The Great Stroller Thread

jenotontx

saralee797-2 said:

@kmalls yes I did look at Lucie's list and it was somewhat helpful. I want something lightweight that will be good for walking around the city. I also need something that I can use on the beach in the summer. We would love to have more than one child, if we can, so I am thinking about getting something convertible. So, if I go with the uppababy it would have to be the vista but that price tag is hefty. I always thought the city mini would be great but I need to see if it can convert into a double. 

You took the words right out of my mouth! All the things you mentioned are exactly what I am looking for. I read that the baby jogger city select is very heavy which is my biggest concern about that one. I don't think the city mini converts. The Uppababy Vista looks like the best single to double stroller option but woah on the price! 

ladythrice

Picking a stroller was probably one of the more overwhelming decisions I made when I was pregnant with DS. There are SO MANY OPTIONS and everyone has alltheopinions. I found that making a list of 'must-have' features and noting what STMs at that time loved and hated about their strollers helped me narrow down what I wanted. Specific brand and model recommendations are great, but if you are armed with your list, the world is your oyster! Take it to a BBB or BRU and test drive a bunch of strollers. I think BBB has a much bigger selection and easier to access strollers to drive, so if you can get to one, I highly recommend it!

saralee797-2

Well @JJMNO1616 lets keep each other posted on what we find/decide. 

Puddlewonderful

@JJMNO1616 I have the city select and it Is definitely heavy, although I don't have experience with a better option to recommend. Actually the thing I dislike most about it is it comes apart in two pieces rather than just folding. The only reason I got it was I read it was kind of the closest thing to a jogging stroller without actually being a jogging stroller (which tend to be even more heavy)

catem07

Lurking from April '17

One thing I haven't seen mentioned a lot on this thread is a bassinet. The Uppababy comes with one but you can get one for the city mini gt. I have the GT and wish I'd gotten the bassinet. If you plan on talking lots of walks on maternity leave, it would be nice to have something that you didn't have to snap baby into and out of, because then you won't have as great a chance of waking a sleeping baby. 

linds0503

I was wondering if any Moms bought a double stroller with their first, and how that worked out for them. We are planning having two close together, but I am worried about a) the strangeness of walking a single baby with a double stroller, and b) the extra heaviness/bulkiness of a double when we only have one. It does make a lot of financial sense.

tooraloorah

We have a City Mini GT and can't figure out what double stroller we want! DD turned 3 in August and baby will be here in April. Do we need a double stroller? I'd love to keep our GT. 

ladythrice

@linds0503 you can buy single strollers that convert to doubles. Uppababy Vista and Baby Jogger both make single strollers that can turn into double with additional attachments. 

lesliegolem

We have the City Mini double. It's amazing!!! With my sit and stand I couldn't push it 1 handed. The City Mini is so easy to push and turns so great. I love It! Fits everywhere too except for 1 tiny boutique I was in once. Only issue I have with it is the lack of storage. Also I wish the car seat adapter was a better design. It does it's job but it's weird lol don't know how else to describe it.

I had the Chicco keyfit 30 and I loved the storage compartment in it. It was a great single stroller. 

We also have the Chicco liteway stroller which is my girls favorite stroller. It's super light, compact and easy to push. It's not a double though so I don't use it often. 

shea1988

I love the city select double I picked up.  My friend had one and I could ouch her 5 and 7 year old around the store no problem with one hand.  Turns awesome! I take the seats off to fold.  But I read somewhere there is a way to do it with seats on.  Also has kickboard option if your rollin with 3.  Great storage space too!

saralee797-2

How close together would your kids have to be to consider planning for a double stroller? Not that you can predict toddler obstinance... 

lindsye

@saralee797-2 definitely 2 years apart or under. Once you get closer to 3 years apart, it's more borderline but probably still worth it. Four years or more apart, I wouldn't do it.

ladythrice

I agree with @lindsye definitely under 2 years. I would even say definitely under 3. My DS will be 3 in December and I fully plan on him using the stroller with this baby is born in April. Four and above is where I think it changes (for our family at least).

saralee797-2

thanks ladies this is helpful! 

lindsye

I agree, @ladythrice- my three year old definitely still needs the stroller! 

