As Consumer Editor at GoodtoKnow, I have tested more prams, pushchairs and strollers than I've had hot dinners over the years so I was itching to get my hands on the new Joie Pact Pro stroller.
Parents know and trust Joie, and it's easy to see why. From the Joie Versatrax - which features in our guide to buying the best pushchair - to the Joie i-Spin 360 - which we named the best one-handed rotating seat in our best car seats buying guide - Joie is a brand that consistently delivers high-quality items of baby gear that don't cost a fortune but do help to make life with little ones easier.
Joie has branched out beyond car seats, prams and pushchairs too, with their portfolio of parent-friendly products including everything from high chairs, swings and bouncers to cots, cribs and baby carriers.
The Joie Pact Pro is the brand's very latest offering in the lightweight and compact travel stroller category and it's one of the best travel strollers we've tested. A petite pushchair package, the Pact Pro was designed to make light work of any journey, no matter whether your passenger is a delicate newborn that needs to lie flat or a toddler straining at the straps to see the world. Lightweight and compact, the Pact Pro is the ideal travel companion if you're planning a family holiday - but it's also robust enough to handle daily life at home.
The Joie Pact lightweight stroller is a brilliant buy if you're looking for an affordable, travel-friendly pushchair. The easy-to-fold design and the fact that it's so compact (and freestanding) when folded is a dream, whether you want to carry it through an airport or stash it in a car boot and still have plenty of space for luggage. Even if you're not heading off on holiday, this light and manoeuvrable pushchair is a good choice for everyday life with a little one from birth to toddlerhood - and beyond.
For this review, GoodtoKnow turned to our parent tester, Holly Upton, to put Joie's newest lightweight stroller to the test with her 19-month-old son, Remy. She used the pushchair daily, for both quick trips to the supermarket and longer walks to parks and playgroups, testing its manoeuvrability on different types of terrain and seeing how easy it was to push, fold and carry in all sorts of everyday situations with a busy toddler. Here’s everything you need to know about how the Joie Pact Pro fared during testing.
Price and availability
The Joie Pact Pro is priced at £200 from Mamas and Papas, and available to purchase directly from Joie at the same price.
This is a mid-range price for a lightweight pushchair from a reliable, trusted baby gear brand. It's good value for money when you consider that it's one of the lightest strollers you can buy, plus it's impressively compact when folded.
However, factor in that you'll be spending considerably more if you choose to buy the compatible Joie Ramble carrycot and/or car seat too.
Design and features
Weight: 6.3kg | Age: Birth-approx. 4 years | Price: £200 | Included: Rain cover, carry bag, adapters and bumper bar
The Joie Pact Pro is a 3in1 stroller, meaning you can use it in three different modes: (1) as a forward-facing pushchair, (2) with the Joie Ramble carrycot - brilliant for babies who need to lie flat in a pram until six months - and (3) with selected Joie infant carrier car seats if you want to create a travel system. The carrycot and car seat have to be purchased separately which is an extra expense, but if you just want a light and compact stroller, this is a practical choice. A rain cover and a bag for storing the stroller are included in the price, as are adaptors to hold the car seat or carrycot safely in place on the frame.
For me, the standout feature of the Joie Pact Pro is how remarkably compact it is when folded. I'm not exaggerating when I say it's not much bigger than a large laptop. It's perfect for popping in the car boot but still plenty of space for all the family's luggage, and ideal for stashing neatly out of the way at playgroup or if you don't want a tank of a pushchair taking up space in your hallway.
One of my favourite design features of the Joie Pact Pro is the custom recline button which lets you adjust the backrest from upright to fully flat and everything in between. As any parent knows, the ability to ever-so-gently recline your child's seat when they doze off in the stroller is a game-changer. I've bought myself half an hour's peace in a cafe numerous times by mastering this trick.
However, some pushchairs make reclining the seat virtually impossible - you either jolt the child awake due to a less-than-smooth design or the process is so noisy not even the heaviest of snoozers could sleep through the racket. Top marks to Joie for making this feature as smooth and quiet as can be.
Another noteworthy feature of the Joie Pact Pro is the adjustable leg rest. This isn't something many parents usually prioritise when shopping for a stroller, especially for a newborn, as it's difficult to imagine your tiny bundle ever being big enough to need a leg rest!
But babies grow fast and toddlers tend to love getting out of the stroller for short walks, which can lead to little legs getting tired. At that stage, a leg rest can make a huge difference to how comfy the stroller is for little explorers. Even better if it's adjustable so that tired little legs can recover between adventures, even after an overnight growth spurt.
Well-designed brakes are another design element that parents often overlook when shopping for a stroller but they can make a huge difference to the whole experience of getting out and about with your baby. If you risk breaking a toe every time you want to apply the brake, you're not likely to enjoy using the stroller.
Efficient brakes are especially important with a lightweight stroller because they tend to tip up more easily than heavier designs. Joie has this covered with the One-touch shoe saver™ braking system which makes it easy to put the stroller into stationary mode and just as easy to get moving again.
