My favorite strollers
I have a stroller obsession. After trying out and owning several kinds of strollers, here are my favorites:
Travel and car stroller (umbrella stroller):
UPPAbaby G-Luxe Stroller, Ani/Orange
A couple of days before our trip to Armenia my friend and I were discussing strollers, and she told me about the G-Luxe. I immediately bought it off Amazon despite the price tag of almost $200. It turns out that was a good decision. This is now my go-to stroller for all trips. It has a shoulder strap for carrying, only weighs 11 lbs, reclines so Raffi can nap in it, has a great sun shade (very useful on vacations) and a decent storage basket. He is very comfortable in it and it does not take up our entire trunk. We have an older car (2003) and not much fits in it. When I’m going to RI with a stroller, crib, suitcase, toys, etc we need enough space for it all.
What to watch for: You can’t rest your bag on the handles unless it is pretty light and your child is sitting in the stroller or it will tip over. It happens because the frame is so incredibly light.
Jogging and every day stroller:
BOB Revolution SE Single Stroller, Orange currently 30% on sale for $321 from $449
We bought the BOB Revolution when Raffi was old enough to use it. I love mostly everything about this stroller. The seat reclines fully so Raffi can lounge and nap in it. There is a window in the large sun shade so I can check on him while I’m running. The 3 wheel system is so sturdy that I can navigate the bumpy Philadelphia sidewalks without having to slow down. The basket underneath holds my entire diaper bag as well as a hat, toys, and sandals for Raffi. The cup accessory has never fallen off or given me an issue, and I love that the center portion zips so I can keep my keys in a secure place when I am running. Raffi can use it until he is too big for a stroller.
This is the stroller we use every day. We never break it down and it sits in our hallway or garage waiting for the next adventure. I can’t say enough good things about this stroller as an every day and jogging stroller.
What to watch for: I could never bring this on a vacation with our current car; it takes up the whole trunk. Also, folding it is easy but locking it when folded is not and requires two hands and a decent amount of space. I am thankful that we can keep it set up every day.
City and double stroller:
Britax B-Ready Stroller 2012, Red currently 20% on sale for $400 instead of $500
I reviewed this on Babycenter recently, and I wish I had found it earlier. It is very similar to the UPPAbaby Vista in design and structure, but it has more to offer. The basket underneath is tremendous, and you can face your child toward you or away from you with a full range of motion from almost fully reclined to sitting up. It is not too heavy and despite being two pieces it can fold in 1. I wish I could go back in time and use Britax for our infant car seat with this stroller (more on that below).
We obviously have only Raffi right now, but one day we would like more children. I like that this stroller offers many different configurations for a second child. I also like the location of the second seat.
What to watch for: It is a bit wide and doesn’t fit through every single doorway easily.
Other thoughts:
I LOVED my OrbitBaby stroller when Raffi was in the infant car seat. The storage bag under the stroller is removable, the car seat rotates completely so your child can sit in the stroller facing any direction, and the paparazzi shield (a breathable shield that completely covers your child) was great when he was only a few weeks old and he slept on the go a lot. I also liked the bassinet that came free as part of a promotion at the time. I am even thinking of converting it to a wagon for Raffi one day.
However, all that being said, he wasn’t in the infant car seat for long enough for me to justify the expense of this stroller. We have the real stroller seat, and it isn’t very comfortable for Raffi. He outgrew the infant seat in length quite early, and when we transitioned to the stroller seat he was unhappy. Comparatively, he loved the BOB stroller from the first day. I love the OrbitBaby feature that allowed me to put Raffi in the car sideways and then turn him to face rear so I didn’t have to twist and turn to buckle him in the seat, but I wish we had gone with a Britax infant car seat and stroller from the beginning. Now we have a garage full of strollers and that is wasteful in space and money. If the OrbitBaby infant car seat could be configured to work with the Britax B-Ready stroller, that would be my ideal choice. I know that is impossible though, so we are left with a stroller graveyard.