sdavis2189

I have the uppababy vista and LOVE it. They have great customer service too. Only downside is it's huge and heavy, it takes up my entire trunk. I'll get the second seat adapter for it. I really want a bob double jogging stroller. The vista is great for mild bumps and gravel but can't be taken truly "off sidewalk." 

pghren

The sidewalk near me is pretty much "off sidewalk" by how broken it is, so I'm thinking of getting a jogger for my main stroller

lund

@ngolimento @Mattel  How do the Britax strollers handle rough terrain? I have some grassy walking trails that I'd like to be able to take it on... they're pretty well groomed, but definitely rougher than asphalt. 

rmmorris

We got the uppababy Cruz for our firstborn and while I absolutely LOVE it, I wish I had gone with the vista. Now that I'll be strolling two around we're going to sell the Cruz and upgrade to the vista and buy a second seat. 

g_amoss

I have appreciated the opinions you ladies all have on strollers. It is a lot to sort through.  I'm curious if any of you bought car seat strollers - they were on Lucie's List and I'm considering it.  TIA!

pghren

@g_amoss you mean like the frame strollers that don't have a seat of their own? I was curious about those too! 

g_amoss

allowachick said:

@g_amoss you mean like the frame strollers that don't have a seat of their own? I was curious about those too! 

Yep! Lucie's gave some good reasons why it might be a good thing for me (OB already said C section around 37 weeks, so little babies and a healing mama might make this my best option lol)!

catem07

A17 lurker again.

If you are going to be traveling by car really at all with your LO I highly recommend a frame stroller. They are so light and easy and can be found used for $50 or less. 

sapphires-and-diamonds

@g_amoss I definitely recommend a stroller frame. I didn't even use mine a ton, but the times I did it was very nice to have. So easy and light. 

Mattel

@lund I actually had zero issues with my B Ready. The only small thing was that there isn't a bar to step down on if you need to lift the front wheels, but you could push down on the handle to accomplish this. We used it everywhere. The B Agile is easy because it is so light. I imagine neither handles as well as one of the strollers with a large single wheel, I just didn't care for that style and we got along perfectly with our two every where we went. 

tooraloorah

Resurrecting this thread. DH and I went to BRU to look at double strollers today. DD will be 3.5 and turn 4 in August after baby is born. DH liked the Chicco Cortina Together stroller. DD still likes to ride in the stroller quite often, so he didn't like any kind of sit and stand. We have a Chicco Liteway Plus and a City Mini GT. We plan to keep both, but because he'd like a double stroller for our summer adventures (I'm a teacher and he's off until July), what do you recommend?

mcg920

Ok, dumb FTM question. We are planning to get the Chico key fit 30 system, which comes with the stroller base for the car seat. How long will we be able to rely on that? Are there good, practical reasons for having a second stroller? I'm not a jogger and just plan on taking walks on the paved sidewalks in our neighborhood.

kjsp

I haven't seen anyone mention here yet that Uppababy has come out with a new light weight newborn ready stroller for 2018. I belive it's called the minu or manoi something like that. Also they have upgraded the Vista for 2018 and the bassinet is now bigger and will be able to accommodate baby until likely 10 months. 

DH and I are just waiting for the 2018 Vista to be released in North America and we will be getting it for sure. 

kmalls

mcg920 said:

Ok, dumb FTM question. We are planning to get the Chico key fit 30 system, which comes with the stroller base for the car seat. How long will we be able to rely on that? Are there good, practical reasons for having a second stroller? I'm not a jogger and just plan on taking walks on the paved sidewalks in our neighborhood.


***stuck in the damn box!***

@mcg920 - do you mean it comes with a snap and go stroller? Like this? 

mcg920

@kmalls yes! I figured we could use that as our only stroller for the first few months, but it sounds like it might be a good idea to have a second option? 

kmalls

@mcg920 yeah personally I'd have another stroller from the get-go. The snap and go is super convenient to keep in your car, but I only ever used it at the mall or when I had no access to another stroller. I'm not a runner either, but it doesn't do great on pavement that isn't perfectly smooth, even just on walks. I always prefer a heavier stroller where you/the baby doesn't feel every bump in the road! 

ladythrice

kmalls said:

@mcg920 yeah personally I'd have another stroller from the get-go. The snap and go is super convenient to keep in your car, but I only ever used it at the mall or when I had no access to another stroller. I'm not a runner either, but it doesn't do great on pavement that isn't perfectly smooth, even just on walks. I always prefer a heavier stroller where you/the baby doesn't feel every bump in the road! 

