Stroller Mod – Bugaboo Breezy Sun canopy on Uppababy strollers

The Bugaboo Breezy Sun canopy has been one of the most lusted-after accessories amongst stroller pushers. Not only because it is a member of the stylish and well-made Bugaboo lineup, but it is genuinely a very useful summer accessories. It provides head-to-toe sun coverage for the child, yet it still offers great visibility from inside the stroller. Even my three years-old who usually hate sun canopy fell in love with this one. If only their strollers don’t cost a down payment of a small car…

Fret not! Astute parents have been experimenting with stroller hacks for a while. Fellow blogger Lux & Leather reported that you can use the Bugaboo Breezy Sun canopy on non-Bugaboo strollers! Check out their article to see a list of stroller models that had been tested. 

Since we recently started using a 2020 Uppababy Cruz v2 (Read our full review here), which has a lot of structural similarities to the Uppababy Vista, we jumped to the opportunity to try the canopy hack. 

In short, the Bugaboo Breezy Canopy for Donkey will fit an Uppababy Cruz v2! Here are two ways to experiment:

Method 1

You’ll need:

Bugaboo Breezy Canopy for Donkey (any generation)+ 

Bugaboo canopy clamp set for Donkey + 

Bugaboo canopy wire set for Doneky

This method follows the one described by Lux & Leather. It is the most straight forward and most tried method, and it looks the best. Since the Donkey canopy clamp operates very similarly to the Vista/Cruz native canopy clamp, it is just a matter of assembling the Bugaboo canopy set and switch it with the Uppababy one. Downsides are, some hackers found that the Bugaboo clamps fit loose on the Vista frame, making the canopy difficult to stay on a higher position. To combat this, people had mentioned a little electrical tape on the frame helped to cushion out the gap sufficiently. Also, this method costs a little more, about $40 extra, to buy the Bugaboo wire and clamps. Moreover, at the time of our experiment, the clamps are actually out of stock everywhere. If you’re facing the same clamp shortage, but are still eager to try, you may attempt the next method.

Method 2

You’ll need:

Bugaboo Breezy Canopy for Donkey (any generation)

You can use the Breezy Sun canopy fabric directly on the native Uppababy canopy frame, without the need for the Bugaboo wires and clamps!

With this method, the Breezy Sun canopy will function perfectly fine. And since the clamp system is Uppababy’s own, you can be sure it’ll fit on the stroller just right. The issue with this method is, however, that without a little modification, the result does not look as good as Method 1 (see picture above). Since the Uppababy canopy clamps have an in-set middle wire position, the Breezy Sun canopy will pucker around the clamps. Also, the Breezy Sun canopy is taller than the Uppababy one, resulting in some bunching of material near the clamps, particularly when the canopy is collapsed. 

If you don’t mind a little sewing, there are two solutions:

Mod A) Make the middle channel bigger near the clamps – Referencing Uppababy’s own design, the middle channel on the stock canopy was made a lot wider near the clamps to accommodate the position of the in-set middle wire. On the Breezy Sun canopy, you may try carefully untacking one side of the stitching on the middle channel, nearing both clamps, and add a section of fabric to enlarge the channel. (See picture above) This should solve the puckering issue and also give the canopy more space to straighten the excess material to reduce bunching.

Mod B) Leave the middle wire outside of the channel entirely – Distribute and attach four loops of elastic bands, allowing extra length near the clamps, along the middle channel for the wire to thread through instead. (See picture above) By not encasing the middle wire in the channel, the canopy fabric will be more relaxed and sit straighter on the frame. Although this method will leave the middle wire exposed inside the canopy, it will not be seen from the outside, and only minimally visible when the canopy is collapsed. Compared to Mod A, the sewing here is simpler and potentially reversible, suitable for if you want to undo the hack and sell the canopy later.

What about using Breezy Sun Canopy from other Bugaboo models?

Through this experiment, we found that most hacks had been done with the use of the Donkey model Breezy Sun canopy because:

– This canopy is most similar in width with other non-Bugaboo full-sized strollers

– This canopy has three wire channels, whereas most other Bugaboo models had two. The absent of the third wire channel means that the canopy structure cannot be raise or lowered independently of the seat frame, when used on non-Bugaboo strollers.

– This canopy uses clamps most adaptable or most similar to other non-Bugaboo stroller.

Base on these, we can extrapolate that, at least in the case of Uppababy Vista or Cruz:

– Bugaboo Buffalo canopy will fit, because it is full-sized, takes three wires and uses the same clamps as the Donkey.

– Bugaboo Fox/Lynx canopy might fit if using Method 2, with either modification. This model is full-sized, but it has a proprietary clamping system, so it cannot be used with Method 1. Also, this model only takes two wires.

– Bugaboo Cameleon canopy is too narrow for full-sized stroller application. This model lacks a third wire channel at the back. It does, however, has the same slip-clip clamping system as the Donkey model, so it may suits some smaller sized strollers with a similar seat width and frame size to the Cameleon.

– Bugaboo Bee canopy is also too narrow for full-sized stroller application. It takes two wires and the clamp system is proprietary and not adaptable.

Have you find any stroller hack useful lately? Comment and share below!