Valco Hitch Hiker or Valco Toddler Seat?

[arivecchi]

What is a better idea with a 2 year old? He is 39 inches tall and weighs about 30 pounds.

[WatchingThemGrow]

No idea, but I'm sitting next to our CL Hitch Hiker right now. It hooked onto our BJCED pretty well, we just have to put the handle up if DD grows and inch. We won't use it on our stroller until the warranty is up and the baby is here, but it is pretty cool. DD will be 3 when we use it. When I tried out the wheeled board on the Bugaboo, she liked it, but needed straps (her own seat) until she got closer to maybe 29-30 months.

[arivecchi]

Thanks. It's so hard to come accross any feedback on these buggy boards for strollers.

[strollerqueen]

Two is too young for the buggy board. He won't have the strength, stamina, or discipline to stand and hang on for long. Manufacturers I have talked to have said four is the recommended age. But people do use them at three. Anyway, for sure right now you need the toddler seat.

[AnnieW625]

Wow 39" for a two year old that's pretty tall, when does you son turn 3?. I have a 2 year old also who is 30lbs, and 36" tall. When we have #2 in July, Elisa will be 3 years and we plan on getting the buggy board over the toddler seat because of the weight restrictions on most strollers (mainly looking at Valco) and we'd probably get more use out of a buggy board. I'm thinking with a 39" tall child he'd have no issues hanging on to the handle. Patience and stability will be the key though for any child of any age when using a buggy board.

[AnnieW625]

duplicate post (why does my login time only last 5 minutes???)

[arivecchi]

My son just turned 2 on Dec 2nd and he is very tall for his age, which is why I worry about the toddler seat. Is he too big for it? We also bought a double stroller, but I thought either the hitch hiker or the toddler seat would be a good idea for whenever we want to use the Valco when heading somewhere indoors where our double won't fit.

[AnnieW625]

We are thinking the same thing and really would probably only use the board in the mall, drs. office, or to the park down the street. For everything else including long walks or trips where there is a lot of street traffic we plan on getting a double jogger (probably a Bob Ironman).

I have yet to see a Valco stroller with a toddler seat on it (and the nearest dealers are in LA and I dread driving to LA), but I really think that the toddler seats are best for children that are two years apart of less, however I would be hesistant to put a child who is more than 35 or 40lbs in a toddler seat, but that's just me. ValcoBaby.com says that the stroller weight limit is 90lbs so you could always just put the larger child in the back once the new baby is old enough to sit in the front (but who knows how long that will actually work for).

Specs from Valco website:
http://valcobaby.com/products/strollers.html?tx_productcatalog_pi1%5Buid%5D=3

[WatchingThemGrow]

Oh, if you already have a double, just use that, then transition later to a board. That's what we've done recently. What double do you have that you don't think will fit indoors?

[arivecchi]

We got the Instep Safari Double. I really wanted a BJCED but could not afford it!

http://www.joggingstroller.com/InSTEP-Safari-Double.pro

[WatchingThemGrow]

I've never played that Instep. We got the BJCED b/c a friend gave us a discount through his business, then DH's Christmas bonus came at the same time for a little bit less than the total cost. I got lucky. Have you tried your stroller inside? Oh...I did a lot of wearing the baby in the Ergo and pushing DD in the single when we were going to indoor places and I didn't want to take the double. It was fine once she was a little more in control and DS didn't feel like he was going to break.

[arivecchi]

That's true. I keep forgetting we have a Baby Bjorn from DS1 that we can use in the beginning. I just opened the Instep stroller today and assembled it. Super easy to do even though I am 36 weeks pregnant. The fabric is not as nice as the Valco, but it actually feels lighter than my single Valco Runabout Trimode and maneuvers like a dream. I will have to seat my son in it tomorrow and make the final call. Pretty impressed so far with a stroller that only cost $190. Enjoy your BJD! I wish I would have been able to get my way with that one, but DH put his foot down after spending over $600 in the Valco with accessories and a Maclaren Triumph.