Product Spotlight: strollers

emmylou78

Let’s talk strollers!

Single, double, light weight, systems? 

Link to past and upcoming topics: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mqlBWywDw6uR06rrrZZ0pQ5FdUpa5hMt4aB6jpO4ha4/edit

BourbonBiscuits

We looooove our city mini gt double for the bigs (almost 4 yo and 2 yo). The only thing that's annoying is that you have to pay for any add-ons - so there's no cup holder for adults or kids, no snack tray, and no infant seat converter. We paid extra for the infant seat clicks, which was a lifesaver in the early days, but have gotten by without the other stuff for the last 2 years. I think we'll just have one of the bigs walk if we go out (which usually one of them wants to anyway!) or babywear #3. It's side by side, which we wanted since my kids are obsessed with each other, but not too wide to get through standard doors. It's just as smooth and easy to maneuver on a dirt trail as it is on pavement.

When we just had DS we had a graco click connect system. It's a super easy system and I loved being able to just click the carseat in without any adapters. Easy and inexpensive for baby #1!

emmylou78

I had the grace click connect too. I liked it. It was actually ONLY with the infant seat adapter. I bought another cheap umbrella seat later. I never had an actual big stroller. That was like 7 years ago though so I’m on the hunt for something new! 

Thoughts on the mockingbird stroller? do I need something big? I’m probably stopping at this kid, so no need for a double. 

ladyk127

I had the Chicco jogger, which was fine for my son and then my daughter.  It's a single and my son was old enough to walk by the time I had my daughter so there really was no need for a double.  But now my daughter and #3 will be closer together and I thought about getting the UPPAbaby vista but saw the other rumble seat only goes up to 35lbs and she's already 30 so I decided to just go with the UPPAbaby Cruz and get the the little rolling thing DD can stand on instead.  I'll get a cheap double off of FB marketplace or a consignment shop for any time they both need to ride.  My daughter isn't the most motivated walker.

ladyk127

@emmylou78 I looked at the Mockingbird online but saw a few people complaining about the quality on FB (on their advertisement) and it scared me off because I can't see it in person for myself.  It looks just like the UPPAbaby Vista and is really nice looking but I hate not being able to see it at the store.  We don't have any baby stores close to us and then one that IS the closest (still 45 minutes away) doesnt carry it.  

claireloSC

I had the baby jogger city select and hated it. It was so huge, never fit anywhere, and wasn't even good for jogging. DD got too tall for it by like 2 or 3. I gave it to a friend expecting twins (got it originally from a twin mom) and replaced it with the Oxo Cubby which as I mentioned elsewhere I love! It's so light and I can do everything one handed. DD will be sad to be kicked out of it but she's old enough to walk. It doesn't lay down all the way, but we mostly use the stroller for family walks so I think that's ok.

Clobert

I have loved our city mini.  Got it 6 years ago and it was perfect for one kid in pretty much any situation.  Walking all day around the city, carrying up stairs, travel.  I also have a bob double jogging stroller and I love it for long walks or runs but it’s huuuuge. 

I’m expecting my 3rd and not sure what to get. Kids will be 6, 2.5 and newborn.  I could maybe get by with what I’ve got, using the bob or baby wearing.  Toddler walks far but needs to be contained on busy streets if I don’t have hands.  I’m interested in the uppa baby ($$$$) with the riding board, or the city select lux, or maybe the joovy qool with the little bench.  My 6 year old obviously wouldn’t ride in a stroller seat but I’d like a way to give her little rides if she got tired on a really long walk.  

claireloSC

@Clobert the riding boards do seem great for our bigger kids, I know mine would think it was super fun.

pickle-chips

We have the UPPAbaby Vista with the rumble seat and the riding board on the back. We also bought the adult cup holder and the snack tray for one of the seats. 

I really love this stroller and my experience with UPPAbaby customer service has been excellent. When we first bought the stroller one of the wheels was clicking whenever you  moved. They had me send them a video and then they sent us a brand new frame and provided the stuff to send back our old frame. It was very fast and efficient. And we have had no issues with any part of the stroller since.

I like how flexible the set up is for seating options. We started with the bassinet and the toddler seat when BB2 was born (we didn’t have a bucket infant car seat). Once he met the requirements for being in a seat we added the rumble seat and our oldest was in the toddler seat (the heavier child is supposed to sit in the toddler seat). We also used the bassinet on a stand in our bedroom for the first three months instead of a crib—it is safe for overnight sleep.

