Maclaren Triumph vs. Maclaren Quest Sport

[PCARN]

I'd love opinions on both strollers. I'm trying to decide which to register for. I'm on bedrest and can't see them at the store in person so I'm trying to find out as much as I can about both strollers.

I'd really appreciate your opinions.:)

[WatchingThemGrow]

Once you're up and around w/baby, where do you see yourself going? What other strollers are you considering as companions?

[PCARN]

Shopping, going for walks, etc. I want a reliable stroller that's compact and lightweight and has good features. Honestly I haven't considered any other brands. The Maclearn was highly recommended but I'm unsure as to which model to get.



Once you're up and around w/baby, where do you see yourself going? What other strollers are you considering as companions?

[codex57]

Quest still feels incredibly light to me. I like it better cuz of the recline.

[PCARN]

Good to know. I'm leaning towards the Quest. The Triumph doesn't recline? Or doesn't recline as much?

[zag95]

I have a Quest- some of the features that it has that the Triumph doesn't include:

A easier to use (IMO) recline- you slide the "notches" back and the seat back tips back- when I looked at the Triumph, you had to use velcro, which looked a bit more complicated.

It has this great "leg extension" where you can pull out these bars to make the seat fit better for little legs that don't reach the footrest- we had our daughter in this from about 6-7 mos on (she is now almost 15 mos!)

Great stroller- lightweight, folds small, etc. I don't think you can go wrong with either, but the Quest has a few more features! Our quest was in the charcoal and green- which was a nice gender neutral color choice for us, since baby's gender was a surprise!

Congrats and good luck!

[WatchingThemGrow]

Shopping, going for walks, etc.
Macs are highly recommended as a travel/lightweight stroller. BUT, if you do some searches on them, you'll find (and I LOVE our Triumph) they have smaller baskets and can tip over if you hang bags off the handles, then take the baby out for things you'd do at the mall- change a diaper, put them in a high chair, let them out at the play area. They are manageable there, you just have to readjust things each time you take the baby out.

We've used ours for walking around NYC for the day, taking the bus uptown and stuff like that, but I wouldn't routinely use it for going for walks. The wheels are small and hard, which makes for a more labored and bumpy push and ride. You also have to use two hands to push them well, which means you aren't able to ever swing an arm like you do when really walking.

So, in our case, we opted for a stroller with air tires and a single handlebar for our walking/main stroller and a Mac for quick errands, small spaces and travel. We've been very happy with the combination, but I wouldn't have been happy with a Mac alone since we do walk outdoors and not always on perfectly smooth new concrete. Does that make any sense?

[PCARN]

Thanks for listing the differences between the two strollers. Seems that the Quest's extra features are worth the extra money. The leg extension is an especially nice feature!

Thanks again!:)




I have a Quest- some of the features that it has that the Triumph doesn't include:

A easier to use (IMO) recline- you slide the "notches" back and the seat back tips back- when I looked at the Triumph, you had to use velcro, which looked a bit more complicated.

It has this great "leg extension" where you can pull out these bars to make the seat fit better for little legs that don't reach the footrest- we had our daughter in this from about 6-7 mos on (she is now almost 15 mos!)

Great stroller- lightweight, folds small, etc. I don't think you can go wrong with either, but the Quest has a few more features! Our quest was in the charcoal and green- which was a nice gender neutral color choice for us, since baby's gender was a surprise!

Congrats and good luck!

[PCARN]

Thanks for your post. You gave me something to think about. :) We were planning to get the Macleran as our main stroller (also have the snap and go and car seat combo which I know isn't routinely used as a main stroller). What brand is your main stroller? When I mentioned walks it would probably be local walks around the neighborhood otherwise I'd use it to run errands, etc. We live in the suburbs so the majority of the time will be spend in the car (except for walks in the neighborhood or trips to the park, etc.). I didn't want to get a full size stroller because of the bulk and for what we need it for it doesn't seem necessary.

