Seeking Lightweight Stroller for 3 month old

[Philoscript]

Hi,

I'm hoping someone can help me. My husband and I are seeking a lightweight stroller to be used by a 3 month old (she's 3 months in 1 1/2 months). We live in NYC and currently walk a lot around our neighborhood. We currently use a Graco Stylus and while it's not a bad stroller it's awfully heavy to push. I also need something that's relatively light to travel on subways/buses.

The stroller specifications I'm seeking are:
Light enough/Stable enough to travel on a plane
Able to take cracks/possibly cobblestones in the sidewalks
Adjustable handles (I'm 5'6" and my husband is 5'8")
Able to fit into a Dodge Intrepid Trunk with some room to spare for things like a playyard and suitcase. The current stroller dimensions are (L x W x H): 22.93 x 19.19 x 31.36. The other Graco Strollers did not fit in our trunk if that gives you any idea of lenth and width. I believe the weight is 22lbs.
Price: No more than $250 if possible. Otherwise, it'll take a lot of convincing to my husband.

I'm currently looking at the Mac Quest, Techno XT and Triumph. I'm leaning toward the Quest and Techno XT. Does anyone else have any other suggestions? Do you have any information for or against the above three for a 3 month old?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[chozen]

it is $140.00 at walmart.com a great deal & the reviews on this stroller are good, it is much like the maclaren xt.

[edurnemk]

I think the Mac Techno is not very light, at that weight there are a lot of other strollers with better features. But I think the Quest is a good option. However no stroller with plastic wheels will be great for cracked sidewalks and cobblestones, for that you need air or foam-filled tires, the downside is that feature makes the stroller heavier. If it's not on an every day basis, the Quest might still do the job. There's also the new Peg Perego Si, but I'm not sure about the price, it has very nice wheels and an amazing canopy.

IMHO, the only annoying thing about the Macs (besides the not-so-great canopy) is that you need boht hands to recline it.

[arivecchi]

For taking public transportation in Chicago and travel, we love our Mac Triumph. Super light and has a carrying handle. My DH is much taller than I am and likes the Mac. It's not the best in bad sidewalks/cobblestone streets (you need an all terrain stroller for that), but we have used it in that kind of terrain. Macs are awesome light strollers for city dwellers.

P.S. You might also want to look at the Baby Jogger City Mini or the Valco Buggster?

[jacksmoma]

how about a baby jogger city mini? the mac's have horrible canopies which is really important for such a young baby. the baby jogger city mini has two windows to see baby too. it's super compact, great handle height (works for my hubby at 6'1" and me at 5'3"), and folds in one step. they are only $230! might want to look into a baby jogger classic (not as light weight/compact though) if you want something that has a super smooth ride (air tires)- cost around $350. i had a mac and hated it, baby sat so low and shade drove me nuts! i love my mini :)

[WatchingThemGrow]

The MIni is great, but the Mac has a better bus/subway fold. You can get aftermarket shades for them. We saw them on every Mac in NYC on our last visit.

[arivecchi]

The MIni is great, but the Mac has a better bus/subway fold. You can get aftermarket shades for them. We saw them on every Mac in NYC on our last visit. Or you can get an 07/08 Mac Triumph with a swivel sunshade.

[codex57]

At 3 months, baby might be a little too young for the Triumph.

[lorinick]

At 3 months, baby might be a little too young for the Triumph.

:yeahthat: We love the Mac Quest and you can start to use it at 3mts. but also check out the Baby Jogger City Mini we also have that one and love it as well. Sun cover is much nicer on the Mini but the Mac is lighter and great on the sub way.

[codex57]

:yeahthat: We love the Mac Quest and you can start to use it at 3mts. but also check out the Baby Jogger City Mini we also have that one and love it as well. Sun cover is much nicer on the Mini but the Mac is lighter and great on the sub way.

Yeah, the Quest and Mini would be my suggestions as well. I think the fold of the Quest works better, but the mini would handle the rough roads better. Tradeoffs. I wouldn't get a Techno though. If you go Techno, might as well get a Zippy or P3. Then you can roll the thing behind you when it's folded and get a ton more features for the same weight.

[GraceH]

I would go with the PP Si if your budget is $250...
The Si may take your car seat, is more stable than Macs for hanging on the handles, and has a better sunshade too...
That said, I have the Graco Mosaic stroller which is not quite as nice and I really love it even after 19 months of (ab)use, it goes for about $100

[AnnieW625]

We have a Maclaren Triumph that has been our main everyday do everything stroller since DD was 3 mos. old. If I were to do it over again I probably would've opted for the Quest or the XT only because of the full recline option. DD didn't sleep much in the MAC though until she was almost a year so the one position recline on the Triumph was really no biggie for us. Per Maclaren the Triumph age is 3 mos. . We used the one position recline and DD was fine.

If you don't mind the feel of plasticky strollers then there is nothing wrong with the P3 or the Zippy. I just preferred the non plasticky feel of the Maclarens. Ours has been gate checked on the airplane a number of times non bagged and never been dented or cracked. I'd be afraid to gate check a Zippy or P3.

[Tondi G]

Here is an amazing deal on a quest someone just posted in another thread! 2 covers!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260415309695&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123

[chozen]

and they told me that mac strollers bought on ebay will not be covered by them that they are not auth. dealers? not sure i have never bought anything on ebay. does anyone else know about this?

[ourbabygirl]

I'm the one who wants one of these strollers (there's also grey/pink & grey/blue available if you're interested!), so I contacted the seller to ask some ?s about it. I asked if he's an authorized dealer of Maclaren, and this is how he responded:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No one is an authorized retailer on ebay, manufacturer does not accept any item sold through ebay. I offer my own one year warranty, which works the same way as manufacturer's warranty. Thanks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think I'll probably still go ahead & buy it because it seems like Maclarens rarely have issues (if ever?) and I'm not breaking the bank to buy this;). I'm thinking I'd like to get one of those Baby Trend child snack trays for it, too, if you all have tried it and recommend it (I think it would be nice to have something for DD to lean on instead of always being harnessed in like in our BOB, & $10 is a good price). Do you know of a parent cupholder that can be attached to one of the handles, too?

Thanks!