It handles perfectly fine on crushed gravel trails, but it doesn’t have suspension so if you’re taking it on super bumpy trails it might not be the most comfortable for kiddos. It’s surprisingly easy to manoeuvre in tight spaces! I thought that because it didn’t have three wheels it would be hard to push, but it handles really well!

It also breaks down very easily and could fit no problem in the back of our Kia Forte hatchback. We just got a Kia Sorento and we can slam the whole thing in without taking the toddler seat off.

I love  how big the canopies and sunshades are. And the basket is huge. It’s great. Our oldest has climbed in there before—it is NOT at all meant for that, but he could fit and it can hold up to 30lbs (he weighs 34lbs now so we don’t let him get in).

We won’t need to get anything else once BB3 arrives. They will go into the bassinet, BB2 (2.5yo in august) will move up to the toddler seat and our oldest (4.5yo in august) will walk or use the piggyback ride on board if he needs a break. We will probably also bring a carrier like the LILLEbaby in case we need to carry BB2 and give our oldest a seat.

Sorry for the novel! Here are some pics in action. I shared one before.

hannelorre

We have uppababy and it is a great stroller! Handles well and the basket is dreaaaamy. It is huge but I imagine any double would be. I have Zoe single for traveling and it does not compare. 

We will use the uppababy with the bassinet in the beginning and I'll have to see what we're gonna do after that. Since the toddler seat goes up to 50lb (rumble/lower seat 35 lbs), we would probably be ok with it. 

One of my friends have bumbleride double for her 4/2 yr olds and loves it. She's small and likes how it handles for her. But I guess it's not any cheaper... 

alexa_94

oh how I wish we could get an Uppababy, but I’ve been checking out a double baby jogger or BOB duallie but might just see how baby wearing goes and pushing a the stroller we currently have for DD2. I’m a little bummed I missed out on a Joovy Jogger in excellent condition someone gave away today. I was checking my fb groups and missed it by a minute👎🏻

My sister bought the Evenflo pivot expand so I’ll see what she thinks when she puts it to use.

alexa_94

*sorry this is long*
I’m back to talk double strollers. I’ve been tossing up the idea of getting a Baby Jogger City Select Lux vs Graco Ready2Grow 2.0 lx. 

I found a used CS Lux double stroller for a decent price but for my toddler I don’t know if I need a second seat. She’s 2 and would be almost 3 when baby arrives and currently weighs 26lbs. I have a feeling I would end up getting the bench seat by next summer. Which if I bought used and got the bench seat later I’d still be saving a ton of money.  It would be $388.57 USD to get everything to “complete” it but of course bench seat can come later so I could save $78 until next summer and spend $311 now.

If I buy completely new I’m not sure if I should get 2 seats to have a double feature or if I should just get a bench when needed. This option with a bench set and/or second seat would be more but not terribly expensive. I would spend $417 USD without second seat but if I get both it would be $625 but again I could save $78 until next summer so it would be $547. 

I just can’t make up my mind to buy used and already have the second seat then just buy a bench set if needed.. or just ditch the second seat idea.

I would be saving regardless because if I go to the Baby Jogger website to buy everything it’s almost $1k. My husband doesn’t mind if I get new or used but I’m thinking that extra money saved can be spent elsewhere. I’m just impatient because the woman isn’t in town right now and I’ve been pricing things that are on sale and with coupons. That’s also why I’m already looking because the good deals.

I plan to use my Graco infant car seat with the adapter for this stroller.  

dancingnarwhal

Is anyone else here a runner and have stroller suggestions? I would probably skip the stroller altogether but I do think I will want one I can use with my runs so I can get back to running more quickly. 

alexa_94

@dancingnarwhal I’m not but my friend loved her BOB but I couldn’t tell you what style it was. 

surrenderdorothy

@dancingnarwhal yes I’m a runner and ran very regularly with DS. I had an older model BOB that my sister gave me. It worked fine but needed a tune up every now and then due to it’s age (it was 7 years old when I got it.)

