Maclaren Triumph Review

The Maclaren Triumph is a standard umbrella type stroller with under seat storage and water resistant sun shade included. It has an infinitely adjustable recline feature, a weather shield included with purchase, and a 5-point harness for safety. It is made using high performance aluminum frame, and it comes with a handy carry strap attached to the frame side. The seat fabric is removable and machine washable for easy cleaning. It is a one hand fold product, which the manufacturer claims can be done in under 5 seconds. It is available in a few different colors. It is recommended for children 6 months up to 55 pounds.

Performance Comparison

Ease of Use

This product tied for 6th place with a few other strollers in ease of use. It wasn't a standout in this metric, but it wasn't a disappointment either.

Storage

The Triumph has only one storage area. It is a medium size storage basket beneath the seat. It is accessible from the back and sides, but not really from the front. It does fit a diaper bag, but it isn't an easy fit, and it is hard to use when the seat is reclined. Like most strollers, the storage bin must be empty to fold it for carry and stowing. The maximum weight for the bin is 4.4 pounds, which was the lowest out of the products we rated. The average was closer to 7 pounds, with the Mountain Buggy Mini and Peg Perego Pliko Mini both coming in at 11 pounds for their max weight capacity for storage.

This product does not have any other storage or accessory pocket for parents or children. This meant that everything has to be put in the bottom bin or kept on your person. This isn't a deal breaker, since umbrella strollers are supposed to be compact and limited, but given that many of the products had them, we kind of missed it when they didn't.

Sun Shade
The photos above show the canopy transition.

The Triumph has a medium sized sun shade that doesn't offer much more shade than just the face covered. It is rated at SPF 50, and we appreciate that the manufacturer specified the rating. The back of the canopy covers the seat when reclined, but it does not attach to the back rest and can be opened to provide more ventilation and air flow. This canopy has lock out arms to hold the fabric taunt. On the specific stroller we purchased the canopy kept disconnecting from the stroller frame, especially when it was folded. This was sort of a hassle and meant it had to be reattached every time we folded or unfolded the stroller. Overall it only earned a 4 of 10 for the sun shade which was below average for the products we tested.

Convenience

This product did not offer much in the way of added convenience or comfort. It had no other accessories, no adjustable leg rest, and limited back reclining options. The back only reclined to 35 degrees from an upright angle of 65 degrees. While it didn't have adjustable an adjustable leg rest, the seat bottom has a fairly soft edge which flexes some at the front which might help with added comfort.

Maneuverability

The maneuverability on this product was only average. It was harder to maneuver than several of the other products we tested. In essence, when we tried to use it on any surface beyond a hard flat surface it had difficulties. It struggled with a 1 inch lip, and other transition edges. It had trouble in the grass, and pretty much wouldn't move in gravel. Forget a one hand push, even on hard surfaces it had trouble executing this. This stroller scored the 3rd lowest in the metric, it seemed to have more difficulty than many of the other strollers in our tests.

For curb and stair negotiation, it didn't do much better. The brakes drag on the steps when the stroller is pulled up and over the curb

backwards. They even locked out a couple of times, which could be really hard to deal with if there was a child in the seat. The brakes would prevent you from going forward or backward and you would be stuck lifting the entire product weight to negotiate the stairs up or down. This could lead to a more dangerous situation than if the brakes did not accidentally engage.

Safety

Safety is important in strollers, so we reviewed some safety concerns that included brakes, harnesses, and tip over tests. The Triumph earned an average score in this metric with a 6 of 10. Two strollers scored lower in this metric, Jeep Wrangler All-Weather and Contours Lite, but several scored the same or higher. The highest score went to the Quinny Yezz, which earned an 8.

Brakes

The brakes on the Triumph were easy to apply, release, and were sandal foot friendly. They had only a little bit of play in them, and were a single brake control. They did have a sort of hitch in them that felt like they were engaged when they really weren't, so it meant we had to double tap the brake pedal to make sure they were really engaged. Sliding resistance for both forward motion and back was around 6 pounds of pressure before movement would start. This was below average and significantly below the highest ranking stroller which required 19 and 15 pounds of pressure for back and forward sliding respectfully. Overall this product did well in the brake test with only 3 other strollers earning a higher score. The highest in this test was the Quinny Yezz.

Harness

This product has a 5-point harness with adjustable shoulder straps, waist, and crotch strap. The harness is more difficult to get on than most of the others we tested. It is hard to get off, and it is a pain to adjust. When we did manage to get it adjusted, it fit the stunt baby fairly well, although the adjustment buckles for the shoulder straps sit right at the baby's ears. The release button on this product is pretty stiff, and it took two hands to open it. This stroller also required a screw driver to pry the shoulder strap height attachment loose; however, once the harness is adjusted and buckled, your child is definitely not falling out by accident!

Tipping

The side tip angle for this stroller is 27 degrees, this meant it was better than average, and within the normal range for this kind of product. Several other strollers matched the 27 angle tipping point, with the Quinny Yezz and Joovy Groove beating it with a tipping point of 30 degrees. The worst for this metric was the Mountain Buggy Mini which tipped at a mere 20 degrees.

The pounds of pressure required to tip the stroller over backwards was 20 pounds, well below average for the products we tested. However, there didn't seem to be any concern for the product tipping when baby moved up the back rest. The Chicco Capri C6 Lightweight stood out in this test, requiring an impressive 75 pounds of pressure before tipping.

