Phil and Teds Verve Stroller Review

Phil and Teds Verve is a luxury sporty stroller designed for an active urban lifestyle. It can convert from a single into a double inline mode with an addition of a second seat. With large wheels and font-wheel suspension Verve can handle any terrain. Take to the park, playground, or beach, your child will have a smooth ride no mater where you go.

Parents love Verve not only for its sleek and modern look, but also for the luxury features like adjustable handle bar, hand brake, floating canopy, and very large basket. It is a very compact stroller that is only 25″ wide making it great for navigating narrow aisles in the store, cafes, busy streets, and subway platforms.

There are over 7 different combination of the seating arrangement to accommodate one infant, two toddlers, or one infant and one toddler. For the newborn, you can transform it into a travels system by using it with a car seat or a carrycot/bassinet (sold separately). Once your family expands, you can covert Verve into a double inline mode by getting a 2nd seat. The 2nd seat is very roomy, with a small canopy, one-hand recline and three recline positions. The Verve can accommodate a child from birth and up to 44 lbs in the main seat and from 6 months up to 44 lbs in the 2nd seat. This buggy is HEAVY weighing 28 lbs! Go to the gym before getting it.

I gave this stroller 4 out 5 stars because of a lot of little things like lock of storage, high weight, no foot rest, no peekaboo window, no swing away function on the bumper bar, non-telescoping feature on the handle bar, and no attached window covering for the back of the stroller. None of the cons above would be a deal breaker, but since it’s an expensive luxury stroller, I had to take some points away. Sorry, the expectations are high!

The lowest price I found for a single stroller was $599 on Amazon (free shipping/free returns and no sales tax). There is no cup holder nor bassinet included.

Buy Phil&Teds Verve Stroller »

Pros

-Medium size canopy. The canopy is not that large, but it coverts into a ‘floating canopy’ while holding its shape and can be moved down to block the sun. So, it’s not bad. It also has a small pop-out sunvisor that helps to block the sun. There is NO peekaboo window, but you can see your child through the opening between the seat and the canopy if you more the canopy down a little.

-Adjustable handle bar. The handle bar goes from 29″ up to 42″ from the ground. I wish it was telescoping so that parents have more leg room when you add the second seat.

-Hand parking brake. It has a red button in the middle of the handle bar that will lock both of the rear wheels in place. No foot brake.

-Very large seat. It is 14″ wide with 25″ seat back and 29″ from the bottom of the seat to the top of the canopy. Even more, the canopy slides up and down the frame up to 33″ from be bottom of the seat to the top of the canopy. If you have a large child, this seat will be perfect. The seat can accommodate a child from birth and up to 44 lbs. It has infinite recline adjusted by a strap system. You can reline the seat with one hand, but you will need both hands to bring it back up.

The seat goes to a lie-flat position to accommodate a newborn. Once the seat is reclined, you will see a large opening between the seat and the canopy for better air circulation. To protect your child from the sun or wind on a cold day, you can close the opening with an included mesh piece or a plastic see-through cover. You can also use both of the them at the same time. Both covers come with the stroller, but you will need to carry them around (and not lose it!).

-5 point harness. It has adjustable padded 5 point harness with hard to do buckle.

-Bumper bar. INCLUDED! It is a padded removable bumper bar that does NOT swing away. This surprise me because it is swing away on Phil and Teds Promenade model.

-Very large basket. It can fit two large diaper bags with no problems. So if you like to go grocery shopping with the stroller like me, you will be able to fit a lot of goodies. LOV it! Now, if you add a second seat, there will be no room for anything because your child’s legs will be in the basket. Unfortunately, the basket is the only storage on the stroller.

-Wheels. It rolls on four wheels with two hard rubber 10″ front wheels and two air-filled 12″ rear wheels. The front wheels are swivel with the ability to lock straight for more stability. These tires will handle any terrain with no problem. I really like how sporty rear wheels look with those white stripes in the middle.

-Front-wheel suspension. There front wheel suspension absorbs some of the bumps providing your child with a smoother ride.

-Easy fold. To fold Verve, you will need both hands. First, lock the front wheels and bring the canopy all the way back. Next, lift two levers located on both sides of the frame and fold the stroller in half. It does have an automatic lock and can stand on its own when folded. It weighs 28 lbs! A LOT!

