Maxi Cosi Foray: The Can-Do (Everything!) Stroller

Maxi Cosi Foray Stroller

There is no sugarcoating it: A travel system makes life easier when you’re a new mom. The ability to transport baby from car to stroller and back to car again can be a real sanity-saver, especially if your little one only sleeps on the move. But when your infant is done with his or her carseat, will the stroller you’re left with be the stroller of your dreams?

With the Maxi Cosi Foray ($350), you don’t need to choose. Not only can the Foray handle baby from infancy through toddlerhood, it does so with a seat that switches from rear to forward-facing and with the styling of a standalone, standout single.

Setting up the Foray is fairly straightforward, requiring just a few pulls and clicks before the chassis is locked and the wheels are ready to go on. The seat then slides into two towers and clicks on both sides when it is secure. To switch the stroller from forward to rear-facing, simply press both release buttons and pull up.

If you’re a brand new mom going for the travel system experience, the Foray accepts a Maxi-Cosi Mico (sold separately) infant carseat. Instead of installing the stroller seat, click the Mico directly onto the chassis of the Foray with the same two towers mentioned previously. Just make sure you engage the parking brake whenever you’re switching out — from infant carseat to stroller seat, or from forward to rear-facing — because the pulling-up motion is difficult (and unsafe) otherwise.

Click below to read about the Foray’s fold.

The Foray comes with a bumper bar, a cup holder, an adjustable handlebar, a rain canopy that zips directly onto a clip-on canopy and a stroller seat which is adjustable to three different settings: sitting, reclined and semi-reclined. We used the Foray with our 35-pound, 2-year-old son and he had plenty of room to ride. The fabric is tasteful and high quality, and the stroller handles exceptionally well — taking turns at (literally) the push of a finger.

The fold for the Foray takes patience and practice! It is the one drawback of what I otherwise found to be an intuitive, user-friendly stroller; for it requires two hands in an era where it’s not at all uncommon to find a one-handed fold. Also worth noting is the fact that the stroller seat must be removed and stowed separately prior to folding. So — at first — getting in and out of the trunk of a car isn’t something that you’ll be able to do in a flash. Over time, however, I was much more comfortable with the set-up and break-down of the Foray and can be up and running in a matter of seconds.

All in all, I was very impressed with the Foray. I love that it can be used with an infant carseat without the need for a special adapter bar, but what’s more, I love that once said carseat has been outgrown you’re not left with a clunky, antiquated stroller you hate to push. Quite the opposite, the Foray is a stylish, modern stroller with the added bonus of a reversible seat. For a mid-range stroller, I couldn’t ask for anything more.

– Missy