I know its been discussed BUT.. .What Kettler

[bricorssk]

I have read the threads and looked things up but it just confuses me more. I don't see the difference in the air happy and air navigator. Just flat out tell me what kettler to buy and where to get a deal, I will listen! DD is 17lbs and 16 months (really tiny but active) This is obviously more for Spring but thought Easter would be a good excuse to get one. Thanks!

[brittone2]

Well, it isn't that simple LOL...it is a lot of money, so only you can decide which model would work best for your DD.

Are you set on having air tires? If so, as you said you'll want the air happy or air navigator as those are really the only options. You can get Navigators without air tires. The air is great if DC will be riding mostly on grass, gravel, uneven surfaces, or bumpy sidewalks. If DC is going to ride mostly on smooth sidewalks in your neighborhood, or a paved driveway, then it may not be something you want to shell out the money for. That's something only you can decide :)

One Step Ahead sells their own version of the Navigator (lesser warranty, but lots of people have really liked theirs) without air tires for a very good price.

The Air Happy does NOT come with the little dump bucket on the back. The air Navigator does. That may or may not matter to you. If you get an Air Happy you can add a basket on to the *front* of the trike for DC to carry things if that is something you care about.

The Navigator feature allows the rear wheels to swivel when you are pushing DC with the pushbar. This makes it more "stroller like" supposedly. IMO features that make it easier to push like parent lockout on steering, autofreewheel, and potentially the Navigator feature (the Air Happy and Air Navigator both have the lockout and the autofreewheel, only the Air Navigator has the Navigator wheels) are more important if you anticipate pushing your child for a long period of time. Most kids pedal on their own around 2.5-3.

I was very close to ordering an Air Navigator, but we ended up opting for the Kiddio Supertrike 4 (air tires, pushbar, seat belt, dump bucket, NO autofreewheel and no parent lockout) for DS's 2nd birthday. So far I don't mind pushing it without the parent lockout...I just keep it kind of wheelied if he isn't keeping the steering wheel straight when I'm pushing. No biggie to me. He does fine with the pedals turning and so far so good. It gets good reviews on amazon and the price is quite a bit less. I definitely wanted air tires and a dump bucket, so it was a big savings over the Navigator. We ordered using a 20% off coupon from amazon online, so it was under $100 shipped and we're happy with it. The Kiddios are made by Kettler, but don't have the same warranty, and they are "as is"...you can't add on extra features like a footrest for example. Our air tires actually say Kettler right on them. So that's potentially an option to consider too.

Great Beginnings I think has codes from time to time that work on the Kettlers. Beyond that, I have no idea who has the best prices right now.

HTH.

[bricorssk]

You are amazing! Thank you so much for your reply!!!

[emmiem]

We have two Kettler Air Happys. Love them. The Kettler website has a comparison chart, I believe. Try www.kettlerusa.com and this toy store as well. www.needak.com.
Michele

[kcampbell]

I would love to know some info as well..........

[bricorssk]

I ended up buying the air happy. I got an incredible deal through oompa.com, I paid only 139! Including shipping. I used coupon code 2006catalogs for 15% off (plus I had $5 in reward dollars!) It even shipped the day I ordered it!. If you need a seatbelt, bell or basket whatshebuys.com ships them for free (they went out the same day too!). I think the coupon code for Oompa expires soon