The company – which is synonymous with classy English design and Royal-smelling vintage since 1871 – needs little introduction. Question is, does this nicely-priced buggy live up to its claim?
What’s the difference between the old Silver Cross Pop and the new Silver Cross Pop stroller?
The new Pop can now be used longer, up to 25kg in fact, which is around 5-6 years. Of course many parents don’t want little ones in strollers once school comes around, I guess Silver Cross is just giving you the option, if you need to.
The newer version is also heaver now weighing 7.2kg, whereas the older one weighed 6.5kg. It’s also been made a little longer, but now folds a little bit more compactly.
At £160 it's more or less mid-range price-wise and is comparable to other umbrella fold strollers like the Maclaren Techno XT (£220) and Summer Infant UME One(£129.99). Saying that, it's far cheaper than some other brands which are heavyweights in the lightweight buggy market like the Babyzen Yoyo (£379), Bugaboo Bee 5 (£549).
So, first impressions?
The Pop is clearly a neat package; getting it unfolded and set up took seconds, with the hood fastened on and the back adjusted without even a glance at the instructions.
As it happens we were dashing out of the door for a weekend break when the Pop arrived, which meant that straightaway the Pop’s suggested suitability for brisk applications were put to the test.
How easy is it to push?
Very. I wanted the Pop because my 2 ½ year old daughter – when she isn’t walking, running in the wrong direction or having a stand-still tantrum – needed a pram for quick trips round the shops, holiday excursions or to keep in the boot of the car.
The Pop seemed to hit this brief perfectly. It’s quick to deploy, unobtrusive when left in the doorway of a shop or folded up in a friend’s hallway and is an awful lot lighter than the UPPAbaby Vista I’ve been using since my daughter was born.
Which is where the Pop really comes into its own: manoeuvrability. Whereas before I was wrestling with a bulky travel system pram, the Pop – either by virtue of simply being a lightweight buggy or being a particularly good example of the type, or both – is a dream to throw up and down kerbs, squeeze down alleyways or navigate the cobbled streets and narrow doorways of my town.
The front wheels are lockable and while the hard tyres are pretty hopeless on rough terrain like grass or muddy lanes, that’s not really the point: this is a pram for town paths and lightly gravelled tracks, and it does great.
The pram can be pushed with one hand, but not particularly easily – the angled handles are comfy but you need to keep a firm steer on it if you are using just one paw to do it.
With the weight at 7.2kg it isn’t the lightest in its class, or the heaviest (the Micralight Fastfold Super-lite, for example, comes in at 6.2kg) but you feel the benefit through the build quality. It never feels heavy.
How does the new Silver Cross Pop fold?
It has a traditional umbrella folding feature, which is the best I’ve used, once you get the hang of it.
It seems a lot neater and less ‘messy’ when folded than others, and is so much more compact in my hallway my travel system has been totally relegated to the garage now.
Does the Pop fit into the car boot?
When folded it’s a little long – it only just fits in the boot of my Honda Civic, which it has to be said has quite a large boot for a hatchback.
So it’s worth checking your vehicle can accommodate the 105cm folded length.
The hood flap hangs baggy when the seat is upright as it needs the extra capacity to accommodate the lie-flat position, but that’s not a biggie.
What about comfort?
Most importantly, Evelyn loves it. I struggle to get her in anything – from trousers to cars – but she seems to love this pram. I’ve caught her in it in the hallway a number of times, and her attachment to it certainly makes our shopping trips easier.
This is the first forward-facing pram she has had, and while I struggled initially with not being able to see her in the way I was used to, when I discovered the zip-away mesh window in the hood I felt much better.
What about the harness?
I haven’t got any really big problems with this buggy: more minor gripes.
The five-point harness is great and I haven’t had any of the limited adjustment problems that marked out the Pop’s predecessor, but the clasp mechanism is an acquired skill.
Basically it the shoulder and waist straps clip to each other before they clip into the main hub, and if they separate it’s a fiddle to get them back together, particularly under pressure. Basically though, it’s a neat design that works pretty well.
How's the hood?
The hood is UPF 50+ rated and is excellent and very generous (the ‘window’ is actually a vent) and the ventilated seat is designed to go flat and is adjusted by clasping together two levers with a single hand: a particularly good and very easy-to-use function.
Is the Silver Cross Pop stroller suitable from birth?
Silver Cross suggests this is suitable from birth to 25kg, and while I’m not sure I’d put a new-born in there I can forsee my daughter getting plenty of use out of this buggy yet.
The raincover that comes with the pram is pretty standard – more ‘I’ll-buy-you -time-to-get-home’ affair than ‘long-leisurely-strolls-in-the-rain’ – and the leg rest is simple to adjust, as you’d expect.
Does the Pop have big storage?
No, not really. The luggage rack is OK in terms of size, but suffers from having neither a stiffened bottom or particularly high mesh sides, so if you’re running it at capacity (which I frequently am) beware of it distorting and losing small items from it!
What do you think about the style of the Pop stroller?
I love the look – it’s understated but classy. And that iconic logo is emblazoned all over it, on everything from wheel hubs to zips to harnesses to hoods – which some might like but others might think is overkill.
Still, with upper-crust heritage like that (Silver Cross has an Aston Martin tie-in, as well as an uber-swish Henley range) why not shout about it? I wasn’t sure about the black at first, but there are plenty of colours available, from burgundy to turquoise – and my husband seems to like the black!
Does it live up to its prestige?
Yes, without being too showy. I love the quality and the intuitive design of this pram. Built on an aluminium chassis, nothing rattles, everything feels positive and well-built.
Made for Mums Verdict:
I love this buggy – it’s really grown on me. It’s not absolutely flawless but you’re getting a pretty premium product at a very competitive price with the updated Pop, and the quality isn’t just evident in the name. It isn’t perfect, but for the price, it’s pretty close.
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