Stroller advice

[Anonymous]

I have a question. I registered for the Chico Cortina because it's the #1 recommended stroller in Consumer Reports, and the moms I've spoken with that use it have really good things to say about it. My aunt really wants to give us a Bugaboo, which is much more expensive. My question is it worth all the extra money (even though I'm not paying for it, I don't want her to get us that stroller if it's not worth it compared to the Chico). Or should I just stick with my gut and go with the Chico? Anyone have experience with both these strollers?

[Anonymous]

I don't know anything about the Chico, but I have the Bug Cameleon and don't think it was worth the $$$. While it's great for walks around the neighborhood (you can't jog with it), it was a HUGE pain attaching the carseat, takes up so much space in my trunk and is impossible to travel with. I ended up buying a Maclaren that we use more than the Bug. If I had to do it all over again, I'd get a jogger like the Bob or the City for walks, plus an umbrella for travel and outings in the car.

[Anonymous]

let me know if you want to see your Bugaboo Cam???

[Anonymous]

sorry, meant to say, let me know if you want to sell your bugaboo cam

[Anonymous]

I have the Maclaren Techno - love it! It fully reclines and is very lightweight.

[Anonymous]

I absolutely love our Stokke. It is wonderful and very convenient if you live in the city and don’t travel much (meaning you don’t need to fold it very often). I love that my daughter is close to me (Stokke being pretty high) and is still pretty easy to pick her up because I don’t need to bend down. I strongly recommend Stokke if you are willing to pay the price. You won't regret it.

[Anonymous]

I have the peg perego skate, so far it is good. We use it in the bassinette form now but it can switch to a regular stroller very easily, it is all one piece so you don't have to switch out different parts. You can also snap a car seat into the frame but it is only compatable with the peg perego car seats wich is the only drawback so far since we already had a graco car seat before we got the stroller. The stroller and bassinette can face you or out which is nice

[Anonymous]

I'm drooling over a BOB Revolution myself. . .

[Anonymous]

You need a snap and go, and great Maclaren umbrella, and a nice jogger. Anything is a waste (was for me!)

[Anonymous]

I agree with the PP. One stroller can not do everything. I recommend the snap n go, a Maclaren umbrella stroller, and a jogger (Bob Revolution). I have these three and could not be happier. When I left my Maclaren at the grandparents' house, I used a Combi stroller for a short period of time - I HATED it. It felt clunky and just did not ride well. I would pay a bit more for quality strollers such as Maclaren and the Bob - you will really be able to tell the difference.

[Anonymous]

Just another poster who is a fan of the 3 strollers the 2 PP's like. The Snap n' Go, Maclaren and BOB Revolution are the way to go.

[Anonymous]

Another rec for getting a snap-n-go and then waiting to see what you will need. I have a 9-mo-old and I am surprised by how little I use a stroller at all now. We live in the suburbs, and I work full-time, so the only time we go for walks (especially now with less daylight) is the weekend. Generally, if I take her with me on errands, I ditch the stroller and put her in the shopping cart or use a carrier. I do use it if we go to the mall, but quite frankly, I prefer to go to the mall without her so I can shop more efficiently. The fact that she's squirmy and isn't a fan of strollers in general makes me use it less. I guess my point is, another reason to wait to purchase anything more than a snap-n-go is that you may find your need for a stroller to be less than you imagined and therefore spending $$$ on one doesn't make a lot of sense. FWIW, I have a Peg Perego Aria (just the one stroller), and I like it.

[Anonymous]

Any thoughts on the chameleon? It seems to do everything . . .

[Anonymous]

I'll also add to the recommendations for a Snap-N-Go. We have the Graco SnugRide with the SnugRider and I love it. The stroller works fine, and folds up nicely in the trunk. The whole thing cost about $130 from Target with free shipping.

DB is only 3 months old, so we haven't gotten an umbrella stroller yet, but that is my next purchase.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any thoughts on the chameleon? It seems to do everything . . .

You can see from my 12:00 post above, I'm not a huge fan of the Chameleon. It "seems to do everything," but really is not a good choice if you ever travel or go anywhere by car. Yes, you can clip a carseat on to it, but it's not easy to do (you certainly can't do it while you're holding the baby). I ended up cursing it many times while standing in a busy parking lot with a baby in the carseat. Plus, you can't fold the stroller up with the carseat attachments on, so I was always worried about losing the attachments. The Snap N Go is so much easier to use as a carseat stroller. The Cameleon doesn't fold down very easily (with the carseat, the bassinet or the regular seat even), and it's still huge while completely folded. Unless you have a garage to store it in, it will take up an inordinate amount of space in your house. I have a mid-sized SUV and the Cameleon takes up so much trunk space, that I can't fit all of my groceries back there if the stroller is in the trunk. If you ever plan to travel by plane, you can't gate check it b/c it doesn't fold down into one piece, so you have to spend $100+ on the carrying case so you can check it, then schlep through the airport sans stroller. Again, it's a great stroller for walks, but not much else. If I lived in Manhattan and never travelled by car, the Cameleon would be ideal. Living in DC, I use my Maclaren 5 times for every time I use my Cameleon.

To the 15:52 poster, although I wouldn't buy it if I had to do it over again, I'm not interested in selling it. We use it often for walks and I'm pleased with it for that purpose (although I could have bought a jogger that would have worked just as well for a fraction of the cost).