Going to Paris! Can't decide between

[luvmypeanut]

the Jane Powertrack 360, Bebeconfort Everest or the Bebecar Racer ST. I originally decided on the Powertrack because of the fold and weight - 17lbs vs 30lbs for the other two - but after browsing through the websites again last night I'm undecided. The Everest has that nifty button on the handle to switch the front wheel from swivel to fixed, and the Racer has a big basket, looks like it sits high and has a reversible seat. Oh what to do? I have a Carrera which is Zippy-like but it doesn't handle the bumpy city sidewalks as well as I'd like so I want something with air tires. Can anyone who has tried any of these strollers shed some light?

Jane http://tinyurl.com/256jh
Everest http://tinyurl.com/ypeav
Racer http://tinyurl.com/2trxn (but I would get the swivel model)


TIA!

[Mikesa3]

I have no experience with these but thought I'd offer my .02 from pics.I don't like the seat on the Everest as much.It doesn't look like there is as much space between bar and seat,could be just the pic though.Also it doesn't have sides to rest head on.I like to see what the hood on the racer looks like since it doesn't show in the picture.For the weight difference though I like the Jane best.Have fun shopping.:-)
Nancy-Mom to 6 great kids

[holliam]

I'm obsessed with the Jane model so that gets my vote. :)

Holli

[american_mama]

I have never owned a three wheel stroller, although I covet one now that I live in Belgium. Based on my experience abroad, here's my advice:

As you deduced, with European cobblestones, big air wheels are great and swivel wheels are great. In Europe, streets, sidewalks, and shops are all so much narrower and you will feel like an elephant in a china shop if you are struggling with turning a fixed wheel stroller in tight spaces. True, the Europeans do it a lot, but many of them are used to it in the first place. You may see ifyou can find out the width of each of these strollers from wheel to wheel to see which is narrowest.

You will probably be out all day being a tourist, so your child will be napping (hopefully) in the stroller, so you need a reclining back. You also don't know about the weather, so you need a hood and possibly a rain cover. I'ts not clear whether the BebeTracker comes with a hood. Rain covers are GREAT on windy or cold days even without rain. Sitting up high is probably irrelevant. I think ease of changing from fixed to swivel wheel is also unimportant b/c you will probably rarely use the fixed wheel. The Jane can switch to a fixed wheel too.

A big basket may be necessary depending on how you travel. Do you like to shop or collect tourist info.? Do you travel with a guide book, water bottle, umbrellas or jackets, food or bottles for baby? All of that increases your need for basket space unless you carry a backpack or big bag for travel gear, or have a big diaper bag that you can securely attach to the handle bars in lieu of a big basket.

Will you be renting a car? European cars and trunks are much smaller than American ones, so you probably want a stroller that folds as small as possible. I noticed that the Everest listed quick release tires, which helps with packing it in a trunk. You could ask for the dimensions of the strollers folded, with and without tires, to help make your decision.

If you are not renting a car, will you be taking public transportation or trains? If so, you will probably have to carry the stroller up and down stairs on occasion. Europe is not wheelchair and stroller friendly. If you will always be traveling with a partner, then you will manage the stairs one way or another. But if you will be traveling alone and consider yourself weak, you'll want the lightest stroller you can get. Or, you will have to psyche yourself up to ask for help from strangers. Europeans are usually very willing to help people with strollers, but you do often have to ask for it, either verbally or via pleading look.

Can you recline the seat to change baby's diaper in the stroller? I ask because in Belgium, diaper changing stations are rare, and I almost always change my daughter on the floor of a bathroom when out in public. Eww, yuck, I know, but there is just no alternative. I don't know about France, but I would be prepared for the worst.

Finally, you will be investing some considerable money and dreams in this stroller, so you may want to bring a lock. Nobody else will have one, anyone who notices it will probably think you're a freak, but there will almost certainly be times where you and baby can go somewhere the stroller can't. How will you feel leaving the stroller unattended?

Enjoy your trip. You have picked out some spectacular strollers.

