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View Full Version : Strollers for tall people! Maclaren?



minibabybell
01-02-2001, 08:22 PM
My husband and I are both over 6 feet tall and are looking for a stroller that will be comfortable (for us and baby)for long walks and shopping in the neighbourhood. We live in Toronto so snow is an issue.

Any thoughts on the MacLaren Tehno?

lseans
01-03-2001, 11:05 PM
As a 6'2" Dad, I can attest to MacLaren's superiority over the Combi Savvy for comfort. The Combi is a great stroller, but it is not well designed for tall folks...

Geebee
01-07-2001, 04:52 PM
Maclaren strollers can work for tall people, BUT DON'T BUY ONE!!!!

Here is a copy of part of an email that I sent to the Fields today that details my Maclaren experience. FYI, today I found a similiar complaint about the Maclaren wheels in the Fields' October 2000 mailbag.

Here's the email.
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I just wanted to relate a bad experience that I had with Maclaren strollers and a good experience with babystyle.com.

After doing some research, I decided that a Maclaren Mistral would be great for my requirements. FYI, this stroller now comes with a basket. This stroller was praised in everything that I read. City dwellers love it, so I thought it would be fine for my suburban life. This stroller was recently on sale at babystyle.com (they were clearing out old models), which was part of my motivation for researching. So I asked my daughter’s Grandma (my mom) to buy this handy, expensive item.

Babystyle.com has been great. On the other hand, the stroller has not been so hot.

The features of the Maclaren Mistral are great: light weight, folding compactly (in an umbrella stroller fashion), hood, basket, reclining seat, extending leg rests. I would absolutely love it if only the stroller actually worked.

The first stroller that I received had some funny wheels. The wheels did not turn in a straight line which caused the stroller to vibrate. I took the stroller out three times (to places like the mall), and this problem continued. So, I called babystyle.com. They sent me another stroller before I even sent the first one back.

Straight out of the box, the straps on the second stroller were broken. Again, I called babystyle.com, and they were very accommodating. They were out of the pattern that I preferred, so I had to call again to ask them to send a stroller with a different pattern. No problem.

I thought that the third time would be a charm. The third stroller, again after three outings, had the same bad wheels as the first. So I am packing up this one and sending it back.

Each time, babystyle.com sent UPS labels, so I have not paid shipping to send back the bad strollers or for the replacement strollers. The strollers are sent in the condition that babystyle.com receives them from Maclaren. Babystyle.com never takes these strollers out of the box, so I know that it is not a problem with babystyle.com but with Maclaren.

I don’t know if my experience is common or out of the ordinary for Maclaren, but I wouldn’t look at another one. I will keep shopping at babystyle.com since their customer service has been excellent.

Mammaluna
01-24-2001, 06:45 PM
I was just reading the responses you've received and was very surprised someone had such a terrible experience with the Maclaren. My husband and I are fairly tall(I'm 5'9 and my husband is 6'2) and we love our MacLaren. Okay, I love my MacLaren- my husband could care less about strollers. He did comment on how great it was not to have to hunch over to push it and he appreciated the fact it folds rather compactly. The handle height is great for taller people. The model I have is the Vogue 2000 and I believe the handle height is 41 inches. I find the steering exceptional especially since there are times when I'm carrying my baby with one arm and pushing the stroller with the other. It is very smooth. My only complaint is that the basket is difficult to access when the seat is in the reclining position and it is also quite small. The only other negative comment is that the manufacturer states it can be used from birth onward. I had to wait until my baby was 3 months old because the seat does not recline fully. It reclines to 145 degrees which isn't the best position for a newborn.
Overall it seems like a very well made stroller. I've only used it for a month now so I couldn't tell you if the quality is long lasting. I purchased this stroller for my third child and this must be the 12th(yes 12th) stroller I've owned(my husband thinks I'm mad!). I also have a Peg Perego Venezia(handles way too short when baby is facing you) and a Combi Convenience. I purchased my stroller at babystyle over 6 months ago with a coupon which came out to $159.00 USD(a good deal). At that time Babystyle.com was shipping to Canada(for free!) which is where I had my stroller shipped. Unfortunately, they no longer ship to Canada but you can't blame them it's a real pain getting things across the border with Canadian customs. I would shop around and if you are considering purchasing one try an online dealer.
One more thing if you are considering using the stroller in the snow I'm not sure if the Vogue would be the best model for you. The wheels have mud flaps and I've heard a couple of complaints from other Vogue owners that grass can get stuck under the mudflaps making it difficult to push. I haven't tried using it on grass or heavy snow so I couldn't tell you what my experience is. Anyway, I believe Maclaren has a new Vogue model out this year perhaps they addressed those problems.
Good Luck to you.

carolyn
03-15-2001, 06:04 PM
Have you looked at the Martinelli strollers? I'm 5'11" and my husband is 6'2". We've been happy with the stroller. It does recline fully for newborns, and I particularly like the two positions of the handle. It allows us to have the baby facing us, or more her out of the sun if needed.