Mompush Wiz Review

Ease of Use

The Mompush Wiz is an inexpensive stroller that tries to be easy to use but falls short, with features that check the boxes but are not intuitive or work as intended on the first try.

Fold and Unfold

The lightweight Wiz can be folded with one hand, but it tends to fall to the ground during the two-step folding process. It's much easier with two hands. Locking the brake first allows for more stability. The self-stand is mostly stable, but it will topple if you don't pull the belly bar out to slightly open the folded stance.

Due to the longer folded length of the Wiz, it's easiest to unfold with two hands, but doable with one if you can lean it against something for stability.

Storage

The extra-large storage basket is slanted and has a semi-ridged bottom with mesh sides that might hold two larger diaper bags. The bags can be accessed from the front and back, unless it's in bassinet mode. Unfortunately, it only holds 10 lbs, which significantly limits what you can put in it. There is also a snap-on cupholder.

Harness

The harness on this stroller is not the worst, but it's far from the best. There are only two slots for shoulder adjustment using the rethread method, which is time-consuming. The shoulder straps have a slide buckle, and the adjustment area is under a large, non-removable pad. The waist straps are also slide buckles, but the material's smoothness makes adjustments challenging because it takes a while to tighten them. The buckle itself feels cheap and flimsy, and the harness prongs need to be perfectly aligned to slide in. It is stiff to press.

Brakes

The brake is a rocker-style pedal you push down to set and lift up to release. While the design should be such that you can push on the opposite side to release the brake, it works better if you lift from the bottom, and that is saying something since that is also not great. We found that lifting the small brake pedal requires significant force and hurts if you are wearing sandals. There is also a free play zone between engaging and disengaging the brake. If you don't get the brake fully set as far as it will go, it might disengage.

Car Seat Compatibility

The Mompush Wiz accommodates Cybex, Maxi-Cosi, Nuna, and Chicco car seats with a click-in adapter you can purchase from the manufacturer.

Ease of Setup

Assembling the Wiz took at least ten minutes and was unnecessarily challenging. The instructions are poor and include hard-to-follow photos. For some reason it has you set it up in bassinet mode and then convert it to seat mode, which is frustrating. Better instructions could have made this process easier and faster. The company does offer videos online, which is helpful, but most competitors don't require video instructions.

Maneuverability

The Wiz is a nightmare to push with smaller wheels, a narrow design, and a flexing frame. Pushing it is a chore that only gets harder as children grow.

The Wiz feels like it is pushing against resistance, whether the surface is flat or low-pile carpet. The front wheels are really close together, and it feels kind of tippy, paired with the flexing frame, which turns felt like a dicey proposition. It doesn't glide like better moving strollers, and instead, you can feel every roll of the wheel. The turning radius is typical, but the frame resists and flexes almost as if it doesn't want to turn. The weight of the passenger sits more over the front wheels, and it sounds and feels like the rear wheels are sliding and not rolling. It isn't great at one-handed pushing.

Surprisingly, the shocks make the process more wobbly, and when weaving between cones, we experienced one front wheel or another lifting off the ground! The design feels like none of the parts know they should be working on concert and not against one another.

However the narrow, smaller front wheels don't do great off-road because they are closer together than the back wheels and the weight of the stroller is distributed mostly in the front. Pushing through grass, packed dirt, or over bumpy asphalt is doable but a workout and tackling any more challenging terrain, is almost impossible . Navigating up curbs is easy by lifting the front wheels up but be careful going down, the smaller front wheels present some stability challenges.

Transporting and Storing

The Mompush Wiz is interesting because it's one of our lightest strollers, but it is also one of the longest, which impacts how easy it is to transport and store.

The Wiz is an incredibly lightweight full-size stroller at 21.9 lbs. This makes it easier than many competitors to lift into your trunk or onto a bus with only one hand. This is super convenient when carrying a child and/or a diaper bag. The thinner fold size will also easily fit through any bus doors.

