and it’s less cumbersome for me when carrying it on your shoulder going up flights of stairs.
If you’re very petite or live somewhere that space is at a premium, every extra inch and pound makes a difference. The Yoyo handlebar can also fold down while baby is seated, so at restaurants you can pull the stroller up to the table taking up no more space than a high chair would.
FOLDING
Both strollers can be opened with one hand, but Colugo can also fold up one-handed, which is a great feature. The Yoyo folds up via a two-hand, two-step move that takes a little practice to get the hang of, but it’s easy enough once you do. In either case, we’ve always found it best to handle a stroller while wearing a baby carrier, especially when doing trips solo in and out of house with a newborn.
NEWBORN USE & Car Seat Compatibility
The seat on both strollers are designed for use with babies 6 months and older. However, both strollers also have a newborn bassinet attachment that’s sold separately, for use from 0 to 6 months. We got the Yoyo bassinet as a gift but only used it a handful of times, because it was easier and more practical to just pop our Nuna Pipa car seat on to the stroller (adapter needed; make sure to check which car seats are compatible). From the day we took Nori home from the hospital to 6 months, we mostly just used the Yoyo frame with no seat fabric + the Nuna car seat. If you’re doing a lot of travel the first year, that infant car seat compatibility is huge and the Colugo doesn’t have that.
SUSPENSION, Smoothness, Maneuverability
We love how maneuverable the Yoyo is in tight spaces like city restaurants and shops. It’s also much easier to steer with just one hand. The Colugo is still good, just not quite as nimble in our experience. The foot brake on the Colugo is better positioned and a little easier to flip on and off.
under basket storage
The Colugo basket is bigger than the Yoyo’s, mostly because the Yoyo frame has two metal rods that block larger items from going into the basket. You really need a stroller hook if you plan on using it for toting a bag, even a small diaper backpack. It does have a convenient zippered pocket on the seat back, though, which I use all the time for my phone and random items.
recline & footrest
Both have a similar recline, with the Colugo going back just a touch more. The Colugo has a built-in footrest that’s longer, and the seat overall is a little wider. Babyzen’s new footrest attachment is an extra $40, however it folds in nicely while the Colugo footrest actually sticks out and flaps around a bit when the stroller is folded up. We found that the added comfort with this attachment is worth it!
SEAT & CANOPY
Adding to the “nap-ability” of the Colugo, its sunshade provides a little more coverage than the Yoyo. It also has a mesh peephole, and big ventilated back panel once reclined, making it more breathable, while the Yoyo’s peep hole is a plastic window. The Colugo safety belt feels a little cheaper and is hard to buckle at times, and the straps were difficult to adjust.
accessorieS: INCLUDED VS. ADD-ONS
The Yoyo comes with a rain cover and flimsy nylon drawstring travel bag (they have a more durable travel backpack with luggage sleeve that’s sold separately). The Colugo also comes with a rain cover and includes a nicer travel bag with backpack straps. For us, the must-have Yoyo accessories are the Nuna car seat adapters (we used this a ton throughout Nori’s first year) and the foldable footrest which makes naps more comfy. Both brands offer cozy sleeping bags for winter, as well as additional interchangeable colors of seat padding/canopy all sold separately.
CONCLUSION
We knew we’d be traveling quite a bit in our baby’s first years, so it was important to us to have an infant car seat + travel stroller that worked together. Having used the Yoyo for the past year as our travel/secondary stroller, we absolutely love it and the only real complaint is the smaller under basket. To be transparent, we got the Yoyo as a shower gift from a generous friend but we were about to purchase it ourselves, and would certainly do so now knowing what we do!
