UNBOXING ~ Joie Chrome Plus Stroller

We own a PRAM...

 As a girl who preferred to play with cars and soil rather than dollys and baby things this experience was a little surreal.

First off, I have no experience of prams, pram pushing or pram buying. I had no idea about what to look for when choosing a pram, aside from aesthetics, and I certainly didn't realize how much the things can actually end up costing. Jeez.

Anyway, to help anyone out there like me with no clue about prams, I thought I would do an 'unboxing' post on the pram we picked, pfft, I mean I picked.
To help with this I've shortlisted 9 questions that you might be of interest to those considering buying the Joie Chrome Plus Stroller for their baby.

1. What are the pram's key features?

We chose the Joie Chrome Plus Stroller in Black Carbon for our pending baby boy. This is the official shpeel on what you can expect from it.

Main features:

• Rearward and forward facing detachable seat unit
• Fully flat recline with 2-position leg rest
• Adjustable handle height
• Spacious shopping basket
• Easy-entry bumper bar
• Ultra-compact fold
• Lockable front swivel wheels
• Single-step, scuff free brake
• Folds with pushchair seat attached
• Soft, padded seat
• Pairs with Joie Gemm car seat and Joie Chrome Plus carrycot
• Lockable front swivel wheels
• Individual front wheel suspension
• Foot operated parking brakes
• Ergonomic soft foam handles

Specification:

• Suitable from birth to 3yrs / 15kgs max
• Dimensions assembled: L90.8 x W56.5 x H102.4cm
• Dimensions folded: L80.8 x W56.5 x H26cm
• 1 year warranty

2. Why did you pick this pram?
This was actually the first pram I considered buying out of a (borderline) realistic list of 3- see below. I decided to opt for this pram in the end because I think it looks pretty smart for the price and it does all the things I would want it to, i.e it folds down quite small, it's compatible with the Maxi Cosi Group 0+ Car Seat we got given and it looks pretty durable. Like if I want to take it on a bit of a country walk it could cope with it. It has some pretty beasty back tyres but also a roomy shopping basket underneath. In my opinion, this pram looks fit for urban and rural life and for me, that works a treat. 

I did read a few reviews of this pram on Mumsnet but it was really watching the video reviews I could find on You Tube that made me decide to go for it. This is the official video marketing for the Chrome Plus, but this review from Hanna of Budding Smiles and this one from You Tuber Prashant Kumar helped me to get a better idea of what the Joie Chrome Plus might be like before ordering it. 

3. Where did you buy it from?
With ten points per pound spent for Advantage Card holders at Boots Parenting Club, plus an extra 10% off online, obviously I got this from Boots (direct links to stroller and carry cot in Q's 4 and 5 below). It was the most advantage card points my card has ever seen and I loved it. Clearly I've now spent them all. Maybe or maybe not on myself. 

4. What's included?

If you choose to order this pram from Boots like I did ~ link to stroller here ~ you will get the pram chassis plus the stroller seat in Black Carbon. This package also comes with the rain cover for the stroller plus the car seat adapters for Joie Gemm or Maxi Cosi Group 0+ Car Seats.

5. What's extra?
Although the official crack says you can use the stroller from birth, and although you can obviously opt to use either the Joie Gemm or Maxi Cosi car seats with it because the Joie Chrome is a fully operating travel system, if you want the carry cot for your newborn it is extra. 

I bought the carry cot from Boots too ~ link here ~ and received 10% off. The carry cot comes with it's own rain cover and flattens down which is great for storage. It clips straight onto the chassis and it looks really cosy and comfortable for a new baby.

Now this is what is NOT INCLUDED when you buy the stroller and to be honest it's not clear from the website that you're not going to get it when you order from Boots. In a lot of the marketing for the Joie Chrome Plus Stroller you'll see that it comes with a sun hood like this ~

If you order it from Boots, you will NOT receive this and you will have to order the additional Colour Packs for an extra £50. I think not including the hood is a little cheeky, as it's not fully clear that it's not included. On the plus side however, if you were going to buy a separate Foot Muff to go with your Joie Pram anyway, this comes as part of the Colour Packs.

6. How much was it?

@Boots ~

Chassis and Stroller ~ £270
Carry Cot ~ £100

10% Discount = £333
Parenting Club Points + £33.00

Black Joie Chrome Plus Colour Pack from Very = £50.00

Total including Accessories ~ £383

7. What other prams did you consider?
Like I say this was the first pram I considered buying, but I also really liked the Oyster 2 Travel System and the Mamas and Papas Pixo Travel System from Argos. 

I didn't go for the Oyster because of the price. For something that the kid is ultimately going to be too big for in probably a years time, a near £500+ quid for a pram is not something I can personally afford or justify. With the Mamas and Papas Pixo there were two things. I wasn't totally sold on the red and I couldn't find any reviews on it. For the price however, I do think this looks like a good pram. 

8. How was it to assemble?
Okay so I'm not going to lie. Ed assembled the Joie. I literally opened the box. He made it look very easy though. From what he said and watching him it's really just a series of clips. No tools are required at all. Apart from the scissors to get in the box. I can vouch for that.

9. Overall impression?
Overall and obviously without being able to test it out with a live child, I'm really happy with our choice of pram. It's smooth to push around and compact enough to store in our 2 bed flat. To me it looks like a good dupe for the Oyster 2 and for a much more reasonable price. My only vice is that I think the extra cost for the hood is a bit cheeky, but perhaps if you opt to buy from elsewhere it might be included, and I did get a load of Advantage card points which I could have spent on the colour pack...had I known.

I hope this post was useful/interesting to some of you. Let me know in the comments your thoughts on the Joie Chrome Plus or what prams you've gone for instead if your a new mum or expecting :)

For updated review see this post here :)

Kathy 
xx