anyone test drove Valco Spark yet?

[wangstar]

I haven't seen one in IRL but I was told that the quality on the Spark was substandard. And the fact that they are made in China, it also cause for concern. Can anyone commment to that?

[legaleagle]

I think about 95% of strollers on the US market are made in china - the only brands that I know of that aren't are peg perego and at least some of the inglesina models (both made in Italy). So no, that doesn't bother me at all considering it includes brands like maclaren and bugaboo. Who told you the quality was substandard?

[s2k]

I'm really curious about this too.

[roseyloxs]

I have not had the pleasure but this is the most in depth review I have found so far:
http://strollersandprams.com/strollers/1687/Valco-Zee-Spark/review-1.html

The above review is for the Euro version and there are a couple of small differences. I believe the American version does have a peekaboo window and the single does have an adjustable handlebar.

There is also a youtube review of the duo here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyuQi4fE848

[legaleagle]

Ok, now I really want one. And I love that color of the Aussie model, though I wonder why it doesn't have an adjustable handlebar like the US one?

[roseyloxs]

Ok, now I really want one. And I love that color of the Aussie model, though I wonder why it doesn't have an adjustable handlebar like the US one?

I am not sure. The prices look comparable. Looks like the valco spark goes for 499 AUD in AU which is about $518 (according to google). Maybe Americans are just very serious about their adjustable handlebars and peekaboo windows.

[wangstar]

Who told you the quality was substandard?

A friend of a friend owns a baby boutique store. When I mentioned it to my friend (who is also preggo) that I was interested in the Valco, she texted her friend (who is the store owner). When the store owner texted back, she said that they returned the single Spark stroller to the manufacturer because the quality does not stack up to the rest of the Valco line. However, do they do have the double Spark.

FYI - My preggo friend went with the Uppababy Vista

[legaleagle]

Huh, I wonder if the adjustable handle is the problem? AFAIK, that's the only real difference between the single and double.

[mommyoftwo]

Interesting. We are leaning towards the spark duo but live in the middle of nowhere so there really isn't any way for us to check out strollers in person. I'll be interested to see future reviews on it.