Design
The Urban Jungle is a large, three wheel pram with aluminum chassis and a sling style seat.
It comes in black, chilli, navy, flint, moss and chocolate.
The Urban Jungle is an extremely solid pram with well designed, quality components.
Features
The Urban Jungle has lots of features including; unlimited recline positions including flat (for newborn), a 5 point safety harness, bumper bar, adjustable padded handle, rear wheel suspension and bottle holder.
The hood is a great size and very strong. It features a large peek-a-boo flap and a flick out mesh sun visor to give a little extra protection while still allowing your child to see out. The hood is also adjustable to 'follow the sun'.
The Urban Jungle has a good sized under-seat basket which is accessible from the side when the seat is reclined. There's a good distance between the seat and the basket so you can fit bulkier items in it. The basket also has zipped and elasticised pockets which are useful if you're off to the park or on a run.
Performance
The Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle is a very smooth ride both on and off the road. The inflatable wheels combined with the rear wheel suspension means that this buggy bounces along comfortably. There's no jolting when you accidentally hit a curb or obstacle.
Steering with one hand is easy over long distances. You will have no problems pushing the Urban Jungle down the road while holding a child's hand or an umbrella.
To ensure the pram remains stable off-road, the Urban Jungle is large, both in length and width. It fits through a standard doorway comfortably but in more compact spaces it can be a challenge to get around. Its great maneuverability goes some way to limiting the impact of its size.
The fold is quite easy. Its three steeps including ensuring the front wheel is in the right position. The fold motion is quite smooth and easier to control when the bumper bar is on the pram. The pram folds flat and you need to secure it manually with a little clip then lift it into your car.
The Urban Jungle can stand on its own when folded and you can wheel it around on its rear wheels. The fold size is large so make sure it fits into the boot of your car, either flat or standing (in some larger SUV's).
The seat is large and will comfortably accommodate a larger child up until 4 years, possibly longer. I prefer a more supportive seat for a younger child, however our little tester found it comfortable to take long naps in. If you have a younger child you will probably want to invest in an insert.
The brake on the Urban Jungle is a long wire one. I tend not to like these as they require an exaggerated leg movement to flip on and off. However, they do their job firmly and if you are wearing sandals and thongs you may prefer to reach down with your hand to flip it on and off.
The handle can adjust to three levels making it comfy for everyone to push and it's nicely padded from comfort. You can tuck the handle under if you need to park your Urban Jungle in a smaller space.
The recline is a pulley type mechanism at the back of the pram. Generally I don't like these types of recline mechanisms but this one works effectively and is safe to use while your baby is in the pram.
The seat cover is fully removable and machine washable. I love the way you can remove and replace the seat in 5 minutes. It's the simplest I've used.
The Urban Jungle is well designed for off road activities, jogging and long distance walking. In addition to its light and easy ride the Urban Jungle is higher off the ground than most prams giving it good clearance over obstacles, the brake is set back into the pram allowing for a long stride and the harness clip, although fiddly, is child proof.
Finally the Urban Jungle is very sturdy and strong. Mountain Buggies are known to never die, I recently heard about an original Buggy getting a make-over to accommodate its 7th new family member.
An important note; Mountain Buggies are made to go. It's a smart idea to get into the habit of putting on the brakes whenever you stop or take your hands off the handle. Also use the wrist strap whenever you are off road, near large bodies of water, waiting on the side of the road or on train stations. It's conveniently located on the handle for easy access.
Drawbacks
Going up and down stairs backwards is easy due to the large wheels, however going up steps and curbs forwards can be difficult and the Urban Jungle is easy to unbalance. I suggest you pause for 5 seconds to let the wheel swing into place before you go front wheel first (or use the front wheel lock).
The Urban Jungle does not come with a rain cover which I find surprising for a pram designed for outdoor use. At least for your $40 you get a well designed and sturdy cover your child can’t put its foot through. Ditto with its lack of tyre pump, make sure you always carry one with you, you don't want to get caught out with a flat.
The bumper bar is great but you have to completely remove and replace it every time you get your baby in and out of the Urban Jungle. I found it too fiddly and quickly popped it back in its box.
Conclusion
The Urban Jungle is the most practical and user friendly large pram we've road tested irrespective of whether you use it off-road or not.
Long after other parents have traded in their big prams for a stroller you will be enjoying being out and about with your Urban Jungle.
If you are an active family you won't find a better combination of a pram you can use outdoors and will want to use every day.
About Mountain Buggy
Mountain Buggy is a New Zealand company that designed the original all-terrain three wheeled pram. They specialise in designing prams for outdoor activity.
