Another Stroller Thread . . .

[meresal]

Ok... I googled ages for umbrella strollers, and it says some babies can start at 6 months, which is still a whole month away from what C will be, when we travel there. He will only be 5 months.

Anyway... I found this one, kind of an umbrella stroller on roids (they call it an umbrella stroller)... but it looks nice and resembles the size of my UPPA and other city strollers. Has anyone used these Cosco strollers? Are they indicative of the pirce, I mean, this thing looks like a STEAL!

http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... CgQ8gIwAw#

ETA: This is obviously the wrong picture for the stroller that it is listed under.

 

[Mara]

Mere I know some people whose kids have good head control and can sit up early totally use umbrellas sooner. I would just say support his back and head if possible and he would be fine in a decent umbrella assuming he's not too floppy. J was sitting more upright in his stroller at like 3 months so I would have been fine with him in an umbrella if we could make sure he'd have the right support either through a head pillow or a snuzzler or something.

 

[TravelingGal]

Re: disneyland...

What about getting a cablelock? Those things are very lightweight, and if you tie a few strollers together if you are going as a group, it would work as a deterent just fine.

I have an old one from Pac Safe like this one.

http://www.rei.com/search?query=cable+lock

 

[meresal]

I think we have decided to take the UPPA and just use a cord lock. (or cable lock like you said TG)

I really liked those umbrella strollers that were on Mambargains, the Cybex, but then I would be spending another $130 for a stroller that is almost the exact same as my UPPA, and is still expensive.

Mara, the plain jane umbrella strollers scare me, because after being at the park for a couple hours, I don't believe that C is going to have the strength to hold himself up that he would have had first thing in the morning. I think we would end up having to carry him anyway... especially since he can't lie down in a regular umbrella stroller to take naps.



***And since we are on the stroller thread... I just have to say, I REALLY like those Cybex umbrella strollers. I contemplated purchasing it for over 2 hours, and in the end I just didn't like that the shade part was so short. I think it is a really good contender for all of the expensive 4-wheel strollers, including my UPPA. It even has a pram option... and the plus is that it also has a carseat that snaps right in!

 

[natalina]

OOOOOOOOH LAAAADIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!!
Ellie and I went to the Baby show in Chicago this morning!!! I got to play with the Britax B-Ready!!! First let me just say, I do not work for the company in any way. Which is necessary to say because it is going to sound like I do! This stroller is SO awesome! I really cannot say enough about it. LOVE that it goes from 1 baby to 2, love the different options (bassinet, carseat, reg. seat), love all the things it comes with (raincover, cupholder, little cargo carrier for mom, adapter for Britax Chaperone carseat- although only for front seat), love that the basket is huge and is accessible from all 4 sides, love that it folds with 2nd seat attached, love that it stands while folded and latches closed, love that it is pretty compact when folded for a double, love that it stears like a dream, love that it has a shock system in front and back, love that it has a ginormous canopy (and a good size one on 2nd seat too), love that both seats recline, love that you don't have to rethread harness to adjust, love that there is a super comfy looking headrest on both seats (which comes out when babe is older) and under buckles so baby's tummy doesn't get pinched, buckles are awesome, and it comes in 4 really great colors (black, red, green, and a greyish-silver). I was so certain that if I loved it I would get black, but the green is SO FUN!!! Now I am torn. I am a strict believer in the whole "black is classic" thing and usually live by it, but dang it the green is awesome. So now I am trying to decide if I will get sick of it if I go with green, or if I will regret black because it will seem boring now that I've seen the green..... here's the green. Didn't take a pic of black, because you can imagine black without a pic!

ETA: Dang- it's tiny. Not sure how to make it bigger???

 

[Mara]

Nat..I almost got the orange and turq bumble but my mom talked me out of it by saying it would get and show dirt too easily, wasn't classic etc. I got the black and gray and I am actually glad I did BUT sometimes I think about that sweet spice and turq!! I say go with what you want... you may or may not get sick of it but you can get sick of black too! One thing though if you want to resell or plan to, black would prob sell more quickly just since it is kind of more classic.

Does the canopy get larger...because in that pic it doesn't look so big? Very cool looking ride esp for 2!

 

[natalina]

Hi mara!
Yeah, I think black is probably the way to go. The canopy has an extra flap of fabric that is tucked up under and folds out to extend the canopy about 4 inches or so.

 

[AllieLuv83]

Mere...the Uppababy does fold up with the toddler seat or the car seat attachment, no? I thought that was one of their big selling points over the Bug. I think the toddler seat needs to face forward for it to fold with the seat. With the amount of money we spent on the UB we will be using it everywhere we go.

