Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

After finding out I was pregnant with my second child (10 years after my first! 😱) I started looking at baby gear that would help our family stay active. I found that not only were the options for a jogging stroller travel system VERY limited, but also that most strollers these days are black, or charcoal grey... who decides these things? *COLOR CHOICES* I knew I didn't want an all-black stroller, or even mostly black. With my first kiddo, I'd used very bright, eye-catching colors for both strollers I had, a vivid spring green and an attention-grabbing orange. I'd chosen these based on their high-visibility. I would be using them for lots of walking and using public transit so I wanted to know for *sure* that cars could see me, ESPECIALLY at night. Neither of those strollers were jogging strollers, however, and, that was a few years ago so they're not even being produced anymore. Other than some non-travel system joggers and a couple that were way out of my price range this set was the best compromise. No, it's not super brightly colored but I'm also not heavily reliant on walking and public transit these days. In fact, my vision is that when I'm using this stroller I'll be on a morning jog, or at the zoo, or some other highly-pedestrian attraction away from traffic. So really, at this point, the color choice is more of an aesthetic one. I chose the Optic Teal color type over the other blue shade for a few reasons. *First it's in my top 5 favorite colors list. So yay! *Second, as I'm early in my pregnancy I don't yet know the baby's gender but I do feel like blue-green shades are more gender-neutral. A good choice if you don't know the baby's gender or aren't interested in highly-gendered baby products for another reason, like planning for use with more future kids, or just not wanting to raise your kids at the binary extremes. *Third, The color was on sale at an excellent price when I purchased it (Otherwise I might have waited until I was closer to my due date!) When this arrived I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only is the blue-green the same as it appeared on my monitor, but the contrasting grey fabric parts were much more grey optically, and didn't appear as black as they did on my screen. The black parts are really just the plastic pieces, while the rest of the dark color is a classy charcoal grey. ***In Summary: There are not many colorful strollers on the market these days in spite of some of us parents preferring a high-visibility stroller. The teal is nice and IMO gender neutral. Luckily it is not so very dark as it seems, the grey is more charcoal in person*** Moving on from color now... FUNCTIONALITY A travel system is nothing if not functional, however, it's quite difficult to tell from a computer or phone screen how well one will roll, or fold, or store, etc. First I'd like to address the car seat. CAR SEAT The seat that comes with this set is the Babytrend ALLY 35 Infant Car Seat. It's lightweight at just about 6.6 Lbs so my arms won't get too tired when i have to carry it around with a baby inside. The seat itself is quite basic and will do for a rear-facing seat until my baby is old enough to move to a convertible seat. It has the handle that probably all rear facing seats have these days, allowing you to lift and carry them without having to wake them up. This was a lifesaver with my first child, who spent quite a bit of time in her car seat since it functioned well for other uses than just riding in the car. Her seat was also her away-from-home nap spot and a rocker as well (she even learned to kick her legs in the right rhythm to rock herself, it was awesome). I do feel like I'll need to purchase an extra head-support cushion for the first few months, there's not much to keep their head in the same position. The cushion that comes with the seat is a flattish pad meant to be used for the first half of baby's first year, just about. It can be kept at the same height as it comes or positioned higher with the straps. Behind the cushion (which I forgot to photograph) there are actually 4 height adjustment levels which you can set the straps for later growth. ALSO: The main cushion and headrest are both washable (hooray!). The seat fits well into the base and has an ever-so-handy built in level so you know your child is at their safest possible position. The handle can be set to multiple positions including the "Rebound Position" which is said to further reduce injury in a collision. ***In summary: Lightweight at about 6.6 Lbs alone. Although the base is easy to use this seat is basic, could use an extra headrest cushion, but has a handy built-in level and the handle can be set to the rebound position*** STROLLER I'd like to start with the fact that I've never owned a jogging stroller before, just to put that out there. So my perspective on this might be skewed based on that. For example, I felt as the handle for this stroller stuck out quite far from where the baby sits. I figured, after some more time and thought, that this is to allow more