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Review: Thule Urban Glide 2

Thule Urban Glide 2 (TUG2 from here on) was with us for the first half of the summer, I am just now getting around to putting together bits and pieces of little reviews I've done on it. Before TUG2 I used Mountain Buggy Swift (which is rather a lightweight stroller than a all-terrain stroller), so clearly I was very exited to get TUG2.
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Image from https://www.thule.com
TUG 2 is available in four colors: dawn grey, red, blue and black-on-black. I thought dawn grey would be perfect for us because it wasn't too dark for the summer and gender neutral.

Some technical data:

Front wheel: 12 inches (swivel, lockable)
Back wheels: 16 inches
Carrying capacity: 34 kg (fits a child up to 111 cm of height)
Carrying capacity of the shopping basket: 4.5 kg (+1.4 to the seat back pockets, 0.5 kg to the inside pockets of the seat)
Footprint: 105 x 69 cm
Folded dimensions: 87 x 69 x 34 (wheels are easy to remove, then the width is less)
Weight: 11.4 kg

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TUG2 has a really innovative and easy to use hand-break. It is very ergonomic and you don't even knowingly have to use it. For example when going down a hill, just by holding on to it, it will break itself by pulling on it with its weight. The stroller also has a foot break.

TUG2 has a fairly large footprint and low center of gravity. This makes it very stable. The manual forbids hanging luggage from the handle, though I think a small organizer won't tip it easily, just be aware that this is not official recommendations.

We used this stroller in the beach, sandy and rocky hiking trails in Estonia, forests, gravel roads. And also city streets, parks and took it on a lot of car rides. It didn't fail us. Perhaps just going to the shopping center wasn't my favorite activity with it because it is fairly large and heavy to lift into and out of the car (for my poor back at least) and it is quite wide for most shops. So ideally I would like to have a shopping stroller or travel stroller together with TUG2.  Then it would be an ideal combination.

When folded the stroller is quite similar to Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle (UJ) - bit shorter, but bit broader and higher when folded. The folding mechanism is quite similar. The wheels can be quite easily removed, but just make sure the foot-break is not on.

The fabrics are water and UV resistant. The harness is 5-point, and I really love the harness padding that does not fall down. Adjusting the seat recline works with a rope-system. Next to UJ and Bumbleride Indie, it is my favorite.

The shopping basket is covered, which is a very welcome solution in the winter or rainy weather. When Thule Sleek had a bit smaller shopping basket and was closed off with zippers and magnets, TUG2 is quite large closed off by zippers and Velcro. I prefer the magnets, but I also loved how much I could fit into TUG2's basket. It is not really meant for large grocery bags either with the carrying capacity of 4.5 kg. On the next pictures I did try to go shopping with it. The kid was there too, just busy running around the playground (I did not take just the stroller to the store 😁).
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Sitting up, the seat is not fully up at 90 degrees, but this is quite normal for jogging strollers. But thanks to this and the hand break you can take it jogging or rollerblading even. When reclined TUG2 officially does not go to full recline, however, when put side-by-side with Bumbleride Indie, they are really similar. Unfortunately I didn't have them home with me at the same time, so don't have a comparison picture.

The handle is very easy to regulate, and I never managed to hit my feet to the back axle. Using the arm band should be obligatory with TUG2 as it basically rolls off on its own when not holding on to it. It is one of the easiest strollers to push that I know.

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The canopy is long enough, has an extension bit (partially mesh) and a sun visor that folds under the canopy when not in use. In the winter I would prefer not to use the extension due to the mesh part.
In Thule Sleeki this has been fixed.

One of the most typical places TUG2 wears is the plastic part on top of the front wheel (you can see it on the picture a bit too). It easily gets scratches on it when folding it on asphalt a lot. You can avoid this by holding up the front a bit or if you are lazy like me, just buy the spare part if you want to freshen up the look - it only costs about 5 EUR.

TUG2 does not have a real calf-support for napping. In that sense it is a lot like the Mountain Buggy stroller. But it is very easy to make on by putting a water bottle between the folding handle and footrest. This is of-course not supported or recommended by the producer but this is rather my own hack. It is definitely not recommended to use this while running. You can also have a footrest made by Sannale.

About accessories: I think the bumper bar is the most essential accessory. It is my favorite of all the bumper bars I have used. Easy to open with one hand and the kid cannot open it herself. I also tried the sunshade/mosquito net (on the next picture with a blanket hanging out from the side) and rain cover. The former was not my favorite and I exchanged it for an universal mosquito net instead. The rain cover fits very firmly as usual with Thule. I also got a bottle cage, which is only meant for bottles not cups. I had a seat cover custom made that can be seen on the pictures above. Basically Bugaboo seat cover is quite ideal but I wanted something a little bit longer and Vankriliisu made this for me. Loved it!

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If I would have more room for storage and a little bit larger car and I didn't have the need to test out different strollers :D .... I would probably say that simply by strolling capability it is one of the best I know and I would be willing to buy it again. Unfortunately I also go by public transport a lot and there it is a bit inconvenient in my opinion during rush-hour for example. But I got where I needed to be, just maybe needed to plan my route a bit. So in an ideal world I would have a really compact travel stroller next to TUG2 for shopping and bus trips.

TUG2 does not limit much when it comes to user age - you can use it with a bassinet (which folds down to really small package), from 6 months onward in the stroller and can be used for a long time.

You can buy Thule Urban Glide 2 from Stroller24. They have a good deal on 2 in 1 sets as well right now.

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