... stroller shopping... where to start?!

gisjas

Anyone Bought Or Decided On A Stroller Yet? So Many Options A Bit Overwhelmed About How To Go About Getting Started.. Any Tips Would Be Awesome.(Ftm) Thanks!

Sweet Sadie Mae

We have our Phil and Ted's jogger for outdoor terrain from our last baby and im getting the summer infant 3d flip stroller for taking into stores. Actually my mom is getting the flip stroller for us and I'm so excited about it. Last time we had a graco- HATED it, joovy kooper (had two because first one broke)- HATED it, various cheap umbrella strollers that I never used. If you go outdoors a lot I recommend a good jogger/all terrain stroller but they are bulky so a lightweight for places like a store are nice to have too. I considered the britax b agile to go with our infant seat but the flip just looks easier and costs less.

mom4liak

A big thing for us was handle height. My DH is 6'4" tall and some of the strollers have him bent way over to push. Not comfortable at all! I am 5'8" and I have found the same issue on a few of them. Also really think about your lifestyle. We live in a small farming community and tend to go to lots of outdoor festivals and county fairs (my older LOs show animals) so we need a stroller that can handle "off road" conditions. Also think about your vehicle. 16 years ago with my first DS, I picked out the "perfect stroller" and was heartbroken that once fully assembled I couldn't fit it in the trunk of my car. It also weighed quite a bit and I lived in a 2 story walk up. Needless to say it wasn't the perfect stroller after all but a big waste of money!

anorthro

We got a used BOB stroller and an adaptor for our car seat. We also registered for a Summer Infant 3D Lite stroller.

ninas30

I candy pram all the way, they come in great colours and look really trendy!

trishee13

We're getting the UppaBaby Vista!

leighann1

I would suggest going to a baby store like Buy Buy Baby and having a salesperson give you an overview. Even if you don't buy or register there, it's worth it. I felt much less overwhelmed after we went.

christina4436

Everyone I know that has city mini by baby jogger loves it. So I tried out that and a few others at BBB and that was the lightest and glidiest so got that. Can't wait to use!

on_the_move

The first thing to do is look at your lifestyle because having a baby won't change who you guys are.  Do you like to be outside? Hike? Walk around the block?  Look at the sidewalks because I didn't notice how torn up ours were until we were pushing a baby stroller over it.  Do you shop a lot or travel in urban areas where you will want a lighter stroller to put in the car or carry up stairs?  We have a few strollers: we have a snap and go that I use when the baby is still spending a lot of time in the car seat, it is light and doesn't take up much room in trunk, but it isn't very heavy duty.  We have a BOB revolution jogging stroller which is big, but amazing for being outside on hikes or even just cracked up sidewalks.  We have a Chicco umbrella stroller (actually 2) for after the baby is about 6 months and can sit up on it's own.  This one is light and good for shopping and around town when the baby is not in the car seat as much.  Along with those we also use an Ergo carrier, but that is a different issue.

BabyOIsComing

I agree with @leighann1. Going to Buy Buy Baby, BRU or another store with lots of strollers will be a huge help. You can get a feel for how each stroller handles and test a few out side by side. My absolute biggest concern was the weight, and then ease of opening/closing it, because I'm going to have to get it up and down lots of steps. Pretty much everyone recommended the Baby Jogger City Mini -which definitely had the easiest fold up mechanism, but was still kind of heavy. Baby Jogger also makes a style called the Vue Lite which we ended up opting for. It open/closes like an umbrella stroller which is less ideal, but it's significantly lighter, is forward and backward facing, and has an additional infant pram that was more reasonably priced than other prams I'd seen. One thing we didn't worry too much about is finding a stroller that you can clip a car seat onto. For most people that's going to be a big deal and the Vue Lite isn't good for that.

christina4436

@BabyOIsComing vue light use to have travel system with car seat on target online. I got the city mini travel system from BBB but you can also buy the carseat there I think or on baby jogger website. I'm having hard time just finding an extra base though.

mmcknight

I bought the graco fastaction fold jogging stroller. I went to Babies R Us and they let me push it around the store and try closing and opening it. I could also buy it as a travel system with the snug ride 35 car seat.

rms924

I love the bugaboo cam 3 and that's what I bought. Smooth ride and good quality. I live in the suburbs.

Agree w previous posters, check out bbb and test drive the diff options. What you will like will have to align to your lifestyle and aesthetic tastes. Good luck!

Leabyrd

We were at target just looking (my mother and I) and they had about 10 different floor models out with all different price points I was able to push, lift, and test all of them. I definitely wanted a travel system and I ended up going with the Britax B Agile since it was the first one I really loved, came in all black and couldn't find one I liked better. It's now on my registry with two extra car seat bottoms for DH and my mom.

JaqiDec04

It's most important to decide what you are going to use your stroller for. I.E. off road/dirt/etc. then the best stroller would be a BOB jogger or similar.

If you are a sidewalk & mall kind of stroller use, then I suggest something like a City Mini. I have one, and I absolutely LOVE mine. Its so light, and folds up so small to fit in any trunk. (Britax has a very similar set up too if you want the matching car seat).

