Buying the right pushchair has a huge impact on your life. I should know; I’ve owned more pushchairs than children! Since the birth of my son Laurie last August, I’ve spent eight months in what only can be described as double buggy hell.
Transitioning back to a single pushchair with Mamas & Papas Flip XT² has been a complete revelation. I can now easily get on the bus, (essential if you’re a Londoner), push it one handed and be free from carrying endless bags. The basket underneath the seat is huge, and easily fits the endless nappies, wipes, toys, changes of clothing and food required to keep two mini people alive.
Plus, I no longer have an argument with my car boot each time I try loading the pushchair into it. When folded down, the Mamas & Papas Flip XT² is compact, and all the right bits come apart: for example, the wheels come off.
Like many Londoners, we live in a beautiful but impractical Victorian property, with a narrow front door and zero storage. This pushchair is small enough to fit through the door in its upright position, so that if Laurie is sleeping I can bring it into the house and hopefully he’ll stay that way. The pushchair also lies back flat, making sleep on the go eminently possible.
In my naivety, the first pushchair I bought had a beautiful pale blue hood, which has now turned a murky shade of grey. I love this pushchair’s deep ocean blue; as it’s extremely practical and hides the mud and other dirt that invariably accompanies small children.
Living in a city means that as a family we long for a little bit of countryside, and space. The problem with a lot of lightweight narrow pushchair is that the wheels only cope on pavements. So we took our Flip XT² out to the woods, to trial its capabilities. Though it’s clearly not a fan of huge piles of leaves, it coped very well with normal amounts of mud and bark – excellent.
The Mamas & Papas Flip XT² has many amazing features: it’s compatible with car seats and a carrycot to make a complete travel system, the bumper bar can be accessorised with toys to entertain and you can face your child forwards or backwards. But I’m hoping the most important feature is that it has a UPF 50+ large hood and air vent to keep Laurie cool. Come on summer!
If I had my time again, I would buy this Flip XT² pushchair straight out and attach a buggy board for my toddler. Hindsight is such a wonderful thing.
Five things to love about the Mamas & Papas Flip XT²
- Amazing storage: you can fit all but the kitchen sink in the basket.
- Narrow enough to get onto a bus and fit in our hallway.
- Big enough wheels to cope with a bit of off roading.
- Folds down small and fits into the boot of a car with room to spare.
- Lies back flat to allow your baby to catch forty winks.
The Flip XT² is available at Mamas & Papas now.
I was kindly gifted a Flip XT² by Mamas & Papas, but all opinions are, as always, my own.
Also this post includes affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase I make a small commission. Just think of it as a cup of (pink) tea from you to me 🙂
Hi what age can you move your baby from the carrycot to the pushchair my baby is 3 months and is almost too small for the carrycot but she’s not able to sit up unsupported yet so is it unsafe to put her in push chair?
Author
Hi Hayley,
That’s a really good question, they normally say 6 months is the right age & your right being able to sit up & hold their head well are all important in them being ready to go in a pushchair. However, I had to move my son to a pushchair at about 4 1/2 months because he was big, I just put him in a snowsuit & made sure he was securely strapped in. But I should say that is not the official advice most pram companies give, they all say 6 months. Hope that helps X
Thank you
We have this stroller/travel system and I love it. Son is 17 months old now. The stroller is everything described above. It also can be folded with one hand – useful when you’re on the London tube and suddenly need to carry baby in one arm up the steps and stroller in the other!
Author
That’s so true Aster, doing anything with one hand is very useful in London with a toddler isn’t it. So glad you’re enjoying it 🙂
Hi what did you think of the fabric of the pushchair I ordered they grey melange colour and feel like the fabric would not clean as easy as other pushchairs which have waterproof material.
Author
Hi Anan,
Thanks for your question. In terms of cleaning mine has been absolutely fine. Mine is a deep teal so it doesn’t really show dirt. I’m afraid I haven’t seen the grey melange, is it more of a jersey fabric than a waterproof then?
Thanks
Karen x
Hi,
I want to replace the hood on my pram but can’t for the life of me figure out how to remove the hood? Can you help! Thank you
Author
Hi Bethany,
Thanks for your question, I have attempted to remove mine and failed too! I have forwarded your question to Mamas & Papas and I’ll let you know what they say.
Have a lovely day
Karen xxx
Do you know if there is an option for bigger wheels or tubed wheels for this pram? I can’t find any, I hate the foam wheels I find it’s awful off-road
Author
Hi Jess,
I’m afraid I haven’t found any other wheels available for this pram, but a pram repair shop/ spares shop like Buggy Pitstop might be able to suggest some wheels that would fit on this buggy. K x
Hi,
I have a tiny car and really want to get this pushchair! .. but the reviews I have read online haven’t all been great. Did u experience and struggle with the seat moving whilst baby was in it?
Thanks in advance.
Author
Hi Sassy,
I haven’t had any problems with the seat moving with my child in it. The only part that does move is the foot rest, but it is designed to click into place at the angle the child needs. Also the only time this section does move is when my 4 year old decides she’d like to sit in the buggy too! I hope that helps.
Have a great day
Karen x
Hello,
I really enjoyed reading your article and found your pictures very helpful (we too have a Victorian terrace with a small corridor). I have been reading a lot of reviews and a couple of things have popped up, I wondered if you’d had an issue with any of the following
Difficulty going up stairs due to not having something sturdy to hold on to at the front.
