Mamas and Papas Pulse Umbrella Stroller

My advice - avoid.

I suppose all the other reviewers here drive from their 3-bed semis to the supermarket and back - in which case, this pram will do fine. It feels flimsy but what do you expect for the price? For anyone that actually wants to go anywhere where they might encounter steps, a high kerb, or maybe even use a bus, this pram has a major flaw that will annoy the hell out of you.

Look at the design of the brake on the back wheels. When you're leaning the pram back to pull it backwards up steps, or push it down, the brake catches on the step. This means that you have to pull up the whole weight of the pram + baby, rather than roll it over as you would with every other pram.

Don't believe it's a problem? Go and look at every other pram design and see where the brake pedal is relative to the wheel centre - it's much higher up. There is a very good reason for that most designers have realised.

Be warned about Mamas & Papas poor customer service too. We tried to return it, only to be told it wasn't 'try before you buy' (er, what else are you supposed to do with an internet purchase?). Oh, and we should fold it up every time we go over steep step or kerb.

I have the Mamas and Papas pulse for the past 4 years, bought a quinny zapp when our 2nd child reached a year old and have now reverted back to the pulse. The pulse is a good size easy to push buggy and folds so easy. If I had any complaint it would be that the seat is not deep enough for a bigger child. All in all though I would recommend this stroller.

I bought the Mama's and Papa's Pulse stroller for my daughter hen she was 3 months old. I had orginally been given a Quinny Buzz travel system for free by a friend - however I live on the second floor and found this too heavy to carry up and down the stairs all the time.

I was looking for a lightweight stroller that could recline and after researching I decided this was the one for me.

When I bought this the Pulse plus was out of stock for a good few weeks so I just got the original pulse - wish I had waited though as the viewing window in the back would be great.

Good points:

Quite lightweight

Reclines so baby can sleep in comfort

Quite a wide seat so should last her for a few years

Two concealed pockets on back that fit your purse and moblie phone perfectly.

Folds easily.

nice large hood with that locks in place.

Bad Points:

Single bar back break that catches on steep steeps causing the break to lock on halfway up the stairs (really annoying)

No access to basket when fully reclined - I just click the seat up with baby asleep, put the stuff in, and recline the seat back down.

The harness straps where not through the D rings on the sides when it arrived - very difficult to rethread the straps back through the grips - I had to use pliers and this caused a little fraying to the ends of the straps - most annoying on a new pram.

I have also found that the hood has gone a bit out of shape from folding - it kinda sits to one side.

Other reviewers have mentioned how much they hate the the raincover - I have not found this a problem as yet as my daughter is only 5 months and her legs don't hang down at the front yet

Overall I like this pushchair but just wish it would be easier to get up the stairs

This Mamas and Papas Pulse Umbrella Stroller is the most practical pram I have out of all, it's a little under £100 which I think is reasonable. My son is 2 and it looks big enough and he likes this pram, it's comfortable, slim, light and good for public transport, it don't look one of the best but I bought a better looking one and I regret it, it was a waste of money, this by far is the best. Do yourself a favour go and get one you wil not be disappointed.

Lovely pushchair to look at and nice to push but was disappointed at how small the harness straps are, even on the biggest length. No good for the older child! A real shame as its a nice pushchair.

I'm really pleased I got the Mamas & Papas Pulse pushchair, as it basically fulfilled my spec, which was a lightweight/umbrella buggy that had an attachable car seat with cradle. Many of my friends who had bought large travel systems had really regretted it, and then gone out and bought Maclaren or something similar afterwards.

Sometimes I wish I had spent a little bit more and got the Pramette version so that my baby could lie flat in a carry cot, but then I would only have used that for a couple of months, and he seemed quite happy in the car seat when attached to the pushchair. Alternatives would have been something like a a Quinny, Micralite or Buggaboo (if you dare!), which fits the MaxiCosy car seat (with the isofix cradle), but that would have been a lot more expensive. I think now Maclaren also does a pushchair with a fit in car seat, but I don't know if it fits into a cradle.

The complaints are all about minor points, but they are quite irritating. Having said that, we've had ours for nearly two years & it's been well used, so we obviously don't think it's that bad!