Company Description
Mutsy originally started out as Mutsaerts and has been in business since 1937. It is a Dutch company and is a long time sponsor of Casa Materna – a birthing center in Nicaragua. The company started selling in the USA in 2007.
Basics
It has a large, reclining seat and a 4-position adjustable handlebar. It is very easy to push and it is very maneuverable thanks to the swivel wheels in front. The seat can hold a child weighing as much as 55 pounds and this puts it on a par with the Uppababy Vista. The stroller can be converted into a travel system very easily by attaching a car seat. It is very maneuverable and easy to push. It is available in four colors:
- Black
- Brown
- Grey
- Purple
Mutsy Transporter Specification
Dimensions: OPEN 37.5″ long x 25.6″ wide x 41.3″ high. (95.3cm x 65cm x 105cm )
FOLDED 29.1″ x 25″ x 13.5″ (74cm x 52cm x 31cm)
Weight: 23 lbs (18 lbs without wheels)
Transporter Stroller PROS
- Very stylish design
- Great seat that can hold 55 lbs
- Quick fold with seat attached
- Lockable front wheels
- Adjustable, four position handlebar
- Lots of accessories available
- Easily converts to a stroller system by adding a car seat
Transporter Stroller CONS
- Different adapters required for the bassinet and the seat
- The seat recline is not easy when your baby is in the seat.
- The seat is not reversible
- Unable to do a one hand fold – requires both hands
- Heavy – at 18 lbs (minimum) this is not a light stroller
- Canopy is not large enough
Mutsy Transporter Reviews and Features
Maneuverability
The Mutsy is very maneuverable (as you would expect in this price range). It is easy to push and we tried it on short grass and gravel. These surfaces did not provide any difficulty when the front wheels were locked in position. On paved surfaces the stroller is very easy to push and to steer and it will turn on a dime. Virtually no pressure is required to steer on a paved surface. It is very easy to push and steer the Transporter with only one hand.
Folding
The folding process is very simple however it does require you to use both hands. We found it easy to do and it folds compactly but not as compactly as you might be led to believe when reading some literature from the manufacturer or other user reviews. When folded, it can be manually locked into position which makes it easy to lift in and out of the car trunk. An automatic locking system would have been much more convenient. When folded, it is compact and it will fit into a pretty small trunk but do not believe Mutsy when they say it takes up very little space – check the dimensions. However, if you need to get it into a really tight space, then the wheels are very easy to remove and this reduces the size considerably. If it is wet, I would not want to be removing the wheels before putting the stroller in my car.
Seat
The seat is non-reversible and can hold infants from 3 months old up to 55 lbs. The seat has a padded, five point harness and we had no difficulty fastening this. The seat is deep and large enough to hold older children. We had our 4 year old sit in it and she was very comfortable. The seat has a bumper bar (no tray) but no cup holder. For smaller children there is a very handy, comfortable headrest which our children loved as it was well padded. The seat is reclined by using a strap system but this can be difficult to use if you have a child already in the seat. I found that I had to use both hands to do this. The seat does not recline totally flat which would have been convenient. There is a footrest that worked well and was perfectly located.
The frame can accommodate the following car seats:
- Graco
- Maxi Cosi
- Peg Perego
Bassinet
The bassinet (sold separately) requires a different adapter in order to fit it to the frame but you only need to do this once as you will not be changing from bassinet to seat and back to bassinet again, very often. The bassinet is very stylish and very sturdy. The bassinet canopy is large and provides good protection. The cover also provides great protection from the weather. With the bassinet attached, the cargo area is very easy to access.
Canopy
The seat canopy is a good size although there are bigger ones in some other strollers. It will not provide 100% sun protection. It was easy to open and close but it lacked a viewing window on top to allow us to see how our baby was doing.
Shopping Space
The shopping basket is an optional extra on the Mutsy Transporter. It is low down and located under the seat/bassinet. To make access easier, the basket is sloped back. The shopping basket is very large and the extra space is very useful. Access to the basket is more difficult when the seat is attached compared to when the bassinet is attached.
Wheels
The wheels cannot go flat. I.e. there are no inner tubes. The rear wheels are 12″ diameter and this is a good size for traveling over average size, normal bumps and for going over curbs. The front wheels are 9″ diameter. They can swivel or they can be locked into position when traveling over rough ground. When free to swivel, the stroller is very maneuverable. All wheels are very easily removed if you need to store your stroller in a very small space.
Handlebar
We found the handlebar to be a terrific design. It is adjustable but not telescopic. Instead, the handlebar has a four position (up or down) tilt. This will suit both tall and short parents. It is well padded and comfortable to grip.
Brakes
The brakes are foot operated by pressing on a large, central pedal between the rear wheels. It is a good design and operates both rear wheel brakes simultaneously.
Summary
When we were asked to write a Mutsy Transporter review, we thought it was going to be really easy but after some use, we found a few problems with it. The locking strap to hold the stroller in the folded position became a real pain after a while and an automatic lock would have been much better. It took up more space than we expected when it was folded. Mutsy advertise this stroller as having a very compact fold. Yes, the fold is compact but it still takes up a lot of space. We really would have enjoyed having a reversible seat for our younger baby. However, even with all of these negatives, this is a great stroller.
Yes it could be better but we liked it. It was practical (for the most part). It was very easy to push. It looks terrific and our kids loved riding in it. All the materials are of good quality and it is very well constructed. Overall, we would recommend the Mutsy Transporter stroller to anyone.