Baby Jogger Vue Lite Review
Price $72
An umbrella stroller that can rear-face too? Impossible! My friends, may I introduce you to the Baby Jogger Vue Lite.
[For the complete video review of the previous model (Vue), see below.]
This stroller is a love child between a nice umbrella stroller, like the UPPAbaby G-Luxe, and a simple reversible stroller like the Bugaboo Bee5. But? For a fraction of the price. Yeah, you heard me. The price tag on the Baby Jogger Vue Lite is ~$179.
Comparisons to Similar Strollers
Comparing the Vue Lite to one of my favorite umbrella strollers, the UPPAbaby G-Luxe…
In regular umbrella (forward-facing) mode, the UPPAbaby G-Luxe and the Vue Lite are pretty darn similar, they are similar in weight (14.5 lbs Vue Lite & 16.3 lbs G-Luxe).
Comparing the Vue Lite to the Bugaboo Bee5…
The other stroller the Vue Lite reminds me of is the Bugaboo Bee5, which is a $789 “luxury” stroller with a simple, reversible seat. But in order to reverse the seat, you have to remove the seat completely, turn it around, and replace it in the frame (ain’t nobody got time for that). While fairly compact, the Bee3 doesn’t have a nice, narrow umbrella stroller fold.
My point? Compared to $279 for the G-Luxe and $789 for the Bugaboo Bee5, $179 for the Vue Lite is a great price for a stroller that offers the best features of both, while lacking, of course, the nicer suspension, storage, and cachet of a luxury stroller like the Bugaboo Bee5.
I’m NOT at all saying the Vue Lite is a “better” stroller than the Bee3, just saying, for the price? Let’s be real.
Seat
The coolest thing about the Baby Jogger Vue Lite – BY FAR – is that it faces forward like a “normal” stroller and can also switch to a rear-facing (parent-facing) mode with one sweep of the hand (below). It also has a huge, amazing sun canopy that cleverly reverses as well.
For the youngest of babes, the seat fully reclines, which means you don’t need a bassinet or car seat for 0-6 month-ers. Suitable from birth to 5 years.
Car Seat Compatibility
Vue Lite: Unfortunately, the Vue Lite is NOT car seat compatible (sad face). However, it is compatible with a soft pram that fits into the reclined parent-facing seat and is suitable for a newborn to 25 lbs.
Vue: The discontinued Vue accepts an infant car seat, which allows you to skip buying a separate stroller frame that you’ll only use for a year. You can use the Vue as a travel system with your infant car seat if you happen to have one of these seats:
- Britax/BOB: B-Safe and Chaperone
- Chicco: KeyFit and KeyFit 30
- *Cybex: Aton and Aton Q
- Graco: Click Connect SnugRide
- *Maxi-Cosi: Cabrio and Prezi
- *Nuna: PIPA
As a side note, if you don’t have a car or you travel frequently in taxis and such, these seats mentioned above are great because they have a European belt path. This “back of the seat” belt path makes the aforementioned seats super easy to install without a base. So, if you live in New York, SF, or another big city, and/or you change cars frequently, one of those car seats will make for a really nice combination with the Baby Jogger Vue.
Canopy, Storage, Accessories
The Vue probably has the best sun canopy I’ve ever seen (for an umbrella stroller). It offers complete head-to-toe coverage because, honestly? If you don’t have enough sun canopy coverage for your baby, it’s bad news.
The biggest downside is that the storage basket in the Vue Lite is VERY small. You can only access it from the side zippers. In it, you can fit some loose items – sippy cups and such – perhaps a diaper changing kit. You can also fit other small/flat items in the basket, but definitely not a diaper bag. The only saving grace is that you can use the back pocket area for storage when the stroller is in the forward-facing mode (to see what I mean, click here and cue to 4:20). In rear-facing mode, you’ll have to get creative about where to put your things.
Size & Weight
Longevity-wise, you can use this stroller until your babe is about 5-years-old, as the Vue Lite has a whopping 55-lb weight capacity and a very tall seat, especially as umbrellas go.
Folding & Carrying
The Vue Lite folds and unfolds just like a regular umbrella stroller. However, it doesn’t have a carry strap like most umbrellas do, although it does have a handle that you can grab to carry the stroller. Another note is that the Vue Lite doesn’t stand on its own like some do; you simply place it on the floor.
Compared to a City Mini or a Bugaboo Bee5, which both have larger, square-shaped footprints, the Vue Lite definitely takes up less space when folded.
Bottom line: Overall (as you can tell), I think this is a fabulous, affordable, versatile stroller. While the Vue Lite is heavier than other umbrellas (14.5 lbs vs. 13 lbs) and the storage basket is lacking, this is still an incredibly versatile, high-quality stroller for a great price.
Disclosure: This stroller was loaned to me by Baby Jogger upon my request. I was not compensated in any way.
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Ah, this is my new favorite stroller! Now I just gotta get a newborn. 😉
The Vue stroller is by far my favorite. I’m not one to spend $$$ on strollers (my very first stroller was a city mini which was gifted by my father in law). After my third baby, I need a practical stroller that doesn’t need much updating. I was looking on Craigslist for an umbrella stroller for a long time. Someone was selling this but it was sold a few hours it posted. So I researched it more. Then the inevitable happened: I fell in love with it the more I knew more. Back and forth between other “affordable” strollers like the summer flip and maclaren, joovy.
The Vue handles are higher than maclaren. My husband doesn’t have to crouch down to push. My infant likes the rear facing mode, so does my 2-year old and 4yo. The forward facing mode is fantastic with the seat extender for longer legs. The basket is a downer. But I’ve gotten used to my backpack and it’s not a deal breaker. Even my husband thinks its comfortable for him. I’m very happy with s purchase.
Thanks so much for your review! I am looking for a fairly inexpensive stroller to use with the Nuna Pipa. Most are $300+ which is just more than I want to spend so this seems like a great option for us. Do you need to also buy an adapter to use with the Nuna Pipa car seat?
Hi Maegan! Yes, you will need to buy a car seat adapter for your Nuna Pipa, it’s about $25. For more information, check out: BabyJogger’s car seat adapter guide.
From what I can tell baby jogger says there is a car seat adapter for the Chicco keyfit and graco snugride click connect, even listing a model number which I can no longer find, abut they never actually made it. I contacted others on Facebook who were looking and they were not able to find it anywhere.
Emily, did you call baby Jogger? They have excellent customer service.