-7 seat combinations. Single mode: child in a main seat, cocoon carrycot in the main seat, bassinet instead of the main seat, travel system with a car seat. Double mode: second seat up front, second seat in the back, travel system with the second seat in the back. As you can see you can use this stroller for a newborn, newborn and toddler, or for two toddlers. You can NOT use it for two newborns because the second seat does not have a flat recline.

-Second seat. NOT INCLUDED. You will need to purchase a double kit separately. This second seat is 14″ wide with 19″ seat back. It has the same adjustable padded 5 point harness with a hard-to-unlock buckle as the main seat. The canopy is small flimsy and does not provide a lot of sun protection. The seat has three-position one-hand recline that goes down to a sleep comfortable position at 34º angle. It does NOT have a flat recline, so you can’t use it for a newborn. The 2nd seat has a holding capacity up to 44 lbs (front and rear positions). Keep in mind, with the second seat in the back, you will have no room in the basket since it will be taken up by your child’s legs. The great thing is that you can fold it with the second seat attached (I don’t know if it will fit in your trunk that way, but you can try).

Cons

-Medium size canopy. The canopy on Verve can covert into a floating canopy and can be moved up and down, but I still wish it was larger and had a peekaboo window.

-Bumper bar. I wish it was swing away for easier ins and outs. They do have it on a Promenade model.

-Non-adjustable foot rest. For that price, I do expect to see an adjustable foot rest.

-Lock of storage. Aside from the large basket there is no other storage. I wish there was a zipper pocket on the back of the seat for small items like keys, cell phone and wallet.

-Lock of accessories. This stroller is not cheap, so why not include at least a cup holder? Unfortunately, you have to purchase everything separately.

-Large opening covers. Once you recline the seat, there is a large opening between the seat and the canopy. I wish it had a dark mesh permanently attached at the top and a cover attached to the bottom of the canopy like on City Mini and B-Agile, instead of two separate covers made out of mesh and plastic (included) that you need to carry with you.

-Handle bar. When in double mode, the tall parents might not have enough leg room because of the second seat in the back. A telescoping handle bar would solve that problem.

– Heavy weight. At 28 lbs, this is a very heavy stroller. I know it needs to be stable to handle both seats, so I think it’s only worth it if you are using it with the second seat. For one child, I would go with a lighter stroller.

Video Review

Baby Gizmo as always has a great video review. Note: The stroller weighs 28 lbs and not 29 lbs like they say in the video.

Specs

Stroller weight: 28 lbs
Weight limit: 44 lbs (main seat), 44 lbs (2nd seat)
Folded dimensions: 30.7″L x 17.1″H x 25.2″W
Handle bar height: 29″ – 42″
Seat to canopy height: 29″
Front wheels: 10″
Rear wheels: 12″
Overall length: 39″
Overall width: 25.2″

Phil & Teds Verve vs Dot

Since both strollers look very similar, some of the parents get confused. In a nutshell, the Verve (V) model is more expensive, less compact, and has more features than Dot (D).

Canopy. V has a medium size floating canopy that follows the sun vs D that has a medium size canopy that is attached to the seat and doesn’t provide as much shade.
Weight. V weighs 28 lbs vs D that weighs 26 lbs.
Width. V is wider at 25″ vs D that is 23″.
Wheels. V has four wheels while D has three.
Parking brake. V has a hand brake while D has a foot brake.
Carrycot. V is compatible with a ‘peanut carrycot’ while D is compatible with ‘snug carrycot’.
2nd Seat. V’s 2nd seat is a little larger, has more recline positions, and can accommodate a child up to 44 lbs (front/back), while D has a smaller more compact 2nd seat that can hold a child up to 33 lbs in the back and 44 lbs in the front.
Price. V is more expensive at $575 vs D can be purchased for $408.

Comparison Chart

If you want to see how Verve model compares to other Phil & Teds strollers here is a great comparison chart.

Warranty

Phil and Teds has 1-year warranty from the original date of purchase and you have to be the original owner. Here is more information on the warranty.

Available colors

For 2013 the Verve is available only in two beautiful colors: black and red. All strollers come with a sleek elliptical aluminum frame.

Accessories

Accessories for the Verve include: double kit/second seat ($135), travel bag ($100), sun cover ($40), car seat adapter ($30), cocoon /crarycot ($80).

Where to buy it

My favorite place to buy strollers and a lot of other baby items is Amazon. It usually has the lowest prices, free shipping, free returns and no sales tax. How great is that? You can get Phil&Teds Verve single in one of the two beautiful colors for $599 on Amazon (free shipping/free returns and no sales tax).