Thanks again for your post. :)







Macs are highly recommended as a travel/lightweight stroller. BUT, if you do some searches on them, you'll find (and I LOVE our Triumph) they have smaller baskets and can tip over if you hang bags off the handles, then take the baby out for things you'd do at the mall- change a diaper, put them in a high chair, let them out at the play area. They are manageable there, you just have to readjust things each time you take the baby out.

We've used ours for walking around NYC for the day, taking the bus uptown and stuff like that, but I wouldn't routinely use it for going for walks. The wheels are small and hard, which makes for a more labored and bumpy push and ride. You also have to use two hands to push them well, which means you aren't able to ever swing an arm like you do when really walking.

So, in our case, we opted for a stroller with air tires and a single handlebar for our walking/main stroller and a Mac for quick errands, small spaces and travel. We've been very happy with the combination, but I wouldn't have been happy with a Mac alone since we do walk outdoors and not always on perfectly smooth new concrete. Does that make any sense?

[WatchingThemGrow]

(also have the snap and go and car seat combo which I know isn't routinely used as a main stroller).
Right - a lot of us here feel the SnG and leaving the baby in the carseat is not ideal for medical reasons - like plagiocephaly(flat head) and others. You CAN put the baby directly into the Triumph or Quest at 3 mos, but at that age, I found (both times) that wearing the baby is fun, comfy, and convenient. We did use the Triumph at that age w/o the leg rest and it was fine. We weren't out a LOT then, but YMMV.

What brand is your main stroller?
We have a Bugaboo, which I love, but for our main double we have the Baby Jogger City Elite. I could have been very happy with that one as my main stroller if I'd known about it from the beginning. It lays flat enough for newborns, has air tires, folds easily, has a much better canopy than all Maclarens, and pushes like a dream.

When I mentioned walks it would probably be local walks around the neighborhood otherwise I'd use it to run errands, etc. We live in the suburbs so the majority of the time will be spend in the car (except for walks in the neighborhood or trips to the park, etc.). I didn't want to get a full size stroller because of the bulk and for what we need it for it doesn't seem necessary.
I totally understand the "bulk" factor you're talking about as I see lots of huge, plasticy Gracos running around that take up an entire trunk. I couldn't deal with the thought of those, but when I pushed the strollers with air tires across the parking lot and down the street, then pushed the ones with hard wheels, I realized the HUGE difference.

Not sure about your neighborhood, but ours doesn't have smooth sidewalks, and our parks aren't all well-manicured for indoor-type stroller usage. Neighbors who have gotten strollers w/o air tires have simply stopped walking with their kids until they get something with them. Well, except for the one family who is on their 5th or 6th compact stroller w/hard wheels...

Hope that helps you try to sort through what your specific needs may be. Every family is different...

[codex57]

Inglesina Zippy is our main stroller (for mall/shopping, etc). We have a Bugaboo Cameleon too, but we leave that for walks around the neighborhood (which has semi-paved trails around it).

I never considered the Macs for our "leave in car" stroller cuz when shopping, we hang lots of stuff off the stroller. Macs are quite tippy. They're not the greatest for going shopping.

[swissair81]

I have three singles: a mac techno xt, a peg pliko switch & a mountain buggy single. I used to own a quest until someone ran over it in a parking lot & i decided not to get a new one. I preferred the techno (as an errand stroller)it weighs more, but reclines fully & has an awesome sunshade. It also doesn't tip as much. Something to think about.

[reissgirl]

I have a Triumph and wish I had gotten the Quest, although I LOVE the Turkish Blue color I have. I've gotten used to the recline on the Triumph and I think DS is comfy w/o the leg rest (he's 13 months) but what I really want is a viewing window. To me, that's the biggest drawback of the Triumph.

