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Stroller Darwinism: Britax’s B-READY stroller knows how to adapt
By Adrienne | April 06, 2011 | 0 comments / Join the conversation!
We're publishing a review from our favorite stroller reviewer, Baby Toolkit's Adrienne Jones, to coincide with a pretty astonishing sale on the Britax B-Ready Stroller
that isn't likely to last long. (You can get a B-READY plus a Chaperone car seat or a B-READY second seat for a grand total of $400 [MSRP = $500 + $229 or $150].) If you're in the market for a versatile stroller that will comfortably seat two kids through several years of growth, read on to see what Adrienne thought of this stroller after several months of use testing.
Britax's B-READY stroller first struck me as a sleeker, more hip version of their Chaperone Stroller. The add-on "rumble seat" (a la Phil and Ted) initially looked like a dubious doubler (functional, but impractical). When my pregnancy abruptly ended in a premature birth, I soon discovered the brilliance of transitioning gear.
In its standard configuration -- a single-seater with the seat installed facing forward or backwards -- the B-READY looks like Britax's market competitor for high-end makers like Bugaboo and UPPAbaby. (It’s worth mentioning here that it retails for $500, which is at least $200 less than either of those.) The huge canopy, quality wheels & bearings, strong frame, adjustable handle, suspension, and multi-access lower basket speak to parents shopping for luxury and utility. The stroller is designed for use for kids from six months (or from birth, with an infant seat) through year five.
We used the B-READY in this basic configuration with both our young toddler and our preschooler, and found that the stroller had a great turning radius, solid balance, decent storage, comfortable handing, and overall durability. But when we added an infant (and her Britax Chaperone car carrier seat) to the mix, the stroller’s Swiss Army knife utility surprised and deeply impressed me.
Here's a quick video showing off its various configurations. I've used this stroller in most of them, and will discuss them in detail after your orientation.
Okay, let's get down to it.
The standard seat is great for little kids. Our two-year-old likes the high perspective, giant shade, and adjustable footrest. Unlike most strollers, the B-READY seats a young child at (or very near) standard table height. We regularly use the stroller in place of a restaurant high chair, and unlike most front-to-back double strollers, it can be angled so it doesn't block walkways with the child facing the table.
Our tall five-year-old likes the stroller, but his feet hang below the seat's footrest. His feet sometimes end up on the nylon front of the under-stroller basket. Because of zipper and seam placement it looks like he could quickly damage that nylon panel. This isn’t much of an issue as he almost never rides in the stroller, but it could present problems (cosmetic ones) if the stroller were regularly used for an older, taller rider.
Almost all of the Britax’s storage is under the seat. Normally, I would hate this configuration, but with lower access panels from all sides and very open rear access, it works well.
I usually set up the frame, toss in my mid-sized backpack, then attach the appropriate seats. Even with my big bag, there's room to spare. It's where I can also stow the toddler and preschooler winter coats and all our library selections.
There's a nice organizer included which attaches to the rear of the basket and offers some very functional pockets, but it can't be used when attaching an accessory to the back of the stroller. I detached it when we brought the baby home and have never missed it enough to reattach it when using the stroller for only one kid.
When my older kids were infants, I adored the ease of a frame stroller for the car carrier seat. The adapters for the Chaperone snap under the round Britax logo handle attachment points. These adapters can be left in place when the car seat is in regular use.
Lowering the Chaperone into the B-READY's receptors is easy and the seat latches strongly to the stroller. The stroller is well-balanced and stable with a Chaperone seat in place.
Removing the car seat from the stroller is counter-intuitive. My first impulse is to grab the normal car seat release at the head of the seat and lift the seat by the handle. This does nothing but entertain onlookers and mystify the occupant. The seat releases from the stroller are on the dual adapters (under the sides of the carry handle). They need to be pressed and held simultaneously, so the seat is not lifted off the stroller by the carry handle, but rather by both sides. While this is a safe way to remove the seat, it doesn't position the hands ideally for transitioning to car installation. I usually rest the carrier on my knee and shift my hands to the handle or the seat's head and foot so I can place it in the car base. The movement is awkward, but gets more fluid with practice. This off-beat release method seems like it might befuddle casual users like grandparents or baby sitters.
