I’ve written about the Stokke Xplory many times over the past few years and using my V4 with Jimmy all over London was a total pleasure! I loved how he was so high up that he felt on my level just as much as he loved being able to see everything from such a fabulous vantage point and the buggy has many, many plus points! I have such fond memories of using this buggy with Jimmy but we didn’t get it until he was a little older and well out of the newborn stage so it has been fabulous having one again for Raffie, this time with the carry cot!

You can read a comprehensive review of the general features of the Stokke Xplory V4, which is pretty similar to the newer V5 with its updated wheels and a choice of chassis colour, on my blog here. Time was the true black chassis was a limited edition but Stokke must have realised how popular the choice was and now the all black chassis is available for the Xplory V5 and the new Athleisure (I wrote more about the Athleisure here) as standard and a choice between that or silver. I was toying between a regular and Atheisure but in the end I decided all black colours from chassis to fabrics was what was in order for us!

I’ve loved the black chassis ever since it was limited edition and in person it’s truly stunning. Now stunning might not seem like the most important feature to a stroller but for me it’s absolutely part of the package! I want a buggy that pushes perfectly of course but I also want one which looks the biz and the XPlory is, and always has been, a show stopper! With the all black look it’s even more eye catching and I can’t help it, I’m sorry if that makes me a little bit of a buggy snob and vain to boot, but I love it for this reason as well as all the others I’ve talked about in every post I’ve ever written because the XPlory really is a fantastic buggy. It’s pricey I will concede but I always say if you buy cheap then you buy twice and I’ve reviewed so many buggies now that I know a good egg from a bad… You always have to pay a little extra if you want something which will work well and last the distance so trust me on this one, pay a bit more and get what you pay for!

So… The carry cot! Oh it’s a dream… Really, REALLY spacious and the mattress is uber comfy with a real spring as you push down on it. I also adore how with the hood up the elements are really shut away from the baby and unless you unzip the material at the back revealing the mesh for baby to look out of, it keeps it nice and dark in the bassinet for him to sleep. The apron unzips both sides and fits snuggly over the top of the carry cot with a little lip curling up at the top, enough to keep the wind off the baby even more. I particularly like the height for putting a baby in and out ESPECIALLY after having a c-section – ladies who have been through the same procedure will know just how sore you feel afterwards and even lifting a tiny baby in and out of something where you have to bend over is painful and detrimental to the healing process. The Stoke Xplory allowed me to remain standing with very little lowering of my back – PERFECT!

Now Raffie was born in October and so far it has only been cold while using the carry cot. The only shame to this is the fact that when he is awake I think it would be nice to pull the apron down a bit and see him better but with it being SO cold I feel the apron is best left on tightly as it really does provide a wealth of shelter… Oh well, it won’t be long before the sun comes out (Come on March) and I can let him be not quite so done up every time we go out – currently I have him in a snow suit and a blanket underneath the apron!

Raffie is 3 months now and I hope that we will continue to use the carry cot for another 3 months because it’s so comfortable for him – I have the seat unit all ready ad waiting but I am LOVING the bassinet so much I don’t want to rush into the seat too soon.

Major plus points to using the carry cot with the Stokke Xplory:

• Excellent protection from the elements
• Fabulously comfortable mattress
• Up high and away from people’s dogs (I can’t stand dogs and hate them even more near my baby)
• Not having to bend when putting the baby in and out
• Pops on and off with amazing ease (you’d be surprised how difficult some seat and carry cots I’ve used can be to get on and off)

Any disadvantages?

• because of the height it is sometimes hard to make eye contact with the baby when the hood is up and the apron is zipped all the way up – unavoidable if you want a warm baby and believe me, the height thing is such an advantage most of the time (especially with the seat unit) that this negative is negligible.
• The carry cot is not small (neither is the chassis) so you must consider the size of your car when buying. It’s worth noting that I can fit the chassis and the seat unit in the boot of my 3 door Corsa (just) but I couldn’t do the same with the chassis and the carry cot. We also have a bigger car which makes it no problem and you can buy car seat adaptors to use with the chassis for when out and about. I have not tried these so can’t advise on how well they work I’m afraid.
• Although I use the Stokke Xplory with a seat unit on the tube I’m not sure I’d feel confident with the carrycot as it does make the chassis a bit heavier. This is personal choice and it could absolutely be done I have to say, it would fit through a barrier and on the trains with ease.

As I mentioned before you can click on the link above and read more about the Stokke Xplory features in a previous review, I just wanted to round up what it’s like to use with the carry cot and in essence to sum up I have to say it’s wonderful. I thoroughly recommend it and one more thing – the little extras, a world away from the beauty and the brilliance of the general push, are pretty well thought out too… The rain cover fits. It actually FITS! Anyone who has wrestled with a buggy and a rain cover will know how important this element is and the cup holder is nestled neatly inside the handle bar so it doesn’t get stuck on stuff. Seriously… I’ve been there and caught a cup holder so many times it has, after many fall offs, broken entirely. Well done Stokke, genius! We will skip over the fact I use it more to store wine bottles in on the way home from the supermarket than I ever do a coffee cup shall we?!

Just to let you know, for transparency, I was sent the Stokke Xplory in return for some social media posts – which I have already posted and I am under no obligation to have written this article. All thoughts, obligations or otherwise, are always my own!

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