Help Me Please: Seat position on P&T E3 v2 vs. Valco Trimode

[astro_girl]

Hello,

It's taken me over 2 months to decide between the E3v2 and the Trimode (both in the single+toddler seat configuration). I picked up the phone to order the E3, and as the line rang, I hung up - quickly jogging to any and all message boards (when I should've been jogging on a trail instead) to find last-ditch comparisons that I might not have read before - only to re-read messages I've already seen. I've thought long and hard: and now I'm not sure if the Valco would be better than the E3. This is really a parallel to psychoanalysis, I think.

I had an epiphany while sitting here: I think that the root of my "fears" of committing to the E3 vs. the Trimode is that I am unsure of whether or not I/my little ones will prefer the seating configurations on the Trimode vs. the E3. Main question: do you have any advice on benefits/setbacks for the seating config. differences between the two? I'm afraid my older daughter might not be able to nap in the Valco (not that she naps in the stroller now, though) or will lack back support on longer outings. The other nagging thought: it seems that based on the multitude of opinions I've seen that the Valcos are better built/longer lasting than the E3s. Am I wrong? Is the customer service for both companies good?

I live in the Denver metro area, and can only find E3s to test-ride, which I did. Both girls seemed to like the E3 in both dual-child modes. I am a bit nervous that I am unable to test-ride a Valco, and have had a difficult time finding people to offer impartial advice for the E3 vs. the Trimode. I understand for good reason that people tend to like either or. Which camp do I fit in, is the question? If and add-on accessory is available to overcome a shortcoming (i.e. sun canopy, wheel covers, etc.), then I can get over it.

My stats: I have a 6 mos. old daughter who's not yet sitting up (last weighed in at 12.5 lbs., though might be 13 by now), and a 2 year old daughter who weighs about 30 lbs. (I think she will be on average or slightly above average size-wise). I am a SAHM, but like to get out and about a lot with the girls. I walk frequently in/on malls, sidewalks, trails, zoos, etc. Our neighborhood sidewalks are those narrow half-sidewalk/curb sort of things (they don't make 'em here like they did back East). I drive a minivan (ugh, but wonderful), but I like the idea of a smaller alternative to a conventional double stroller. I loathe the cumbersome nature of traditional tandems, but am afraid of the wide widths of traditional SBSs. OK, so everyone else that has a runabout or e3 is in the same boat. ANY IDEAS ON WHAT QUESTIONS I CAN ASK MYSELF THAT WILL HELP ME TO PULL THE TRIGGER? Is there a question I might have overlooked that might make a big difference in choosing? DH is pressuring me to buy one stroller and stick with it (which I agree with, though I do not plan on getting rid of my cheap and light umbrella stroller for the airport). We don't have much money to throw around, but I do realize that buying 3 cheaper strollers and being unhappy is worse in the long-run than buying one that will be great or at least acceptible.

I've considered optional accessories available for the valco and P&T, and the only thing that irks me is that for the toddler seat of the e3, there is no sun canopy. How have other e3 users gotten around this? Are there any companies out there who currently (or soon plan to) sell an add-on canopy that would fit this type of seat?

I plan to get the panniers, if purchasing the e3, so storage is not a huge issue. I tend to travel light anyway, and am looking for a less bulky alternative to a double in the first place. Will the panniers help with the e3's "tippiness" I've read about? Would you say that both the trimode and the e3 are comparable in handling/tippiness? I know neither will be perfect. The cost between the two is not a deal-breaker. Last, if I go with the E3, do you think the green is gender-neutral? It's difficult to tell just how bright this is online, as none of the local retailers deal with this color.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for your time and suggestions, in advance. I'll let you know what I decided on and will be sure to pay it forward by offering my detailed feedback to others in question once I have some miles under my belt with the new stroller.

Brooke

PS: I'm supposed to be writing my dissertation while the sitter is here this morning...so your help in justifying my little diversion on this message board is greatly appreciated!!! :)

[1gingerale]

Hi,

I have the P&T LOVE IT.

Originally I was set to get the Valco double. By the time I was 8mo and due any day the new 2005 models still had not reached our area. (last year in May) I was getting tired of waiting for the stroller to come in. Looked again at the P&T it is lighter then my old Graco Quatro Tour and folds even smaller. (important to us we have an old Honda Accord with a small trunk.)

The P&T gives us lots of room in the car to put stroller and playpen when heading to grandma's house. It is light weight that I can lift it easily out of the trunk of the car.

P&T does have a sun shade that you can get for the double configuration. Blocks out 70% of UV rays. Also the child in the back is fairly shaded. They also sell rain covers for the doubles mode.

