PinocchioWe’re busy working on a new edition of BABY BARGAINS right now — it will be out next spring. For this book, we have a new secret weapon: a portable scale. (And you thought only the folks in white lab coats at Consumer Reports got to play with such toys).

Our mission: find out the TRUE weights of strollers. And, surprise, we so far have some major “goofs” with how stroller makers and web sites like Amazon list stroller weights.

Of course, most moms and dads realize they want the LIGHTEST stroller possible, since you’ll be hauling this thing in and out of a trunk. Or lugging it up a flight of subway stairs if you live in NYC. So there is a big incentive to fudge the figures a bit.

But the award for biggest lie on a stroller’s weight this year goes to…Peg Perego. Their new Vela stroller is described on Peg’s own web site as a “super light weight” model and listed with a 10 lb. weight. Amazon lists the stroller as 9.5 lbs. Babies R Us says 9.9 lbs.

And what is the true weight? The stroller actually weighs 16.4 lbs. Whoops!

Peg apparently doesn’t include the seat fabric, wheels, cup holder and just about anything else when it weighs strollers. We suppose the stripped down frame is 9.5 lbs.

To be fair, other stroller makers are guilty of this as well. Example: Maclaren lists its stroller weights WITHOUT the canopies or shopping baskets.

To all this, we say enough. Let’s have an even playing field—weights should be listed accurately on all stroller makers web sites. YES, that means the entire stroller: wheels, basket, canopy, basically anything that is supposed to be on the stroller as it ships.

And shame on Amazon and Babies R Us—they also bear responsibility to accurately list the weights of the products they sell.

Have you found any other strollers that are grossly under-weighed online? Let us know!

UPDATE 1-21-11: Good news! Since we posted this, Perego has updated their web site and catalog with more accurate stroller weights. Yes, now Peg weighs their strollers with the wheels on. However, Perego still omits the hood, which is about a pound.