 

[Lanie]

Natalina--do you know about how much it will retail for, when it will be available or where? It's super cute and sounds like a great buy!

 

[Lanie]

Nvmd. Looked it up. At several online retailers it's between 450 and 500.

 

[HOUMedGal]

Natalina, thanks for the info on the B Ready! Sounds like a really cool stroller, esp. for 2! I went and watched the Baby Gizmo review on it, and she loved it. You can put 2 infant carseats on at the same time!! How cool! Great for twins or sibs either way. I am kinda tempted by it, but now I'm leaning toward getting something more all-terrain....

So now I'm leaning toward the Indie. There is an awesome nature preserve just a few miles from my parents' house, and I know that when my daughter is staying there, they will LOVE to take her for walks at the nature preserve (We'll be moving to a place that's an easy hour away from my parents when our LO is about 5 mos old, so she'll probably be at their house pretty frequently after that. ) And it has fairly smooth gravelly/dirt trails, so would need something that could tackle that. Also, we do love doing outdoorsy stuff, so I'm thinking we'd get good use of an all-terrain if we had one. I guess I was trying to be more frugal and not spend $500 on a stroller, but if it's one of two strollers I ever have to buy (decent umbrella later) then it's probably worth it.

One question that still lingers is Indie vs Revolution. I know Mara loves her Indie, and I know lots of other folks love their Revolution. Thoughts?? Revolution looks a bit cheaper at 1st glance, but once you buy all the stuff that just comes with the Indie, they're about the same.

Mara, so the Indie really is maneuverable and light enough to use as your primary stroller from infancy up till you need an umbrella?? So much so that I won't wish I had a snap-n-go too? I would love to avoid having to buy a snap-n-go in additon to a stroller (so I've only been looking at strollers that can take an infant seat). Also, have you had any issue with it tipping easily when the infant seat is in? I've read a couple reports online about it being tippy when the infant seat is in. What I really want you to do is convince me that Indie is definitely the way to go, so I can stop obsessing about strollers. LOL!

We are going to our local Bumbleride retatiler today to check them out!!

 

[Mara]

HMG..I know a lot of ladies love their BOB. I know a lot of women in real life too who love it. It is the only stroller you can take on the sand I think. It def is rugged.

But I just wanted something for our ONE stroller (because we really do only have one) that was a bit more snazzy looking since it would be our only stroller. Some moms keep a stroller for walks and a stroller for car, but I just wanted to have one. And it hasn't been a PITA at all to just have one. It is a little big for lots of store shopping and it doesn't go easily into 'small spaces' like crowded restaurants etc but we just take the car seat in with us and also once he is big enough to sit up we'll just carry him in and put him in the high chairs there rather than take the stroller. I also NEVER go to the mall (literally never, I do 99.9% of my shopping online) but I do take it to Target, Whole Foods, TJ's etc and it's fine in those places (and I use the cargo net on the bottom to hold my groceries so I don't need a shopping cart).

We had J in the infant seat in it last nite and it was a little top heavy (but nowhere close to tipping) but he is 16.5 lbs so he's not exactly lightweight at this point. I had absolutely no issues with it when he was smaller also. When you have the infant seat in there you just have to be careful to not go down too many 'curbs' with the front end tipped fwd because that is where the car seat is. BUT that said--you can see the adapter bar in our photo (I leave it in and never remove it and J likes to play with it with his toes), this is also the stroller with the foot rest tipped UP (see the big metal bar at the end of his toes) so it helps keep the car seat in the stroller IMO. We just a week ago tipped it down since someone was getting longer and he wanted his feet at a diff angle.

It is 3lbs lighter than the BOB I think? And it has a really easy fold up and it fits in our A3 trunk (smaller than some trunks) so those were all big selling points for me. The BOB would not have fit in our trunk without removal of the wheel I believe.

I got our Indie for $300 since it was a 2009 closeout at a local retailer. So it was a fair amt cheaper than the BOB for us, esp when you factor in it comes with infant seat adapter, rain cover, drink holder which you have to all buy separately with BOB. I think you are in the first tri still with babe? If so, some of the gals were saying they wanted to wait to get the 2010 Indie at closeout which I think is a great idea, but not sure when they go on closeout. I saw them online and in stores too at closeout prices. But I would def get the 2010 because of the bigger sun canopy, it makes a huge difference! Here is a pic of my 2009 with the 2010 sunshade on it, I bought it from Bumble for $35...this sun shade is awesome. Their CS is great BTW.