I agree. I'm not really a fan of the snap and gos. I feel like they are super expensive for what you get (~$50). And they only last as long as your kid will happily sit (and fit...) in an infant bucket seat. Nearly every single other stroller out on the market has the ability to snap on a bucket seat and you can get some great options for close to $100. They drive better, have additional features, and will grow with your kiddo.

I wanted to buy a snap and go for DS when he was a baby but I refused to pay $50 for a stroller that I could ONLY use with a bucket seat. If I had gotten it for $25 (or free!) it would have been worth it for me.

g_amoss

@ladythrice - I have been leaning toward the snap and go for a few reasons (almost guaranteed I will have C Section - lifting restrictions; having twins; any time around EDD DH will be very busy farming). What brand/model did you like that was snap and go? Maybe I need to do more research than I already have  

kmalls

@g_amoss basically any stroller out there can be modified with a car seat adaptor to make the seats "snap" on. For our first we chose a Chicco jogging stroller because we bought a Chicco car seat.  No adaptor was needed because car seats within that brand snapped right in. 

I'm not 100% sure what your options are for twins if you're hoping to avoid needing a car seat adaptor (btw they're not expensive, I think our adaptor for the double stroller was around $20 or $25), but there are tons of options for all the major brands with an adapter. We went with a double BOB but there are certainly tons of others out there! 

g_amoss

@kmalls - thank you for the info! I think partly I got tired of (overwhelmed by) the stroller options. I found a list for twins on Lillie’s List and the Joovey Twin Roo plus looked logical (if that makes sense).  Thinking it was a good stall tactic so I didn’t have to choose tandem or side by side 

riversdoctor

ladythrice said:

kmalls said:

@mcg920 yeah personally I'd have another stroller from the get-go. The snap and go is super convenient to keep in your car, but I only ever used it at the mall or when I had no access to another stroller. I'm not a runner either, but it doesn't do great on pavement that isn't perfectly smooth, even just on walks. I always prefer a heavier stroller where you/the baby doesn't feel every bump in the road! 

I agree. I'm not really a fan of the snap and gos. I feel like they are super expensive for what you get (~$50). And they only last as long as your kid will happily sit (and fit...) in an infant bucket seat. Nearly every single other stroller out on the market has the ability to snap on a bucket seat and you can get some great options for close to $100. They drive better, have additional features, and will grow with your kiddo.

I wanted to buy a snap and go for DS when he was a baby but I refused to pay $50 for a stroller that I could ONLY use with a bucket seat. If I had gotten it for $25 (or free!) it would have been worth it for me.

While I normally agree about the ridiculous price, check local Craigslist /online rummage sale sites if you live in an area where that is safe!  I scored one for my infant seat for $5!  I would never spend 50 on it, but I definitely got my 5 out of it!!

ladythrice

@g_amoss unfortunately I don't have anything more to add to what @kmalls said. If you buy a stroller of the same brand as your car seat (Chicco, Graco, etc), you are guaranteed to have a stroller that your bucket seats will snap into. However, you don't have to buy the same brand! As kmalls said, you can branch out and find a stroller you really like, buy the car seat adapters, and still have a stroller with bucket seat snap-in functionality!

@riversdoctor I totally agree! I scoured my local craigslist looking for one when I was pregnant with DS and we never had one for sale. I totally would have snapped it up for $5!!!

lund

Guys, I'm pretty stoked because I found a used (2013 but in great shape) BOB Revolution Jogging stroller for $160! Definitely snapping that up!

kmalls

@lund get it, girl! That's a great deal! 

jenotontx

Hi, I'm resurrecting this thread... could someone tell me what they think the biggest difference is between using a jogging stroller like the BOB as a everyday stroller compared to buying something like the city mini that also has 3 wheels? It seems like a lot of people recommended a jogging stroller for everyday use (as well as jogging) but idk how much we my husband would actually want to jog with the baby? I just found a really good deal on a City Mini so I'm curious what the advantages/disadvantages are.