Cosatto Woop review

And as the company is so convinced of it products all pushchairs come with a 4 year guarantee.

Much like the very popular Cosatto Giggle pushchair, the 3-wheeled Woop is suitable from birth to 15kg, travel system compatible, has a parent and world-facing seat unit and comes in a range of funky designs.

But unlike the Giggle, it has a convertible seat unit, much like the one found on the Mothercare Roam travel system.

Speaking of other buggies, the Woop is in stiff competition with other established pushchairs like the Quinny Buzz Xtra, Hauck Twister, Chicco Urban, Joie Chrome and Mamas & Papas Armadillo.

Is it easy to build the Cosatto Woop?

The Cosatto Woop was a doddle to put together. It took me 10 mins to get it out the box and clip on the wheels, seat unit and hood.

I only had to consult the instructions to make sure I had adjusted the seat correctly for ‘from birth mode’. Instructions are laid out in simple steps with corresponding illustrations, however, being at the back of the booklet, there was a bit of flipping back and forth when called upon. For the most part, though, it can be done without the guide, so not a big deal.

How does it ride on different surfaces?

In general the Woop is lovely to push along; it’s quite a smooth ride with the chunky back wheels and all round suspension.

The pushchair tackled most surfaces pretty well in terms of a smooth ride for my baby and pushing and steering for me.

There was a jerkiness, which usually came from my handling of the pushchair - tree roots, it has to be said, are the front wheel’s nemesis!

When pushing it certainly feels sturdy, although a touch heavy in places when out and about in the city. It can tackle even quite rough pavements well but pushing on grass was quite a workout for me!

Mounting curbs and getting on and off public transport was tricky when the swivel wheel wasn’t fixed. Leading with the front wheel when going down a steep curb meant I was never quite sure if I would go straight or veer off slightly to the side. Again, this became a quirk I got used to.

I found it had quite a large turning circle, which made turning tight corners or navigating narrow paths quite tricky.

At the beginning I was misjudging the steering quite a bit and ran over a few people’s toes, or had to make second attempts at positioning the pushchair. Once I got used to the Woop I found this less of an issue.

The front swivel wheel can be locked, which I did on occasion in the park, but this made steering much heavier.

Saying that, the brakes on the Cosatto Woop are good. The brake pedal is centrally located on the back axle and flips down with a good thunk holding the Woop steady.

The Woop handle was really nice to hold due to its solid, chunky foam cover, which was easy to grip on to when embarking on tricky obstacles.

The handle is adjustable, but only in terms of angling it down from standard height. Its max height is 104.5cm, which is how I used it at 5 foot 6, but can go down to 71cm. My partner at 5 foot 10 found it slightly too short, but not uncomfortably so.

I found I used the angling option when on the bus so the handle didn’t stick too far out in the aisle, which was handy when the bus was super crowded.

For the cold and rainy days the Woop comes with a good raincover - rainy days didn’t faze us at all. Although don’t leave it until you need it before you try and work out how it goes on, as it’ll take a little time to figure it out. I liked the easy access zips, which meant I could still tend to my little one without peeling it off, while the hood gave some sun protection with its sunvisor.

I can imagine that the Cosy Toes footmuff will really shine come Wintertime!

Is the Cosatto Woop lightweight?

The Woop is not exactly lightweight, neither is it the heaviest of the crowd. At 10.6kg it’s 1kg heavier than the Bugaboo Cameleon, but 1.8kg lighter than the Uppababy Vista.

For the most part I found pushing the Woop OK weight-wise - as it’s a smooth ride, it didn’t seem a chore to push, even up the steep hill to the park.

The weight becomes noticeable when the basket is loaded up (a bottle of lemonade and 4 pints of milk was quite detrimental to pushing it) or pushed over rougher terrain, like grass or particularly bumpy ground, it felt very sluggish.

How compact is it?

The seat unit and frame are quite streamlined but the wheels make the Woop a bit of a wide load with a width of 62.5cm.

With the steering not being quite as responsive as I’d like I did find it felt wider and miss-judged its dimensions when maneuvering it - my skirting board in the hall is testament to this!