Quality

This stroller scored just above average for quality out of the products we tested. It feels like a well-constructed stroller with good connections and little frame flex. The frame is made from high performance aluminum and it feels sturdy. The material is softer than many of the other strollers and was only hand washable, but it was water resistant, which is a nice touch. The fabric is smooth with a tight weave that resisted intentional attempts to snag it. It has good consistent stitching, and it is attached tightly to the stroller frame with little snagging.

As previously mentioned, one of the only complaints for quality on this stroller was the canopy popping out of place when the stroller was folded, and sometimes if it caught on other things. This was an annoyance, but we are will to concede that this might have been an anomaly of our specific stroller, and not a common problem for all the Triumphs.

The wheels on the Triumph seem to be identical to those on the Maclaren Quest Sport. They look like they are made from dense molded plastic which makes them puncture resistant, but it also meant they looked warn after very little use. However, this style of wheel is a norm for this category of products and it also meant the wheels are puncture proof and required little maintenance. The wheels on both Maclaren strollers seemed to be better quality than many of the other products with similar style wheels.

The handles on the Triumph are a good height, and are covered in a foam sleeve with a better textural quality than most of those we tested. However, the distance between the top of the handles and the back wheels was so short that tit was a common occurrence for users to kick the back wheels of the stroller when walking briskly or with longer strides. This might be a deal breaker for particularly tall people who will have to adjust their stride to accommodate the problem. With the brake engagement and folding release in a similar area, it is possible to bump those was well, which would be more of a problem than just an annoyance.

The overall comfort of this stroller is probably closer to what most parents envision an umbrella stroller to be. It has a sling style seat, a fairly stiff back rest with minimal padding all around. The fabric is nice and plush, but there is no added padding on the shoulder or crotch straps and no shocks for a smoother stroller.

Weight and Folded Size

Weight and Folded Size

The Triumph came in at exactly 13 pounds, which made it one of the lighter products in our tests. The lightest was Jeep Wrangler All-Weather which came in under 9 pounds. Thirteen pounds was still pretty light however, when the largest product we tested came in over 18; that extra 5 pounds can feel like a lot when carrying a stroller for a long distance or with your hands full. The Triumph when folded measured at 9x41x12, and took up 4, 428 cubic inches of space. This made it one of the smaller products in our test; only the Quinny Yezz and Chicco Capri C6 Lightweight took up less space when folded, both weighed less as well.

Ease of Folding

The manufacturers of this stroller claim it has a 5 second fold, their website even has a video of a cartoon mom racing thru the steps in under 5 seconds. While this product was easy to fold, and folded with one hand, we think realistically you can count on it taking longer than 5 seconds; especially if you need to remove a baby from the seat or bags from the storage bin. This product has a 3 step folding process, which was fairly standard among those products in our review, and the steps were intuitive and simple to execute. It also has an auto-locking feature to keep the stroller closed once folded, but it is worth noting that there is a lot of play in this lock, so the stroller can expand when leaned against the wall.

Commuting

Only 4 strollers scored higher than the Triumph for commuting. This stroller was easy to fold, light, and easy to transport. It had a shorter overall folded length than much of the competition, which meant it was easier to get into and out of a trunk, or onto and off public transportation. It also has a convenient carry strap which made picking it up with one hand easier than models that had to be carted around by holding the frame of the stroller. This product didn't do great for café friendliness because of the short seat height and lack of agility, but its compact size does mean that at least you are less likely to be in the way than you would be if your stroller had a bigger footprint.

Ease of Setup

This stroller came fully assembled and took approximately 4 and ½ minutes to get out of the box and set up. It earned a good score for being easy to set up, but honestly it is a good thing it came fully assembled because the instruction manual is an international style document that is difficult to read or follow. The majority of the time to set it up was trying to find the page with the instructions on how to open the product from a folded state. It would be nice to see this stroller come with a quick start guide to avoid this hassle.

Best Applications

The best application for this product is truly on par with the idea of a traditional umbrella stroller. Its lightweight build, and small folded size mean it is great for transporting in the trunk or on the go. The side carry handle, and one hand fold, mean you can handle this stroller by yourself while holding a baby. It did fine over hard flat surfaces that most users will encounter while using an umbrella stroller. Its smaller size, limited storage, and few nods to comfort mean it can't act as a primary stroller or even a dual purpose stroller. However, that doesn't mean it can't do the job of an umbrella stroller with ease.

Value

This product costs about $185 on average. This makes it a fairly high end umbrella stroller, but certainly not the most expensive we tested with many products costing over $200. However, for a basic umbrella stroller with no accessories like additional storage, cup holders, or other conveniences, it seemed a bit pricy compared to the competition. This stroller just didn't score well enough, or offer enough to truly justify the attached price. We feel confident that you won't necessarily dislike the triumph, but you also won't really be getting much for the price. There are cheaper, better scoring products that include. Both our Best Value award winner and the Contours Lite are better options than the Triumph. The Chicco Liteway scored 6 points better overall and is about $45 cheaper. The Contours earned the same score as the Triumph, but is over $100 cheaper. Both strollers made this product look like a poor value.

Conclusion

The Maclaren Triumph feels and acts like a traditional umbrella stroller and is probably more of what parents have in mind when looking for a secondary stroller than many of the other products we tested. It is lightweight, easy to fold, take up little space, and offers a basic storage bin and canopy. All of this makes this stroller a nice little umbrella stroller for parents looking for this type of product. However, overall this umbrella didn't earn enough points to really wow, and given that it scored lower than cheaper products, it is tough to recommend it. There were products in our tests that were easier to maneuver, had more accessories, and were on par for weight and size, but were cheaper. In the end, it isn't that we disliked the Triumph, it's just that we weren't that into it.