I walk 2-3 miles with it about 3-4x a week and other than that one flat tire I had in the first month (since which I replaced the tubes with heavy duty thorn resistant) and we've had it for I think 3mo now with no issues (knock on wood!). Anyway I would def see it in person and see what you think and compare it to other strollers too. When I saw this in person I knew I would never be happy with the BOB--but that is just me and again we only have one stroller so I wanted as close to a 'do i t all' as I could get. We will get an umbrella at some point in the future--but not for a while and I don't feel the need to look for one at all right now because I love the Indie.

Anyway you don't have to ask me to convince you to get the Indie. I am so so happy Mandarine mentioned it in a post because I didn't even know it existed before that! One of my friends locally got one after seeing mine--she had a travel system that she didn't like. And I know StephPS has one too. Oh and I would not buy a SNG and a stroller that can take a carseat. We borrowed a SNG and hated it, esp since I mostly do walking...it just did not move the way I wanted. But again some moms love SNG too.

 

[meresal]

Allie, you are right. The chair has to be facing forward and in position 1 for it to fold up, but it does!

We took it with us this weekend to the outlet malls and it was great! C even fell asleep in it for a bit. Yayy!

ETA, Re: colored stroller, I say go for the green.
I am a very classic person, and thought I wanted the Black UPPA, but then I fell in LOVE with the Red. I have never given the black a second thought, and I actually love that it has color and is a bit more noticeable.

 

[HOUMedGal]

Mara, thanks for all the info! I am just starting the 2nd tri (14 weeks 2 days) so I do have plenty of time to think about it and maybe get a 2010 on closeout once the 2011's are out. Our little girl is due Jan 28th, so she may be here before the 2010's go on closeout....$300 is a really good price for a 2009 on closeout! Where did you find it so cheap? The place we went to today was selling their remaining 2009's for $349.

I think it would work well for us...like you, I hardly ever go to the mall, usually to the grocery store, target, etc. or outdoor village type shopping areas. And I also plan to just carry the infant carrier or the kid herself when she's bigger into restaurants, instead of the whole stroller. Glad you haven't had tippiness problems....I hadn't realized that you could set the foot rest so far tipped up, looks like it would provide quite a bit more stability for the infant seat that way.

So you can't take the Indie on the sand?? Why do they have a picture of one at the beach on their website then?!

So I did get to play with the Indie in person today, and I'm pretty much sold. We also want it for our "only" stroller until bebe gets big and we have want for a cheap, small, portable umbrella. I pushed it, pulled it, folded it, unfolded it, etc. Not too heavy for me to heft into the back of a car. It was comfortable for DH to push. And wow, soooo smooth. I pushed around some of the other strollers in there, and they instantly felt much bumpier and more difficult to push. The thing practically pushes itself! And it is definitely super cute in person...very stylish. I thought I would like the Seagrass color combo the best, but I actually really liked the red one with the leafy pattern on the inside! I also love the Vita color combo (deep pink and grey) but if we ever have a boy in the future, he may not appreciate riding in a pink stroller. hehe.

 

[Mara]

HMG lol I guess it can go in the sand then? I thought my friend told me the BOB was the only one that could. But we haven't tried it and doubt we ever will so I don't really mind either way hehe.

I loved their Spice one which was like a deep orange with super pale turqouise lining and straps as a contrast...but my Mom talked me out of it. I am fine with the black, esp from a resale persp but the colors are def more eye catching!

Online the 2009 ones were going for like $289, I was all set to buy one from Diapers.Com I think and get free ship, but I went into a local store to see it and it was $309 I think and I said what the heck whatever, I can take it home today and they were really nice and spent like 30 min with us. I paid tax too which I wouldn't have online but oh well!! So you prob can find a 2010 at closeout for under $300 if you go online. J was born 2/1 and we purchased I think in April? Between birth and the purchase we used the SNG like 3 times for walks but I hated it so we just literally took the carseat with us into places and I would put it in shopping carts or whatever if I had to go out. And I wore him in the Bjorn too. I didn't mind not having a stroller EXCEPT that I really liked to walk and I wanted one for that purpose.

We just took the fam out for a run/walk on a trail and Portia was lagging towards the end so I put her into the end of the Bumble with J which was hilarious, both of them were like ...what the? and he kept grabbing her hair and her butt was partially parked on his leg but both of them were so good about it, I was surprised.

