UPPAbaby VISTA Stroller & MESA Car Seat Review
My review on the UPPAbaby VISTA & MESA and why I think it should be top on your baby registry… for your first baby (or second or third)!
UPPAbaby VISTA Stroller + Travel System
If you’ve been following us for some time, you may know that I have a total love of strollers. I live in an area where I can walk for hours, and it has quickly become one of my favorite pastimes with my daughter (now 3.5). It’s very important for me to have a good system in which I can use the stroller in my neighborhood, but also easily transport it when we are going out somewhere (which we do a lot).
When I was registering for my baby shower, I put on a jogging stroller for my ‘stroller pick’ – although cumbersome, it was an amazing stroller for one. When I found out I was pregnant, I started polling my friends and everyone I knew that had more than one kid (along with random strangers that I saw with two kids in a stroller). “What is the best stroller? What is the easiest? Which is the most flexible? And of course… what isn’t obnoxiously big?” You all know those looks people give you when you are pushing even a single stroller through a store!!
The more people I asked, the more people I heard say the VISTA. To be honest, when I registered, I thought the VISTA was a single luxury stroller. I didn’t realize the TONS of configurations it has for one, two, or even THREE kids! Luckily, UPPAbaby has a very easy chart to illustrate the flexibility and multiples options that the stroller has. You can also see what adapters you need here. I have tried several configurations so far, and I love that it will continue to grow with these two kiddos (and dare I say a potential third one day??) So.. let’s start from the top!
UPPAbaby MESA Car seat
Ok, so the MESA car seat is AMAZING. Not only is it the ONLY naturally fire retardant car seat on the market, it is also super safe, comfortable, easy to use, and beautiful (so many awesome colors to choose from – we went with the Henry). I have gotten so many questions about this car seat in the past three months, I can’t even tell you. I thought I loved the car seat I had with my first, but this one definitely takes the cake… he just always seems so cozy in it! It is also SUPER easy to install and use (as is everything in the UPPAbaby line)… it has the highest rating (5 stars) for ease of use. It uses a unique technology that utilizes a tightness indicator and self-retracting LATCH connectors for fast, accurate and easy installation.
I’ve already had to adjust the size of it, as this little guy is growing like a weed (he doubled his birth weight in two months). It was super easy to adjust (and very intuitive). I so appreciated the easy and crystal clear instruction manuals.. as I was figuring this all out with a newborn and not many hours of sleep. What else is awesome about the MESA? I’m so glad you asked 😉 It fits right in the VISTA stroller with no adapter needed.
The car seat pops right in and is so easy to fold and unfold. It’s a bigger stroller, which is great for the huge undercarriage basket space, but it moves easily as if it’s a more compact one. It’s been perfect for all of our adventures over the past three months… to the beach, to the pool, on walks in the neighborhood, the grocery store, to drop off my toddler at school, you name it! The little guy is super comfortable in it and often takes long naps in it. Also, for those of you who already have an infant car seat, the VISTA is also compatible with select Chicco and Maxi-Cosi style infant car seats with UPPA adapters.
UPPAbaby Travel System + Configurations
So what’s included when you buy the VISTA? You get the stroller frame (which will fit all those configurations), toddler seat, bassinet, bassinet bug shield and storage bag, toddler seat rain and bug shields, and bumper bar. We loved the bassinet for the first couple of months. It’s great on the stroller, or to be honest, on it’s own inside your house (as a safe place to lay baby (especially when you have pets around like us). It folds flat for easy car or closet storage. You can also buy the bassinet stand separately to make it into a full-sized bassinet inside your house.
I often see first time moms pushing around the bassinet as a single stroller and it makes me smile.
You can see how we set up the bassinet configuration with my toddler above (this is the bassinet and toddler seat). You may be wondering, how hard is it to do these configurations? I’m here to tell you… very easy. You can get ideas on this page for “multiples” configurations. You buy the adapters separately and you will very easily understand how they snap into the stroller.
I keep the upper and lower adapters (along with bug and rain shields) in a small bin in my car. It makes it easy to switch up the configurations depending on where we are going. For example if we are going to take my daughter into school, we use it as a single stroller. If we are going to the mall, I make it a double. You get the hang of what configurations suit you depending on your needs at the given time and it becomes second nature. The stroller folds up very easily and is lightweight. It also stands while folded. You can see how I store the stroller and RumbleSeat (different from toddler seat) in the truck of my car. I apologize for the mess, but I am a new mom of two with a big fluffy dog 😉
We’ve been using the stroller a ton as a single stroller and it’s been fabulous. It’s nice that when our little guy is a bit bigger, we can just pop on the toddler seat for him (right in the place where his car seat is currently). Then my daughter can sit in the RumbleSeat (shown below facing outward) or can cruise along on the PiggyBack, which she is standing on. Let me tell you, kids think the PiggyBack is the coolest thing ever (so do we) and it easily snaps on/off or you can keep it on (not needing to take it off while folding the stroller). You can see by the picture below how this stroller would accommodate three littles.
The configuration we’ve been using when we aren’t using it as a single stroller is the RumbleSeat + infant car seat. My daughter loves climbing in and out of the seat herself. Please note that the weight limit is 35lbs and 36”, whichever comes first.
I can’t tell you how smitten I’ve become with this stroller system and car seat, and now I’m the one who is responding “the VISTA!” when anyone asks for a stroller recommendation. My only regret is not getting it with my first! It’s really one of those systems that you need to buy and try to understand how easy it is, but hopefully this post has given you a good idea of the ease and flexibility.
We are so grateful for a system that makes this transition into becoming a mom of one to two so much easier. It’s made our outings more fun – less we need to think about or schlep around! If you don’t already, follow us on Instagram and see how this fab stroller grows with us! And certainly follow @UPPAbaby to see all their awesome products and to keep on top of what’s coming next!
With love,
LL
