Stroller suggestions? Test driving tomorrow

[Mali]

I'm dragging my husband out tomorrow to BRU & BBB to try out the strollers they have on their floor. :)

This is our first child and both of us are tall (me: 6'0", him: 5'10") so I'm definitely more focused on the strollers that have height adjustable arms (telescoping greatly preferred over simple angle adjustment). I have to adjust my strides when I go to Costco otherwise I kick the bottom of the shopping cart, so I really want whatever stroller we get to not have the same issue when I'm pushing it.

Ideally, this will be our only stroller (I know, most of you are probably laughing ;) ). I've been looking at the AT strollers because, while we live in town, the sidewalks/roads are nowhere near pristine/smooth and given our area we'll also be at the beach and in the mountains.

My front runner and favorite so far is the BJCM GT. Aside from the Elite, it has the greatest max height I've seen so far (but finding that measurement easily from other mfg's is a pain so it's possible I've missed a higher one from elsewhere).

I've seen that MacLaren, UPPAbaby, and Peg Perego are supposed to work well for taller people also, but their websites are either a pain to navigate to find exact height dimensions, or they're a little shorter than the BJCM GT so we'll see how they drive tomorrow. Are there any other strollers I'm missing that we should definitely make sure to test out?

[edurnemk]

I have an Uppababy Vista and I think it's a great stroller for tall people. I'm 5'4" and use it on the lowest setting and find it just a tad too tall. Also the rear axle curves up precisely so you won't kick it.

What other features do you want? I.e. reversible, recline, canopy, large basket, weight, etc.

Check out Strollerqueen's website for great reviews and true measurements of the strollers. I also really like Baby Gyzmo video reviews.

[poohbear]

If you don't need or want a reversible I think the BJCM GT is a good option. Though I don't remember if it has the same back bar as the regular BJCM or if they fixed that. If it has that, you won't like it. My brother who is 6'2 kicks the back of our 2011 BJCM.
I would also check out the BOB Revolution. You can use it as your everyday stroller - it's not too heavy and the CE version is slightly lighter, though I prefer the SE.

If you want a reversible, check out the Cam and the vista. You can get a good deal on a cam now that the C3 is coming out (especially on craigslist). Oh, and you may want to think about a mutsy - a swapper is selling a gorgeous new 4 rider lite in purple for RIDICULOUSLY cheap.

[specialp]

I was going to say the same thing about the BJCM and not being sure if the kick bar is the same (straight across vs. being bent upwards) on the GT as it is on the BJCM or not, but my 6'4" husband kept kicking the bar on the BJCM and it did not work for him.

[JessK87]

Strollers I know to have adjustable handles Bugaboo Bee, Bugaboo cam, bugaboo donkey, (air tires) uppa baby vista, uppa baby cruz, I candy peach, britax b ready, mac XLR, are the ones off the top of my head. Ive used the city mini gt and I like it but my favorite newborn stroller with good tires is the Uppa baby Vista. I love the vista.

[PZMommy]

The City Select also has an adjustable handlebar. It has forever air tires. I like it because my baby can face me.

[Kaylee31]

The Bumbleride Indie & mountain buggy swift are about the same weight as the GT and are comparable in size, but they have real air tires so they will perform better on bumpy terrain. They also have adjustable handles & optional carrycots. My DH is 6'2" and loves our Indie. I'd check out the Valco spark if they have it, it has a reversible seat that transforms into a bassinet and rear air tires.

[roseyloxs]

I had a BJCM, I think maybe it was a '10. Anyway I am only 5'6" and I sold the stroller because I kicked the back bar constantly. I don't hear the complaint often but I would be surprised if the BJCM gt worked for you based on your criteria.

I wouldn't really worry about height dimensions so much since they don't tell the whole story. You might really like the vista or the cruz. They have the telescoping handle and I don't think they have a rear support bar which means there is nothing to kick :thumbsup:

If you don't care about parent facing I would also look at the bumbleride indie. The handle isn't telescoping but my dad used it with no issues and he is 6'3". I love the fabrics, the canopy, the adjustable footrest, flat recline, big basket. It has air tires but its lighter and has a smaller footprint then a lot of other ATs on the market.

[legaleagle]

The vista has a super tall telescoping handle - its my 6"3" DHs favorite by far. Fabulous stroller esp for newborns, though not all terrain, it's probably similar to bjcmgt. The valco spark looks amazing too though I don't BBB or bru carry it.

[Mali]

Thank you all so much! I know BRU/BBB probably won't have all of them, but this is our first excursion to go play with strollers (I just couldn't make myself do it the same day I was doing the rest of the registry stuff, I find those stores (particularly BRU) overwhelming). There's several non-chain baby stores in the area that are supposed to be really good, so they will be our next stop to try out any strollers that BRU/BBB don't have (assuming they carry them).