While I love my City Mini, if I could have a do-over, I'd buy the City Select. The seats flip around so it's parent facing, and you can add pram/bassinets, and eventually, a second seat, making it a double stroller. I really wish mine did parent facing. While going for walks, or around the mall, not too big of a deal, there comes a point where you want to use the stroller without the infant seat, and the baby is facing away from you. Maybe not a problem on walks, but it really bothers me at places like Disneyland or other amusement parks or crowded places.

Stroller shopping was/is by far the most stressful pick.

CaitLewis15

I found stroller shopping to be pretty stressful too, especially trying to figure out if I like/wanted the car seat that goes with any particular stroller I liked. DH and I finally decided on the UPPA Baby Vista, because I like that you can make it a dual stroller. We plan on another baby in the next 1-2 years.

eat111315

Check out babygizmo.com. She reviews most of the top strollers so you can check them out online to narrow the field.

We have the city select and love it. We got it with our first with the intention of having two under two. It's great if your planning for more kids but a bit big for just one (at the time the uppa baby did not have a duals option otherwise I probably would have gotten that one because I like it better as a single). We also have the city mini as our "zippy stroller".

mommy_wife_nurse

I agree with PP's tips. I started out by looking online and had a general idea. IWe decided on a jogging travel system, so we went to the stores and looked at quality differences, brought a small kid (we took my brother, not just a random on lol). Pushed a few around the store and decided what one we liked best for quality & ease of use!

P.S... I am 21 and my parents were only 20 when I was born, so my youngest sibling is 2! It was nice to borrow him to shop for strollers

spraklepea

We were going to get the vista or Cruz until I folded them up and carried them a little bit around the store. At 5'1" they are both too heavy and too long for me. Could have dealt with one problem but not both. So, we're just getting a stroller frame for the car seat (it's going to be chilly to cold for baby's first 6 months anyway). And then in the spring we'll get a g-luxe.

casserole27

Online reviews are great in help in narrowing down what you want and the style that works best for you. But the thing that helped us the most was going to the store and physically trying them out. We picked the Graco Click Connect Travel System. It's a 3 in one and comes with an infant car seat which we liked. All modes are reversible for front/rear facing. Its also really light and easily folds up and down with one hand. It also comes in a couple different colors. (Hopefully these pictures don't come through huge... I tried to shrink them. )

Krysta6

We did so much research on strollers.. 3-4 different trips to the store. I really wanted the uppababy vista but the size of the tires and weight were a concern for us. My husband was hitting things in the store. And even though we plan to have 2 babies in two years, I read the city select is better for a double. But the city select was a big challenge for me to fold. So we went with the uppababy Cruz for now. I figured when we need the double we will get the city select and hopefully they will upgrade the close soon. The Cruz is great because it's a lot like the vista but a little cheaper and lighter.

oceanlove13

Like others said consider what your lifestyle is and what you plan to use the stroller for. A lightweight stroller is nice or maybe a caddy for quick in and out/ travel, then one for multi terrain with nicer wheels.
Also, if you plan to have another child you may want to consider a frame that converts to a double. This is my biggest mistake. I have a City Mini GT and now a year later looking at a Select or Uppa Vista. Probably will get the Vista because the frame is lighter. A year ago as a FTM I couldn't imagine spending that much on a stroller, now I know it's totally worth it if you are in need of a stroller often/daily. There also are only a few choices for a double conversion. Britax and Phil and Teds also make a double.

coleskii

We are going with the Brtitax agile, it weighs 14lbs and is super easy to fold with just one hand, safety rating is very high, we found it to be the best and very affordable

vamomtobe

Definitely "test drive" at a store and ask questions as others have suggested!  It's easier, I think, if you have a car seat picked out already.  Then you can look for strollers that are compatible with your car seat, or have an adapter available.  

I love the BOB jogger we got for our son.  He's 3 now, it has seen at least hundreds of miles of use on sidewalks, dirt trails, etc and is still in great shape.

I'm at a loss now with the double stroller situation...time to head to a store and ask a billion questions all over again.  I'd go for the double BOB, but it's so huge!

Louisl

After going to the store, I decided on the Nuna Mixx. It's not in many stores so I hadn't even heard of it, but it's actually really awesome, like a Vista but cheaper. Not *cheap*, but I found it to be the most bang for the buck. I really was set on the City Mini GT but the fact that you can't do rear facing was the deal breaker. The only downside with the Nuna is its only compatible with the Nuna car seat, which is odd, but after researching online it looks like it's actually one of the top car seats as far as safety.

taralohse

Baby Jogger City Mini!! 

bgriest

I agree with PP's! Go to a store and try out different strollers! That's what we did. I originally wanted a Chicco Key fit Travel System since so many people rave about them. I played with one in the store and HATE it! It was the biggest pain to pop up and collpase.

We ended up registering for a Graco Stylus Connect Travel System. We live in the suburbs so we don't need anything that handles rough terrain. My fiancé runs but we're just going to buy a jogging stroller next spring for him.

We found this stroller system to be incredibly easy to pop up and collapse with one hand and I didn't find it too heavy to lift.

MSturtebury

I found this website an incredibly helpful start that narrows down the options while still giving a few choices (for all baby needs): https://www.lucieslist.com/

KSabyan

We are getting the Eddie Bauer Endurance Jogging Stroller. My husband is big into jogging and I think I'll start after the baby