review: Schwinn Safari TT

[Leeannpk]

I received my Safari double today and took it for a stroll through the neighborhood. Here are my thoughts:

Pretty easy to assemble, even with my 2 year old "helping." Took me about 25 minutes total to get it out of the box, put on wheels, napper bar, etc.

Our neighborhood has a lot of bumpy and uneven sidwalks. The Safari handled them great - SO MUCH BETTER than my Combi Twin Savvy (which is a great indoor stroller but not meant for the great outdoors!) The load was uneven - my 2 year old is about 30 lbs and my 7 month old is about 17 lbs. Didn't seem to make a difference in the steering/handling. My girls seemed very comfortable in the seats which get to a fairly upright position (better than the combi). The baby dozed a little, and my 2 year old was not restless.

I have not tried using it indoors or fitting it through a standard doorway. A friend of a friend claims it fits through the door at the local Starbucks :) I sure hope so, but am not holding my breath.

The fold is easy but very bulky. It's heavy too. Not sure there are joggers that aren't, though.

PROS: excellent steering, removable seat pads that are easy to wash, looks sharp (much better looking than the InStep Safari IMHO - I saw the InStep IRL and it handled great but was less attractive. The Schwinn has embroidered logos as opposed to ones that are stamped on, which I think makes a difference), affordable ($197 at babybungalow.com, free shipping), handles bumps/grass very well.

CONS: heavy, wider than Valco Runabout double, storage baskets are not great/hard to access, bulky.

All in all I am very pleased. I considered the Valco double, as well as the rebel/runabout with the toddler seat. A good friend has the double and it's a great stroller, but to be honest I think that the only really important feature it has that the Schwinn does not is that it's narrow enough to fit through most any doorway. I honestly think the Schwinn handles/takes the bumps just as well. Plus it's $300 cheaper. If you are happy with your everyday double and just want something for walks outside, I highly recommend it!!

Leeann

Leeann - thank you! I am going to be ordering this stroller very soon. For some reason I like the colours on the InStep better though, so I may go for that one.

Leeann,
Thanks for the review! I love my Combi twin, but for neighborhood walks, grassy areas, it's just not cutting it. I need a Double ATS, but I don't want to spend much because DH thinks we already have quite a stroller collection. My only concern is the cargo weight. My boys are big! 3 y.o. DS is 36# and 1 y.o. DS is 25#.

Do you have any guess how it would steer with our extra weight?

Thanks!
:-)

Leeann,
Thanks for the review! I love my Combi twin, but for neighborhood walks, grassy areas, it's just not cutting it. I need a Double ATS, but I don't want to spend much because DH thinks we already have quite a stroller collection. My only concern is the cargo weight. My boys are big! 3 y.o. DS is 36# and 1 y.o. DS is 25#.

Do you have any guess how it would steer with our extra weight?

Thanks!
:-)

I just took my Schwinn Safari TT out for the first spin of the season with my two boys. My 3 y.o. is 39.5 lbs and 1 y.o. is 24.5 lbs and I had no problems. I live in a neighborhood that has a few small hills and it was fairly easy to push them up them. I say 'fairly' because I'm totally out of shape - LOL!

HTH,
Kathy

I just took my Schwinn Safari TT out for the first spin of the season with my two boys. My 3 y.o. is 39.5 lbs and 1 y.o. is 24.5 lbs and I had no problems. I live in a neighborhood that has a few small hills and it was fairly easy to push them up them. I say 'fairly' because I'm totally out of shape - LOL!

HTH,
Kathy

[Leeannpk]

I'm guessing that the extra weight will make it harder to go uphill and such, but from what I can tell the stroller handles so well, I can't imagine you'd have a hard time. I'm not sure that any stroller would make it easier to push heavy kids (but if you find one, please let me know!! :)

Leeann

[Leeannpk]

I'm guessing that the extra weight will make it harder to go uphill and such, but from what I can tell the stroller handles so well, I can't imagine you'd have a hard time. I'm not sure that any stroller would make it easier to push heavy kids (but if you find one, please let me know!! :)

Leeann

Thanks, Gals, for doing my legwork for me. (Sorry, bad pun.)

:-)

But now that you've sold me on this stroller, I just have to find it at a good price. babybungalow.com no longer seems to carry it. :-(