Another car seat adapter (accessory, $50) works with infant carriers by Graco, Chicco, and Peg-Perego.
We call this the rumble seat because it reminds us of those flip-open backseats on some antique cars.
It looks sharp and can remain attached when the stroller is folded, but I suspected that no kid would want to ride in that visually obscured position with their feet in the stroller basket. With load protests, our two-year confirmed that she has no interest in being this stroller's back-seat rider.
The rumble seat was shelved until we started taking neighborhood walks. With the baby's car seat in the upper position and both kids walking, I attached the second seat below. While my toddler shunned it in ideal conditions, she's willing to ride if gets too tired to keep walking or the weather turns ugly. I've also employed it, with her protests, when we've had to rush home unexpectedly and could not amble along at toddler-speed.
Though the second seat only has periodic use, this lower car seat adapter is B-READY's ultimate accessory for families with an infant (or two) or an older child.
Rather than installing the baby in the upper position and the social toddler in the lower position, this adapter allows the toddler to get the best views while the baby stays discreetly behind the scenes. With our preemie's vulnerability to illness, I am thrilled to have her mostly out of view and reach. Even the boldest stranger wanting to touch a baby will feel uncomfortable leaning down to interact while an adult holds the stroller. If the stroller operator doesn’t back away from the handle, there is a primal instinct that prevents people from putting their heads so close to another person’s knees and feet. I LOVE that. No one attempts to touch the baby if they even notice her in the first place.
Thanks to an older child in the limelight, few people even recognize that a baby is on board the stroller. When I took all three kids to an appointment for the baby, the nurse gave us strange looks when we were called from the waiting room. She literally scratched her head and contemplated my two-year-old as she double-checked the patient's name with me. I repeated the baby's name, and she looked around the waiting room and back at my riding toddler and walking preschooler. "Where is she?" I stepped back and pointed to the low-riding carrier. She laughed, and said "Best preemie stroller ever." Indeed.
The lower infant adapter can make the B-READY into a great twin stroller for infants. The wheelbase is much shorter than the typical front-to-back twin frame stroller.
The lower infant adapter attaches to the main stroller in a manner that doesn't significantly change the stroller's center of gravity. (I have been known to be quite exhaustive in my assessments of stroller tipping.) The B-READY remains firm on the ground and is not prone to tipping even when only the lower infant carrier is occupied. The stroller can be folded with the lower infant carrier adapter in place.
Even folded, this stroller isn't petite. It can fit in Honda Civic trunk, but it might take some serious wrestling to get it into the boot of a Toyota Corolla.
The cost of its great stability is a pair of wide-set rear wheels that can catch on standard doorways unless carefully navigated.
The stroller latch doesn't always catch when folding the stroller, which is probably a good thing as newbies may catch their fingers when they collapse the B-READY. We class it as a real knuckle smasher, so fold with caution.
The lock works well, but sometimes it is tricky to disengage. If the user does not fully depress the lever, the green indicator only partially reveals and the stroller remains locked. I think this may be a safety precaution, but it feels ridiculous when I push hard on a still-locked stroller. A second press releases the lock, but does little for wounded pride. My preschooler likes to loudly narrate this situation “You need to take the lock off!”
The versatility of the B-READY is surprisingly handy and innovative. Being able to swap the stroller from a toddler/preschooler + infant double to a single rider or single car carrier allows me to only take as much stroller as I need on any given trip. I don't have to crowd a giant stroller into a small medical office if only the baby comes along. If both big kids want to hike, I can load the baby where she can see us (with or without car seat) and tuck the rumble seat in below should anyone get tired or hurt.
For our family with children ranging in age from newborn to preschool, the B-READY adapts to our rapidly changing needs. It allows me to try more solo situations with all the kids (like zoo trips) than I could with a single stroller, yet I don't have to commit to pushing a giant double everywhere.
Other accessories include a rain cover ($50), a boot cover for the standard seat ($40), UV mosquito net ($40), child cup holders ($20) and a bassinet ($150).
