Two baby gear companies that cater to different markets are expanding into similar territory: the luxury city convertible stroller. You’ve seen these strollers with beautiful colors, often with a bassinet or car seat attached right on the stroller’s chassis. It has a modern silver or black frame and reversing seat so baby faces the parent or outward toward the world.
The convertible stroller has taken off in popularity and is now right up there with all-terrain 3-wheelers. Parents want a stroller that they can use from newborn right up to preschool age without the bulk and with a lot of style. Let’s see what Contours and Mountain Buggy have offered us in this fast-growing category.
Contours Bliss Convertible Stroller – The seat turns into a bassinet.
Contours Bliss
Contours, owned by Kolcraft, offers quality baby products at a budget to mid-range price category. Their new stroller is called Bliss and it has four options for your little one. Newborns can have either the car seat placed right on the chassis with the included adapter. Dozens of car seats can fit, yours is likely included.
Another option is to transform the seat into a bassinet and lay your baby right in. The seat does not 100% lie flat, as you can see from the photo above, but it works fine for your newborn. The bassinet lifts right off the frame for an on-the-go carrycot. Use it with or without the stroller as an additional sleeping alternative.
Contours Bliss holds your child up to 40 pounds, yet the stroller weighs just under 25 pounds. Folding it is easy with a quick fold trigger and an auto lock to hold the frame in place. The seat can be attached or unattached to fold. It has a nice sized storage basket and a height-adjustable handle.
The new Contours Bliss is priced right there with other luxury reversing seat strollers at about $400. So far reviews for Bliss have been at solid 4.5 to 5 stars for the great canopy, all the car seats it can accommodate and the seat/pram versatility.
Mountain Buggy Cosmopolitan reversing seat convertible stroller
Mountain Buggy Cosmopolitan
Fitness enthusiasts with babies and young children are probably familiar with the Mountain Buggy brand. Originated and designed in New Zealand, Mountain Buggy strollers are for joggers, marathoners and other outdoorsy folks who like to get out into nature.
Until now, all Mountain Buggy strollers were three-wheeled but they recently added the Cosmopolitan, a beautiful 4-wheeled convertible stroller with three options: forward or rear facing seat and bassinet. Like the Bliss, the Cosmopolitan seat transforms into a bed-like bassinet, but unlike the Bliss, you must leave the bassinet on the chassis – it does not remove.
The fabric is a really nice denim and the seat has a 3-position one-handed lever recline. Cosmopolitan weighs just over 26 pounds and holds your child up to 45 pounds. While it is a city stroller, though, the qualities that make Mountain Buggy so popular extend to the Cosmopolitan as well, including durability, ultra-smooth all-wheel suspension with no-flat Aerotech tires. Maneuvering takes next to no effort, and while the handle is not height adjustable, it does sit at a height that is comfortable for most adults.
Mountain Buggy Cosmopolitan retails for $540, but I’ve seen it for a bit less on various online retailers. Although still quite new on the market, reviews are beginning to come in and so far we’re seeing a 4.5-star review of this fabulous, versatile convertible stroller.
If you had to choose between the Bliss and the Cosmopolitan, which one would you go for?
