Kelty "16 Joyrider or Baby Jogger II

[Cindder]

After much research, I STILL havent bought a jogging stroller yet! I am now looking at these two brands. One question I have is how important is a reclining seat? The Baby Jogger 3 now has one. In terms of other comforts, the leg space seems really narrow on this brand. Any opinions? Both models get good reviews. I do like that baby jogger is lighter (about 6 lbs diff.), but I think the Kelty is more comfortable with more padding etc. As always, appreciate any help!
Thanks!

[Piglet]

I just bought a Kelty 20" at a camping goods store and am quite happy with it. I had looked at the older BJ's and can't say that I was too pleased with them. The main problem was the width at the knees. My son is less than a year, but I am looking to use this stroller for many years to come and I don't want that to be the limiting factor! I also didn't think they were as full of features as other strollers I had seen.

The nice things about the Kelty are:

1) The canopy is amazing! It shields the baby very well. When it is fully extended, it only leaves a bit of my son's toes showing (granted he is quite short, but it is still pretty impressive).

2) The restraint is very nice and comfortable. It has a wide crotch restraint and two clips that are very easy to use for over the shoulders. It also has the ability to grow with the child quite easily.

3)There is lots of room for gear. It has 2 bottle holders, a large basket and a pouch on the seatback. I have never had a problem taking extra rain gear/warm clothes/etc.

4) The seat is nicely padded with fleece and it doesn't seem to make the seat any warmer in the summer.

5) The handles are very comfortable for steering and my tall husband (6'2") loves it. I also find it quite comfortable at 5'3"

6) Finally, the umbrella style collapse seems to be a nice feature in terms of size. I haven't tried putting any other stroller in our shed/car so I don't have a comparison.

The only not so nice thing is the sheer size of the stroller, but I have a 20" Kelty (it was the floor model and the only one they had left), so 16" would probably be better. Having said that, it fits into our Hyundai Santa Fe (mid-sized SUV) with no problems, even with the front wheel attached and another stroller (or two) in the trunk!

Hope that helps a bit,
Marina

[Cindder]

Thank you! It does help. I have been leaning towards the Kelty, my only concern was that it didnt have a reclining seat, and I wasn't sure how important that was as a feature. I agree with you about the leg room on the Baby Jogger. I have a 5 month only son,and it seems that as he gets a little bigger, he would have to cross his legs to fit comfortably in this.

[kellyotn]

You might take a look at the BOB too. Its seat is reclinable. Here's the site for BOB products. http://www.bobtrailers.com. The specs say it has a 70 lb capacity.

I'm not due until Oct., so I haven't been able to road test it yet. BUT, my almost 5 and almost 3 year old nieces are visiting tomorrow and we'll be taking it for a test run. (Actually sis is bringing me so many hand-me-downs that she didn't WANT to take up room with their stroller!! ha ha.)

My hubby has the BOB bike trailer and loves it, hence we *had* to get this - it was the one big thing he wanted to pick out, so I didn't comparison shop other joggers, but this one is very nice. AND, I got a great deal off babycenter with a coupon, etc. I don't know what their current coupons are, but worth a look.

Good luck,
Kelly

[Cindder]

Thank you for your help! Last night we took the plunge and FINALLY bought a jogging stroller! We chose the Kelty because of the features listed above. We bought it at Eastern Mountain Sports because they matched an online price of $269.99.

Good luck with everything!

Deanne