As for features, ideally I'd like a flat recline so that it's possible to put the baby in it straight away, but barring that, having an adaptor to attach an infant seat would be fine. I'm assuming that our kid will be tall (we're both tall, and I'm actually a little short compared to the other women on my dad's side of the family - that whole family is tall) so a stroller that can fit a tall kid is high on my list so that they don't grow out of it crazy fast. Reversible is a nice to have option, but that seemed harder to get with strollers for taller people. I'd definitely like a nice canopy since it's sunny here for the most part (SF Bay Area, CA) and sometimes still eye-squintingly bright even when the fog is in.

Also, I see some strollers have bassinets as accessories. How is that supposed to work? Would that be for leaving the house while the baby's asleep to go take a walk? Seems like it would be a bit redundant if you have an infant car seat since you'd have to juggle the baby between them (at which point, wouldn't you just want a flat recline stroller)?

[JessK87]

How did test driving go?

[edurnemk]

Also, I see some strollers have bassinets as accessories. How is that supposed to work? Would that be for leaving the house while the baby's asleep to go take a walk? Seems like it would be a bit redundant if you have an infant car seat since you'd have to juggle the baby between them (at which point, wouldn't you just want a flat recline stroller)?

You use the bassinet instead of the stroller seat during the first 3 months (if the seat does not have a flat recline). It's not redundant with the infant car seat since you're not supposed to leave the baby in the car seat for long periods, it's bad for their breathing (especially for very young babies). I also used the bassinet for lat night outings until DS was about 8 months (i.e. we'd go for dinner at a restaurant, put DS in the bassinet instead of the seat and he'd sleep in it, then we'd walk back home and leave him in it), or as a place to sleep when visiting other people's homes. Some people use the bassinet for night time sleep on a daily basis the first few months (some brands sell a separate bassinet stand for this)

I like the bassinet so much that I got a Micralite bassinet to go on my Bugaboo Bee, even though the seat does recline completely (but it's too low to the ground for a newborn IMO). I also have a Vista, which comes with the bassinet. And I have car seat adaptors for both strollers. But I hate leaving my babies in the car seat so I only use the adapters for quick errands, if I'm going to be longer than 20 minutes I prefer to place the baby in the bassinet or reclined seat, DD is very easy to transfer back and forth without waking her or she goes right back to sleep.

If you don't want to juggle all that you can look at the Valco Spark, since the seat turns into a bassinet.

[Mali]

How did test driving go?

It went well! The gal at BBB was super helpful. The only two we didn't get to try out were a Mutsy or the Valco Spark. The recommendations were awesome and we basically stuck to those instead of trying every stroller on the floor. We're still leaning towards the BJCM GT; I had to really focus on lengthening my stride to kick the bar at the bottom. I think part of that is from self-adjusting after driving shopping carts. :) Unless I'm running (and that's totally not likely) I don't think it will be a problem. Plus the fold is amazing which was important to both of us.

The UPPAbaby ones were nice, but DH had a heart attack when he looked at the price of the Vista (I think that one was the higher priced one). He just couldn't understand why it was so much more compared to the Cruz or the BJCM GT. Of course I had no answer in the store since it wasn't like I could look it up right there and then. My phone can do some internet things, research is not one I care to attempt when I have a perfectly good pc at home that's way faster. :)

[Mali]

You use the bassinet instead of the stroller seat during the first 3 months (if the seat does not have a flat recline). It's not redundant with the infant car seat since you're not supposed to leave the baby in the car seat for long periods, it's bad for their breathing (especially for very young babies). I also used the bassinet for lat night outings until DS was about 8 months (i.e. we'd go for dinner at a restaurant, put DS in the bassinet instead of the seat and he'd sleep in it, then we'd walk back home and leave him in it), or as a place to sleep when visiting other people's homes. Some people use the bassinet for night time sleep on a daily basis the first few months (some brands sell a separate bassinet stand for this)

I like the bassinet so much that I got a Micralite bassinet to go on my Bugaboo Bee, even though the seat does recline completely (but it's too low to the ground for a newborn IMO). I also have a Vista, which comes with the bassinet. And I have car seat adaptors for both strollers. But I hate leaving my babies in the car seat so I only use the adapters for quick errands, if I'm going to be longer than 20 minutes I prefer to place the baby in the bassinet or reclined seat, DD is very easy to transfer back and forth without waking her or she goes right back to sleep.

If you don't want to juggle all that you can look at the Valco Spark, since the seat turns into a bassinet.

Ah gotcha, that makes sense. I kept seeing all the references to being able to carry the baby in the infant car seat between the house to car to stroller back to car as being why you'd want one that having another limited time use thing didn't make sense to me.