Strollerqueen, whatcha think about the Swan Navigator?

[AmberLarissa]

I've been reading your adventures last year (I'm up to #11, it kept me up past my bedtime laughing my ass off last night!) and am really enjoying them! I can't believe you thought people might be losing interest!

Anyways, I know you have 2 kids now and have had the ultimate double stroller search but I have a question for you anyways, just to get your opinion.

Ok, I have a peg perego martinelli. HATE IT. It's less than a year old and SUCKS In the winter (canadian winters, ick!). I pushed it through so much snow though this year that recently one of the wheels fell off and now the other wheels are kinda rusted inside and it pushes like a rotten old shopping card (the crappy shopping carts that you find in the cheapo grocery stores!).

I want RID OF IT!

So, I've been watching other women with strollers on the street, just like you do! I don't want to spend tons of money, but I need something with better wheels! I walk about 2 hours a day now, although in 2 months I'm going back to work and won't be walking quite so much, but still, I WILL be walking, probably about 8 hours a week at least.

I saw a lady with a Swan Navigator. Nice big (but not too big) air filled wheels, big basket. Looked nice. Wheels don't turn...maybe that's good...about $200 canadian, my peg was $370 on sale, so $200 is cheap!

Anyways...the hunt was on for the navigator, hard to find! Anyways, I contacted the company (baby trend) and they told me the few stores that carry them. They ALSO told me that in Mid june they are coming out with a version that is car seat adaptable to most car seats. SO THE QUESTION IS, should I wait until june and get the car seat adaptable one? We plan on having another baby, and the kids will be aprox 3 years apart. SO THAT MEANS DOUBLE STROLLER THOUGH, RIGHT? So DOES IT MATTER if the swan is car seat adaptable? Because it would just be a stroller for "until the new baby comes", right?

Or is the swan just crap and I should forget it?

I like the idea that I can bump it up and down my 7 stairs to our condo as now I am carrying my peg up and down, all 27 lbs of it as well as 20 lbs of baby in it!!!

[Calmegja]

Strollerqueen will give you the real skinny, but I believe Swan is the boutique name for Babytrend, a not so great stroller brand. I pushed the Navigator in a store, and I didn't like it, although it looked cooler than all get out.....like a Bertini.

However, that's where the comparison stopped......

[strollerqueen]

Hi there!

I think the Navigator is OK. But I only test drove one in a store, and I don't think Baby Trend is a durable brand. It sounds like you plan on putting it through some pretty heavy useage.

So what I would recommend, a far, far better stroller for about the same price, is an Emmaljunga EC1. It will definitely last for your next baby, whereas the Navigator probably will not. I totally love these strollers. Call Heritage Baby to see if they have any left.

www.heritagebaby.com

Be sure to ask for the Strollerqueen discount!

The other A/T that I really like is the Mountain Buggy, but it is more of a jogger style.

www.mountainbuggy.com

If all else fails, check Ebay for used Emmaljunga Vikings. Love those too. You could get one with a bassinette/carrycot, and put it aside for baby #2.

And since you are in Canada, check locally for Simos and Brios. They are other Scandanavian, top quality strollers. (Although now Simos are made in China. Boo hoo. Look for an older model.)

I hear you about the stairs. I have a Silver Cross pram that just glides right up them!

[Sandy]

If you are interested in the Emmaljunga EC1 and Heritage Baby does not have anymore I have one that is NIB (haven't even taken it out) that I bought from them but I have now decided that I want a Bugaboo.

You can e-mail me at: [email protected] if you're interested.



Sandy
mom to Alexander Thor 3/16/02

[Tondi G]

You might like a Bertini too... check E-bay for Bertini strollers! they are like a navagator but the wheels swivel and steer!

[casey]

question to sandy!
hi just a question.why do you want a bugaboo? i remember that you have other strollers too right? any reasons that you want to buy a bugaoo at this time since your child is about 1 yr old? the reason i ask, i wanted to buy a bugaboo too,and my dh approved!! but, i don't know i get to use all the features of bugaboo since my boy is 6month old. also i hace emma ec1 for walking. maybe your reasoning may convince me to buy it
thank you in advance

casey from nyc
mom to alex 10/22/02

[sbaker]

I'm not Sandy, but....I bought a Bugaboo because I didn't want to have to have THREE strollers. (The Bugaboo takes the place of my Graco Metrolite, Teutonia Pixxel, and Maclaren Vogue.) DS likes this stroller MUCH better than the other three anyway.
I bought the Complete even though my son is 14 months old. Hopefully we will have another baby that can use the bassinet. I don't know if everyone knows this or not, but you can buy the Bugaboo without the bassinet. It's called the Basic. Check out:
https://secure11.websitecomplete.com/banjo/shop/showProd.asp?prod=2109

Just my two cents...
:) :+ :)
Sara
SAHM to Rayce

[Sandy]

Hi Casey,
Here is a list of my reasons for wanting the Bugaboo.

1.) Versatility
2.) Steering
3.) Higher Seat
4.) beautiful stroller
5.) OK I admit it. I am a strollerholic.

I think the main reason I want the Bugaboo is the versatility. I want to cut down on the number of strollers that I have (5) and want to get something that is more versatile yet still a reasonable size. During summers we like to walk downtown to have dinner through some trails and neighborhoods and it takes about 45 minutes, I think the bugaboo will be great for that. Also my DS really likes to sit up high and the bugaboo has that. The nice thing is that it is still a reasonable size and I can throw it in my trunk to use as my everyday stroller. I am planning to get the complete version with the bassinet because at this point we are planning to have a second baby sometime but in case we change our minds I think that bassinet will help with the resale when I am ready to sell it.

HTH,
Sandy
mom to Alexander Thor 3/16/02

[AmberLarissa]

thanks all...

so I'm not going to get this stroller, at least not for a while if ever. I took my peg back to where I bought it and they replaced all of the wheels (the entire bottom of the stroller) under the warrenty!!!! So now I just have to make sure I OIL them!!! (didn't know I was suposed to b4!) It ROLLS AGAIN!!!

In the fall, we'll get a bigger wheel stroller for the winter so I don't ruin this one AGAIN!!! Maybe then I'll get the swan or something else! Thanks for the responses!

[ginalc]

Hi AmberLarissa,

So how often are Peg wheels supposed to be oiled?
What oil do they recommend?

Are all stroller wheels supposed to be oiled???

Thanks,

gina

[corky]

This is off topic but how do I access the adventures in strollerland from strollerqueen? I can't seem to find it with the search function and I wanted to read through it to pick out some perals :o)

Thanks

Corky

[AmberLarissa]

oil the wheels once a week in the winter and once a month in the summer, that's what I was told. Not sure if all strollers need to be oiled, I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW MY PEG needed to be oiled until I ruined it!!!

Hmmmm...I can't remember how I came across the strollerqueen saga. I was searching for something, not it specifically and came across it...

anyone remember?

[gour0]

http://www.windsorpeak.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&forum=DCForumID7&om=628&omm=11&viewmode=threaded

[corky]

Thanks! This is such a great saga...I've got three strollers and I am angling for a 4th...sigh, is there one perfect one??

thanks again!

corky