Quinny Zapp Review

I have been using Quinny Zapp for about a year now. Initially we bought one for traveling purposes, to take onto flights and to do with a lot of walking during traveling. I still wanted to use the old Graco Mosaic for outings in Dublin. But in the end, the Mosaic remained in the store room until it was covered in moulds. Hahahah

Yep, that’s how good and handy the Quinny Zapp is. You will no longer settle with any less…

I think Quinny Zapp is the most compact, light, trendy and cheapest in the market. Sure there are a lot more better than the Zapp but they are all much more expensive. However, there are a few setbacks that need to be considered or at least be made aware of.

The bar between the handle keeps bending as if the locks are loose somehow. But it’s not a major concern. It’s just annoying sometimes.
It does not recline at all. So you might need to invest on an extra and more suitable head rest or small pillow to attach to the harness during naptime. Otherwise it would seem like your child is going to wake up with a really stiff and sore neck. I usually carry a pashmina wrap that I attach to my handbag all the time, in case I get cold or Emmet gets cold or something happen to my tudung. So I would fold and make it as pillow for Emmet to rest his head on during his nap. There are all sorts of buggy pillows that you can find online, if you have the budget for it.

Another setback is storage. There is no storage at all. But you can buy accessories and a shopping basket is available on ebay for an extra EUR 10.00 or so. For your own convenience, I suggest you order this as soon as you order your Zapp. No cup holder and am still trying to find one that can suit this Zapp. I found a review and this lady was saying she bought a cup holder for Zapp from the internet but didn’t say where.
Make sure you do not buy the old stock or old edition of Quinny Zapp I read reviews saying that the older Zapp had big problems of tipping to the back. The old edition had only one wheel at the front. They revised the design and the new ones should have double wheels at the front, better balancing and least likely to tip even if you hang things on the handle with your child in it. But make sure you don’t hang so many stuff as it will tip if it’s too heavy. And remember to clear most stuff from the handle before you let your child off the buggy. And always hold the buggy if you are on the tram or LRT or the metro.

It requires both hands to fold and unfold. So make sure your child is in a safe place and condition before you work the Zapp especially when getting on and off the plane or bus. Sure it comes with a carry bag to keep your Zapp but I find it useless. Maybe it will come in handy if I have a car and keep the buggy in the car or something. But if you are traveling, the carry bag would just take up space as it can’t be folded due to the cardboard padding at the bottom. So what I do sometimes is I use the carry bag strap to strap the folded buggy and leave it beside the stairs before I get on to the plane. Coz if you don’t strap it you would have to hug it, otherwise it will unfold once you pick it up with one hand since it doesn’t have any locks once it is folded. It is better if you have the elastic strap like we used to have on our bicycle with the hook on both ends tu. I think I should buy one of that when I go back for holidays in Malaysia.

The sun shade or hood is quite high that most of the time it didn’t protect your child from the sun at all. So other alternatives includes investing on a parasol, cap or hat, and a pair of sunglasses for your child. There are also extra shades that you can attach like those you stick on your car windows. But I think they are over priced, not worth it. You can try and be creative and attach the car sun shades to the buggy and see if it works.

The hood doesn’t have a clip at the sides to lock it and make it sit still. So it is very annoying when it is raining and windy and the wind keeps pushing the plastic raincover and the hood to the back and stick to your child’s face.

About the raincover, I find that it is not quite suitable if your child’s leg extends to the lower foot rest since the feet wont be covered and become wet. There is another raincover available that covers the whole lower section of the buggy but the plastic is really thick and if folded would take a whole other bag to keep it. And the velcro is so short and small I had to sew some more velcro to make it stick. Maybe I should sew buttons instead come to think of it…

I usually hang Emmet’s bag over the handle bars. But I keep bumping my legs into the bag as I walk and the bag swings and I find it too heavy to be hanged on one handle when I attach the raincover. So now I find another way like this…

But I usually carry Emmet’s stuff in my bag when I travel, so it is easier for me to get on and off the planes. And I try not to put a lot of stuff in the shopping basket

Once you tackle the setbacks, it is fun and easy with the Quinny Zapp. It is light, you could manoeuvre it with one hand. The wheels are not as noisy as our old Graco Mosaic. You can attach a maxi-cosi cabrio car seat for the first year of your baby, and sarungkan the seat thereafter. The colours are vibrant and it’s affordable.

But if you ask me about other good value alternatives, I would recommend MacLaren Techno XT. The only setback is the design. other than that, the XT is much better and covers up all the setbacks of the Zapp. It is also more popular than the Zapp that it is too common here in Dublin. It’s like buying a Volkswagen Golf, a good car but too many on the road making it less special.