If you like this buggy you may also like:

• Phil &Ted’s Voyager
• Stokke Trailz
• Graco Evo XT
• Bugaboo Buffalo
• Mountain Buggy Terrain

Does it fit in the boot of your car?

I gave it a good go but couldn’t fit the whole Woop in our 2001 VW Beetle’s boot. I could just about get the chassis in if I took the parcel shelf out and folded down the handle.

However, it has to be said that the Beetle’s boot very rarely fits anything we want to transport!

What do you think of the fold system?

You can only fold the Woop with the seat unit attached when it’s in front facing, most upright position.

To fold in ‘from birth’ mode you need to take the seat unit off completely. This is easily done by pushing the two large buttons either side of the seating unit and lifting away, but it’s not a quick, one-handed affair.

Once the seat unit is off, it’s easy to fold the frame using the buttons located on the handlebar. It collapses down in one smooth motion, although you do need to use both hands.

I found it easier to leave it up, but if you have storage issues and couldn’t do this, you might find it a faff to keep dismantling it every time you got home.

The frame is quite compact folded. It’s vital statistics are: L: 97cm W: 62.5cm H: 25cm. You can minimise it further by angling the handlebar down towards the back wheels.

How easy is it to store?

I kept the Woop up and in my dining room as opposed to folding it. If you didn’t have the space to do this it might be a bit cumbersome to have a separate frame and seat unit propped up somewhere.

Folded with the seat attached in ‘older child’ mode certainly made it easier to move about but it wasn’t any more easy to store.

How comfortable does it feel for your baby?

Very. My newborn baby loved being in the Cosatto Woop and would sleep every time we ventured out - sometimes before we’d even got to the garden gate.

The reversible seat liner is fleece side up for newborn mode and it was really soft and plush feeling; that coupled with the padded headhugger and cosy toes footmuff, she couldn’t have wanted for more!

I found that using the 5 point harness the seat unit was safe and secure for my precious cargo. I did notice with my particular harness when I pressed the release button, the clipped-in bits had a habit of flying out.

I just had to make sure I held my hand over the buckle when I opened it. They were also a bit fiddly with a wriggling baby to clip together.

With my tiny baby, she was seated quite centrally to the unit, with acres of space above and below her, so plenty of room to grow, but still cosy with the soft and cushioned headhugger. I also felt she was more protected by not being too near the edge.

The bumper bar is nicely padded with a removable cover. I didn’t find it necessary to use in the ‘from birth’ mode as it was awkwardly positioned and wouldn't stay up out the way while I got my daughter in/out.

The hood on the Woop gives UPF50+ protection and has a handy sun visor that pulls down. For a small baby that rides in the middle of the seat unit, the hood didn’t quite cover her enough to keep the sun off her face. Once she gets bigger I would think it would give better protection, as there was always shade at the top of the seat unit.

There’s a handy window on the back of the hood for peeping at your precious one, but I haven’t needed to use it as the seat was parent facing at the time.

There are no toy loops in the hood but it does have a mesmerising flower pattern on the underside (we tested the Tropico) that my baby liked to stare at for ages.

I found the hood isn’t as taut as I’d like (looks a bit baggy!) and tends to wobble when we were going over rough ground. It is also quite jerky to move up and down, so I had to make sure it positioned before my baby was asleep!

Tell us about the convertible carrycot/seat unit.

The Cosatto Woop’s seat unit works by having multiple configurations, taking you from birth up to approximately 3 years of age.

I found the seat unit was easy to lift on and off the frame and to configure. The ‘from birth’ or carrycot mode was easily applied by a series of zips and clips on the underside of the unit.

It’s not a completely lie-flat experience, as the seat back inclines slightly, but this suited my baby very well as she hates being flat on her back and wants to see as much as possible.

Once in ‘older child’ mode you can choose to have the seat parent or forward facing. You can recline the seat by pushing the two large buttons either side of the seat unit and adjust accordingly. It is advised in the manual to not adjust seat unit whilst child is strapped in.

Would you have preferred separate carrycot or seat unit?

Yes and no. I can see from my other Mum friends that having a separate carrycot has some plus points, such as use as a travel cot and some carrycots are even suitable for overnight sleeping.

