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Babies: 0 - 3 Months
stroller debate
Hi, my LO isn't due until September but I thought this might be the best place to post my question since I can get answers from moms who have actually used strollers and have experience with the pros and cons of the different types.
After MUCH research and debating and looking at just about EVERY stroller out there I have narrowed my list down to 2 that I love but can't seem to choose one over the other. The 2 strollers are the JJ Cole Broadway and the Uppababy Vista (I know there are many more great ones out there but after careful thought I really don't want to overcomplicate things by adding more back onto my list)
They both share some features that I love but here are the main pros for each one that the other one does not have:
Uppababy:
comes with SPF 50 sun shade, bug shade, and rain shade (I live in South Florida so all of these are a necessity). The Broadway has available bug and rain shades but you have to buy them separately.
Large easy to access storage space underneath for all our stuff (Broadway has a basket which is supposedly a decent size but annoying to access b/c of the wheel base)
Ability to purchase an add on toddler seat if we have a 2nd child (hopefully) without buying a whole new stroller
cup holders
Broadway:
360 spin without having to take the seat out when I want to turn the baby so I can switch between forward and backward whenever I need (this seems like a really cool feature to me)
you can get the Newport car seat that is specifically made for the stroller (Uppababy's can be used with certain Graco or Chicco models but I don't know how easy it really would be to adapt them. They have their own coming out sometime this summer but I have no idea how much it will cost).
Toddler seat and bassinet is one convertible piece (2 separate in the Uppababy...not a concern for a while but eventually will be)
The prices on both average out to be within $100 of each other ($650ish for Broadway and $720ish for Uppababy). My mom has already offered to buy the stroller and is aware of the cost (she is probably happy I no longer like the Stokke she was going to get me). The only cost difference is if we buy the Uppababy we will have to buy a car seat separate which for about $150 isn't a big deal so I'm not worried about the negligible price difference between the 2 strollers.
So sorry for being so long but if you have any stroller experiences to share (with these or others) that can help me decide what's more important (like 360 spin vs storage) I would gladly appreciate your input. Thanks!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: stroller debate
I went with the Vista and while I love the stroller there are some pretty significant challenges with it. It's very heavy. I mean very heavy. Sometimes I get so fed up I just carry him because its really hard for me to get into my trunk and I can generally carry moderately heavy things fine. Secondly. It has an awkward open and still after having it for 2 months my husband and I still have to try a few times to get it to close. You have to have it timed just right!
Another issue with it is everytime I close it and put it in my trunk one of the front wheels ends up locked some how but haven't figured out why yet. Next issue.. The cup holder broke off and destroyed one sides cup holder clip! Broke off while just closing it nothing special. Also the open is very awkward in it. It's not a big deal but its awkward.
It's very large and we had to sell our Honda because there was no additional room in the trunk for groceries at all. We got an SUV medium sized and there's still not much room left unless you put the stuff on top of it. Also when you finally attach the toddler seat which we haven't just the carseat clips its even bulkier! Not to mention the fact my very large sedans trunk cannot accommodate both the bassinet and stroller however it does fine and fits groceries with the stroller in carseat and toddler mode but my car unlike my husbands has a unusually large trunk.
I would go to BBB and ask to take it to your trunk. Close it. Put it in. Take it out and reopen before you purchase it's so much different then just trying in store trust me we thought the weight and close and open were fine till we used it in action!
I just purchased a Britax BAgile after being too fed up and couldn't be happier now! Just some important things to keep in mind!
By the way I went with the Chicco and while its heavy, all carseats are heavy! We love it and it was worth the almost double Graco price tag!
wow that actually helps a lot! That's one of the other problems I'm having is b/c none of these strollers are available in store at babies r us or target and there is no BBB near us (closest is over an hour away takes you through horrible traffic) I've basically had to make my decisions through online research. I may take the drive out to BBB after all. And as far as the hardness of the Broadway bassinet I was actually thinking it didn't look to comfy when I saw it!
Do you like the Britax? I honestly did not spend too much time looking at it b/c most reviews I read were about using it with older babies/on the go so I assumed it was more of a jogger than something that could turn into a travel system. I am going to look it up now
Congratulations on your LO!
The drive out to BBB will be worth it, trust me!! They have them all on display and allow you to try stuff in your car to make sure its compatible. For some cars the Chicco is too large and doesn't leave enough foot room so that's a pretty invaluable thing. Babies r us has the chicco but looked at me like I was nuts when asked to try it in my car where as at BBB they asked me and encouraged it.
The newer Britaxs now accommodate babies from birth so they can be used very versatiley. If you really want a bassinet I would suggest probably the BJ City Select since it has the best toddler seat and compact fold as well as bassinet options on both attachments. The Britax B Agile and B ready are great strollers though. I love how compact and easy to use the Agile is. Unlike the Vista which requires 3 things to happen to close it the Agile you just pull up and it closes! It's also only 16lbs compared to vistas 26!!
Just to mention all stores are doing the Britax Free Ride event that if you buy a B Ready you get a free B Safe carseat which saves almost 200!
I highly suggest checking out Baby Gizmos website. They have great reviews as well as some videos on YouTube of almost every stroller including the Broadway and Vista so you can get a better view of it and how it works including open and close and things like harness adjustments.
Good luck and if you have any questions feel free to PM me. I became super obsessed with strollers recently and am pretty seasoned on all of them and have tried all in person.
THIS!! We have the Britax B-Agile! It is soooo lightweight and very easy to open and close and fits well in our car. It does have a sun shade that is very broad. I'm not sure that it has all the bells and whistles that you are looking for but I think the more the stroller has, the more difficult it is to manage. I recommend Britax!
I loved the Vista until I tried it in person. The awkward open/close was a deal breaker. We ended up going with the Peg Perego Book Plus and are thrilled.
I loved the uppababy for 1 BUT not so much for 2...again different than pp. I find the rumble seat squishy for DS, mind you he is a big kid, and it sits awfully close to the back of the car seat when we have it clicked in. Maybe it will be better when we are using the regular seat with the rumble seat though, I'm not sure. DS doesn't like that he can't face out and when we go for walks he usually sits on his knees looking over the top of the rumble seat. We are going to invest in a Valco twin tri mode for when I have them both and for walks outaide, and keep the uppababy for if or when I just have one of them or when we are somewhere that the Valco may be too wide.