When we first started looking at Baby Gear, I was immediately overwhelmed by the question of wheels. Strollers come in an infinite variety of shapes, sizes, purposes, and price ranges. It is a lot like buying a bike, except imagine if bikes were highly specific in terms of age-appropriateness and weight minimums and maximums. Where seeking advice from experienced parents ought to have narrowed the field, instead it made things more complicated. "We never used a stroller--just get a good carrier," claimed some. "Get the cheapest thing you can," said some. "You have to get something simple," said some. "OMG you have to get a Bob," said some. "OMG Bobs are such a waste of money," countered others.
And unlike a bike, it seemed that we would need a stroller for lots of different purposes. Walking, shopping, traveling, jogging, to name a few. I was convinced that the right stroller could meet all our needs. I even made a spreadsheet of our needs and looked at every stroller on the market to try to find one that met them all.
We like to jog, so at a minimum, our perfect stroller had to be a jogging stroller. I found a very decent jogging stroller on Craigslist and snapped it up. But it quickly became clear that a jogging stroller is not the sort of beast you might take into Trader Joe's for a quickie trip, and certainly would not be allowed as carry-on luggage. In fact, this thing does not even fit in the trunk of my car when completely folded. True story.
So the second stroller was selected for simplicity. We got a Snap n' Go, which is like a stroller base for the car seat. You just snap the car seat onto it, and voila! Stroller! Unfortunately the Snap n' Go requires that Owen sit in the car seat all the time, and we didn't anticipate how hot and uncomfortable that was going to be for him. It's also really hard to steer, so although it is great for restaurants and quickie shopping trips, it's really not great for walking at all.
More and more, I have been wanting to walk with Owen. I need the exercise and he takes a great nap when he's being bounced around on a walk. We needed something more appropriate. Enter the third stroller. I was at Babies R Us one day and I saw a nice buggy with a fully reclining seat. It looked so shady and cool inside, I just knew Owen would be more comfortable in it. So I bought it. But when I brought it home, I realized the buckle was broken and I started to have doubts. Is it cheap? Do people like them? I didn't even read any reviews. Is the color too trendy? Ack!
I returned it for the broken buckle and decided to do some more research before taking the third stroller plunge. Amani and others highly recommended the MacLaren Triumph strollers as being lightweight and sturdy. Amazon users give it great reviews. We made our decision and spent our gift certificates on one. But as soon as I took it outside I saw its fatal flaw--the sun shade was clearly designed by a Londoner, who doesn't know the first thing about sun. It was completely in the wrong place, didn't shade from the sides, and wasn't even compatible with draping a blanket over the gaps. Back to Babies R Us.
Further review brought us to the Combi we got on Friday. This thing is sweet. It reclines completely so Owen can lie down and nap comfortably. It has a nice sun shade, which comes forward enough to allow a blanket to drape over the front, providing 360 degree shade if necessary. Today I put a raincoat over it to keep him dry. It has shocks, it folds up, it weighs just 13 lbs. It even has a cup holder. And Owen loves it!
Perhaps you can somehow make some side cash by offering your critcal reviews and criteria about strollers. You know, "Strollers-R-Us" kind of thing. Will the cup holder handle a beer?
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