Which stroller to buy ?

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Hello !

I am looking around to buy a stroller. Basically, I want to buy a car seat with stroller. I live in Toronto. Few brands that I have heard of are bugaboo, uppa baby etc. They are so expensive !! Advantage Uppa Baby has that , another infant seat can be added in case I plan on having the next child soon. Any suggestions ? Is it worth buying one of these or something else ?

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Re: Which stroller to buy ?

Also should i buy , " Snap and Go " stroller frame first and later buy a stroller when baby is around 6-7 months ?

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Re: Which stroller to buy ?

You don't have to buy a super expensive stroller if you don't want to. Basically I would buy an expensive stroller for the wow factor. They look good. I bought a basic Graco travel system ( stroller plus car seat) for my first child that lasted long enough for our second one born 4 and a half years later. That stroller took us to Pakistan, Europe, got lost, was found, and lasted through many travels within the US. It was an inexpensive travel system. We gave it away at the end. But no complaints.

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City Mini stroller is good... not too expensive either. Idk whether they have a carseat travel system tho. I had the JJ Cole Broadway stroller, with a Chico car seat... but my stroller had an adapter so i could click the carseat on the stroller and it was really easy. The stroller wasn't as expensive as Bugaboo or the G2/Orbit ones... but it's still extremely nice.

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Re: Which stroller to buy ?

There are so many options that don’t cost as much as an Uppa or a Bugaboo!
Every stroller will now accept a car seat with an adaptor so that’s not an issue. If you want a stroller, I would recommend just buying one upfront. I don’t get those Snap and Go ones- they don’t seem very sturdy or easy to push but I’ve never test driven one so I don’t know for sure. I also wouldn’t shop for a stroller thinking you can add another seat on later. You don’t know what kind of gap you’ll have between your babies so why plan so far ahead? If you still want to consider a single that goes into a double, most of the Phil & Ted’s line do that, and the City Select does that too and is very popular.

For single strollers, look into Mamas and Papas (both the Sola and Urbo are great strollers), Maxi Cosi, the Britax line are all great, if you like Bugaboo, the Bee is priced lower than the Cameleon. Also look into the Stokke Scoot (Stokke® Scoot), and the Phil & Ted’s Smart Lux (Smart Lux - Luxury Compact Stroller | phil&teds).

I would say go to Babies R Us and test drive all of the strollers there and then look up Baby Gizmo on YouTube for video reviews of the ones you liked. Moms to Be and More, on Bayview at Eglinton, also has a great selection of strollers and a very knowledgeable staff on hand. Honestly, your choice really depends on how you plan to use it- do you live in suburbia and will you be using it indoors at the mall mainly, or do you live downtown and will you be using it on the TTC (buses, subway and streetcars)? If you’ll be using it for going grocery shopping and running errands then a bigger basket is probably better. If you’re planning to travel a lot then its probably best to buy a more compact stroller. And then, some strollers are full size and heavy and others are full size and more compact. There’s a lot of variables. Figure out what you need it for first in terms of your lifestyle and then you can narrow down your options.

When it comes to car seats clicking on to strollers, some brands like Britax will usually only accept Britax car seats. Other brands like Uppababy, Bugaboo or Mamas and Papas will accept multiple kinds of car seats (Maxi Cosi, Graco, Britax, etc.). What car seat do you have?

I had the Mamas and Papas Sola and the Britax B-Agile and both of them are narrow enough that they fit easily on public transportation, and aren’t so heavy that I can’t lift them in and out of the trunk of our car if I was driving. I would recommend either. I sold the Sola before moving to LA and bought the Bugaboo Cameleon3 and that is also a fantastic stroller and worth every penny in terms of how easy it is to push and the quality of the materials, but in bassinet mode it makes the basket virtually unaccessible and it is not a good stroller to fly with because you need to dismantle it entirely and pop it into a travel bag which is huge and an additional $200 purchase. The Britax B-Agile we’ve taken on lots of plane trips because it folds up small and we can easily gate check it but for every day, I find that as a three-wheeler it is not the most maneuverable stroller and it is really difficult to push one-handed. So there’s pluses and minuses to every brand, really, you just need to test drive the ones in your price range and find something that fits your needs the best.