The only thing that gives me pause in recommending a BOB is this article. This exact thing happened to me once and it was scary. I did fall but my son was fine. I chalked it up do the front wheel not being tight but this article suggests a major design flaw. I believe the issue has been remedied with newer designs but the article doesn’t make me want to go out of their way to buy a Britax product. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/after-hundreds-of-crashes-this-britax-jogging-stroller-faced-recall-then-trump-appointees-stepped-in/2019/04/02/faf23c20-4c06-11e9-b79a-961983b7e0cd_story.html%3foutputType=amp

shoogapoff

@dancingnarwhal I looked at baby gear lab's reviews of jogging strollers and found them to be really thorough. 
https://www.babygearlab.com/topics/getting-around/best-jogging-stroller

dancingnarwhal

@shoogapoff - I've been recommended that website a couple times and somehow keep forgetting it lol Thanks!

@surrenderdorothy - Hmm...that is scary! I'll definitely be keeping that in mind, thanks for sharing your experience

emmylou78

I went to Buy Buy Baby over the weekend and the UppaBaby Vista is amazing! I didn’t end up buying anything, but I think it might be my splurge. 

fitmomma1989

Has anyone seen the Doona? Or had one?
It looks SO convenient. Downside is that it will only last for about 9-12 months & then we will need to go to a convertible seat & stroller. 

https://www.shopdoona.com/products/doona-car-seat-stroller-midnight-edition

halfconvert

We are leaning towards the guava family roam stroller. I like that it can be used for both jogging and walking, and my mother/sister-in-law have had a good experience with the guava family bassinet. Anyone have thoughts?

https://www.guavafamily.com/products/roam-stroller?view=stroller-v2b&gclid=Cj0KCQiAhP2BBhDdARIsAJEzXlGs7zIxRFekGwjq3-HbeBopBWs37WZS-w3QzjYbm_6G0t81-zD3Bg8aAiBFEALw_wcB&utm_campaign=GuavaFamily_Google_SmartShopping_RoamStroller&utm_medium=shopping&utm_source=google

alexa_94

Okay splurged on a baby jogger city select lux😍 I got a single seat because DD2 is preferring to walk now and I can add a bench seat option. I will use the Graco adapters to still be able to push both. 

I bought it from Albee Baby and shipping was fast. If you don’t mind not having matching seats they still have some for sale in the color port.
https://m.albeebaby.com/baby-jogger-city-select-lux-stroller-port.html
double configurations 
https://m.albeebaby.com/baby-jogger-city-select-lux-double-stroller-port-granite.html

Clobert

@fitmomma1989 my issue with the design of the Doona is that it is so heavy.  15.5 pounds instead of 8ish for most car seats (and then add in a 7-20 pound baby).  I know the idea is that you always use the wheels, but so Often (actually most of the time because I usually Carried it into my daughters daycare and into our house while she slept.  I’m carrying the car seat up some stairs or into the house or something. 

 It’s really easy to pop open a stroller or car seat frame when I want to push the car seat. 
Everyone’s lifestyle is different and maybe my area had more stairs and bumpy walkways than yours. Just something to think about.

CapricaAndrea

I had the opposite experience @claireloSC ! We have the City Select and I *LOVE* It. we knew we wanted more than one kid, so buying immediately a system that could be expanded was important to us. We went to about 5 different stores to try out a shortlist of strollers I'd researched online, and that one was the best for us, including the fact that my 6'3" husband can comfortably push it. (this was before Buy Buy Baby was in our area, I highly recommend going there any trying out as many different strollers as you're considering. ALSO very important, not all strollers work with all infant seats, so make sure you get something compatible! BBBaby associates will know whether they do or not)

Those of you looking at the Uppababy Vista, the Baby Jogger City Select is essentially the same thing but cheaper (don't let the name fool you, it's not actually a jogging stroller). The biggest different is that a) the City Select is pretty much the only stroller that the Uppababy Mesa carseat will not work with, because the 2 companies are huge competitors. 2) the CS seats are identical, whereas the Vista has the original seat and then the addition is a "rumble seat" which is actually smaller and has a lower weight limit. 3) the Vista comes with a bassinet attachment so you can use that optionally if you don't want to use an infant carseat in the stroller. There's also an additional bassinet stand you can purchase to use the bassinet in the house. There are other small differences, but those are the main ones I remember from my time working at BBB.

emmylou78

Thanks @CapricaAndrea

fitmomma1989

@Clobert

Thank you for the insight. Now I’m over here racking my brain on the possibility of steps into the places we frequent the most. 

For the most part, I think we will be good! Hoping I don’t regret it later on. Haha. 

I have a friend with one and she LOVES it!