My daughter was born in 2016. My son was born in 2018. As you can probably imagine, we have gone through quite a few strollers within the last couple of years. We started off with a Baby Trend Expedition. It's a jogger, so it's nimble, easy to push, but our baby would get sweaty real fast. This tells me one thing, the fabric is not breathable. We then decided to splurge and moved on up to a premium stroller. The premium stroller looks nice but it's somewhat heavy to push, and it started to hurt my wrists after about 3 months. Once our daughter turned a year and a half, the seating area became a little too small. After my son was born, we swapped it out with a Stokke Xplory. The Stokke Xplory is super easy to push and the glide is almost effortless. We love the curvature on the handle, but the wheel base is just a bit too long for easy maneuvering. Also, in order to fold or to reverse the seat, you would have to take the entire seat off before you can do anything with it. Around the same time, we also picked up a GB Pockit along the way for international travel. The GB Pockit is super tiny, but you get no protection from the sun. It's also kind of wobbly and difficult to push due to the easy-to-fold design, low handle bars and smaller wheels.
So, after all the trials and tribulations, here are the lessons we have learned along the way. If you don't want to end up with tendonitis and achy joints, you'd better get a stroller that's easy to push, period. And due to the fact that babies grow, trust me, they do grow fast, you need a stroller that's sturdy enough to handle up to 50 lbs. In order to achieve all of that, you would want a stroller that's solid, roomy with a large sun canopy but not too heavy. And ideally, that stroller should also come with a big storage space, big wheels, a wheel base that's not too long and a handle bar that can be adjusted for different heights. To top it all off, we would also like to see a stroller can be folded into a smaller size without having to take the seat off. As you have probably guessed it, according to the law of physics, some of those aforementioned requirements are somewhat self-contradictory. But guess what? Introducing our new Cybex Priam! It's everything we've ever wanted and more!
The overall dimension of the Cybex Priam reminds me of our old premium stroller, except the Priam feels a lot more luxurious. In comparison to other luxury full size strollers, The Priam feels more athletic and easier to push. Maybe it's got something to do with the big wheels and the simple geometry that goes into the design? To my wife's delight, the sun canopy is double layered. It's got black fabric on the outside and silver fabric on the inside, offering maximum protection from the sun. We used to have so much trouble trying to reverse the seat on our Stokke Xplory, not anymore! All we have to do is push the two large buttons on the seat posts and viola, liftoff and reverse! The storage area on the bottom is huge, and it's even got a magnetic closure in case you want to close it up and make it look smaller. The handle bar can be adjusted all the way up to 42 inches above the ground. So, tall people, there is hope.
However, the Priam is not without its own foibles. One day while I was strolling around with my son in the stroller, I noticed that he's got his thumb stuck in the hole that was cut out for the push button on the bumper bar. What if somebody accidentally bumped his hand while he's got his thumb stuck in there? Scary thought indeed.
Also, once you click in that cup holder, you will realize that it's within easy reach of the baby in the stroller, especially if the seat is facing backward. I wouldn't want to put any hot drinks in there. A cold drink, maybe, that is, if your baby is the kind that would leave your stuff alone. A higher up position on the inside of the handle bar would be more ideal. Well, just my 2 cents.
In terms of putting the stroller together, the use of zippers on the back of the seat pack and the footrest is both a plus and a minus. It's a plus, because they make the overall look clean and tucked in. It's a minus, because in order to put everything together, it may call for some patience and a good amount of finger dexterity, especially when putting together the footrest. It's definitely not something you would want to try when you are in a bad mood. But then again, the good news is, you would only need to do it once, if you do it correctly. My suggestion is to watch some online tutorials. Better yet, if you can find the stroller on display at a local store, go see it in person and get cozy with it before you pull everything out of the box.