As one coworker so accurately put it: Shopping for strollers is like shopping for cars. You do tons of research online, you consider your lifestyle, the size of your family, how much cargo space you want, and of course, color and style. Are you full-size people? Maybe compact fits your needs better, or you want something sporty that can handle all-terrain. Wheels! Buckles! Interiors! Reviews! And of course, test drives. See? She’s absolutely right. And since these little carriages really do equate to cars, then I’m pretty sure the new Joolz Hub+ might be the Tesla of strollers.
If you’re not familiar with Joolz, here’s the TL;DR: It’s a quality stroller and accessories brand that promotes sustainability. The longer version is this: Joolz is a Dutch brand with a strong footprint in the U.S. They design ergonomic strollers with organic, sustainable materials (like their textiles, which are made of recycled plastic bottles, and their blankets, which are made from 100 percent organic cotton). Even their packaging is reusable—apparently the box your stroller comes in can be converted into a cardboard birdhouse. And get this—if you buy one of their strollers, they plant a tree for your baby in the Joolz Birth Forest in Colombia.
Now, I don’t have a Tesla—but I’ve ridden in a few, and yeah, the hype is real. Aside from the sustainability factor—which, what’s not to love?—I’m also a sucker for how sleek and smooth they are. And when I test-drove the new Joolz Hub+ stroller ($679), the comparison between the two “vehicles” was all I could think about.
A little backstory: The original Hub is the brand’s best-selling full-size stroller. It has four-wheel suspension for uneven sidewalks and is only 21” wide for narrow doorframes—so even though it’s full-size, it’s not bulky in the slightest. But in November, they launched the newest version of the model, the Hub+, which includes LED lights for evening walks, an easy-to-use safety buckle and a rotatable bumper bar (something I had no idea I needed but…I do?).