The seat not always being in a locked position so moves unexpectedly.
This will be for our first child so don’t have much to compare with, however my husband and I really liked the look of this model and your review was very encouraging.
Many thanks,
Laura
Author
Hi Laura,
Thanks for your kind words, I hope you received my email? If not here are my responses below:
1. There is a sturdy part at the bottom of the buggy which acts as a handle for carrying up & down stairs. Though I’d say it’s a two person carry, my husband can pick it up on his own but I can’t. The only buggies I can lift on my own are the yoyo or a light weight Maclaren.
2. The seat easily clips into different places reclining wise, this isn’t something I’ve had a problem with.
I hope that helps, let me know if you have any more questions / need pictures.
Many Thanks
Karen x
Hello all I’m having a debate with my partner and I wonder if you can help. I’m thinking about getting the XT2 but from new born and getting a foot muff would this be adequate?
Author
Hi Abby,
Thanks for your question. From new born, personally I’d opt to get the carrycot as it’s the safest way to transport your little one. I had a carrycot when Daisy was born and it was great because if I travelled somewhere and she fell asleep I could just pick up the carrycot off the base and go inside and I didn’t have to worry about leaving her asleep in the pram anywhere. Here’s the link for the carrycot https://www.mamasandpapas.com/en-gb/flip-xt-carrycot-for-pushchair-dark-navy/p/5577v70w1
I hope that helps & good luck with your baby.
Thanks
Karen x
Can you tell me how upright the stroller seat is in it’s most upright position?
I have a plain old armadillo, and we lmostly like it, but my daughter prefers a more upright position…
(I’m pretty sure the Flip and Flip XT can be more upright than the original Armadillo.)
Author
Hi Layla,
Thanks for your question. The upright seat position does have a slight recline. If you have a look at pictures 3 & 6 of the blog post you can see it in it’s most upright position. I hope this helps, if you need more pictures let me know & I can email some over to you.
Thanks
Karen x
Help please. Has anyone used a buggy board with it….
Thanks
Author
Hi,
Thanks for your question, I’m afraid I haven’t tried it with a buggy board and I’ve had a look online without much luck. I do know that the Lascal buggy boards work with 99% of all buggies (& Mamas & Papas sell them), so it might be worth going into a Mama’s & Papas and trying the XT2 with it. I hope that helps.
Have a lovely evening.
Thanks
Karen x
Hi karen. This is really helpful thank you. I’d be interested to know what you think of the reduced hood now it’s a bit sunnier? I ordered the flip xt2 in ocean blue the same as yours (ADORE the colour) as it had everything I need but I was so disappointed the hood was not as long as the previous model flip xt as this was one of the main reasons I wanted it (hate faffing about with clipping and unclipping muslins!). I’m now sending the flip xt2 back and have ordered the older flip xt as I’m hoping it’ll have all the great features of the newer model (good basket, compact fold, adjustable handlebar etc) but also with the longer hood. When you say people found the larger hood wafty, what do you mean? I want to make sure I’m doing the right thing sending back the xt2 and getting the older model! Let me know about the wafty! Many thanks, Katy
Author
Hi Katy, thanks for your question. We used the Flip XT2 in the South of France on holiday (hence my delay in responding, we’ve been away) and I found the hood totally adequate for normal sun protection. When Laurie needed a sleep I did attach an oversized muslin but generally I give him his naps in his cot. My understanding from Mamas and Papas is that people found the original hood too big, e.g. wafty! I hope you get on well with the original Flip XT as I do think buggies are such a personal thing as everyone has different needs. x
Hello,
I’m trying to choose a stroller but it’s very difficult to make up my mind. I like everything in the M&P Ocarro stroller except the weight which seems too much. The other models I’m thinking of are: M&P Flip XT2, Icandy strawberry 2 and Cybex Balios M. Would appreciate it a lot if you give me your point of view for the listed models if you have an opinion on them.
Thanks a lot!
Tanya
Author
Hi Tanya, Thanks for your comment. I’ll be honest and say I’ve never used the other models you speak of. Though at having a look at them online I’d say that the Icandy doesn’t have UV protection on the canopy but apart from that they are all a pretty similar weight and size (though the Cybex is considerably cheaper!) Personally I’d take a look at them all and compare at the wheels. We use to have an Uppababy Cruz which was brilliant except for the wheels. After using it for 2 years they needed replacing. So far the Mamas and Papas strollers wheels are still like new and I’ve been using it since February of this year. Not sure if that helps. Karen xx
Hello,I would like to see a picture how big is the canopy. I’ve heard that it is not as big as Flip XT? Would be nice to know what are the upgrades they make from Flip XT to XT2
Author
Dear Maris,
Thanks for your comment, I’ve spoken to the team at Mamas & Papas and this is what they had to say:
New additions:
-It has a new seat which is extra comfortable, which still lies flat.
– Addition of the Bumper Bar
– Adjustable footrest
– Hardware redesigns to make it more aesthetic, removal of bright yellow plastics
– Higher quality fabrics on the hood
– The hood has reduced by 1 panel from the armadillo XT – (some feedback was that the
hood was too big and made it quite ‘wafty’ on the hood panels on the original
armadillo flip xt)
I will send you a photo of the canopy to your personal email.
Have a lovely day
Karen x