I was really set to get the Valco product but I am so happy with the E3 that I am glad they were having trouble getting the product to stores last year. I also think that in some place the width of the Valco might have been a problem. Even though it is supposed to fit in wheelchair doors and such without a problem sometimes shopping can be a tight queeze even with a narrow stroller.

We have taken the E3 everywhere zoo, malls, walks on and off sidewalks the only time there is a tippy problem is when I have just one of my children in the rear and no one in the front. DD is 2 1/2 now and DS is 1 they now weigh the same (26 lbs) so I can change them around. I usually place the sleeping one in the back so the one who is awake can have the better view, but they both love either location (which surprised me, I didn't think they would like the bottom due to lack of view but they like the cozy feeling being there gives). The stroller works great. Panniers are great for a ton of storage and they don't effect the tippiness.

My older DD mostly wants to walk now, miss independant so it is nice to have the option not to have doubles mode. But we always have the second seat with us and you don't notice the room it takes.

I hope this helps.

[Ohio_Mom]

I totally understand where you're coming from. I have kind of a stroller problem (meaning, I love to buy a stroller, use it for a little while, then sell it and buy something new just for the novelty of it all). My two children are just under two years apart. I haven't tried the Trimode, but I did have the 2005 version of the Runabout with toddler seat for a while. Currently I'm using an E3, but I'm planning to sell it and try out a Powertwin for a while soon. Anyway, here is what I will say about the Valco versus the E3.

The Valco overall is MUCH more solidly made than the E3. The push is smoother, the brake is better, the seats are more comfy, and the steering is fantastic. I'm not saying that the E3 is poorly made AT ALL, but without a doubt the Valco is just a better built stroller. One major advantage of the E3, though, is that it's a few inches narrower than the Valco, which makes it easier to maneuver, especially indoors and through tight spaces. For example, I'm not sure I'd want to try to navigate store aisles with the Valco very often, but the E3 handles even narrow Gymboree aisles with ease. I really enjoyed pushing the Valco more, but the E3 is easier to get around with.

As far as placement of the doubles seat, the older child goes in the doubles seat on the Valco, but the younger child goes in the doubles seat on the E3. My toddler liked being high up in the Valco toddler seat, which was nice, and now with the E3 she is jealous of the baby getting to ride in the "fun" back seat. The baby is happy enough in the doubles seat on the E3, but the main problem comes when he needs to nap. The E3 baby seat has no recline at all, so he ends up crumpled into a little ball with his neck folding into his chest, and that just upsets him (and me!). At the same time, on the Valco, the toddler seat has no recline either, so if my daughter is tired and even wants to just lean back, she couldn't really do that. The toddler seat is short enough that there was nothing for her to rest her head against (just her back), so I don't think it was comfortable for her for longer periods of time.

I do think that the toddler seat on the Valco is harder to put on and take off than the E3. If you thought you'd be removing it often, the Valco might become rather annoying. The E3 is very quick and easy to go from single to double, or vice versa.

The good thing about the Valco is that it has decent storage and I could hang my diaper bag off the handle, whereas with the E3 the basket is useless with the doubles seat attached, and I can't hang my diaper bag on it at all. So I end up lugging around lots more stuff on my back with the E3 than I did with the Valco. Also, I do find the E3 to be quite tippy, but I never found the Valco to be tippy AT ALL. Again, it was just a very solid stroller.

I guess what I'm saying is that neither stroller is perfect. You really just have to decide what's most important to you if you're determined to go with a toddler seat stroller instead of a true double. I really wanted to make the toddler seat scenario work for us, but I've realized that with the age gap between my kids (just under two years), what I really need is an ACTUAL double stroller. I need both kids to have comfortable seats and the baby needs to be able to recline when he sleeps. I need storage underneath the stroller, and I want to be able to hang my diaper bag from the handle. As much as I love the idea of both the E3 and the Valco with toddler seat, I don't think either one really suits my needs well enough.

That's why I decided to go ahead and give the Powertwin a try. I know the seats are small enough that an older child wouldn't fit well in them, but I think my skinny two year old will do fine in it for a while. When she outgrows the Powertwin, I will most likely sell it and get a Trimode side by side double to use when we still need both kids to ride, then just a single with toddler step for smaller outings since my oldest should be more capable of doing that by the time she outgrows the Jane.

LMK if you have any more specific questions about these two strollers (or any others, for that matter, since I've owned a ton of them). It's a hard decision to make, that's for sure.

Good luck!

[MamaParis]

I've had our e3 for over 2 years now and LOVE it.