 

[HOUMedGal]

Mara, yeah, I was really curious re: sand so I googled it earlier and saw several folks talking about pushing it on the beach (front wheel locked straight) without a problem! One more cool thing the Indie does, apparently!! Oh, I saw Spice in person today, suuuuper cute. I just love all their colors, really.

I *love* the mental picture I have of J and Portia in the Indie together.....how freakin' cute is that?! LOL!

I wonder why the lowest price I can find online (or in the store we were in, for that matter) on a 2009 model now is $349?? $300 is a smokin' deal!!

I guess what I have to decide is whether or not I want to go ahead and pay a premium to have the stroller at the ready before baby comes, or save some money and try to buy a closeout 2010 after baby comes (since I assume they will probably not go on sale till March/April if that's what happened last year). Hmmmmm.....

 

[Mara]

so Hou, I must have DOH, mommy brain or something because now i'm thinking i paid $400 for the indie??? i don't even remember but i was just looking online for 2009 after your comment, and they are all like 389 and 399? so maybe i got it for $409? i am blanking out now, and how sad is that??? all i know is i felt like it was still a good deal.

i am not sure when the closeouts went on sale, i actually remember just hearing about the indie randomly as i was about to go for the BOB and then i saw them online and went to see one i think almost in the same week? so i am not sure how long they were on sale. also most of the online stores did not have BLACK in 2009 closeout sale, they were all like green and orange. the local retail store had black which was another reason i decided to stick local. and they wouldn't price match, oh well! could you email bumbleride and ask them when the 2011 are coming out? then it might give you a hint on when the 2010 go on sale.

the stroller is one of the only big things we purchased, everything else we got as gifts or purchased through reward points, so i figured if i was going to spend on something it would be worth it. and enjoyable. and i agree the indie pushes like a DREAM. when we are walking the trail we argue over who gets to push the stroller since i swear it's an easier job than walking alone.

 

[steph72276]

Mara, I just wrote HOU that I got mine for $379, then I read your comment and was like hmmm, wait I thought mine was a little cheaper than Mara's b/c I ordered it online? I thought I was losing it for a second!

 

[Mara]

Mara, I just wrote HOU that I got mine for $379, then I read your comment and was like hmmm, wait I thought mine was a little cheaper than Mara's b/c I ordered it online? I thought I was losing it for a second!

HAH no obviously I am the one with the impairment. Where did you get yours again, Steph?

 

[steph72276]

I found ours at mystrollers.com. They had the color we wanted (ruby) and did a pricematch from another website. I just went on and it looks like pink is the only 09 color left.

 

[icekid]

I think I am fairly set on getting the Bumbleride Indie as well (as soon as we make the 30 mile trek to a store where we can actually see it in person.) It sounds pretty fabulous, overall.

The 2009 models can be pretty good deals, though color choices are more limited at this point. Plus, once you shell out the extra $40 for the new, better canopy you're not saving too much anyway. So it might not be worth a ton of effort to find the '09 model??

Mara- love J hiding in his Indie! too cute

 

[Mara]

ITA re: not getting the 2009 if you know you want the bigger sunshade. For me I tend to walk a lot around 5pm when the sun is lower in the sky so J would always get sun in his face. But if you don't walk a lot outside with it or go during noon or morning it would be a diff situation.

I am not sure what they will come out with for 2011. They changed a few other things from 2009 to 2010 but I don't even know what they are other than the canopy.

 

[swimmer]

I got my 2009 Indie in Feb of this year by hounding google shopping every day to find $299 w/ free shipping. Some random shop in CA, but I bet next feb you can find a deal on 2010s by searching , or just keep an eye out before then for the rest of the 2009s. I used to wish that I had waited for the 2010 b/c the sun shade is shorter, but then I got out my pliers and made my shade cover more by straightening it out a bit where the shade attaches to the frame. Anyone who has a 2009, I can post more detailed description, but if you look at your shade you can prob figure out where I just straightened out a bit of a curve that was there.

Re color, I got the seagrass, it is wonderful! I love green, and the light blue lining is so nice. I thought black would get hot in the sun and show fading and spit up more than a color. My bff has the orange and blue, which is really cute as well. Though come to think of it, I have a blue beco carrier and she has an orange one... I wear mostly black and love it, but my stroller doesn't need to look thin, esp since I don't these days!

