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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
SoxFan777
member
Stroller rec. for travel to europe... City Mini?
SoxFan777
member
Hi... I also posted this on toddlers 24+ since my son is almost there!
I'm taking a trip to europe with my 23 month old this summer (getting him in JUST UNDER the "needs his own seat" age... Hope that's not totally insane of me!) and I think I want to get a new stroller for the trip. We have a BOB jogging stroller (NOT portable at all and very impractical, if I'm being honest) and a chicco travel system stroller (it's a little bulky, too!).
I think that the city mini stroller would be a good one for airline travel but I'm also open to other ideas. I like that it's lightweight and that it folds up compactly and easily. I also think that it would be good on brick, cobblestone, etc. in europe. Here are my questions:
1) Do you agree that a city mini is the best choice for my need(s)? Is it worth the money? What's the difference between the different models? Should I buy used?
2) Will my 30 pounder be outgrowing it soon? How long do kids stay in strollers anyway?
3) Do you have another recommendation for my needs? I'm open to ideas!
Thanks in advance for any information or suggestions you can provide!
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Re: Stroller rec. for travel to europe... City Mini?
I think the stroller goes to 50 lbs but don't quote me. At any rate you still have a lot of life if your baby is 30lbs.
And also, kids can be in strollers as long as you care to keep them in there. Some people have preset ages in their minds but its really up to you and what you want. for me personally, the longer they stay in the stroller the better... well, wwithin reason. I don't want a 10 year old in a stroller ;
Baby 2 EDD 7-18-14
1) not sure, I haven't researched the city mini at all.
2) I think you would get plenty of future use out of it. Even as kids get older they can tire easily and the stroller has a weight limit of 50 lbs.
3) The First Years Jet Stroller has treated us very well and is taller than most umbrella type strollers. However, it might be kind of a rough ride on brick and cobblestone. Have you ever looked into any babywearing? If I were going I would probably skip the stroller and just bring my Boba.
https://www.amazon.com/The-First-Years-Stroller-City/dp/B002WB2G9I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368323006&sr=8-1&keywords=stroller
https://store.bobafamily.com/baby-carrier/
personally, i would bring an ergo carrier, wrap or mei tai. At 23 or 24 months, my son liked to walk.
We took DS to Europe at 9.5m and loved our CM the entire trip. The only thing that was a bit difficult with it was that we had to take the wheels off to get it into the red check bag, despite getting the biggest bag they make. We just made sure to tie the bag closed really well and to put the wheels in first. I also strapped things together inside with an extra strap I carried.
The Europeans looked at us like we were nuts that that stroller. It's longer and a bit wider than the typical ones we saw. I saw very few three wheel strollers there. However, while they were stuck on the cobblestones, we trekked on with no issues. We quickly became champs at getting up and down subway steps - DH took the front and I took the back and we carried LO down in the stroller. It's faster and safer than trying to bump the stroller down the steps.
If you haven't flown that long with a lap child, I highly recommend getting a seat. It's so much easier to have a little space when you're crammed in for so darn long. Plus, it's safer to have your LO in an airline approved carseat or harness and in a seat.
ETA: Europeans keep their babies in strollers for.ev.er. We saw 6 and even 8 year olds strapped in.
Heads up if you haven't traveled there before with a child - you're not going to find conveniences like we have here. In most countries, you change your baby wherever you want. They don't care if you don't care. Changing tables are rare. There just isn't space. Many change their babies in the strollers. Same with highchairs. That's actually one place where a taller stroller would have helped us with his age. However, he's now (at 21m) sitting in a regular chair, usually without even a booster, so it's a non-issue now. The CM also folds up relatively small, which is helpful in restaurants and other places. It's easier to tuck out of the way.
Also, expect crowds and lines. You're going during the main travel season. It'll be busy.