range of motion for the person who is pushing... So that you can run without hitting it. This is only a guess, but it makes sense to me... Over all the stroller feels rugged and somewhat heavy, but perhaps it's just me. The stroller itself weighs almost 36 Lbs so It's not super light, this can be good or bad depending on your specific needs. For me, I like the heft. I intend to use this thing until it's last breath, or, if not, until I can sell it to a consignment boutique or resale it locally myself. What I'm getting at is I wanted a more rugged stroller so that it would last a while and maintain good condition. This one seems quite capable of the task. the metal frame is made of a heavier-gauge tubing, but not too much to add a *ton* of weight. The plastic pieces are thick and solid as well, so they don't give any impression that they might snap or anything. The basket is a decent size and I'll be able to fit a diaper bag, my purse, some of my older kid's toys and things and STILL have room to spare. I'm quite minimalistic in how much I like to carry, but even if I weren't, this has all the space I could need. If I were still taking public transit to pick up boxes of diapers and wipes once a month, I'd have no problem fitting the mega-sized box of diapers and a large mega-sized pack of wipes, but I might need to hang my diaper bag from the handle in that situation. The parent tray is a nice upgrade from what I'm used to with 2 cup holders and a covered center trap set into a console panel that runs across the handles. I could fit two drinks in the holders, as well as my phone, my keys and wallet and maybe a few more small items in the center console. I like that it has a cover for the middle tray so that if I find myself caught in the rain, I can protect my phone and keys easily! The child tray has it's pros as well. One of my favorites, the Tray is made of a BPA-free plastic (a dealbreaker for me if it weren't!). With my last child, I found having a tray on the stroller for toys and (especially) snacks to be indispensable. I might sometimes find myself out of the house with my kiddo and having to feed her something at the same time. It got messy, sure, but not as much as it could have been without the tray. Best of all she wasn't hungry, and I wasn't late! This tray features two cup holders. Rarely was my first kiddo ever double fisting, but sometimes she'd spend lots of time putting toys in her cup holder and taking them out. If only she had TWO cup holders she wouldn't have had to shove her drink next to her in the seat to play. I really appreciate the design of the tray as well. The cup holders sink down from the flat part of the tray (which has an outer lip to somewhat prevent a mess or lost snacks). The reason this is good is... Liquids flow down. Instead of any spills migrating to everything around, they can be better managed when they flow down into what will become the cup-holder reserve. Less mess! Hooray! Until the baby is big enough to use that tray, however, you're going to need to use the travel system as it is intended to be used... With the car seat! As I've never had a travel system before I decided I'd best study the booklet to make sure I was using everything correctly (I hope you do as well!). I found that in order to safely and correctly fit the car seat in the stroller you have to follow a few precautions built in by the manufacturer. I've highlighted both of these in photos, but here's how they work: There are two, turnable switch-like knobs on the stroller frame below the folding triggers. you must turn these inward so that the car seat can rest securely in the stroller. Also there is a plastic tab connected to a strip of elastic at the left side of the stroller (when you're standing behind the handle) that must be hooked into the car seat's seatbelt strap holder. See my photos for better detail. Pushing the stroller took some minor effort at first until I realized I needed to put air in the tires! Once I did, however, pushing was no longer an issue. If you're like me and new to three-wheeled strollers you'll need to get used to the increased maneuverability of a single wheel while walking but while jogging the front wheel can be locked to a forward position to reduce shaking and prevent untimely turning. on top of the two foot brakes at either wheel (which lock in a way that seems quite secure BTW) there is also a wrist strap to prevent the stroller from getting away from you while you run. The tires on this are made by Kenda. It's a brand I'm familiar with from my previous life as a bicycle commuter. Kenda makes highly affordable, decent tires and tubes for bicycles as well. I've bought their products many times but I'm always been sure to use a tube slime to ensure that my tires don't go flat from silly little thorns and such. As such, I'll be doing the same with these wheels. Nobody wants to get ready for a walk, bike or run just to find their tire has slowly leaked out all the air since last time! I definitely don't look forward to having a flat though and I might just invest in a backup stroller for