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Choosing a stroller as a first-time parent is a lot like shopping for your new father-in-law. You kind of know what you are looking for, but let’s be real… you still have a lot to learn about him. You’re mostly guessing what he might like, what he definitely will not, and hoping you land somewhere in the safe-but-thoughtful zone.
Strollers are no different. As a soon-to-be first time parent, I found it to be one of the more dizzying shopping journeys of my life. There are dozens of brands, a whole vocabulary you cannot fully understand unless you have been through it before, and you are essentially making an educated guess about what your day-to-day life with your kiddo (or kiddos by that time) will look like over the next three to four years, even though you know everything is about to change. Real talk: the afternoon my wife and I spent at the Babylist showroom in LA road-testing all the stroller brands side by side made me more stressed out then every doctor visit and scan combined.
In an effort to narrow down the overwhelming market, we focused on compact yet functional strollers that could handle everyday life without requiring a Yukon XL just to fit them in the trunk. (We’re a Subaru Outback family, for those wondering). Silver Cross, a luxury British baby brand, stood out with several options in this category, so we decided to give them a try with our new baby.
We like
- Extremely long brand history – loved by many including The Royal family!
- Offers strollers of all sizes and designs
- Love that the Breez collapses with the bassinet
- Compatible with many major US carseat brands
- Pain-free braking system (if you know, you know)
We don't like
- Higher end price tags (but they do reflect the quality and craftsmanship)
- Accessories sold separately
The Baby Brand of the Royals
In 1877, Silver Cross founder William Wilson invented the world’s first “pram” (a fancy British word for a stroller with a bassinet), designed so babies could be wheeled lying flat, complete with suspension for a smoother ride. The brand was quickly picked up by the royal family, with a Silver Cross pram supplied for King George VI in 1895, and later used by Queen Elizabeth II for Princes Philip and Charles.
By the mid-century, Silver Cross had become synonymous with traditional British craftsmanship and luxury baby gear. Today, that legacy spans over 10 million babies and a full range of strollers, cribs, high chairs, and nursery essentials. Its expansion into the U.S. market is relatively recent, which is why it’s only now becoming a more visible luxury stroller option here. On Larchmont Boulevard near where we live, the Nuna brand is a dime-a-dozen; Silver Cross stood out as a discerning choice amongst the yuppie hip-parent crowd. We decided to give the Breez Compact Stroller a spin to see how it stacks up against the more established luxury stroller names in the U.S…. and we definitely have thoughts.
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Easy Breez-y
We chose the Breez because it really feels like it does a lot of jobs at once. A lot of strollers tend to fall into one lane, either travel strollers or big, super modular systems that do everything but are bulky. With city living and postpartum life in mind, we wanted something compact that could still flex across different scenarios. The Breez is built for exactly that, with all-terrain wheels and the brand’s signature suspension. The ride is smooth as butter, even in our older Los Angeles ‘hood where uneven sidewalks are more common than we’d care to admit. Even more than that, it offers years of use, from newborn up to 55 lbs… that’s a huge range. Given the higher price point, it’s great to know this investment can grow with baby (and family). It achieves that through the bassinet attachment best for newborns (bringing us right back to Silver Cross’s OG pram – some things never really go out of style), the car seat adapter, and the toddler seat attachment.
Back to the bassinet for a second, because as a parent of a newborn, this is our primary mode for neighborhood walks and daytime outings so far. What makes this stroller really unique is that it folds with the bassinet still attached. I’m not the most handy and scared off from most DIY projects, and it took me longer than I care to admit to figure out how to collapse the bassinet into travel mode for the trunk or plane, but we finally got the hang of it thanks to a few Youtube tutorials. Now if we stop for lunch or a coffee, we can quickly fold it down and tuck it under the table instead of dealing with stroller parking for a very large setup. Even better, the bassinet is approved for overnight sleep, which was honestly my first question once I heard it was foldable. While we haven’t ever used it for a full overnight snooze, we feel great knowing a baby can safely nap in it whether we’re out on a walk or traveling.