[egoldber]

I completely agree with getting the lightest, most compact stroller possible. We went to Paris when my DD was about 9 months old. We took a Maclaren, and I wouldn't consider anything bigger for Paris. Yes, the ride is bumpy, but anything else is just too cumbersome if you are shopping or taking the Metro. There are virtually NO wide turnstile entrances for the Metro, so if your stroller won't fit through the turnstile (and generally a Mac does) you have to lift your stroller up over the turnstile. And some of the turnstiles are VERY tall and this makes it quite awkward.

There are also very few elevators available in general, but even in department stores or museums. Even excalators are not as commonplace as here. So you will be carrying your stroller up and down stairs a lot. I would also thing about escalator width, because again, they are generally not as wide as they are in the US.

HTH,

[jesseandgrace]

Hi. You can buy the Bebecar through crocodile baby in Vancouver and have it shipped to the us, and the bebeconfort line is coming here, so it seems like the Jane is the best bet because you just can't get it here. If you don't like it you would easily be able to sell it and buy one of the others. I love the racer with the swivel wheel and might buy it from crocodile baby!

[luvmypeanut]

I think I'm back to the Jane again. It just seems so hard to find a three-wheeler that folds compact and is lightweight. And it's a good point that I can get the other two lines later in the year if the Jane doesn't work out. My mom is coming with me so I've got an extra set of hands, and we usually walk everywhere because Paris is such a great walking city. We're basically there to introduce my grandmother to her great-granddaughter so a lot of the time we'll be hanging at her place. I'm bringing the sling, but do you think I should pick up an umbrella stroller as well? I tried her in a Vogue and she hated it so I'm reluctant to buy anything similar.

Thanks for your input!

[american_mama]

If you think most of your time will be hanging out at your grandma;s, I would ONLY bring a lightweight umbrella stroller. No fun, I know, but you won't be on enough cobblestone to justify the bulk of a three wheeler. It will be easy to store at her place, unlike a three wheeler, and you can easily grab it to go to the bakery or store. Does she have an elevator to her apartment, or a lot of stairs to her home? If you're lugging a threewheeler up two or three flights of stairs, that may make your decision in favor of an umbrella right there.

I live in a city with only busses, which can accomodate large strollers pretty well, so I didn't think about having a narrow stroller to fit through turnstiles on the Metro. I don't know Paris, but if you will ever be taking a tram, you should consider the width of those doors too, and whether there are any steps leading into the tram... obstacles which are usually easier with a lightweight stroller.

A totally minor point is that the easiest way for two people to carry a stroller is for one to lift up on the napper bar and the other on the handles. So if you are compelled to buy a new umbrella stroller, you might look for one wtih a very sturdy napper bar, preferably one that is fixed in place. I have a stroller with a napper bar that rotates open, and I always have to refuse help from strangers who unwittingly grab the napper bar, or I have to struggle to get them to bend down and lift the stroller from the footrest.

-- Karen

[marit]

I've been looking at this website and druling. What do you think about the Maxi-Cosi Speedi?
http://www.twoleftfeet.co.uk/acatalog/copy_of_copy_of_copy_of_copy_of_2004_Maxi_Cosi_Spe edi_.html

It weighs only 10 kg (about 22 lbs I think), and costs 100 lbs less...

edited to say: the prices look very strangs to me. For example the Kiwi that costs here about $280 is 280 pounds there (1 U.K. pond = 1.8 U.S. dollars). AM I reading it wrong?

[egoldber]

I agree. If you're mainly going to be hanging out at your grandmother's home and in her neighborhood, I would buy a $20 cheap umbrella stroller. I usually NEVER recommend this for travel, but honestly Paris is such a difficult city to navigate with a stroller. You don't realize how many steps there are everywhere until you carry your stroller up and down them a few times! Almost all the strollers you see in Paris are the cheap umbrella types.

HTH,

[lynettefrancois]

We took a Maclaren, and I wouldn't consider
>anything bigger for Paris.

Which Mac fit through the Metro turnstiles? How wide is it? We are going sometime in the fall to visit family so I'm trying to evaluate my options now... Thanks!