Valco w/ Toddler seat or E3 with 2nd seat??

[Owensmom220]

Hi there, I am due in Early Nov and at that time will have a 3 yr 8mth old boy. My son is definitly a stroller lover and I dont want to "kick" him out once new baby boy arrives. I am looking for a stroller that will accomadate both of them as well as just one sometimes. We typically just use the stroller for the mall, and the 2 or 3 times a year we go on a vacation. I think I have it narrowed down to these two. What one do you think would be a better choice for my age difference and use needs? My son is 30 lbs and 38 inches right now.

Thanks for any advice/info.

-Stephanie

[Sarah1]

I don't own either of these strollers--but I have been looking very closely at all these options lately--and this morning while we were at the park, I saw a Valco Runabout w/toddler seat. I really checked it out. It looked great, but I thought the seat looked too small for a bigger toddler. The child in the seat had just turned 2 years old and was skinny. Audrey, at 2.5 years old and 34 solid lbs, I think is too big for the seat already--and the weight limit of the seat is 40 lbs. So considering that your son will be close to 4 years old when you'd be using this thing, I think the seat might be too small for him.

I can't say anything about the E3--I have never seen it. It does seem like a great concept, though.

I have basically decided I'm going with a MBUD. At the same park today, there was a couple with HUGE kids (the parents themselves were HUGE! I am 5'9" and the mom TOWERED over me adn the Dad was like a giant!). Their two huge boys were both sitting very comfortably in the MBUD. She did have the "tall" canopy on it. She raved about the stroller and how comfortable both her boys were in it.

HTH :)

[strollerqueen]

Definitely pushing the limits on the add-on seat of the E3, too. My DS is 40", and is too big for the E3 V2. He is a little over the top of the V1 seat. Depending on which website you check, the weight limit on the rear seat is 30-33 pounds. Once your baby can sit up on it's own, you can switch and put your son in the main seat. But you're talking almost a year away.

[reyn74]

I have the Valco with toddler seat for my almost 4 year old, and I like it a lot, but I would not use it to go on vacation or to the mall. I bought mine because I walk to preschool every day in the winter and wanted something all terrain, I bought the Valco so I could use the toddler seat this summer, pretty much. I store it in the garage, so I don't have to fold/unfold it. It is a great stroller, but the toddler seat makes it tougher to push. I'd say get it (if your child fits) if you really need a single all terrain type stroller for the next few years. My almost 4 year old is 30 lbs and 37 in (he's tiny for his age), and I don't expect him to be in the toddler seat for more than a few months.

My double mall/travel stroller is the Combi twin. That one is great to fold/unfold, and my kids all fit fine in it. I've taken it to Disney by plane, and it worked great. The other stroller I use on the mall is the P3, but the baby has to be big enough to sit up for the older child to ride on the back, and when baby naps, the older has to walk.

-Sarah

[kidiggy]

I have an E3 and I love it. My DD is 2 1/2 (34 inches, 26 pounds) and my DS is two months. I only used the newborn mode for about a month since DS prefers to be somewhat upright. I use a Snuzzler and blanket to keep him snug and slightly reclined, and he seems perfectly happy in either seat. (That's probably not totally by-the-book, but it works well for us.) For now, I let DD pick which seat she wants to ride in and put him in the other, but I can see as she gets bigger she might prefer the roomier front seat.

I use it as my only stroller, and although it's heavy I don't mind getting it in and out of the car. Works great in both mall and all-terrain settings.

Good luck making your decision!