Questions for MACLAREN users:

[yoyosma]

Hi and thanks for reading this!
I am in the middle of deciding on a lightweight stroller and am getting mixed messages about the Maclaren.
It seems to be the stroller of choice when it comes to lightweights, but I also hear many complaints so now I dont know what to do.
For those who DO own Maclarens, please help me understand the following:

1-I hear that Maclarens are notoriously tippy and that they have terrible wheels that rub out or the stroller will push but will favor one side. I have seen the off centered strollers myself. Are those lemons? Why am I seeing so many? Or are they just old? How do they age?

2-I hear that their customer service is lousy.

3-They seem to be the most popular stroller, is this because of the prestige of the name or are they really that good? From reviews I have read people ADORE their Macs or hate them with the fire of many burning suns :).

4-Which one do you own and which do you recommend? I am leaning towards a Quest myself.

5-From these other brands, which would you recommend? Namely, the Swift, Trip, Esprit, Baby Candy, Zooper (any lightweight) etc?
Please help me!!!

[pastrygirl]

I don't actually own a Mac, but I do keep test-driving them because of all the rave reviews. I have a Trip, which I love. It's very sturdy, has bigger wheels than many of the basic Macs, and has nicer/thicker fabric than the Macs I tried. I tried out the Volo and Triumph -- I just tried the Volo again last week to see if I "needed" it in addition to my Trip. ;-) (The Quest was more stroller than I was looking for, so I didn't try it out.)

Mac cons (IMO):
The Mac felt and looked very flimsy compared to the Trip. The canopy especially felt flimsy. (Volo in particular, but I remember thinking this of the Triumph months ago when I first looked at it.) The fold was very similar to the Trip, both the way of folding and the folded size. The carrying strap is nice, but the Trip has a carrying handle that works fine. I don't find the Trip tippy at all, but I usually don't have much, if anything, hanging on the back.

Trip cons:
The Macs steered a bit better than the Trip. I can't steer the Trip one-handed, but I couldn't do it 100% one-handed with the Mac, either -- but it was close enough so that if I needed to maneuver through a doorway, I could do it one-handed. I occasionally kick the wheels on the Trip. Not often, but I do. My husband, who is two inches taller than me, never kicks the wheels. I didn't kick the wheels on any of the Macs I tried. The recline mechanism can be a pain. I always need both hands and sometimes my son thunks down a bit while I'm doing it. I don't know how the Macs recline, but I wish it was easier on the Trip (or took less coordination, if that makes sense!) The harness is a bit big, too. I couldn't get it tight enough when my son was younger. I really only started using it when my son was already pretty big (used my All-Terrain during the winter). I don't know how I'd feel putting a newborn in there with the huge harness.

I know that Macs have a great reputation, but honestly, when I tried them out in person, I wasn't impressed. And I am a stroller snob!

Cristina
mom to Toby, 6/10/06

[yoyosma]

Thank you for your answer. Is your Trip your main stroller? How flat does it recline? Is it heavy? I think I read its about 15 lbs., that may be too heavy for me.
My main stroller is a Baby Jogger City Series, so the perfect lightweight I am searching for would be my second stroller for quick trips and the subway. Do you think a Trip is suitable?
PS- My baby is now almost 10 months old, so I am not worried about her being wobbly but I do want her to get somewhat of a recline for a nap.

[pastrygirl]

My son is 11 months old. :-)

It reclines flat or nearly flat, and is definitely suitable for naps (my son is just starting to sleep in my other stroller, so he hasn't slept in the Trip yet). My main stroller is a BOB Revolution, so I only use the Trip when I need a smaller stroller or for quick trips. I don't use it if I know I'm going to need to steer one-handed.

I also read that it's 15 pounds, but feels pretty light to me. It might be a bit heavy for regular stroller use. The strap of the Mac would probably be really good for subways, too. I saw at BRU that the Micralite also has a carrying strap. I even liked that stroller better than the Volo.

ETA: I can't find the Micralite that I (thought I) looked at. It was at BRU, but it's not listed on their website. Maybe it was a different brand, but it was right next to the Macs. I'll try to find it. It's not the Fast Fold. It looked like the Volo.

[hipmaman]

Hi,

I'll try to answer as much as possible.

1) Yes, Mac (and many strollers) do tip, especially when there is no baby/child in the stroller and a heavy diaper bag is hang off the handles. Therefore I hang my diaper bag with longer strap so the diaper bag would be lower to the ground and to lower the centre of gravity so tipping would not occure. Something like this http://tinyurl.com/3eyjjw

I don't know much about the wheels rubbing, but that sounds like lemons to me. There are many Mac that actually last for years and the wheels are not like what you describe. But that also depends on if these strollers are the work-horses, used in rough terrains, etc.

2) Yes, CS can be lousy. But honestly, not much different than any other CS that I have the pleasure to deal with over the last 7-8 yrs since having kids.

3) I don't know if it's the prestige or not. Perhaps a bit of both that it does have a good reputation (since its debut in the UK with good quality, light weight strollers that many companies now have copied).

But yes, imho, like many things, people either love it, hate it or learn to like the good things and ignore or work around the things that they have decided not to let ruin the good things in a Mac.

4) Have owned and still owning too many Maclarens, single and double, to list (some you won't even know the model name, lol). But the Quest is a good mid-range stroller for a 10 months old. The other option if you can find it is the now-discontinue Ryder.

5) No comments since I don't own them to have them tested to the same conditions that I have used my Macs. The other option that you might want to look into is the Silver Cross ones or the Peg Perego Pliko Lite.

Edit to add that steering of a Mac is way better than other light-weight umbrellas, especially the older UK-made Macs.

[pastrygirl]

Thank you for jogging my memory!! The Silver Cross was the other one I tested at BRU. I liked it better than the Volo.

[lincolnparkafterdark]

1-Yes, the Macs can tip with no child in the seat. I have compensated for that by taking off the bags before taking the child out or keeping my foot on the footrest if I want to take the child out first. The steering on my Mac is awesome, even one handed.

2-I don't have any experience with their CS

3-I'm not sure but when I researched strollers I kept coming back to macs for certain features even though they have other features lacking (like napper bar/snack tray and parent tray- which can be remedied with a Carry You type accessory). Features Macs have that others don't- the tall, adjustable, ergonomic handles. The true one hand fold combined with the fact that I *never* kick Macs. The durability.

4-I have a Volo and soon to arrive Techno XLR. I have also looked at the Techno XT which is also really nice but just no carseat adaptor and the Easy Traveller which is just the stroller frame but I was impressed again with the tall ergonomic handles and the awesome easy fold.

I just refuse to be putting a huge 22 plus pound travel system type stroller in and out of my car.

Good luck!

[yoyosma]

Thank you all for your replies!
Right now I am debating between an Inglesina Swift 2007 and a Maclaren Quest 2006. I can get either one for a similar price ($109 vs. $129).
Advice?