For me, the most important design feature of any pram or pushchair is how easy it is to fold. That's especially true with a lightweight stroller because you're more likely to use one for travelling, when it's essential that you can fold it quickly and easily. It's not much help having a light and compact stroller if you end up sweating and having to wrestle it into submission every time you want to fold it.
Joie claims the Pact Pro is so easy to fold that you can do it with one hand so we set out to see if that's true. The press release promised: 'When your hands are full and space is limited, Pact Pro easily collapses into a tiny package to make it easy for you to carry it around or tuck it away into small spaces.'
Is it that easy to fold? Yes and, better still, the Joie Pact Pro is also freestanding when folded. This means you can fold it up and pop it to one side without worrying that it's going to fall on top of a toddler or spring open and bash you on the shin every time you squeeze past it in the hallway. If you're likely to collapse the stroller to pop it in and out of your car boot, then an easy-to-fold design should be top of your list. And if folding it up to store it out of the way between uses appeals to you, a freestanding fold is a dream design feature.
'The stroller is very simple to assemble and fold down and is possible to do this with one hand which is handy when holding a toddler; it is also lightweight to lift and carry, which helps when getting it in and out of the boot,' says our parent tester, Holly.
'We keep the stroller in the boot of the car, which I found didn’t take up too much space and I could still fit a 'big food shop' amount of shopping bags in the boot alongside the stroller. If you did want to store it in the house, it is compact and could easily fit in an understairs cupboard or even in a narrow hallway – it does stand on its own. I'm not sure how sturdy it would be to stay standing if my toddler started climbing on it though, which he no doubt would!'
We can't mention how easy it is to fold the Pact Pro without also drawing attention to the fact that it comes with a storage bag so it's easy to transport. That's a little extra that you'd normally only get on a much more expensive stroller, and you'd often expect to pay extra for it. Once again, Joie has proven its commitment to making travel hassle-free for families.
How we tested
- Our tester used the Joie Pact Pro both indoors in shops/supermarkets, and also outside when walking in the park and on gravel and grass. 'I found that the wheels coped well regardless of the terrain and it hasn't felt stuck at any point,' she says.
Things you wouldn’t find on the box
Designers often have to make compromises to produce a very lightweight stroller. That can mean using lighter materials that aren't as robust as heavier alternatives or reducing the size of the seat unit to lighten the load. In particular, manoeuvrability often gets sacrificed because small wheels help to reduce the overall weight but that can mean certain types of terrain are a bit of struggle.
However, if you're in the market for a lightweight stroller that can also tackle tough terrain, whether that's a cobbled street in Greece or a muddy walk at your local park, the Joie Pact Pro is designed to handle it. The front wheels can be locked in place or set to swivel, so you can get the best out of it by adjusting them to suit different environments as needed.
Beneath the seat unit, there's a ventilated storage basket which is a genius feature for a travel-friendly stroller. You can pop anything in there from wet clothes after a day at the beach to washable nappies after use, without worrying about the basket getting soggy or smelly.
While we're on the subject of airflow, I like the inclusion of a peekaboo window in the hood of the pushchair, making it easy to see if your baby has nodded off in the pushchair.
'In terms of comfort, my son seems to really enjoy sitting in the Joie Pact Pro and I particularly like how straight he can sit when the seat it set to fully upright,' says our tester, Holly. 'With other strollers, he has always wanted to sit more upright than the seat would allow, which would cause the straps to pull on him. He has also taken a nap in the stroller, which reclines to almost fully flat – he fell asleep within a few minutes when reclined which is a big win for us! The hood is a good size and covers most sunlight when pulled all the way down.'
Who is it best for?
The Joie Pact Pro is a brilliant buy for anyone on the hunt for light and compact stroller for holiday use. We love that it's suitable from birth right through to toddlerhood and beyond, and it's also sturdy enough to be suitable for daily use at home.
'Overall, the stroller is smart to look at, looks sleek in design and is really easy to manoeuvre,' adds our tester. 'It is far less bulky than other strollers we’ve had, but still offers the same level of comfort which is a big bonus.
'We are going on holiday soon and will be using this stroller whilst we are away, which I think will be perfect for travel, however this has also now taken over as our go-to stroller on a day-to-day basis at home too. The basket underneath is a decent size and could easily fit a changing bag, along with a couple of toys and a coat – everything you’d need for a trip out with a little one.'
Need an alternative?
The Joie Pact Pro is a little less expensive than the RRP of many similar lightweight strollers such as the Joolz Aer, the Silver Cross Clic and the Babyzen YoYo2 but these pushchairs are older models and sometimes available at discounted prices. The Pact Pro, in contrast, is a brand-new release from Joie and not likely to be discounted by retailers.
Looking for more advice on the best baby gear to buy for your baby? Check out our buying guide on the best travel strollers or the best newborn prams. Alternatively, check out our features on what is a travel system and why do babies need to lie flat in a pram.