But for general pushchair use I don’t see any advantage to having a separate carrycot compared to the Woop seat. My daughter was always comfy and happy when we are out.

Would you recommend the Cosatto Woop’s from birth?

I would definitely recommend the Cosatto Woop from birth. The seat unit in ‘from birth’ mode is comfortable and feels substantial - much like a pram than a pushchair.

My baby loved being in there, so much so we would take a trip around the neighbourhood to get her to sleep.

Will it be the only buggy you’ll need?

I would think so. Testing it with a newborn I can’t tell how a toddler would find it, but having a play around with all the seating options I think it’s got everything you need to take your baby right up to toddlerhood.

What are the basket and storage pockets like?

I was a bit disappointed with the basket. Despite all the space under the seat, it really isn’t utilised very well - and the basket is small and far too shallow at the sides.

You can get one good bag of shopping (max. weight allowed is 2kg) in there if you store your change bag elsewhere. As it advised in the instruction booklet not to put anything on the handles, chances are you will only be able to carry the essentials with you.

When playing about with seat configurations I found it was quite hard to access the basket when the seat was upright and forward facing.

What is good is that it can be fully removed and washed. The more you have in it, the more it sags, so I would imagine it will need washing quite a bit - it did scrape it on the ground/curb/bus in certain manoeuvres.

What’s it like as part of the travel system?

The Cosatto Hold car seat is available in the Woop colourways and can be used with the Woop chassis to create a practical travel system.

The Woop comes with the mounting adapters as standard, which are simple to clip on. I initially found it hard to take the carseat off smoothly. Although it’s advisable to remove your infant before taking the seat on and off, when you have a sleeping baby you don’t want to disturb, it’s possible to remove the seat with them in it with a bit of practice.

My baby looked really cosy and secure in the seat, which has a well padded insert. The strap and crotch pads are also soft and snug.

The Hold can be secured in the car with seatbelts or with a choice of two base units, the Hold Isofix bas and is really easy to install, £130, and the Hold Universal base, £105.

What do you think of the style?

Cosatto is known for its big, bold designs and, using revolutionary new photoprint technology, the Woop Tropico is no exception. Available in two unique colourways, Tropico and Old Skool, the Woop is definitely ticking the box in the style and practicality stakes.

Being someone who buys most things in blue, black or grey, I wouldn’t naturally have chosen the Tropico, but as I have been using it the bright flowers have actually really grown on me and I’m quite fond of the design now.

I must have received at least one compliment every time I took the Woop out, and it was a great conversation starter at mother and baby groups.

The Tropico is fairly gender specific, with lots of splashes of pink, which might be a drawback for parents who don't want to go down the ‘pink route’ for girls.

It might also affect subsequent use with other children that come along. The Old Skool design is a bit more gender neutral but still very much ‘out there’.

What’s in the box?

• Chassis
• Seat unit (chest pad and crotch pad fitted)
• Seat hood unit
• Bumper bar with cover
• Footmuff
• Rear wheels
• Front wheel assembly
• Changing bag (with changing mat, zip bag and key fob)
• Headhugger
• Raincover
• Car seat mounting adapter
• Product Manual
• 4 year guarantee

Is the Woop value for money?

Yes, the price for the Cosatto Woop is £360. I think it’s great value for money considering you have a robust pushchair that should last you years. Plus it has a wealth of extras, which includes reversible cosy toes footmuff, headhugger, raincover and changing bag as standard.

There is also the option to buy the Cosatto Hold group 0+ car seat, £135. You do get the car seat mounting adapters included with the pushchair.

MadeforMums verdict:

I would wholeheartedly recommend the Cosatto Woop. The Cosatto Woop is suitable from birth. It is best suited to parents who want a ‘pram experience’ for their little one without the need for a bulky carrycot. With its 4 position recline seat it will take you and your little one where you want to go up until approx 3 years of age/15kg.

While the jazzy design may not be everyone’s cup of tea, that shouldn’t be a put off for what I found to be a great value and fun-to-use travel system.

The Woop has its quirks but ultimately for the money, it offers more than a pretty face with its practical ‘from birth’ seat unit to its wealth of extras - plus has the opportunity to be further enhanced with the addition of the Hold car seat.

Read more...

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