A few other standout features for me are the large under-seat basket (which is surprisingly hard to find in compact strollers) and the easy, flip-flop-friendly brake. My Sunday farmer’s market tradition looks a little different these days with baby-on-board, but I was blown away to squeeze a full week’s haul in this storage area: eggs, veggies, fresh bread and peak season mangoes to boot!
Additionally, some stroller brakes feel like they’re designed to punish you if you’re wearing sandals, but not this one. It also has a two-height seat adjustment system, which I hadn’t really seen before, so you can bring the baby closer depending on your own height. The canopy is UPF 50, which makes it one less thing to worry about in this very sunny summer, and the rain cover acted like an additional sun shield in over far too warm summer heat here in Los Angeles. There are a lot more details I could get into, but let’s get to what you actually came here for: how did it actually work in real life?
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Baby’s (And Dad’s) Thoughts
As a first-time dad, I truly didn’t have much of a wishlist when it came to selecting a stroller. Now that I’m a few months in, the three things I’d prioritize most (where Breez shines) are smooth ride, compact/portability, and craftsmanship/attention to detail.
Like I shared above, the ride with the Breez is elite. You can tell they’ve worked hard at delivering great suspension technology, it’s enjoyable to push even with baby + storage gear fully loaded. How do they deliver that, exactly? Springs on both the front and rear wheels absorb the shock of bumpy ground, inclusive of cobblestone and uneven pavement. The wheels are particularly large, allowing for a smooth glide, and the front wheels are coated in a soft rubber compound you’d find in sneakers to further cushion the ride.
In the first few months of baby's life, whenever we were brave enough to take her for an outing, we’d load her into the car seat and bring the Breez along. Being able to quickly collapse from a full sized bassinset to a trunk-ready collapsed form factor was huge. Transparently, the stroller is on the heavier side, so transport to and from the car requires someone able to lift and load that higher weight.
Finally, I’m a brand and aesthetic snob. Having self-described good taste while leading The Quality Edit as Editor-in-Chief for the last 6 years will do that to a man. The Silver Cross brand is far and away the most beautiful of its competitive set; once you see the product in person side-by-side the others in the category, it’s hard to desire anything but the Silver Cross. It’s oozing in UK heritage, craftsmanship, and smart design ethos. For example, the leather strap on the handle bar has developed a gorgeous patina that I know will get better and better with time. The colorways were all attractive to us, but the Champagne colorway was our favorite and looks even better in person. If you’re looking to make a statement with your stroller purchase, walking the Breez down the street in your neighborhood will certainly turn heads.
Is It Worth the Luxury Price Tag?
At the end of the day, the Breez lands in that in-between space of “this is definitely a splurge” and “we actually use this every day without thinking about it.” It’s not inexpensive and for most new parents, it can feel steep. But you’ll also feel the quality in the product right away. A lot of the design choices are there to make your day-to-day easier, and over the course of several years that pays for itself in my opinion.
For us, the value showed up in the small, repetitive moments. Folding it fast when you’re out and about, not having to think twice about where it’s going to go when you’re in a tight space, actually using the bassinet constantly instead of it feeling like an extra attachment you avoid, and not fighting with brakes that suck. It’s not trying to do a million things in a clunky way. It just works across a few key stages really well and that’s kind of the point. There are cheaper strollers and there are lighter strollers, but most of them come with at least one daily annoyance you end up just accepting. If you can add this to your registry and crowd-source the cost from your family and close friends, that’s another way to bring the Silver Cross brand home without breaking the bank.
So is it worth it? For us, it’s a strong yes. It’s compact, it’s functional from newborn stage on and it’s something we actually reach for every day instead of avoiding it or swapping it out… which is a real win!
Step into Silver Cross, where over a century of British craftsmanship is meeting a new generation of everyday family life.
