We've been selling strollers at 58 Clarendon Street for twenty years. In that time we've learned that "best stroller" is a question with no universal answer — it depends on whether you're carrying it up brownstone stairs, folding it one-handed on a T platform, or loading it into an SUV in Hingham.
So instead of ranking strollers against each other, here's how we actually talk about them on the floor: by the family each one fits. Every model below is one we carry and one you can push in person. If you'd rather do this with a person than a blog post, that's what our baby gear appointments are for.
Best for families planning more than one kid: UPPAbaby Vista V3
The Vista has been the default answer to "which stroller grows with us" for over a decade, and the V3 hasn't changed that. It takes a bassinet from day one, accepts an infant car seat with adapters, and converts to a double with the RumbleSeat V3 when a second baby shows up.
What we tell parents in the showroom: it's big. Push it around our floor before you commit, and if you live in a walk-up, lift it. Some families love it and some decide the footprint is more stroller than their life has room for — and both are fine answers.
Best for city living: Bugaboo Dragonfly
The Dragonfly is the stroller we hand to people who say "we live in the South End and park on the street." It's a full-featured stroller — reversible seat, bassinet option — in a frame that folds compact enough to matter when you're going up three flights or into a small trunk.
The fold is the thing to try. It's easy once someone shows you, and genuinely confusing if nobody does, which is a good argument for doing this in person.
Best everyday travel system: Nuna MIXX Next
If you want one stroller that handles the newborn stage and the toddler stage without a lot of parts, the MIXX Next is our workhorse recommendation. The MagneTech Secure Snap buckle is the feature parents actually notice — the magnets pull the harness together instead of you wrestling a squirming baby into it. It also pairs into a travel system with the PIPA series car seats.
Nuna's DEMI Next is worth a look in the same trip if you want the modular version with a rider board for an older sibling.
Best rotating seat: Nuna SWIV
The SWIV is the stroller that gets the biggest reaction on our floor. The seat rotates, so you can flip from parent-facing to world-facing without unclipping and re-mounting anything. It's one of those features that reads as a gimmick on a spec sheet and stops reading that way the first time you do it with a coffee in your other hand.
Best compact travel stroller: UPPAbaby Minu V3 and Bugaboo Butterfly 2
These are the two we go back and forth on most. The Minu V3 has a sturdier, slightly more substantial feel; the Butterfly 2 folds smaller and is the one people pick when overhead-bin fit is the deciding factor. The Nuna TRVL is a third strong option with a self-folding mechanism and an included carry bag.
Honestly: fold all three. Ten minutes of side-by-side folding tells you more than any review, and we keep them out for exactly that reason.
Best luxury compact: Cybex Gazelle S 2 and Mios
The Gazelle S 2 is the sleeper pick for growing families — it converts to a double with a second seat and has a shopping basket big enough to be a genuine argument for it. The Mios sits at the other end: small, light, and the one people choose when the stroller is also a design object.
Best all-terrain and jogging: Thule Urban Glide 3
For running, gravel, snow, and the Esplanade, the Urban Glide 3 is our pick. Three wheels, a proper hand brake, and a lockable front wheel for running. If you want four wheels and full-size all-terrain capability instead, look at the Silver Cross Cove 2 or the UPPAbaby Ridge.
Best for beach days and multiple kids: Veer Cruiser
Not technically a stroller, and that's the point. The Veer Cruiser is what families with two or three kids under six end up using for the Cape, the Common, and everything in between. It takes an infant car seat with the right adapter, so it can start earlier than most people assume.
How to actually choose
Three questions do most of the work:
- Where does it live when you're not using it? A trunk, a hallway, a fourth-floor landing. This eliminates more strollers than any other question.
- Who's pushing it? Handlebar height and fold weight matter differently for different bodies.
- Is there a second kid in the plan? If yes, buying a stroller that converts is usually cheaper than buying two strollers.
You can answer all three in about twenty minutes on our floor. We keep our demo models out and unboxed — here's what's currently available to test in store.
Come push a few
We're at 58 Clarendon Street in Boston's South End, open Tuesday through Saturday, 10am–6pm. You can walk in, or you can book a private appointment where we clear the calendar and walk you through gear one-on-one — in our South End showroom, at our Hingham location for South Shore families, or at home.
And whichever stroller you land on, if you buy a car seat from us, the certified installation is free. We'd rather you leave knowing it's in correctly than guess in the parking lot.
Plan your visit · Browse all strollers · About our showroom experience
Ana & Nenad have owned Tadpole since 2018. Tadpole was named Best of Boston 2025 for Best Baby Registry by Boston magazine.