However, it's unfortunate that the Wiz is one of the longest strollers when folded. Its volume is 14,616 cubic inches, and the folded length is 42.1 inches, making it a challenge to fit in smaller trunks and making it unsteady when standing upright. Despite the longer length, the weight and thin design make this stroller fairly easy to transport and store.

Quality

The Wiz scored near the bottom of average compared to other strollers we tested for overall quality. The design focus appears to be on getting the job done inexpensively.

The canopy and seat fabric feel like upholstery, but are machine washable. The seat insert provides a good amount of padding, the harness straps are nice and smooth, but the buckle could be better. Overall, it gives off a cheaper feel, which probably won't have the durability of higher-priced options.

The wheels are solid foam, so you won't have to worry about flat tires, but the tread leaves a lot to be desired and might wear down quickly depending on where you stroll. We can envision distortion to the shape and sharp rocks getting stuck or creating indents. While there wasn't much play in them, they are closer to a child's toy than a great stroller.

The matte black aluminum frame has several plastic parts, which are more likely to break, and while it looks okay from a distance, it starts to look mangy up close. There is a lot of flex in this frame, and it doesn't feel solid or inspire confidence.

Kid's Comfort

The Mompush Wiz is comfortable enough for smaller, younger children, but less so for larger toddlers.

The seat on the Wiz offers ample padding, but it's smaller, so bigger toddlers might be cramped and uncomfortable. The strap-and-click adjustment recline system offers an impressive number of recline settings, including a fully flat position. You will have to use two hands to engage the recline, and the design is somewhat dated. The leg rest is not adjustable and moves with the seat recline.

The canopy is a wee bit larger than average, but there are no zippered extensions. It can protect from high sun, but early morning and late afternoon sun will shine in little peepers with no reprieve. The worst part of the design, however, is that it absorbs water and isn't weatherproof, meaning it won't be suitable for inclement weather. It has a mesh peek-a-boo window that secures with a magnetic clasp at the top of the canopy, but the placement makes it hard to use while pushing, which kind of negates the point of the window, in our opinion.

Continuous Sleeping Comfort

We say, “let sleeping babies lie,” and that makes a stroller's ability to prevent startle responses and potential wake-ups important. In our tests, the Mompush delivered some of the best results, with only 2 potential wake-up events recorded. While the flexy frame might not be the best quality, it seemed to help absorb some of the rougher vibrations when rolling over concrete and asphalt; whatever the reason, kind of a pleasant surprise!

Should You Buy the Mompush Wiz?

No. We don't think the Mompush is a good buy, even for those on the tightest budgets. While it is cheap (hooray!), it is equally frustrating and hard to use. We think the limited seating space and the difficulty we had pushing it are enough reasons to give it a pass, but if you need more convincing, the quality is also subpar, even for the price. While it is lighter weight and smaller when folded, it doesn't really do anything else well. If this is the top of your price range, and the budget cannot stretch even one more dollar, we think most families will be better off skipping a stroller and buying a great baby carrier instead.

What Other Full-Size Strollers Should You Consider?

Parents on a tight budget might be best served by a great baby carrier. They are lightweight, easy to transport, can keep both hands free, and hold the baby in a way that is calming and facilitates bonding. Some carriers allow you to carry your little one well into their third year (depending on size), and many parents find they are far easier to manage than a traditional stroller. That said, if you need a stroller and this is your price range, we much prefer the Baby Trend Expedition. This jogging-style stroller is much nicer and easier to push and turn than the Wiz. The sling-style seat is comfy, and the rubber tires make it great at heading off the beaten path for more adventures. While it sports a similar price, the quality is better, and it has a smaller folded size with only two pounds more to lift. If your budget can stretch and you want a more traditionally styled stroller, the Joie Ginger dlx is an excellent choice. While it costs more than twice the price of the Mompush, that money buys you a lot and decreases opportunities for frustrations.

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