I got the carrycot for $80 and it was marginally useful b/c it was good for carrying around sleepy baby within our place, but we didn't stroller that much when he was tiny as it was rainy in May. Count me as another who didn't bother with the snap n go. One was lent to us, but my boy hates being on his back and is NOT a fan of the carseat, so strapping him into his personal torture device to get out and about was never an option. We have used A&A blankies to prop him up in his seat in an incline since he wants to look around so much. I can't find a photo right now...but will attach one later.

 

[AllieLuv83]

Our 2010 Uppababy in Myles blue finally arrived a few days ago and we really love it. I love that the seat now reclines all the way up and down. I can't wait to push the baby around in it!

 

[HOUMedGal]

AllieLuv - that is one sexy stroller!

Swimmer - quick question re: the Seagrass color combo. Does the light blue lining part get dirty easily?? I like Seagrass a lot, but I'm kinda leaning toward Ruby (*LOVE* the ivory with leaf pattern lining in combo with the red! so cute!)

Mara, I googled 2011 Indie, and all I could find was on the Bumbleride Facebook fan page - someone asked when the 2011 was coming out, and a rep for B-ride said "the details re: the 2011 collection will be made public later in 2010"....I bet I'd just get the same answer if I emailed them. I def. want the bigger sunshade, since we walk in the evening too. Oh, and it's OK, I understand completely re: preggo/mommy brain...it gets bad sometimes! LOL! I have word-finding difficulties...I will have to stop midsentence and say Ummm....uhh...yanno...and if I'm lucky come up with the word after 10 seconds of ummming. LOL. ITA re: the stroller being the one splurge...our crib will not be expensive (and my grandma's gifting it to us anyway, and she's giving us a medium sized dresser that will be perfect as dresser/changer), and neither will most of our other stuff, but I really want a nice stroller, since I see us using it a lot. We love getting outdoors.

Icekid, I think you'll be even more sold after you see it and play with it in person - such a cool stroller. Drives like a dream!

Steph, I *heart* the Ruby!!

I wonder what's going to change for the 2011 model?? I mean, the 2010 is pretty kick-butt already...what else could I possibly need?! I am not sure I will be patient enough to wait till after baby comes to buy the 2010 on closeout...DH says that his mom is wanting to help us out with something, maybe it can be the stroller!!

 

[neatfreak]

RE: Indie. We have Seagrass (kelly green and aqua) and two very dirty toddlers and it looks brand new. You can remove the whole seat cushion and throw it in the wash. So every time it has gotten filthy I have just tossed it in the wash and it comes out looking perfect. My girlfriend has Spice (Orange and Aqua) and hers looks great still too.

I don't regret the choice at all. Such fun colors and still looks great. We've had ours for a year and use it pretty heavily.

And the new sun canopies are AMAZING. I ordered them and would highly recommend them esp. if you do a lot of walking late in the afternoon/evening.

 

[Mara]

snazzy looking stroller Allie! I have seen a few Uppas locally and I always have to do a double take. love that blue.

HOU i googled 2010 vs 2009 and apparently the sunshade was the only real big change this year. they made some other small changes like putting buttons on the inside or outside of something vs the other way and that is about it. funny because on their website the sunshade says it's 9" longer and i was like gee is that REALLY that much of a diff, oh heck yea it is! i just love how crazy big it is now. also when i unzip it now (the back unzips from the front which i never used before since it was winter), J loves to feel the wind ruffling his hair and I can also unzip it and still leave the shade OVER him so he still gets like 70% of the same coverage with the back unzipped until we turn around and walk the other way.

 

[steph72276]

HOU, I LOVE the ruby color. It's so pretty and I think it would look good for either a boy or girl. I'll attach a pic of my little guy in his when we first got it, I haven't taken an updated picture in it.

NF and Mara, thanks for the info on the canopy....glad to know you both think it's worth the extra $. I need to order it tomorrow.

 

[Mara]

aww look how small and snuggly E looks in the stroller!!

we never put that head support thing on, i don't think i knew where it went. HA!

 

[HOUMedGal]

Steph, thanks for sharing that adorable pic!! Such a cutie pie!!! I do love the Ruby too, and I like that I could use it for a boy if we have one later on. Seagrass is rather tempting too, but the Ruby is so classic.

Mara, yeah, I think for 2010 it was the sunshade, a change in the position of the buttons that adjust the footrest and the push-handle (I think they switched them from the outside to the inside for both) and the peek-a-boo window changed from clear plastic to UV mesh. I don't care much about any of that except the sunshade. I can't imagine that they would change the 2011 much!!

Neatfreak, thanks for the input re: the blue staying clean!! I do love that you can easily take off the fabric and throw it in the wash...SO convenient.