We tried out every double on the market that we could and the E3 always won for us and our needs and wants.

I've never tried out the tri-mode - but I did try out the Runabout with toddler seat and my older rider didn't do well with that particular toddler seat. She was ok with it for about a minute for the novelty then she started squirming around and such and trying to climb out - I think it reminded her of a grocery cart - wich she HATES riding in!!

But the big deal breaker for us was that the Runabout with toddler seat was a LOT larger than the E3. Folded the Valco took up a lot of room in our cargo area and the E3 folded a lot smaller IMO.
The Vaclo was also a lot heavier feeling and I almost pinched off my finger the few times I folded it. Wich I'm sure is something you get used to - but it bugged me.

The Valco was more padded and had better basket access - but none of that mattered to me. I don't really use the baskets anyway and the E3 was decent padding - so it wasn't a huge deal.

Another thing I noticed was the seatbacks - the E3 has a REALLY tall seatback - which for my REALLY tall kids will serve us better in the future. Although the Valco has a better canopy.

Steering-wise - I found the E3 easier to steer with a kid in the toddler seat - The Valco seemed to require more effort to push it since the toddler seat is way up front and up high.
Also, the store allowed me to take it outside to test it out and I could VERY easily jump curbs with the E3 and with the Valco I felt like the whole stroller was going to tip forward and over when going down and it took some strength to pop the front wheel to get up on the curb with a kid in the seat.

AS for quality - they seemed about the same to me. Both are pretty solid strollers.


As for the sun coverage on the E3 - there is a sun cover you can buy - we had it for a short while but my kids couldn't stand sitting under it. When in infant/toddler mode both kids have pretty decent sun coverage because the toddler seat sits up high up front and the kid is more under the canopy.
In toddler/toddler mode the rear seat has a decent bit of sun coverage simply from the front seat and the handlebar and the pusher blocking the sun from above.


As for tippiness - I have never felt my E3 to feel tippy. I have even let the older/heavier kid ride in back too and climb in and out on their own. I'm sure it can happen, but it hasn't happened to us in over 2 years of constant use.

Pushing the E3 I feel absolutely NO tippiness no matter if I was going up down, turning, on a hill, etc.

Now don't get me wrong - the valco is a VERY nice stroller - I just didn't care for the toddler seat set up and the way it felt with a toddler in the toddler seat.

I know some people who agree with me 100% and some who disagree and love their Valcos and hate the E3s! LOL Its got a lot to do with what you want/need and what kind of seat your toddler needs.

[mom2kate]

Brooke,
It seems like you are set on the single with add on seat option, but I would really consider just getting a true double instead. I had the Valco with TS and looked at the E3 - I already had the Valco, so it was an easy decision for me. To be honest I really didn't love the Valco with TS.

My 2 are almost 3 years apart and my daughter was really getting to be out of the stroller when my youngest came along, so for me I didn't see getting a whole lot of use out of a double - which in the end was probably the right decision. I also have a Teutonia Y2K, so as long as someone was with me on longer trips, I used both strollers. Now my daughter can ride her bike while we're walking around the neighborhood, so I just use the Valco or the Y2K as a single.

My older daughter wasn't happy in the toddler seat and it didn't work putting her there for more than 20 minutes or so. Also once my youngest was sitting all of the way up, she couldn't really see much and would get fussy on not very long walks. I think when you use a stroller with an add on seat, you really shortchange at least one of the riders, which is fine for a quick errand, but not for longer outings.

With 2 littles under 2, I would definitely have gotten one of the twin outdoor strollers. I think having both children be comfortable and be able to see out is really worth it if you're out and about for awhile. If you don't go that route, then I would look at the Jane Powertwin, as at least you get 2 real seats for your little ones.

Good luck!

[astro_girl]

Thank you so much, ladies, for your extremely helpful insights about your stroller experiences with doubles and singles + toddler seats. I just ordered the E3 in lime w/doubles kit from Jo @ Let's Go Strolling and will look forward to seeing it in a few weeks (this color's on back order) if all goes well.

I kept going back and forth b.t. the Valco & P&T, and because of seating configurations, I chose the latter, even though the Valco seems to be more plush. Yes, there's no perfect stroller out there, but this seems like it will fit our needs for some time, which is all I can ask.

I'm ready to get rid of our old ratty Peg Pliko-matic and carseat once the baby grows out of the carseat, so if purchasing a double, I would've also had to purchase another single in the long run. Thanks so much for all your help - I've taken all of your points in consideration, and will be sure to weigh in on others' pleas for help in the future, when applicable. Now I can get back to work! :)

Brooke