Two Fatal Flaws
February 13, 2018
Earlier this week we put this stroller together with much anticipation. I would like to walk more than my four year old's stamina allows, so we were both excited. We've taken it for two walks around our street. Sadly, I'm disappointed in two major areas: 1) The front seat does not sit fully upright. My younger daughter (a new two year old) likes to sit pretty much upright, yet have her back against the support. She can't do that in this stroller. Even worse, the front seat's angle means it leans back a little into the older child's space when sitting on the bench seat! My older daughter has to lean slightly forward. This appears to be due to the front seat's angle, not overall compactness. It seems like such a silly design that I didn't initially believe my husband that the seat really couldn't sit more upright. After investigating myself, I thought we probably had a defective stroller. Then I searched the reviews for this topic and saw I'm not the only one with this complaint. 2) The owner's manual states "DO NOT allow child to stand on platform facing backwards. To avoid falling, child must hold onto stroller frame", yet the handles are in a very awkward position when facing forward. My daughter is still about 3 inches (and 15 pounds) from being too big for this stroller, but when standing on the platform she has to reach down to her hips and behind herself to loop her arms through and hang onto the part shown in the manual (and product picture). I don't feel she is secure like that, and there is no security strap across the main opening like some models of sit and stands. Holding on to any other part of the frame would be impossible while standing up straight. These two concerns make me wish I'd made a different choice. I did check out this stroller in a store before buying directly from Graco online, but didn't put my children in it. Guess that was a mistake. Other cons include that it rattles more than other strollers I've owned, mostly from the front section. Also, as is clear in the product pictures, the canopy on this model is not great.
Pros: The front seat does lay back quite far, which is nice for napping. It's tight, but my older daughter can still stand on the platform while the front seat is in this position (at least for the 30 seconds we tried it). I like the deep cup holders. The section in between cup holders on the pushing handle is nice and deep as well, although I miss having a space with a lid to put my keys, etc. I also like that this is a fairly compact stroller as far as doubles go. This size is what I was looking for since I don't have a baby in an infant car seat. I'm 5'5" and the pushing handle is a good height for me. I tend to take longer strides than most women my height, but still have enough space to walk comfortably without kicking the thing.
This product review was collected by the manufacturer.