I was totally obsessed with finding a stroller other than a Mac bcs of the tippiness but I've been pleasantly surprised to find that it doesn't bother me that much. I have a Skip Hop saddlebag attached to the bottom of the stroller and I just bought (today, in fact) a small Le Sportsac bag to hang from the handles. This pretty much keeps the basket empty for shopping. When shopping, I always make sure to ask them to remove the hangers and I opt to not use a shopping bag if it's a bulky paper bag (I try not to use disposable bags anyway for environmental reasons so this is not a big deal). This helps save some space in the basket. DS is not a "stroller kid" so it would bother me to keep shuffling and rearranging every time he wants to get out of the stroller (almost always - ugh).

We have a Valco TriMode for our neighborhood stroller and it's great.

[GraceH]

Thanks for your post. You gave me something to think about. :) We were planning to get the Macleran as our main stroller (also have the snap and go and car seat combo which I know isn't routinely used as a main stroller). What brand is your main stroller? When I mentioned walks it would probably be local walks around the neighborhood otherwise I'd use it to run errands, etc. We live in the suburbs so the majority of the time will be spend in the car (except for walks in the neighborhood or trips to the park, etc.). I didn't want to get a full size stroller because of the bulk and for what we need it for it doesn't seem necessary.

Thanks again for your post. :)

I have the Graco SnugRide32 equivalent paired with the Graco Mosaic stroller -- I have been using this for 18 months and counting (although we leave DS's carrier in the car at this point)
The stroller takes a car seat, yet offers the option of taking baby out of the carrier if awake for only a few $ more than the snap&go -- yes, I did use the stroller with the car seat (especially in the earlier months) - it was great to use on quick in & out type errands - the footprint is also small enough to fit among the clothing racks at Kohls - the umbrella-style fold allows it to fit in my trunk in addition to DH's tools - I can put bags (within reason) on the handles with no tipping issues
Chicco has a similiar option with the Trevi, but I found that the extra cost of Chicco, plus the later outgrowth of the SR32 made the Graco pairing the obvious choice for me.

[jenny]

Chicco has a similiar option with the Trevi, but I found that the extra cost of Chicco, plus the later outgrowth of the SR32 made the Graco pairing the obvious choice for me.

I have the Chicco Trevi--DO NOT BUY THIS STROLLER!

It's 19 pounds, which is pretty heavy...at least compared to my Mac Quest. I bought the Trevi before getting my Mac and the Trevi is sitting in my closet b/c I don't know what to do with it. It's annoyingly bulky. The sun shade is a joke. I mean at least my mac sun shade can come down pretty far, the shade on the Trevi is only useful if you have the seat reclined.

I started out with a Graco SnapNgo stroller frame and then got the Trevi b/c it had all-wheel suspension. But it was too bulky and heavy. I got a new Mac Quest off of ebay for $158 including S&H and have not looked back. I also got a beco butterfly carrier to put DD in and she loves being in there and being close to us and high up. We use that more than a stroller now.

[GraceH]

I started out with a Graco SnapNgo stroller frame and then got the Trevi b/c it had all-wheel suspension. But it was too bulky and heavy. I got a new Mac Quest off of ebay for $158 including S&H and have not looked back. I also got a beco butterfly carrier to put DD in and she loves being in there and being close to us and high up. We use that more than a stroller now.

I meant the Mosaic/Trevi as an alternative to the Snap&Go (they are 13 pounds-ish for just the frame) - for me, the couple extra pounds was worth not being stuck somewhere with a baby that wanted out of their car seat, but only having a stroller frame... because I'm on a budget, I haven't felt lead to spend the extra $$$ to get a Mac when what I have now works fine, although if I were starting from scratch at this point, I would be looking into Macs, if that makes sense...

[arivecchi]

If you want to use a Mac right away with a very young child, get the Quest. I got the Trimuph because DS was already about 8 months and we did not care about the recline. We just wanted a stroller that was as light as possible to use it for travel and public transportation. We love it and so does DS. If you will be using it much more than that, I'd get the Quest.