Stroller Help....

[Kennie]

Finding a stroller has to be one of the hardest things to do, there are so many choices out there! I recently stumbled onto this board, and find myself getting deeper into stroller lust and not being much closer to any solutions. Any help would be appreciated...

We are expecting our first child in June, so I have lots of time to find the perfect one (and too much time to second guess the decision!):ROTFLMAO:. Some things we are looking for are:

-has to be able to handle snow (we live in Canada in Saskatchewan and it is cold here and snowy for a good part of the year)
-decent sized fold, as it will stay in the back of our Matrix
-great push (I would like to be able to walk our small dog at the same time)
-wouldn't mind being able to light jog with it
-adjustable foot rest would be nice.

I would like to keep it under $550 if possible. Some brands that I have been considering are: Baby Jogger, Tike Tech, Bumbleride (the indie---but after reading posts here I am not sure the fabric footrest is a good idea), Valco (Tri-Mode), Mountain Buggy, and BOB (although I wonder about the padding on the back of the seat, I have heard it can be uncomfortable).

Thank-you!!

[roseyloxs]

Since you want to plow through snow and jog I would stick to strollers with 16" back wheels. Good choices would be the BOB, BJ summit, or MB terrain. I might cross the terrain off your list because of the long fold. Any chance a store nearby carries MB and would allow you to test it out in the trunk?

[Kennie]

I would like one that folds flat, which the BOB doesn't do unfortunately...
There is a store that is a few hours away that sells MB..or we are going to go to Calgary soonish to visit family and they sell everything there and then I can test them out.

DH pointed out that maybe I won't be out in the snow very much as I don't like the cold but I can't imagine being stuck in the house, esp. when DC gets older.

I'm not sure if a long fold will be as much of an issue as a bulky fold. But I guess I can always take the tires off.

[arivecchi]

All ATs are fairly big when folded but the Terrain has a very flat fold when folded. I do have to take the ginormous rear wheels off for the flat fold though.

[MamaBear]

I'm in Canada too, but in Vancouver so my opportunities to test my strollers in the snow are far too limited. We lived in Toronto for one (particularly snowy) winter, and I had my Cameleon there; with the snow tires it pushed perfectly. The next winter, Vancouver actually (gasp!) had snow on the ground for three weeks, and the Cam snow tires got more use.

We had snow here for about a week in November, and this time I used my Mutsy Urban Rider. It actually glided through the snow. It never has a light push at the best of times, but I was completely impressed with it.

I've just gotten a Chariot CX2, and since there's a "Snowfall Warning" out for tomorrow, that's the one I'll try if we're lucky and get some snow. ("Snowfall Warning" here though might be just 5mm!) A friend of a friend who lives in Whitehorse and said that Chariots are the most popular up there. The big wheels plus the enclosed seat are probably ideal. With the wheels off it does fold flat, but loooooong. We have a Volvo XC70 which can haul huge amounts of stuff, but once I got the Chariot in (on the way home from the bike shop when I first picked it up) there wasn't a lot of space left over!

So where am I going with this... Hm. Would you consider two strollers? One for indoor/car use, and then a bigger one for winter and running?

[Kennie]

I think a flat fold would be ideal. What is the MBUS like, do people seem to like it. I see a lot of comments about the Swift and the Terrain, but not as much about the urban...

I would totally consider 2 strollers...but I am not sure DH is ready to entertain that yet. Up until now I have only really been looking at AT strollers...to think about a lighter stroller for indoor/car use puts a totally different spin on things. I can see why many of you end up with more than one, or a wide assortment of strollers. Oh MamaBear, that's a lot more decisions (but a lot more juicy strollers to drool over).

Since I can't jog with the little one until at least 6 months (and even then its not likely to happen in the middle of winter), I suppose a good option would be to get one that is suitable for an urban environment, would be good for trail walking as we have some lovely park systems near our house and then get a different one later...

[arivecchi]

I have both the Swift and the Terrain. The Urban is nice too, but IMO, go small or go big.

I like the Swift because it can tackle all sorts of terrain but is great indoors as it is very nimble and narrow. I love the Terrain outdoors. Those 16 inch tires can really tackle anything (including lots of snow) and you can jog with it as well. The Urban is not as convenient as the Swift or as versatile as the Terrain IMO.

[salsah]

you don't hear much about the mbus anymore since the swift and terrain came out (both relatively new). but before those came out, mbus owners raved about it. it is still a great option. especially if small (swift) is too small and large (terrain) is too large, then the urban might be perfect. only downside is the smaller canopy. otherwise, it is a great stroller all around. it even reclines completely for a new born or you can get a carrycot/bassinet for it. for an AT it is relatively light and compact (not comparing to the swift, of course), has an easy fold, and folds down flat. you can easily pop off the wheels for even smaller fold.

[arivecchi]

I think the new Urbans have the bigger canopy as well, don't they?

[salsah]

I think the new Urbans have the bigger canopy as well, don't they?

yeah. i think you are right. that sounds familiar. maybe not bj big, but bigger.

is mb still selling offering free carry cots right now?

[roseyloxs]

Check out strollerqueens review of the swift. She has pictures of an old MBUS and swift together. I bought an '05 MBUS off CL and the push was fantastic and it fit in the trunk of my SIL's cavalier trunk.

[Kennie]

Thanks all, I was in the store the other day looking at some strollers and the BJ canopy is huge!!

I am really debating the whole two stroller idea. Possibly making due with a lighter one that can handle going in and out of the car fairly easily and then getting something I can jog with later when the baby is old enough to jog with. Although when I mean jog, its more like a slightly faster walk..my dog barely runs to keep up with me and gets bored and I think my husband could almost walk fast than me. So I don't think I need a really high tech jogger.

What is the BJCM like on walking paths that are lightly gravelled? Would that be a terrible idea? I just like how light it is and how easily it folds. Roseyloxs, why did you not end up liking your BJCM?

[strollerqueen]

Finding a stroller has to be one of the hardest things to do, there are so many choices out there! I recently stumbled onto this board, and find myself getting deeper into stroller lust and not being much closer to any solutions. Any help would be appreciated...

We are expecting our first child in June, so I have lots of time to find the perfect one (and too much time to second guess the decision!):ROTFLMAO:. Some things we are looking for are:

-has to be able to handle snow (we live in Canada in Saskatchewan and it is cold here and snowy for a good part of the year)
-decent sized fold, as it will stay in the back of our Matrix
-great push (I would like to be able to walk our small dog at the same time)
-wouldn't mind being able to light jog with it
-adjustable foot rest would be nice.

I would like to keep it under $550 if possible. Some brands that I have been considering are: Baby Jogger, Tike Tech, Bumbleride (the indie---but after reading posts here I am not sure the fabric footrest is a good idea), Valco (Tri-Mode), Mountain Buggy, and BOB (although I wonder about the padding on the back of the seat, I have heard it can be uncomfortable).

Thank-you!!

Everyone is giving you some great suggestions. However, I just want to point out that most of the ones being discussed have adjustable legrests. That feature seems harder to come by on A/T's. Mutsy has it, as does the Easy Walker QTRO, Bumbleride Indie, and BJ Elite. The QTRO and Mutsy have smaller front tires. I think napper bars are a nice thing to have with younger babies, too.

[arivecchi]

What is the BJCM like on walking paths that are lightly gravelled? Would that be a terrible idea? Yes. That would be bad. You need air tires for gravel IMO.