Hello!

16 Comments

Popular strollers that rate high according to ProductReview.com.au are found to be unsafe in Choice tests.

News Corp Australia has discovered four of the five top-ranked strollers on productreview.com.au failed safety testing by Australia’s leading product reviewer, Choice.

Four were “not recommended”. The other had not been tested.

Choice defines “not recommended” as meaning “failed at least one major safety or durability test”.

The four reviewed strollers had at least one major safety failure.

Choice said major failures included “strangulation hazards from the harness, head entrapment and tendency to tip over”.

ProductReview managing director Elmar Shar said “user ratings provide a great source of information when choosing the right product but just like with any publication consumers should be looking at multiple sources for information when making a purchasing decision”.

“It’s important to note that productreview.com.au doesn’t simply provide an overall rating for a product but requires users to justify their ratings, and explain any shortcomings a product may have,” Mr Shar added.

Choice would not comment. It recently began soliciting user reviews.

pram 1pram 2 pram 3  pram 5

The prams include -

Maclaren Techno XLR/XLR Elite Not recommended — failed safety test

From Choice –
• Failed safety tests: When the straps are adjusted to their longest and shortest settings, loops created pose a potential strangulation hazard. The ends of the shoulder and wasit straps do not become disconnected from each other and from the buckle after actuation of the buckle and following their release from the buckle they require effort to separate.
• Minor failures: The tether strap is not permanently fixed to the frame. The harness did not meet all the requirements for securing the child.
• Very minor failure of information requirements.
• Quite difficult to adjust the harness straps.
• The bottom basket is almost inaccessible when the backrest is fully reclined.
• The head barrier was hidden on purchase (difficult to notice).

BabyZen YoYo Not recommended — failed safety test

From Choice –
• Failed safety test: When the harness straps are in their longest and shortest settings, loops created pose a potential strangulation hazard.
• Failed safety test: The head barrier is inadequate to prevent the child falling out the back of the stroller.
• Minor safety failure: The harness straps are positioned such that there are large gaps which may make a smaller child less secure.
• No front bar or tray
• The harness straps might not be long enough to fit a bigger child

UPPAbaby Alta Not recommended — failed safety test

From Choice –
• Stroller can’t be folded if seat is rear-facing.
• Failed safety tests: The ends of the shoulder and waist straps do not become disconnected from each other and from the buckle after actuation of the buckle and following their release from the buckle they require effort to separate.
• Failed stability test: When loaded at the maximum recommended weight limit (23kg), our sample tipped over before reaching a 12 degree slope when the seat was in reverse position for both upright and reclined modes across the slope. • Minor safety failures: Release handles for the seat are accessible by the child at the sides of the seat and require minimal force to operate. The harness has gaps which may let a smaller child less secure.
• Very minor failure of information requirements.
The manufacturer disputes our findings and has provided us with an independent test report stating that it has passed all relevant safety requirements and product safety standards.

Rozibaby Pram Not recommended — failed safety test

From Choice –
• Failed safety tests: When the straps are in their longest and shortest setting, loops created pose a potential strangulation hazard. There is no head barrier to prevent the child falling out the back of the stroller. When tested for durability the front left wheel was observed to shake intensely at times; and the front right wheel no longer smoothly rolled or swivelled.
• Minor safety failures: The release buttons for the latching devices for the removable seat are accessible at the sides of the seat and require minimal force to operate. The shoulder straps don’t have provisions for adjustment. The crotch strap is attached to the seating surface at a distance from the backrest which is greater than what’s considered to be a distance that’s able to prevent the child sliding forward. The tether strap is not permanently fixed to the frame.
• Very hard to operate the seat recline mechanism when a child is on the seat.
• Hand-operated brakes are tight to apply and very tight to release.
• When unfolding, the handle/frame needs to be well aligned or the levers can’t be released, and the front wheels (4 wheel configuration) need to be tucked properly or they could clash and tangle with the handle/frame.
• When folding, the handle/frame needs to be well aligned or the levers can’t be released, the front wheels (4 wheel configuration) interfere with access to the levers, and the bottom basket interferes with folding. During testing it resulted in one velcro strap at the rear breaking.
• Substantial chafing of the backrest fabric at about shoulder level as a result of the test load rubbing against it during durability testing.

Share your comments below.

Main image- stock photo

We may get commissions for purchases made using links in this post. Learn more.
  • In the last 3 months I have done some research and found that many brands of strollers have design faults which need correction – some of which should not have passed safety standards. Some belong to old well known brands. They seem to be worse than the early models made many years ago, not necessarily cheap either.

    Reply

  • There should be strict regulations for prams and strollers as there are for car seats.

    Reply

  • I always find it interesting when Choice release their results from reviewing baby products, as the top end expensive products often fail safety tests!

    Reply

  • yeah shouldn’t this be tested beforehand.

    Reply

  • I’m glad I didn’t go for any of these models after hearing they failed safety tests. I opted for an Icandy peach – I hope they have better safety reviews…

    Reply

  • this makes me so cross – a company putting profits before the safety of bubbas

    Reply

  • Choice is interesting and checking other reviews too for an overall idea on products.

    Reply

  • I am very surprised at these results although when we were looking at cots we referred to the Choice reviews and found that very few passed their safety tests. In most cases they were minor breaches but enough for Choice to fail them. I would be interested to read this report in more detail to see exactly why they failed.

    Reply

  • I’m amazed some of these brands made this list. They are very popular. I haven’t always thought to check Choice ratings but I always check for the Australian Standards rating.

    Reply

  • Choice may have tested products before they had passed Australian Standards. It happened with one brand of trampoline that was sold in Aust.
    Maclaren is a well known brand so I am shocked that it failed the safety . Do they test more than one of each brand?

    Reply

  • It is so incredibly hard to find safe products for kids.

    Reply

  • I wonder if the baby jogger’s are unsafe

    Reply

  • It is a bit baffling that they passed Australian Standards, yet failed the Choice testing. Lets hope the problems get fixed (including retrospectively) and that no child is injured.

    Reply

  • I would take the Choice testing with a grain of salt. They have one person testing these products once every two or three years (in amongst hundreds of other products). They are not what I would consider experts. Refer to Uppababy’s comment above: The manufacturer disputes our findings and has provided us with an independent test report stating that it has passed all relevant safety requirements and product safety standards. So how can Choice say it fails?

    If there were a REAL hazard, all these products would be recalled and not allowed on the market. Think about it. Millions of Uppababys are sold every year.

    ALSO remember that Choice is a revenue-based business. They must be controversial to encourage subscribers and revenue. They operate based on instilling fear in consumers and anxiety. No media publication loves a story more than one like this, again because it encourages website traffic, engagement and again revenue.

    Just being devils advocate here. Think of ulterior motives! At the end of the day don’t be too sucked into all the hype and use good judgement and rely on a range of opinions from friends and family, online reviews, choice (as part of your overall evaluation if you value choice’s opinion) and other sources.

    Reply

  • Lke hf

    Reply

Post a comment
Add a photo
Your MoM account


Lost your password?

Enter your email and a password below to post your comment and join MoM:

You May Like

Loading…

Looks like this may be blocked by your browser or content filtering.

↥ Back to top

Thanks For Your Star Rating!

Would you like to add a written rating or just a star rating?

Write A Rating Just A Star Rating
Join