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Uppababy Vista with Rumble Seat Review by Best Buggy

This is our photoset and review of the Uppababy Vista with Rumble Seat.

There is a tale to tell with these photos but before I begin:

First of all, if you haven’t read our glowing review of the Uppababy Vista Stroller as a single pushchair, then PLEASE go and read it first under the single pushchair section.The Uppababy Vista is a brilliant pushchair!

Secondly, the Rumble Seat is really an add on toddler seat to extend the life and useability of an Uppababy Vista Stroller. It gives more options. It is important to think about which child is going in which seat and when, and also where each child will go long term when one reaches the 15.8kgs weight limit. Will be youngest be ready to move into the Rumble Seat at that point?

Finally, I heard someone dismiss the Uppababy Vista with Rumble Seat today as being like the Baby Jogger City Select. I have to say, if you have any knowledge of the Baby Jogger City Select, please leave it here and dont think that the two are alike. Not least because at the age of 3 years, and 15 months I can comfortably push around a combined weight of approx 30kgs (or more) and yet its a good six months now since I was last able to comfortably push the Baby Jogger City Select on exactly the same routes.

So, let me begin my tale!

I ordered a Rumble Seat from the US some months ago. But it got backordered and backordered, and by the time it arrived my daughter was 1kg over the maximum weight limit of 15.8kgs. This left me with a real dilemma. I had researched the Rumble Seat many times to check the upper weight limit, and given the nature of the connectors I really did not want to put an over-weight child into the Rumble Seat. We do admit to putting our daughter into the Rumble seat at home to see what would happen, and the Rumble seat connectors didn’t flinch, bend, slide or move at all. We were sure she was fine in the Rumble seat but we weren’t sure what would happen out and about when we were tackling kerbs, rough ground, corners, steps and more.

So the decision was made that our 15 month old for the purposes of testing would have to go in the Rumble Seat. But in reality we knew this was problematic as he likes to nap in an afternoon and will fall asleep at some point during our test circuit. But the Rumble Seat is exceedingly upright (not far off a 90 degree angle). But I naiively thought that my 15 month old could nap in it somehow with a neck support, but he simply did not enough of a recline, thus his head lolled alarmingly forwards as he started to drift off. I had no choice but to instantly stop and swap the children around. However silly Mummy here, had removed her daughter’s shoes so that she couldn’t kick the baby, and I forgot to put them in the basket. So given she couldn’t walk home, I had no choice but to take the risk and put our daughter into the Rumble seat and the baby could then nap comfortably in the main seat. Most pushchair seats have enough of a recline (without being reclined) for him to sleep upright. Because of this, I would NOT put any child in the Rumble seat who is likely to fall asleep. I dont think my 3 year old could have napped comfortably either. The upright Rumble seat is fab though for an older toddler who doesn’t like being semi reclined. My 3 year old looked great in the Rumble Seat. To be honest the Rumble seat coped very well with the excess weight. There was no sign of it bending, wobbling or anything else even as we went up and down steps and kerbs, and across uneven surfaces. I was actually pretty amazed.

I have to say, I was not keen on having the Rumble seat hidden behind the parent facing main seat. My daughter was not impressed either at being tucked away. So we put the children facing. I worried about whether either would kick the other, but as photos show the eldest childs’ feet went straight down into the basket and the babys’ feet fitted either side when he was in the Rumble seat. When the baby was in the main seat, his feet didn’t come near my daughter. But it may be something to watch if you have a 2-3 year old in the upper seat. We have tried to show how the upper seat footrest could be placed up or down when the children are facing. For us, the footrest being down worked best. The baby’s legs were comfortable and didn’t dangle and our daughter had a clear view out. She didn’t like the footrest being in front of her face.

What I did like is that the peekaboo window in the main Vista hood is in a low down panel (rather than the top) and so with the panel open, I had a great view through it to keep an eye on the child in the Rumble seat. Very useful!!

The footrest piece of the Rumble seat fitted easily into the basket – it hooks over the front basket bar, velcros on the floating axle and then clips on at the front of the pushchair. However it did take up a considerable amount of the basket space. I could only just get two bags of shopping in the remainder of the basket. For a shopping trip it was better to remove the footrest part, let the children’s feet dangle and then once the shopping was done they could rest their feet back on top of the shopping. The footrest is very long, so there is plenty of room for a long legged child.

The handling of the Uppababy Vista with the Rumble seat on was very good. It reminded me a lot of the City Select in size. However there was no comparision with the manoeuverability. As I said, I had to give up using the City Select 6 months ago because it was too heavy to push. The Uppababy Vista even with the Rumble seat on was easy to push. I could push mainly one handed, but I did need two hands in places. I managed to get the Vista up a high step into a couple of shops. However the Vista didn’t cope well with being driven head first off the first step, but it was no problem to back up, tip it onto back wheels and bump it down. I was very impressed at how easy it was to push. It certainly heavier with my eldest in the front seat, but we still managed a step into a shop. Kerbs were relatively hard ie not easy peasy, but we got up them! The Vista with Rumble seat turned and manoeuvred easily. It also handled our thick gravel and bumpy ground with ease.

But as a result of my experiences, the Rumble seat occupies a niche market. I would only put a child into the seat if they don’t nap and are under 15.8kgs. Therefore the Rumble seat will last you longer if you have smaller lighter children :) The main seat takes 22.67kgs / 50lbs which means that once the baby is old enough to not nap, you can swap the children over to get added longevity from the pushchair.

The Rumble Seat will fold in situ, but will fall off in transit! But the Rumble Seat is very light and easy to store. The Rumble Seat will apparently even wedge into the basket when it is not in use which could make this a great option for a nursery run where you dont want a tandem for the return or onward journey after drop off. The footrest piece can be left permanently on should you wish.

I have to say I am very torn because I would absolutely love to keep this pushchair, but to do so would mean that we can’t review another pushchair :(

The Uppababy Vista with Rumble Seat is excellent and a lot of fun – but think carefully about who will be sitting where!

 

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