Welcome to Capsule Considers, where we try out and review the latest products on the market and offer our honest, unbiased opinions, free from any obligation or expectation because if you’re parting with your hard-earned money based on any of our recommendations, we’re gonna make sure it’s damn well worth it.
New mum Alice O’Connell has found the whole new world of shopping for babies to be quite the intimidating experience – but braves it to find a stroller that actually might work for her lifestyle.
Walking into a baby-related store as a first-time mum-to-be, can be quite the daunting experience.
Sometimes, you’ll only just get through the door before an overzealous assistant spots your burgeoning bump and seems to see it as an opportunity to bombard you with a dozen different products you simply must have in order to get motherhood off on the right foot. “Oh, you don’t have a single pair of lamb skin booties yet?? Oh… I better show you them right away!” Eek.
So, to be honest, it was with some trepidation that I started looking around at strollers and decided to take a closer look at the brand everyone was talking about: Edwards & Co. If you haven’t heard of them, you probably aren’t on Instagram – their stylish strollers are one of the ‘it’ products of the moment. They’re known for being practical but beautiful, and I braced myself for what I imagined might potentially be an intimidating sales experience – only to instead have the exact polar opposite experience happen.
There was no pushy sales pitch – instead, when I did ask for a bit more info we had a helpful chat about what I might really need and whether they might have a product that could fit in with my family’s lifestyle (and if I might be able to save a bit of coin in the process!).
Now, I’m not a super sporty person – I can’t remember the last time I even thought about going for a jog – but my partner does. And even though I’ll likely only ever be pushing a stroller at a leisurely pace, we live in West Auckland in a cul-de-sac that doesn’t have footpaths, so there’s a fair bit of uneven ground around I’ll be covering. Plus, we have a lovely little bush walk with a shingle track at the end of the street that would be perfect for getting some fresh air with a little baby. So, I’ll be needing a stroller that works for taking to the mall, but can also handle a bit of rough riding.
That all, apparently, makes the Oscar a great choice for me – it’s a sturdy three-wheeler, that is light and compact, but can also handle going on a bit of an adventure.
It’s low maintenance, featuring 100% rubber tyres with foam-fill (meaning zero risk of punctures) and dual suspension, meaning I’m (well, my little guy is!) guaranteed a smooth ride every time. It also easily folds up to be super compact and can easily fit into my little hatchback car. Unfortunately I bunged up my shoulder a while back, so heavy things are not my friend, but I can still fold this up and lift it into my car, no sweat.
The whole thing is just super easy to use – whilst being really stylish – so it’s not surprising that it’s such a big seller and has also picked up a slew of awards in the last few years including a Good Deisgn Award (Gold).
After getting the stroller delivered to my house, I then started looking at whether I needed any extras. Thankfully, Edwards & Co don’t assume that you need a thousand different attachments and add-ons to your pram and make you fork out for them all. But, they do make a range of high quality optional extras that you can pick and choose from to suit your lifestyle.
They do sell a couple of different bundle deals, where you can get a bargain also picking up different handy attachments like a capsule, carry cot or cup-holder (arguably also a complete must-have!).
Now, I’ve been lucky and a good friend has kindly loaned me her capsule and base – when I told Edwards & Co this, they didn’t try to talk me into needing one of theirs anyway. Instead they congratulated me on making a saving and just double checked that it was safe, wasn’t near its expiry and that they had an attachment that would be compatible so I could clip it straight into the stroller.
After humming and haa-ing, I decided to skip the carry cot too – which definitely seems like a popular insta post to show your newborn having a snooze on the go. It is a great option, giving your baby a safe space to sleep whether you’re out for a walk or for dinner. But when I showed my partner pics of babies asleep at dinner parties, out on long walks or even sitting alongside their parents in a cozy tent on a night away camping we looked at it as realistically as we could. It definitely looks handy… “but… are we actually these people?” he asked. He was right – I have never gone camping with him and probably aren’t going to be starting now with a newborn, and, we’re the kind of family who seem to always be able to get a booking at Nishiki on a Friday night because they know that from the time they seat us for dinner, we’ll be paying the bill and on our way within 40 mins tops. “If we do become these people, we can always just buy one then,” he reasoned.
So instead we went for the super cute – and very reasonably priced – newborn insert which converts the bucket seat to be able to safely lie a newborn flat for short excursions anyway. We have a fab SnuzPod at home, so we have a high quality bassinet – which also lifts out easily from its stand to move around the house – or if we did want to take it to someone else’s house.
I also added a sun cover, plus a rain cover and a sleeping bag attachment for when it gets cooler (that I already wish came in adult size).
I love that if I decide I want any other extras, I can just pick them up anytime. Plus – although it has a two-year warranty, you can also buy new parts at any time. Like I mentioned, I managed to pick up a few baby items from friends and some bargains on TradeMe and what really ground my gears with some brands was that if you wanted to buy a new part – say a new liner, wheel, cushion or attachment – you simply couldn’t. You’d have to buy the entire thing brand new – which seems like a complete waste, both environmentally, and financially! I love that Edwards & Co make this part of it easy – so if in a few years’ time you want to gift it to a friend or sell it, you can do so, knowing that if a handle does get a bit chewed, or a liner gets a bit stained, it can easily and cheaply be replaced and will quickly look good as new.
Bottom Line: There are some purchases you make during pregnancy that turn out to be misguided and weird (and often bought while you were feeling overwhelmed or coerced!), but of all my purchases, this Edwards & Co Oscar is definitely one of my smartest, and is a choice I’d make again and again.
I love that it’s a small, family-owned business – they offer a ton of friendly and fast ongoing assistance and help and seem to have thought of everything to make those newborn months that much easier. Would 100% recommend!
The Specs:
The Oscar RRP$939
- Net weight is 10.3kg (chasis 7.5kb + seat 2.7kg)
- Sun protection from the UPF50+ canopy
- 55cm seat bottom to canopy height
- Seat range is six months (or newborn with the Newborn Insert Cushion) to 20kg (four years)
- Folded size: 40h x 88l x 63w
- 110cm-90cm (from ground) handle height
- Rubber with foam inner wheels.
A range of extras are available, ranging from the Avery Capsule (RRP$269) and Base ($149), to the Newborn Insert Cushion ($69) or handy Cup Holder ($29).
