Maybe I'm Nuts....Any other suggestions?

[bosco2010]

I have been actively researching, reading, and testing out strollers for months now and I am leaning towards the Chicco Cortina travel system. I know... I know...this was not my first inclination especially after reading the baby bargains book.

I am looking for a stroller that will take an infant car seat, is not too heavy, has a nice sized basket, folds easily enough, and allows the child to sit all the way up. I also do not have a huge budget and cannot spend more than $200-250 or so on a stroller (since most require you to buy an infant car seat on top of that).

Originally I was going to go with a snap n go and then realized that when you fold them they are not really any more compact than a travel system. Plus as soon as the baby is too heavy to carry in their car seat it is useless.

Then I was leaning towards the BJCM because I liked the fold and weight of the stroller, but I was not very happy that the seat does not sit all the way up. Also the car seat adaptor seemed unsteady. Does anyone use the car seat adapter on a regular basis?

The Maclarean (Techno XLR I think) that has a car seat adapter is really out of my price range and is the weight of the Chicco Cortina.

The Pergo basket was almost touching the floor and again not that lightweight for the price.

Anyone else have other suggestions for strollers? :bowdown:

[jacksmoma]

i used the car seat adaptor for months and loooved that thing- just poped in our snugride and off we went! used it for quick trips mainly, really a nec. when you've got a baby and toddler :) get it, totally worth it, i know it seems pricey but you'll wonder how you did without it!

[Green22]

I was/am in the same position you are in re: needs and costs. Also, I wanted to get the Keyfit infant seat.

I thought the Cortina would be fine, and my SIL has one and loves it (about 2 years later). It is easy to open and close and it has a nice basket, and it isn't too wide or cumbersome. If you look at the reviews, not just in the book, you'll see a lot of people really like this travel system.

But after going to the store to try it out I realized that I really didn't like how it folds down . . .it is hard to explain. You press/squeeze a button at your hand and it just kind of folds downwards. Then you have to bend down to pick up the whole flattened stroller. I felt like this would be too cumbersome for me to deal with for 2+ years.

I would suggest going and checking one out at a BRU to see what you think. If not for that issue for me, I think we would be getting that stroller.

So I have no suggestions, except that I thought the cortina was very nice.


(As it stands I am going to get the baby jogger city mini and the snap and go that supposedly works with the key fit. I figure I'm not going to be doing any crazy strolling at first anyway so if the key fit isn't snapped in, and is just strapped in, it will likely be fine. Also, I feel the same way in terms of it being cumbersome, but I figure I can deal for 6 months or so).

[AnnieW625]

What about a Maclaren TechnoXT, you can find a 2009 model for $259 at Albee Baby.com, (http://www.albeebaby.com/maclaren-techno-xt-strollers.html?gclid=CKD6xKWakaACFRoragodNBv1dA). They keep it at BRUS. We have the smaller less featured Triumph and we love it! The Techno has a fully upright seat, a full suspension, and telescoping handle bars, plus a flippable sun shade. The XT doesn't have the adaptor, but I honestly don't think you need it and a friend of mine who had the XLR said that it wasn't all that great, and she didn't use the carseat adaptor much at all.

We didn't have a stroller frame and I never really missed it. We had a full featured Peg Perego Pliko when DD was a baby and if she happened to wake up when I put her in the stroller she'd eventually end up falling back asleep.

This Baby Jogger City Elite is also a great stroller and I believe that you can get a car seat adaptor bar for it and the $269 is a great price for it. However I believe that it has a full recline also so it's great for newborns.
http://www.albeebaby.com/baby-jogger-city-elite-single-stroller-in-black-black.html

[newg]

We went with the chicco travel system as well.......I hadn't disovered these boards yet and didn't know you could buy a stroller that didn't "go" with the carseat..........................that being said, I have loved our cortina stroller.....considering that it is less than $200 I have def. gotten my money's worth out of it............for the first six months of DD's life it was all I used. And yes, I would pop her in and out of the car, while still in the carseat.........but this was for quick errand trips, and I liked having her face me................once DD was old enough/big enough we bought an umbrella stroller for errands.........but I still use the cortina for walks and longer trips to the mall, zoo, .......
If your budget is less than $200 it's a great stroller.............like pp said.......the fold is not as easy as they make it out to be..........but once you do it a few times it gets easier to do.

[poohbear]

We went with the chicco travel system as well.......I hadn't disovered these boards yet and didn't know you could buy a stroller that didn't "go" with the carseat..........................that being said, I have loved our cortina stroller.....considering that it is less than $200 I have def. gotten my money's worth out of it............for the first six months of DD's life it was all I used. And yes, I would pop her in and out of the car, while still in the carseat.........but this was for quick errand trips, and I liked having her face me................once DD was old enough/big enough we bought an umbrella stroller for errands.........but I still use the cortina for walks and longer trips to the mall, zoo, .......
If your budget is less than $200 it's a great stroller.............like pp said.......the fold is not as easy as they make it out to be..........but once you do it a few times it gets easier to do.
:yeahthat:

I actually find the cortina fold to be pretty easy (maybe because I've done it a lot). After we bought the travel system (which we got for $179 for the entire system, so it was a steal), a friend gave us a snap n go that she was no longer using. We much preferred the Cortina for many reasons (and honestly, it didn't take up much more space in the trunk than the s n go). That said, now that DS is out of the infant seat, we use our Triumph more. I was thinking about a city mini for times when I want more of a stroller because I find the Cortina to be a bit of a beast, but overall, I don't have many complaints about it and it has been well used for a year, BUT, it's not the stroller I would choose to use now that he's older if that makes sense.
HTH!

BTW - pp - the kolcraft snap n go works great with the keyfit. It fits snugly and you can belt it in. You can probably find one on Craigslist or at a garage sale for cheap (I feel like I see them all the time). I believe the Mac Easy Traveller fits the keyfit as well.

[GraceH]

If you're committed to getting the Chicco KeyFit30 (instead of the Graco SnugRide35 (http://www.albeebaby.com/graco-snugride-35-infant-car-seat-1761417-flint.html)), I would also take a quick peek at the Chicco Trevi (http://www.albeebaby.com/chicco-trevi-stroller-fuego.html) (it reminds me of my Graco Mosaic (http://www.albeebaby.com/graco-mosaic-stroller-mickey-mouse-in-the-house.html), which I love)