Best Stroller for Heavy Metro Use?
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elindse1
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Hi all,
I plan on using public transportation a lot with our baby (due in July). Does it make sense to buy a car seat with matching frame (I'm leaning towards the Chicco Key Fit) or should I get a traditional stroller? We'll want a car seat regardless for when we do take the baby in a car and on trips to visit the grandparents, but I'm not sure how a car seat/stroller combo will work for the Metro and running around the city. Thanks for any specific recommendations you can share! |
Anonymous
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I have no idea if this is the "right" answer, as I'm due in June, but my husband and I decided to get the City Mini with the Chicco Keyfit car seat. While they are compatible, there are issues with having to remove the canopy of the City Mini before fitting the car seat into the adapter. Our reasoning for putting up with this inconvenience was that we really like both the carseat and stroller and will only need to use the combination for a little while. For the first few months, I anticipate that I will be wearing the baby a lot or could let the back of the City Mini down, which is flat enough for an infant (or so they say at the store), so I'm hoping I won't get too annoyed by the canopy issue. The easy folding and weight are the reasons we selected the City Mini, so that we can still easily go down escalators (holding the baby) or get onto the bus.
We discussed getting the Britax B-Agile (or whatever Britax is close in price to the City Mini), which does have very easy folding and has easier car seat options, but liked the handling of the City Mini better. |
Anonymous
| try the general parenting forum. they know better... |
Anonymous
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I'll paste what I wrote in the other forum...
I was a nanny before having my own DC and have used every single stroller under the sun. When we picked ours we took in consideration all the "test driving" I've done plus our life style. We lived in the city but owned a car and drove a lot to friends' houses and travel. We ended up with the Uppababy Vista for the first 2 years and never needed another stroller. It did beautiful during the newborn stage - we never used the carseat adapter, I'm not a fan of babies in carseats when they're not in the car. We always used the bassinet. It was AWESOME! It even worked as a travel bed for the first 6 months so we never had to use the pack 'n play. The basket is HUGE! We did all our grocery shopping walking and never needed anything else to carry our stuff. When traveling the basket was very handy, all our carry on fitted there so we didn't need to worry about luggage and the stroller. It folds relatively easy (gotta practice a little) but the stroller fits anywhere, including the XRay machine in the airport We did snow, sand, pebbles, grass, bumpy sidewalks... I called it my little jeep. DH is tall and I'm short. We both had problems when trying other strollers with kicking the axle in the back... him because of his long lets, me because my short arms. The Vista was perfect for both of us! Obviously we got nasty looks at the metro but I could not care less. It fits perfectly where strollers are supposed to go - the elevator and the spot for wheelchairs. I always made sure I was at the very end or very beginning of the platform so we never disturbed anybody. |
Anonymous
| PP again, that said you must take in consideration if you want to bring the stroller in the bus or not. We never did. Whenever we used the bus I would wear the baby instead. |
elindse1
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| Thanks to both of you. Good idea to post it on the parenting forum. |
Anonymous
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Do you need the car seat on Metro? (That is, are you taking the baby somewhere where there will be a car on the other end?) If not, skip the travel system and don't bring the car seat when you go on Metro---I find it's best to have a stroller that you can fold if possible, because sometimes it's too crowded to fit otherwise. We have an umbrella that has a car seat adapter for when we need to use it that way (Cybex---takes most car seat brands) but City Mini is a great option too (also takes most car seat brands). If you want a lightweight stroller that can take a car seat when needed, you could also consider a Maclaren (can't remember which takes a car seat, but at least one of them does) or Bumbleride Flite. Bumblerides are on sale right now on their website. You can also get a Snap n Go, as someone suggested, though my thoughts on that were that it wasn't worth it unless I got a hand-me-down or used one---new they are $60-$80, which is already halfway to a decent umbrella. We lucked out and got our umbrella used for $60, and it will have a much longer life with us than the SnG would have had.
Honestly, though, I use our carrier on transit whenever possible since it's just less stressful. The only times I don't are when I need the baby to have a separate place to sleep/sit/etc. when we get where we're going (e.g., dentist, restaurant, etc. where keeping him on me isn't super convenient). But if I'm just taking him from one place to another, or taking him somewhere that I can wear him throughout the trip---the soft carrier is a godsend. |
Anonymous
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FWIW, we have an Uppababy Cruz and got it because it will fit on the bus. Goes down the aisle with no trouble. The Vista would not, which was one reason we skipped it (though I loved it!)
Note that only the Circulator allows unfolded strollers, though---on Metrobus you are supposed to take the baby out and fold, so if you're doing that regularly, that would be a big vote for an umbrella or the City Mini/B-Agile with a one-handed fold and light weight. |
Anonymous
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My son is now 2 years old & we don't have a car, so if we are going there, we are taking metro.
We didn't use a stroller on metro on a regular basis until he was about a year old. A carrier is just so, so, much easier--you don't have to worry about whether the elevators are out, you get through the stations much quicker, and you are generally a lot more nimble. It's super-easy if you need to take a bus, too. Around the year mark he started getting too heavy to comfortably spend a day out in the carrier. We use a Peg Perego Vela (similar to an Aria but with 3 wheels), but there are a number of strollers that would have fit our criteria. Short-list of must-haves in a stroller for me: Lightweight. Less than 15lbs. Can I carry stroller + baby + bag of groceries up a broken metro escalator if I need to? If not, I'm sunk. One-hand fold. Essential for bus travel. I need to hold the kid in one hand and fold the stroller with the other. One-hand steering. Split handles are crappy on a stroller--some days I need to steer the stroller with one hand and hold an umbrella or a bag of groceries with the other. My nice-to-have but not deal-breaker features: Snack tray Sunshade Parent cupholder Underneath storage basket Fits through TSA x-ray machine |
Anonymous
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For bus, use a carrier and backpack.
Most flexibility, never worry about running out of hands For trains, City Mini as it folds quickly on case of elevator outages. This is assuming you'll be using metro daily. Personally I have a Vista and love it for the same reasons a pp listed. I take it on the metro a ton, but not daily. I have a umbrella stroller I use for longer metro trips where walking to/from the next station isn't an option. |
Anonymous
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I take the metro twice daily with my toddler, since she was about 8 months. We leave our City Mini (which we love) at home for the commute, and use a Maclaren instead. Much smaller profile, which makes a big difference at heavy commuting times. If you'll be riding the metro primarily at off hours, the City Mini would be an excellent choice.
One tip: the car at the very front is usually emptiest, and almost always airconditioned on hot days. |
Anonymous
| Note that if you walk in bumpy sidewalks to go to the metro you'll need bigger wheels. An umbrella stroller or snap and go won't do it. |
Anonymous
I never had trouble with the Vista in any isles... Do you mean in the bus or in the stores? |
Anonymous
Aisle on the bus---going through the front door and pushing through to the back seats. Admittedly I haven't tried this with the Vista on the Circulator so it might work, but it is a very tight fit with the Cruz so I'm guessing the extra few inches would make the difference in it being too wide. I think both would do store aisles with no trouble, though---standard wheelchairs are 26" and the Vista is 25" wide (with City Mini not far behind---24" or something I think?), so it should work anywhere that is ADA accessible. (I see people grocery shopping with Vistas all the time!) |
Anonymous
| We opted for the Britax B-Agile, with the Britax car seat. It’s great because the car seat snaps in without any extra attachments and if we run into a broken escalator it folds one handed and is light enough to take up the stairs, not ideal but its metro so it happens more times than you would think. It’s been really great for us & would make the same choice again. |