UPPAbaby G-Lite Stroller Review

UPPAbaby G-LITE

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How it Compares

The UPPAbaby G-Lite, G-Lite, and Minu V2 are all under 20 lbs and met our criteria for lightweight or umbrella strollers. The G-Lite has the lowest price of the three.

The G-Lite and G-Lite had lower scores than the Minu V2 and although they are all solid strollers, none of them were top performers in the group.

Related Reading: Best Umbrella Strollers Tested

A Few Criticisms

The G-Lite is well-loved but there are also some complaints. We read all of the negative reviews and summarized them in the table below. In the column next to each criticism we share our own experience in testing and using the stroller.

Criticism	Our Experience
No back support	Agreed. The seat back is hammock-style and doesn’t offer rigid support. We do like the ventilation it provides however.
Difficult to fold	Agreed. The seat back is hammock-style and doesn’t offer rigid support. We do like the ventilation it provides, however.
Poor maneuverability	Partially true. The G-Lite steers reasonably well, jumps curbs easily, and rolls straight without pulling to the side. It doesn’t do well on rough terrain.
Wheels and brakes are unreliable	Agreed on the brakes. Getting them to engage consistently has been a problem. We haven’t had any problems with the wheels although they are not the highest quality.
Uncomfortable seat	The shape of the seat does cause some slouching.
Poorly placed straps	We haven’t noticed any problems with the strap placement.
Difficult buckle operation	Disagree. We like only having two clips to snap in and the buckle requires an appropriate amount of force.
Too heavy and bulky	Disagree about weight and agree about bulkiness. At 11.2 lbs it is one of the lightest strollers on the market. It is quite big and bulky when folded.
Doesn’t stand when folded.	False. It does stand; see our picture below.
Limited seat recline	True. It has only one reclined position that isn’t very reclined.

Testing and Research

We selected the top 20 lightweight strollers on the market based on customer feedback, their safety characteristics, and weight and purchased them for extensive testing. We performed more than 100 tests and measurements on each stroller in the group. Each stroller was used by multiple parents and kids too.

Weight and Folded Size

The G-Lite folds umbrella style with a hinge in the middle and a long narrow collapsed form. It is the lightest stroller we tested at 11.2 lbs. The shape and length of this stroller make it unacceptable as a carry-on item in airlines but it can certainly be gate checked.

Ease of Use

For such a lightweight stroller, the G-Lite has quite a large storage basket at 0.65 ft³. We were able to fit a reasonably sized diaper backpack in it. It is rated to hold 10 lbs.

The back of the basket serves as a mesh pocket that can be used for damp or smelly things, or as a small-item pocket.

The seat buckle has only two clips and they attach to the shoulder and hip straps of the 5-point harness. The buckling and unbuckling are smooth and did not take much pressure to push the release button.

I found the harness adjustment less frustrating and more intuitive than most strollers. Even raising the shoulder straps to higher slots wasn’t too difficult because it is easy to access the back and front of the seat at the same time.

The seat in this stroller reclines but there are only two positions, reclined and upright. The reclining mechanism is two zippers on the back sides of the seat. It works but certainly isn’t as easy as the competition.

It doesn’t recline far but we’ll discuss that under Kid Comfort below.

The dual, umbrella-style handles on this stroller are not adjustable in height and are fixed at 39.5 inches depending on where you grab them. This means that taller parents might want to push farther up on the handles.

The handles are covered with foam and feel mediocre in terms of quality. As with most umbrella strollers, there is a little flex between the handles, but nothing that makes it feel unstable.

A plastic cup holder attaches to the frame with a note that says 1.5 lbs or less. It can be removed but I usually leave it on when I fold the stroller.

There is no peekaboo window built into the canopy.

We were not too impressed with the user manual but we unboxed and assembled the stroller in only 4 minutes, so the manual isn’t too important. Except for putting on the front wheels, it comes fully assembled.

The brakes have two individual pedals, one on each rear wheel. We found them difficult to engage, sometimes requiring multiple pushes with our feet. It was also painful to release the pedals when wearing sandals.

The UPPAbaby G-Lite we purchased is the Jake style which has a black canopy and metallic blue frame.

There is also a red version of the G-Lite called the Denny style, with a red canopy and aluminum (silver) colored frame.

The G-Lite is not infant car seat compatible, however, there are several other accessories available including:

• Rain cover
• Parent organizer
• Travel bag

Steering and Maneuverability

The UPPAbaby G-Lite wasn’t a winner but performed reasonably well on our steering course scoring 8 out of 10 stars. This score measures how well it steers and pushes on normal, paved, and flat surfaces. Ease of Steering:

The G-Lite performs poorly off-road and on sidewalks that aren’t flat or have a lot of cracks. To be fair, this is true for most umbrella-style strollers.