this very reason. The stroller folds down by pulling two triggers at the bottom sides of the handle. I had a bit of difficulty folding it as there's nothing to hold your grip against while you pull the triggers. You need to put your foot down onto the bottom bar as you fold or you'll really struggle with it. Once it does fold, however, it manages to stand up on its own, provided you prop it up onto the handlebar, which is now down between the wheels. I have a love/hate for this kind of functionality. First, I love that It's able to stand upright on its own (especially since this is a rare function apparently!), but also I hate that in order to do so I have to rest the handle, which I have to touch, onto the gross-dirty floor. It is what it is I suppose. Folding could be better, but considering the price I couldn't dock a star for it. Speaking of the handlebar, I do like that it has a textured rubber grip that *really* feels like it won't slip from my hands. This is a great addition and even gives the stroller even more of a rugged, well-built feel. **In Summary: The stroller is a little bit heavy but rugged and tough giving the impression that it will last a while. The parent tray console is convenient and the BPA-free child tray is as well (and in surprising ways!). The stroller can be difficult to fold but it stands upright when folded, unfortunately this places the handle on the floor when folded. The tires are of a well-known brand although basic, and may go flat as they are air-filled, but they're not no-name at least. The basket is very well sized and will fit a lot. The front wheel is lockable to assist with running. the brakes seem very good, the strap is a nice security function that all good joggers will have and the handlebar grip isn't at all slippery. I received this set 9/13/2018 and it came with a manufacture date of 3/27/2018. This tells me that it's not old stock and can be used for quite a few years since it's recommended that baby gear is used no longer than 6 years past the date of manufacture. Over al I'm happy with this set and I look foreward to using it. I'll update when I get a chance, and along the way as well. I have high hopes for this set! ------UPDATE------ My youngest is now 6 months old and we've been having a great time with this stroller already! We started using it at 4 months and really enjoy it for our morning jogs to his sister's bus stop for school. There's only a few things that bother me which I'll detail below, but they're minor and for the price this set is still a good investment for us. We received a better car seat as a gift and so at around 2 months we sold the one from this set to consignment. The first few weeks he seemed very small in the seat and the provided cushion insert didn't make much of a difference in that regard. I'd purchased a softer, fluffier infant seat insert which made the fit much better for him. As he grew, and the days got warmer here in Florida, I removed the extra insert and just used it without a cushion but it was still too hot for him to be comfortable in. I'm glad we received another, more spacious, more adjustable, and permanently installed seat also. Newer studies have shown that infants are at risk of suffocation when they sleep in the infant carrier-style seats due to the angle of their head and possibly that it will plop down into their chest. They say it's just outside of the car that they're in danger but I say.. What's the difference? The angle isn't much different outside of the car! Not worth risking IMO. This seat definitely did have his head tilting forward and I was terrified for him to sleep in the seat but newborns spend most of their time sleeping and so I'd have to move him anyway. This would have been the same as with the one we replaced it with, however, using the carrier to move him from the house to the car and vice versa would be preferable in hotter or much colder weather as it would keep the temperature of his seat more comfortable and consistent. The stroller has its minor annoyances also. The toggle that adjusts the recline doesn't always keep the seat back even. Because of that it will shift to the side and the baby will sit with his head at an angle up against the side of the stroller. The strap covers at the shoulder do not stay in place and the straps are quite rough when they rub on baby's skin. Also the crotch strap is very narrow and will turn into a wicked wedgie in just a short span of time. Lastly, some time before my son was born the bottom of the lower basket got folded in a way that has made it permanently warped. It's thin plastic, like a thin plastic cutting board, and now its permanently deformed. It does still work, but its not nice anymore and it shouldn't have been so easy for it to get folded up wrong. These minor annoyances are something I can deal with but id rather not, as such I've docked a star from my review. All in all this set is still a good investment. The car seat would be a good secondary or backup seat and I do still use the stroller as our main stroller in spite of having a gb pockit stroller as well.