Saturday 4 February 2017

Cosatto Ooba - 15 Months on Review

Cosatto Ooba longer term owner review

When I purchased my pram I had seen a few reviews from people who had owned it for maybe a month or 2. So after owning mine for 17 months and using it for 15 I have decided to post a review of my thoughts.

I purchased my Ooba on a payment plan with it being paid off in September 2015. I got it through JollyTots on Facebook who were great with random payment amounts and me just paying off what I could afford and when. It cost me £599 and it included a free car seat as it was on promotion at the time.

When it 1st opened I remember being soooo bloody excited! I have had a fair few prams in the past but this was the 1st one I had got brand new! I set it straight up despite baby not being due until the end of November.... I still remember my 1st impressions - they were just wow wow wow I'm in love! The fabric both inside and out were bright, bold and beautiful!

Xanders 1st outing in his pram
My little boy arrived 6 weeks early in October and came out of hospital on November 1st. The 1st photo is of him on his 1st ride on November 2nd, As you can see he was a dinky little man!

My 1st thoughts were that I preferred the front wheels unlocked for more freedom of movement. I love that you can adjust the handle bar for height, My self and my husband are tall so it is nice to be able to adjust it to a comfortable height for us both. You can fit a lot in the shopping basket. I have had 4 bags of food shopping from Sainsburys under there at some points.

One thing we got a lot especially in the early days when we used the carry cot was people stopping us to say how much they loved the pram. No one ever bothered looking in to spy on baby they were too distracted by the pram! The lining and outer complement each other very well and it stands out from the crowd.

While it is such an unusual pram I have found it is not a common one. In my town I have only ever seen one other ooba and that was only on a couple of occasions. I think the main reason for this is that the price is quite high compared to others and few are willing to spend such an amount on a pram. I also think that the more mainstream cosatto giggles are the main and quite more common branch of the cosatto brand.
The carrycot itself is VERY roomy. Xander stayed in his until he was 6 months old. He did start out as a tiny 4lb 9 baby but he didn't stay that way long. He was in 6-9 month clothing by 4 and a half months and became a chunky baby quickly <3  As you can see in these photos Xander managed to sleep just fine in his carry cot and was never bothered by and bumps in the footpaths or road.
The brake on the pram is very easy to operate. Unlike all other prams and buggys I have owned it is not operated by foot but is a little trigger on the right side of the handle bar which is easy to put on and just as easy to take off when you are ready to go again.

 Next I will briefly write about the hold car seat which came with the pram. The adapters for this to be attached to the pram came with it and it is just as easy to click on and off the frame as both the carry cot and seat unit. We are at present a none driving family and it has only been used on very few occasions, leaving the hospital at birth, up and down to the hospital with his meningitis stay at Christmas 2015 and registering his birth. The nurse on scbu at discharge commented on how the chair positioned his head perfectly to stop his chin from dipping to his neck dangerously which left me feeling very confident in the quality of it. I don't really have much more to say about it as it has been so lightly used.

Xander moved into the seat unit of his pram at 6 months old. The 1st thing we noticed was just how much space he had and that we thought it would be lasting him a very long time. 




The foot muff is very warm and snug and perfect for winter months. It pushes just as easily with the seat unit attached as to what it does with the carry cot!

One of the things you can do with a simple flick of a switch is move the handle bar over the top of the seat with out having to move the seat to switch the pram from parent to world facing. While I do think this is a great feature I do not like how it feels pushing the pram with the small wheels by my own feet and the big wheels further away. I find it very difficult to push this way so the only time I use this feature is when we are places like picnic benches and we want to swing the handle out of the way so we can push the pram closer to the table.


The seat unit can be easily removed from the frame and placed back on the frame so that the wheels are in the best placement for a world facing stroll! I have to admit I still at 15 months much prefer Xander facing towards me as we chat away constantly when out and about but when the time is right it he will be able to be comfortably turned to face the world.
 Please note in the next couple photos I havent got the bumper bar cover on that matches the pram... some silly person (me) took it off and lost it for a few months!

As Xander grows the seat has remained roomy and comfortable for him.

We did buy a stroller at one point to use but decided we still much preferred having him in the ooba for now. For one thing the seat is actually bigger than a stroller one.








I anticipate that Xander will be in his Ooba until spring 2018. He still fits very well in it and I am sure he will next winter too so I think we will be looking at moving him on from it in around a year when he is wanting to be in and out of his buggy more to walk around.

The Ooba comes with a 4 year warranty from cosatto.

I have heard of people also using their warranty to have things like the brake checked out and to have it looked over to make sure it is in good enough working condition to use for another baby after lots of use.  From what I have seen myself and heard from others Cosatto are great at honoring the warranty for the full 4 years.

My over all thoughts on the pram is that it is a stunning and practical baby item and one that will hold its quality for many years. While the price does seem high for a pram it is in line with other leading prams and in fact lower cost than many. It is a unique pram that you wont see 20 other people pushing around town when you go for a walk and it is always highly complimented by others. It pushes beautifully and folds quite well too, although wheels may need to be removed to fit into some car boots. Both the carry cot and seat unit are roomy and will allow great comfort for any baby. The warranty is a huge selling point on it and something that allows for you to know that it will be suitable to use for more than 1 baby in time.

Simply perfect!