Compact Stroller Reviews: Colugo + Babyzen Yoyo

Being a petite mom who travels often and lives in a city condo with 4 flights of stairs, I get lots of questions on lightweight compact strollers!

We have been using and loving the Babyzen Yoyo+ (also at PB Kids)since birth, but we also received the Colugo Stroller recently as a press sample and tested it out! It’s an up-and-coming direct-to-consumer company that several of you asked about, so I wanted to do a review answering some of those questions. Also check out our IGTV video featuring a friendly competition featuring these two strollers! (Disclaimer: winner of the race does not indicate our favorite stroller…)

BABYZEN YOYO vs. COLUGO

This is not an apples to apples comparison as these strollers are at very different price points. It really depends on your needs, where you live, and how you plan to use it! Both are compact strollers with interchangeable/removable seats and canopies for easier washing. To us, the Yoyo looks and feels like it’s better quality and more well-made, and is more easily maneuverable in tight spaces. It’s the most compact high-quality travel stroller we’ve tried in terms of size and weight, and it’s priced accordingly. However, the Colugo has a few features and included accessories going for it (as well as a much lower price point).

THE BOTTOM LINE: Overall, we feel the Yoyo is great if you live in a busy urban area, fly or travel a lot, want a stroller compatible with select infant carseats, and don’t mind the small under basket. The Colugo is a good option if you want a versatile compact stroller that works for occasional travel and don’t want to pay $$$.

Another popular lower budget option that my good friend has is the Mountain Buggy Nano. It folds up very similarly to these two and can strap in an infant car seat. My friend’s commentary is the Nano doesn’t look or feel high end but it is compact and functional. And for even more stroller info, you can read my previous post on our UPPAbaby Cruz (our everyday stroller) vs the Babyzen Yoyo.

COST, PortabilitY & size

Here’ are the raw numbers for comparison sake:

Colugo Stroller
Base Price: $285
Folded Size: 17” x 24” x 10”
Weight: 16 lbs

Babyzen Yoyo+ (sold at Pottery Barn Kids, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales)
Base Price: $499 for the frame + seat
Folded Size: 17″ x 20” x 7″
Weight: 13.6 lbs

On paper and in photos, the Colugo only seems a little bigger and heavier than the Yoyo. But after having used both, the Yoyo feels much more small and compact. It fits more easily into our small car trunk loaded with other stuff, and it’s less cumbersome when carrying it on your shoulder going up flights of stairs. If you’re very petite or live somewhere that space is at a premium, every extra inch and pound makes a difference. The Yoyo handlebar can also fold down while baby is seated, so at restaurants you can pull the stroller up to the table taking up no more space than a high chair would.

FOLDING

Both strollers can be opened with one hand, but Colugo can also fold up one-handed, which is a great feature. The Yoyo folds up via a two-hand, two-step move that takes a little practice to get the hang of, but it’s easy enough once you do. In either case, we’ve always found it best to handle a stroller while wearing a baby carrier (this petite-friendly mini carrier has been our favorite!), especially when doing trips solo in and out of house with a newborn.

NEWBORN USE & Car Seat Compatibility

The seat on both strollers are designed for use with babies 6 months and older. However, both strollers also have a newborn bassinet attachment that’s sold separately, for use from 0 to 6 months. We got the Yoyo bassinet as a gift but only used it a handful of times, because it was easier and more practical to just pop our Nuna Pipa car seat on to the stroller (adapter needed; make sure to check which car seats are compatible). From the day we took Nori home from the hospital to 6 months, we mostly just used the Yoyo frame with no seat fabric + the Nuna car seat. If you’re doing a lot of travel the first year, that infant car seat compatibility is huge and the Colugo doesn’t have that.

SUSPENSION, Smoothness, Maneuverability

We love how maneuverable the Yoyo is in tight spaces like city restaurants and shops. It’s also much easier to steer with just one hand. The Colugo is still good, just not quite as nimble in our experience. The foot brake on the Colugo is better positioned and a little easier to flip on and off.

under basket storage

The Colugo basket is bigger and more useful than the Yoyo’s, mostly because the Yoyo frame has two metal rods that block larger items from going into the basket. There is an additional roller bag you can buy, but that kind of defeats the compactness of it. So you really need a stroller hook if you plan on using it for toting a bag, even a small diaper backpack. It does have a convenient zippered pocket on the seat back, though, which I use for my phone.

recline & footrest

Both have a similar recline, with the Colugo going back just a touch more. The Colugo has a built-in footrest that’s longer, and the seat overall is a little wider. Babyzen’s new footrest attachment is an extra $39, however it folds in nicely while the Colugo footrest actually sticks out and flaps around a bit when the stroller is folded up.

SEAT & CANOPY

Adding to the “nap-ability” of the Colugo, its sunshade provides a little more coverage than the Yoyo. It also has a mesh peephole, and big ventilated back panel once reclined, making it more breathable, while the Yoyo’s peep hole is a plastic window. The Colugo safety belt feels a little cheaper and is hard to buckle at times, and the straps were difficult to adjust.

accessorieS: INCLUDED VS. ADD-ONS

The Yoyo comes with a rain cover and flimsy nylon drawstring travel bag (they have a more durable travel backpack with luggage sleeve that’s sold separately). The Colugo also comes with a rain cover and includes a nicer travel bag with backpack straps. For us, the must-have Yoyo accessories are the Nuna car seat adapters (we used this a ton throughout Nori’s first year) and the foldable footrest which makes naps more comfy. Both brands offer cozy sleeping bags for winter, as well as additional interchangeable colors of seat padding/canopy all sold separately.

CONCLUSION

We knew we’d be traveling quite a bit in Nori’s first year, so it was important to us to have an infant car seat + travel stroller that worked together. Having used the Yoyo for the past 11 months as our travel/secondary stroller, we absolutely love it and the only real complaint is the under basket functionality. To be transparent, we unexpectedly got the Yoyo as a shower gift from a generous friend but were about to purchase it ourselves. With the Colugo, there’s also a lot to like and they even offer a 100-day trial period w/ free returns if you don’t like it, so that’s something to think about if you’re considering it.