I hope this little guide on my strollers is helpful to you.
Note: If you purchase any of these strollers through the Amazon link provided above, I do receive a very small percentage back in income through their affiliate program.
My brother in law and sister in law have the BOB and the Kolcraft Contours Lite Stroller. I’ve used the BOB a few times for babysitting kids and it’s pretty awesome. However, I was surprisingly impressed with the Kolcraft. It’s not a true jogging stroller, but is incredibly smooth and easy to push. The best part is the $65 price tag. It’s also lightweight and easy to collapse, etc. If someone is looking for a steal of a deal on a stroller, they may want to check this out! It’s very well reviewed, too. http://www.amazon.com/Contours-ZL014-TLO1-Lite-Stroller-Tangerine/dp/B0030EH8OO/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1GKJGVTO1YHYY&coliid=I349B55PYBKSH0
@Ashley, Thanks for the suggestion!
I’m glad I’m not the only one that bought several strollers! We have the G-Luxe (we love it for travel) and the Vista. Just curious, you said the B-ready is similar to the Vista, but has more to offer. I didn’t catch the differences in your post though.
@Tiffany, You know what? I was mistaken in saying that. It looks like the Vista can also accommodate a second seat, which I didn’t think it could. It seems that the two strollers are almost identical in features.
i seriously look at strollers all the time but can’t bear the price tags – i LOVE the travel review one though! since we’ll be traveling more soon i’ll need to figure something out for Wes!
@Heather (Heather’s Dish), We spent more on strollers than on his crib furniture, not including the strollers I reviewed for Babycenter.
This is so helpful, thank you so much for posting your reviews. We will be getting our stroller within the next month and I just can’t decide between the Britax B-Ready or the City Mini. My hope is ti purchase just one stroller that we can use a car seat adapter for and without once he’s out grown it.
How often do you actually face Raffi towards you? That seems to be one of the main differences between the two I’m looking at, and the ability to add a second seat to the Britax.
@Stacy K., At the beginning I faced Raffi toward me all the time. I HAD to know if he was doing ok. I wouldn’t use that as your only reason to make your decision though. I definitely could have done without it if I didn’t have the option. I didn’t start facing him out until about 4 months or so.
Thank you so much for this! We’re expecting our little one in 6 weeks, and we already have the BOB as our everyday stroller (we purchased the attachment so we can use our Chicco infant seat with it). I knew we were going to need a lightweight umbrella stroller for traveling since it’s so bulky — will look into the G-luxe. Thanks!
@Heather, Congratulations! Good call on the BOB. I wish I had researched strollers more when I was pregnant. The G-luxe has a big price tag but it was worth it in my opinion because of the sun shade and reclining ability.
I think I recall you reviewing other strollers on Babycenter as well – no? It’s why I always say new mothers should refrain from getting excited about strollers and baby items until they actually use them, because chances are your opinion will change. I can’t help but wonder why you’d keep all these strollers in storage? Why wouldn’t you sell them or donate them to someone who can’t afford $2000 in strollers alone? I have to agree GLuxe is a great stroller. That and Mountain Buggy jogging stroller (sorry I hate BOB) are all we need.
@Kandyce, I haven’t kept them all. I have donated 3 but with a tiny garage the strollers have still taken over. We still have the BOB, G-Luxe, B-Ready and OrbitBaby. I’d like to get rid of the OrbitBaby, but since that is the only infant car seat we have that wouldn’t be smart right now for when we grow our family. I might consider selling it so I can use that money to buy the Britax car seat that would go with the B-Ready, but I’ll wait for the next baby to do that.
I receive a lot of products to review for various sites, and when I have completed testing them out and reviewing them I donate the majority to other mothers/cooks who need them.
Hey! I just stumbled upon your blog and I am loving what I see. It is so fun to find new bloggers/blogs that I will continue to come back and visit!
@jessica @ sweatescape, Thanks!
