Review | Cosatto Woop Travel System

When I was younger, everything was fashion over function. I couldn’t possibly wear a coat, no matter how cold it was, because then I wouldn’t be cool. However, now I’ve got two beautiful boys I’m much less worried about being fashionable and more concerned about being practical. And that goes for pushchairs too! So when I got asked to review the new Cosatto Woop 3-in-1 travel system, I was slightly hesitant after seeing the ‘Old Skool’ design. After all, Cosatto are known for making true statement collections but it really looked as though they’d combined fashion with function so I decided I’d give it a go albeit slightly out of my comfort zone.

Upon opening the box, I managed to completely miss the instruction booklet after pulling everything out and managed to put it together without looking at them. That’s how easy the assembly of the whole chassis is! Admittedly, once I did realise there were instructions I double checked I’d done it right. All the pieces just clicked into place and there really wasn’t much else to it.

This 3-in-1 system is suitable from birth up to around 15kg, which is about age 4. Now let’s talk about the seat, or should I say carry cot? Believe it or not, they’re one and the same. The seat will transform to a carry cot and vice versa, just by using a clip and two zips underneath. When the clips are in use, it creates a fold which effectively is the seat and when they’re not in use it lays completely flat.

The seat/carry cot can be parent facing or world facing, it’s completely up to you and it’s easily done just by pressing the buttons at the side of the seat inwards and lifting it up and placing it in your preferred position. When in use as a seat, you can opt for it to sit at one of any four angles by using the yellow buttons on the side and tilting it. The seat itself offers a 5 point safety harness, which is very ‘racing driver-esque’. The harness comes together really easily and is released with one click, which isn’t stiff at all, allowing you to undo it with one hand which is great if your other hand is occupied.

Attached to the seat unit is a UPF 50+ sun canopy which also houses a peek-a-boo window with a magnetic “curtain”. It’s heavily patterned inside and out which I don’t believe is an accident or coincidence. It’s well known that babies are drawn to black and white contrasting images and the Old Skool Woop offers just that, as well as those lashings of colour throughout the design. It’s really quite superhero/comic book like, especially with those buildings and little explosion like graffiti drawings.

For those really sunny days the hood of the seat also offers an extendable canopy which you just pull away from the main material and then snap it right back up. It’s super handy for when the seat is reclined or in carry cot mode as it offers just that little bit more shade from the sun. The one thing I don’t like about the hood is that there’s nothing really to attach it to at the back, it just kind of hangs loose.

The suspension is good and the wheels are solid so you shouldn’t get any punctures. Speaking of wheels, there’s only 3 of them. The front wheel is lockable, or you can allow it to swivel around freely at the touch of a button. If the wheels need to be removed for storage or to be cleaned, they’re all able to be released quickly too. One thing I would mention is that I found the pushchair tended to veer to the right when I was pushing it along, as did my other half. I was quite disappointed because it meant that rather than letting the pushchair glide as you’re walking along, you had to have a firm grip and really try to direct it.

Talking of grip, the handlebar is well padded and is really lovely to hold. It’s height adjustable, though not done telescopically. Again, it’s another set of yellow buttons on either side of the handlebar.

The chassis itself folds down almost flat, but the seat unit/car seat must be removed in order for you to do so. To unfold it, it only takes one swift movement and it just clicks into place ready for you to attach the seat or the carseat. Please bear in mind the carseat is sold separately, and there’s currently only one available that’s compatible with the Woop and that’s the Cosatto Hold 0+. Car seat adapters are already supplied with the pushchair should you choose to explore the travel system route.

Admittedly, the storage space didn’t really rock my world but it is big enough to accommodate some essentials, though these are probably best stored in the matching bag that comes with the Woop. The bag also comes with a changing mat and wet bag (not something I’ve ever seen included before, but very handy and practical for when you’re out and about).

Lots of other features include a patterned head hugger for those newborn days, and the harness has chest and crotch pads. There’s a bumper bar which can be fixed to the seat that’s also padded, and the padding is removable too, along with a one touch brake system, which is also flip flop friendly. The Woop also comes with a rain cover for the seat and carry cot. There’s also a really lovely cosy toes included. It’s fleece lined one side, as well as patterned but it’s best feature is that it can be used four different ways. It’s easy to zip and unzip to turn it from a cosy toes to a seat liner. I love that it’s also reversible so that if there are any mishaps, or you get caught in the rain without the cover, then it remains drier on the other side.

One thing I would like to see in the future is for Cosatto to offer this as a tandem. I’ve now got two boys and so have only been able to take them out one at a time in this but would love to have had the option to take them both out together.

We’ve also been using the hold car seat in Old Skool design along with the ISOFIX base. This comes with a padded insert with head hugger attached for the all important day you bring your new addition home! As said above, this can be attached to the chassis with two adapters which just slot in – piece of cake. The design is obviously exactly the same as the seat with the blocks of colour showing on the exterior. However, unlike the seat there are loops within the hood for you to attach some toys to as well which I love! It looks extremely comfortable and Teddy seemed to like being in there too. The seatbelt in our car was plenty enough to get around it and secure it too. However, we used it with the ISOFIX base.

My initial impressions of the ISOFIX base weren’t great. I found that once fitted it would have about 2 inches of wiggle room either side even though anchored in. Upon having a second go I found that you had to be really firm when fitting it, and this seemed to do the trick. Once it’s in, it’s in well and doesn’t move at all. Definitely spend some time making sure you get it right and if you’re having trouble there are lots of guides to help, or there are some stores that will help you fit it. Please make sure it’s compatible with the car seat though as it’s not to be confused with the universal ISOFIX.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with the pushchair. I love the bright colours, it’s really funky, although I’m not sure I would have chosen to buy it myself were I in a shop, even though it really does stand out in the crowd. As I said before Cosatto are often very statement pieces, but having said that there are features of this that I love which would probably sway me to join the Cosatto cult.