Versatile but Problematic
March 22, 2021
If you're looking for a new budget-friendly stroller with options as its main feature, this is the one for you. But beware-it's not a smooth ride.
I received this product as part of the Stellar Product Testing Panel, and was very eager to try it out.
I have an active 3.5 year old son, and a hefty 10 month old. We typically use a side-by-side double stroller that's functional and easy to use, but a one-trick pony. I was excited to test out this stroller's narrower frame and multiple ride-along options.
It was fairly easy to assemble-everything sort of clicked into each other. The back wheels were a bit challenging-they're fastened with a small pin that I almost threw out.
The fold and unfold mechanism is a bit clunky. You really can't have anything else in your hands when opening or closing it because it's large and a bit heavy. I like that it stands upright once folded, but it doesn't open with the ease that other strollers do. My babysitter needed my help opening it when trying it out on a walk.
I first tried walking with it in the most "traditional" set up-my baby facing me in the smaller attachment seat, and my toddler facing forward on the bottom seat. The first thing I noticed is this stroller's biggest flaw. The "push" is just terrible. The physics of "larger on the bottom/smaller on top" makes sense from a design standpoint, but it makes it very difficult to actually stroll. If the sidewalk or pavement that we were walking on was even the slightest bit uneven, the whole stroller would veer off in that direction like a bad shopping cart. My forearms were sore after a 45-minute walk around the neighborhood, just from constantly righting the stroller back "on course." If the point of a double stroller is to make transporting two children on wheels easier, this product misses the mark.
The seats also leave something to be desired. The larger "bottom" seat has a bizarre incomplete canopy that partially protects from the sun if it's the right time of day and you're facing the right direction. Otherwise it serves little purpose. The "top" seat is very small-my chunky 20-pounder baby looked like he'd grow out of it in a month or two. The 5-point harnesses stick, and so I had to deal with wrestling my baby into his straps while simultaneously praying that he wouldn't slip off.
When we took the stroller out for a long Saturday walk, we were able to experience some of the benefits of its impressive versatility. My toddler went from sitting to standing to bench-sitting multiple times throughout our walk. He loved being able to "mix it up" and face us while we were walking. This is the biggest perk of the stroller. Our easily-bored action seeking toddler felt like he was on a never-changing adventure. He loved having the choice of how to ride along, and that made the experience much more enjoyable for us.
Versatility aside, both myself, my husband and babysitter agreed that the poor push and questionable seat size/placement knocked this stroller down in stars.
When it was time to take a walk on Sunday, we were relieved to take out our "usual."
So, 1 star for assembly, 1 for price, and 1 for versatility. Minus 1 for terrible push and minus 1 for seat and canopy sizing.
This product review was collected by the manufacturer.