Sunday, February 28, 2010

Buying a Stroller

With the crib, changing table, and other nursery furniture purchased and installed, we next focused our efforts on finding a stroller.  We quickly became overwhelmed by the options!  Umbrella strollers, jogging stollers, luxury strollers, travel systems, etc.  Where to begin?

Last May when we were in San Francisco for a weekend, we saw a couple with this stroller out and about.  Matt was impressed.  So, long before I ever got pregnant, Matt was doing stroller research!  After watching countless stroller reviews on YouTube and reading dozens of stroller reviews on Baby Gizmo, we came up with a list of things that really mattered to us:

  • lightweight -- something less than 22ish pounds.
  • easy to collapse -- we don't want to regularly struggle with baby and stroller at the same time.
  • washable fabric -- this requirement was key!  Babies are messy!
  • reversible seat -- we want baby to face us for at least the first several months before taking a look at the wild world in front of the stroller.
  • seat and pram components -- we plan to use the pram (bed) until the baby outgrows it, moving on to the seat; one stroller with both options.  Also, the pram can function as a portable moses basket, eliminating the need to buy a moses basket or portable crib, at least for the first several months.
  • big wheels/good suspension -- we live in a neighborhood surrounded by hills and crappy sidewalks but we don't want that to stop us from exploring with baby!
  • weight restriction -- something that will last until baby is at least 45+ pounds, eliminating the need to buy a replacement for at least a few years.
  • compatible with a carseat -- preferably compatible with mulitple brands of carseats since we don't yet know which carseat we'll buy.
We quickly realized that the only strollers that meet all of these requirements are considered luxury strollers and cost anywhere from $500 to $1000+!!  Matt's attraction to the Stokke was excellent foreshadowing!! The bummer about luxury strollers (besides the cost) is that none of them are suitable for running.  We had originally hoped to buy only 1 stroller:  an everyday stroller and a jogging stroller in one.  Turns out they don't make those, at least not for use with a newborn and, really, jogging strollers can't be used with baby until around 6 months.  With that in mind, we decided to wait to worry about a jogging stroller until much later. 

The brands we researched included:

  • Mutsy
  • Stokke
  • Uppa Baby
  • Bugaboo
  • BOB
  • Mountain Buggy
  • Phil & Teds
  • Quinny
The brand that kept coming out on top over and over was the coveted Bugaboo line.  While we were in Boston, Matt's parents took us to what is considered one of the best baby gear stores in the country.  There we were able to test-drive almost all of the strollers we'd researched.  And, again, the Bugaboo came out on top. It's lightweight with incredible suspension, has multiple seat/sleep options, comes with reversible handlebar (that way you don't even have to reverse the seat!), and is really cool looking.  Unfortunately, only 2 of the Bugaboo strollers met all of our requirements and they are the most expensive 2:  the Frog and the Cameleon.   The Bee, althought incredibly lightweight and a great travel stroller, didn't come with as many seat/sleep options as the others and isn't nearly as pretty to look at (yes, we're shallow).

Since there was no way we were going to pay $800-$1000 for a stroller, the hunt for a used Bugaboo Frog or Cameleon was on!  To make a long story short, I must have contacted 20+ sellers on Craigslist before we finally got lucky.  Friday we brought home our new-to-us Bugaboo Cameleon (made possible by a generous birthday contribution from my parents).  I washed all of the fabric and reassembled everything Friday night.  It rides like a dream!  We're very pleased with out purchase. 


With pram from top angle


With pram from side


With seat flat from side


With seat upright from front

I don't love the tan color combination but Bugaboo (and Babies-R-Us) both sell the fabric set in other color combinations.  

Next on our list:  carseats (Bugaboo is compatible with Graco, Maxi Cosi, and Peg Perego)!

5 comments:

  1. Babies grow out of the carrier car seats quicker than you would think. Sometimes in length, but mostly in weight (you get tired of moving that thing in/out of your car pretty quickly, which then defeats the whole carrying capacity). Go with something basic and less costly that works with your stroller (that probably means Graco), and then spend some bucks when you move past the pure infant car seat. I *highly* recommend Britax convertible car seats at that point. Well worth the cost, as you will likely use them for at least 3.5 years.

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  2. Good timing on your comment, Helene! I just spent several hours researching carseats and came to the same conclusion: buy an infant seat to begin with then upgrade when baby outgrows it. I'm glad my assessment wasn't totally off!

    Also, I'm pretty sure Britax is the brand my sis-in-law was recommending we buy as well.

    Yay for good advice!! :)

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  3. Since I know you like to travel a bit and probably will be with the little tyke this portable bed is awesome. My best friend in russia has used it for both of her kids when they were little and they were traveling all over the world. She did some serious research as most of the pack and play, portable beds etc are heavy and cumbersome. This one fits in their luggage and is light weight yet sturdy. You can camp with it too :-) http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=phil+and+ted+travel+bed
    Fancy fancy stroller? Does it have cup holders or anything like that which you can buy? From my stroller pushing experience they can come in handy. Random I know :-)

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  4. Now when you say rides like a dream does that mean that you put matt or tucker into the stroller and tried it out?

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  5. I would love to put Tucker in there and stroll around the neighborhood. I don't think anyone would think it strange! :)

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