How funny….i literally just bought a new stroller minutes before reading this post. I have a cheap, clunky Chicco travel system stroller that I hate for many reasons. I wish I would have really done my research on strollers before writing off the nice, fancy strollers as an indulgence for Moms. Looking back, I would have shelled out the $$ for a convertible single/double stroller that takes up less room in my trunk! But, Gilt had a great sale on a nice umbrella stroller from BabyCargo and I had a 50% off coupon (FYI for any other mommas out there looking for a new stroller!) so I bit the bullet and bought a more portable stroller for the babe.
@Andrea, Congrats on your purchase! For me, the stroller is even more important than the crib. We bought a super cheap crib for Raffi. It’s safe and that’s all that mattered to us. I went a little more crazy with the strollers because it’s important to me that he is happy and comfortable and that I am happy and comfortable – especially since we typically only use our car about 1 time a week.
I have a 6 year old and a 2 year old. I never really got into the whole stroller obsession thing I guess. I have an old Jeep Liberty 3-wheel stroller leftover from when my 6-year old was a baby and I use it for everything. It is very worn and beat-up but we love it and it keeps on going. I can lightly jog in it and we bring it everywhere. It has speakers for an ipod. It has a nice peek-a-boo opening at the top and tons of storage. And I think it was pretty cheap 6+ years ago! I see it on Amazon for less than $150 brand new. Just brought it to Misquamicut Beach with us yesterday…she reclined and took a nap in it (for 2+ hours, woo hoo!) and it helped us carry pretty much everything. I use it almost everyday.
@april, I’m impressed.
@RhodeyGirlTests, HA! Thanks!
What carseat are you using now that he has outgrown the infant seat? Thanks!
@Nicole, We have the Recaro ProRide and I love it. I’ve also heard great things about the Britax Marathon from friends.
@Nicole, We have the Recaro ProRide and love it. I’ve also heard great things about the Britax Marathon from my friends.
We love the BOB. We started off with the Graco travel system stroller that went with our carseat, but I quickly realized that I’d want something sturdier to take on walks and runs. I’ve yet to run with the BOB (haha), but I’ve taken it on long walks and even hikes and it does so great. Strollers can be such a pain in the ass– finding one that you like is golden!!
@Anna @ On Anna’s Plate, I love how smooth the ride is with the BOB, but I wish it would easily lock when closed and I wish it didn’t take up so much space in our trunk. Maybe we need a bigger car…
I love this post! We did so much research before our daughter was born to try and avoid the garage full of strollers. We ended up with a city mini for our every day stroller and so far it’s been great. The one handed fold sold it for my husband. We also have the chicco version of the snap and go which we used when she was younger (and sometimes when we’re in a pinch).
I have heard about the b-ready from britax and like you, I wish I had heard of it before – my friend who just gave birth showed it to me and it looks so great. I wish I could go back in time and change my mind.
By the way – if you’re looking to get rid of your extra strollers, you should look into a consignment sale. There are several near where I live and it’s a great way to try and recoup some of the money you spent on purchasing all that gear. Most of the time, moms sell their slightly used gear at a fraction of the full price. It’s also a great place to buy if you’re looking to save a little money. We were able to buy an extra swing for my mom’s house at a discount instead of paying full price for brand new.
@Kat, That is a great idea. There was a huge one about 45 minutes away 2 months ago and I missed it. I will have to keep my eyes open for the next one.
I have nothing smart to say about strollers, but I’m glad you’re BACK! Came here for the first time in a while and there was Sabrina all over the place! Also, I wanted to say RE the staging food etc. post, you know , doesn’t matter if you stage your food or not since you’ve got the best recipes 😉
@stephanie, Thanks!
It is a hard decision to make when entrusting your babys safety to a stroller or buggy, there are a lot of dangerous ones around that do not care for safety.
On the problem of placing bags on the handle with the possibility of tipping the buggy, why not make the handle spring loaded, that will safely take the buggy and babys weight but no downward weight on the handle…