I haven't tried out a Maclaren. Besides the stroller weight, to me, stroller ability to go off road would be key. Granted, I'm used to going on cobblestone streets. In cities like London, that's not much of an issue. Their sidewalks and streets are just better. In places like Belgium and Italy, a stroller that can handle shiitty streets and sidewalks is a must. So, if that stroller does that, is easy for you to drive and folds up smaller/lighter, then go for it.
If you carry your child at home, then I can see taking something like an Ergo. We took ours with us, but my son wanted nothing to do with it. He's very active and it restricts his activity, so it's a no-go.
We lived in Europe for 2 years, I was pregnant and had K there. I was a typical American and originally insisted on having a travel system. Well a few months into having her I realized it sucked on the cobblestones. I ended up buying a City Mini GT - the one with beefy forever air tires - and it worked perfect. BUT it was a pain the airports and while getting n and off buses and trams. It is wider than the Maclarens that most Europeans use and def heavier. In the airport we always had to look for elevators while all the Euros were zooming last us down escalators.
It's a tough choice. A Maclaren is definitely more portable but nothing rivals the smooth ride of my CM GT.
I love my CityMini but would never take it with me to Europe. We lived in Germany for 3 years and did quite a bit of traveling when DS1 was younger. We found Europe to not be very stroller friendly and ended up using our Ergo and letting DS walk with us. Many times, we never even took a stroller with us. If you want to take one, I would do something like PPs have suggested and do a light weight umbrella stroller.
Also, unless your LO is super easy going and likes to cuddle with you, I would consider getting him his own seat and taking it on the plane. Will you not be needing a carseat when you get to Europe? If so, please consider not checking it with baggage as they can treat carseats very badly even if they're in a carseat travel bag. There is a YouTube video of a baggage handler throwing carseats onto the tarmac which could compromise the integrity of the seat.
Have a great trip!
We got an Uppababy Gluxe umbrella stroller for our trip to Europe this summer (and all other plane trips). I like it a lot so far and it is the lightest weight out of many of the strollers I looked at so it is easy to carry. We also have a BOB and I was not bringing that monster with me.
Two of my friends have family in France and travel there often. Their kids are now preteens but they used a Maclaren to travel back and forth to France when their kids were little. They loved the maclaren umbrella strollers. I tried them but kept kicking the back when I walked so it didn't work for me.
I liked the city mini but from what I remember it folds flat but that didn't seem as compact to me as an umbrella stroller. GL!
She raises valid points. Again, though, the stroller type you need (assuming you don't just want to carry your LO) depends on where you are. In places like Italy, a stroller at all may be a hindrance. Their sidewalks tend to be really narrow and it's going to be a huge PITA to get a stroller through on them. Italy is EXTREMELY crowded during tourist season. Painfully so. It's so much better in the off season (I've done both). Even the walking streets are hard to get through during the season.
We didn't have this issue in Belgium and The Netherlands, but had we gone into France, I would have expected to have a similar issue to Italy with sidewalks and roads. I found Belgium to be much more difficult with a baby and stroller than The Netherlands. It's not really surprising.
I haven't carted a baby through Germany, but have been there. It's much closer in efficiency and quality building to The Netherlands than to Belgium, France or Italy. Switzerland is also quite nice.
If you can find an umbrella stroller that will handle off-roading or at least heavier streets, then I'd choose it over the CM. The CM is bigger than an umbrella (and heavier) and can be hard to store on trains. We usually stowed it (folded up) with the bicycles or between cars. If we had spare space next to us, we'd stow it there. The wheels are too big to get into most overhead train compartments. However, for actual function when we were in the cities, it was so darn easy to use. It turns on a dime.
We have a City Mini GT and I love it and would love to have it with me in Europe but it's just too big for us to travel with. We take a Maclaren Triumph with us and even that is sometimes too big but we make it work. When we have everyone in the car with luggage it's quite a tight squeeze! It's a good choice though because it's lightweight and easy to fold but it also reclines back so she can nap. The wheels aren't quite as good for cobblestones and that kind of thing but it's certainly not impossible.