A bright spot for the G-Lite is its ability to jump curbs. It had a lower curb jumping force requirement than most other strollers:

The G-Lite also has less tendency to veer than most of the competition. Higher numbers in this table indicate that the stroller pulls less to go off-center. Tendency to Veer:

Overall Steering and Maneuverability Ratings:

Folding and Transport

Our “How to fold the UPPAbaby G-Lite” video:

Many people hate the UPPAbaby G-Lite and G-Luxe folding mechanisms. I don’t like it either but I’ve at least grown used to it. It takes two hands because you have to pull separate rings on each handle. Additionally, you have to press a release button on one handle at the same time as pulling the ring.

Despite the difficult process, I can fold the G-Lite in about 3 seconds on average and unfold it in 4 seconds.

One good thing about the stroller is that it stays folded well. The latch that keeps it folded snaps on reliably and stays until you unlatch it so you don’t have to worry about the stroller opening up when you are carrying it.

It will stand on its own if you arrange the wheels just right but it certainly isn’t stable.

You can drag it by a handle and let it roll on its rear wheels when it is folded. But to keep my hands free I carry it by the shoulder strap which is convenient to access on the back of the stroller. The strap isn’t padded or adjustable but it is fairly comfortable because the stroller is so light.

This stroller definitely does not fit in an airplane overhead bin! Even though it is the lightest stroller of the 20 we purchased, it ranks 12th in folded size.

Fold Ratings:

Kid Comfort

The G-Lite ranks 8 out of 20 in the smoothness of the ride. We measured the acceleration levels in the seat which are affected by vibration and bumpiness. Ride Smoothness:

The maximum weight limit of the G-Lite is 55 lbs which is high for an umbrella stroller. The seat height of 20.5 inches and seat depth of 10 inches, as well as several other measurements we made are sufficient for supporting bigger kids.

Comfort is a separate issue. Some children find the hammock-style back comfortable and others don’t like feeling slouched. The base of the seat sits at a 24 degree angle which is much steeper than other strollers. The seat back is only at 54 degrees which isn’t very upright. In its reclined position the seat goes back to 45 degrees so there isn’t much difference between reclined and upright.

There is no padding on the harnesses and no fabric behind the crotch buckle to block heat if the buckle has been sitting in the sun.

Also missing is an extendable leg rest, kid cup holder, snack tray, or a snack cup.

The canopy when fully extended provides reasonable sun protection although legs and possibly arms and parts of the torso will be exposed to the sun.

Quality and Safety

Most of the parts and materials on the G-Lite seem to be of high quality. The folding mechanism has worked consistently.

We haven’t experienced problems with the wheels although they don’t feel particularly sturdy.

These white stress marks and scratches on the side have appeared on the cup holder presumably from the stroller laying folded with pressure on the cup holder plastic.

The material has worn well, as have the foam handles.

We attempted to tip the stroller over backward by hanging a 12 pound bag on the handles. The stroller fell backward. It is never recommended to hang heavy objects on stroller handles for this reason. About 25% of the strollers tipped backward and the others did not.

We also measured the force required to tip the stroller over to the side. This stroller required less force to tip over than most other strollers in the group, probably due to its weight and wheelbase configuration.

We looked for pinch points on the stroller that could result in cuts, pinching, or fingers or limbs getting caught. We found several places where pinching can occur. It is always wise to keep children away from the stroller when it is being collapsed or opened and keep their fingers away from the wheels.

We tested the noise level of the G-Lite and found it to be among the noisier strollers in the group.

Average Decibel Level:

UPPAbaby G-Lite vs G-Luxe

The UPPAbaby G-Luxe is about 30% more expensive than the G-Lite. The G-Luxe is more, well, Luxe.

The difference between the two strollers is primarily in the material and part quality, which is superior in the G-Luxe. There are also a few design improvements that make the G-Luxe easier to use.

• The seat has one additional recline position and the reclining mechanism is easier to operate.
• The brake pedals control both rear wheels with a single pedal and the pedals engage more consistently.
• The carry strap is affixed to one side of the stroller instead of being in the center and interfering with access to the basket.

The G-Luxe has a few minor feature additions like a small-item pocket just under the handles, an extendable leg rest, and padding on the shoulder harness straps.

See our full review of the G-Luxe stroller.

Quality improvements in the G-Luxe include:

• Softer, sturdier grips on the handles.
• A higher grade of fabric for the canopy and seats.
• Rubber-treaded wheels instead of EVA foam treaded wheels.
• Single wheels in the front vs double.
• A firm, more comfortable seat.

In terms of performance, the G-Luxe performed better than the G-Lite in ease-of-use, kid comfort, and quality. The G-Lite had better scores in maneuverability and they had similar scores in folding.

The most notable advantage of the G-Lite is that it is 3.8 lbs lighter than the G-Luxe and 13% smaller when folded.