You can find the Britax B-Ready Stroller and its accessories on Amazon.com, where the B-READY is currently on sale for $400 (from a $500 MSRP) with a free Chaperone car seat ($229), second seat ($150) or bassinet ($150) thrown in. That offer won't last -- and if you click through to the Amazon.com page for the B-READY and don't see the offer, it's over.
Adrienne Jones blogs at Baby Toolkit, and contributes stroller and car seat reviews to Z Recommends. You can read her other ZRecs stroller and car seat reviews here She received the stroller from Britax, and is keeping it. (We have a policy of not keeping items we review internally, but don't impose this policy on our outside contributors.)
that isn't likely to last long. (You can get a B-READY plus a Chaperone car seat or a B-READY second seat for a grand total of $400 [MSRP = $500 + $229 or $150].) If you're in the market for a versatile stroller that will comfortably seat two kids through several years of growth, read on to see what Adrienne thought of this stroller after several months of use testing.Britax's B-READY stroller first struck me as a sleeker, more hip version of their Chaperone Stroller. The add-on "rumble seat" (a la Phil and Ted) initially looked like a dubious doubler (functional, but impractical). When my pregnancy abruptly ended in a premature birth, I soon discovered the brilliance of transitioning gear.
In its standard configuration -- a single-seater with the seat installed facing forward or backwards -- the B-READY looks like Britax's market competitor for high-end makers like Bugaboo and UPPAbaby. (It’s worth mentioning here that it retails for $500, which is at least $200 less than either of those.) The huge canopy, quality wheels & bearings, strong frame, adjustable handle, suspension, and multi-access lower basket speak to parents shopping for luxury and utility. The stroller is designed for use for kids from six months (or from birth, with an infant seat) through year five.
We used the B-READY in this basic configuration with both our young toddler and our preschooler, and found that the stroller had a great turning radius, solid balance, decent storage, comfortable handing, and overall durability. But when we added an infant (and her Britax Chaperone car carrier seat) to the mix, the stroller’s Swiss Army knife utility surprised and deeply impressed me.
Here's a quick video showing off its various configurations. I've used this stroller in most of them, and will discuss them in detail after your orientation.
Okay, let's get down to it.
Standard Seat (included)
The standard seat is great for little kids. Our two-year-old likes the high perspective, giant shade, and adjustable footrest. Unlike most strollers, the B-READY seats a young child at (or very near) standard table height. We regularly use the stroller in place of a restaurant high chair, and unlike most front-to-back double strollers, it can be angled so it doesn't block walkways with the child facing the table.Our tall five-year-old likes the stroller, but his feet hang below the seat's footrest. His feet sometimes end up on the nylon front of the under-stroller basket. Because of zipper and seam placement it looks like he could quickly damage that nylon panel. This isn’t much of an issue as he almost never rides in the stroller, but it could present problems (cosmetic ones) if the stroller were regularly used for an older, taller rider.
Storage (standard configuration)
Almost all of the Britax’s storage is under the seat. Normally, I would hate this configuration, but with lower access panels from all sides and very open rear access, it works well.
I usually set up the frame, toss in my mid-sized backpack, then attach the appropriate seats. Even with my big bag, there's room to spare. It's where I can also stow the toddler and preschooler winter coats and all our library selections.
There's a nice organizer included which attaches to the rear of the basket and offers some very functional pockets, but it can't be used when attaching an accessory to the back of the stroller. I detached it when we brought the baby home and have never missed it enough to reattach it when using the stroller for only one kid.
Britax Infant Car Seat Adapters (included)
When my older kids were infants, I adored the ease of a frame stroller for the car carrier seat. The adapters for the Chaperone snap under the round Britax logo handle attachment points. These adapters can be left in place when the car seat is in regular use.
Lowering the Chaperone into the B-READY's receptors is easy and the seat latches strongly to the stroller. The stroller is well-balanced and stable with a Chaperone seat in place.
Removing the car seat from the stroller is counter-intuitive. My first impulse is to grab the normal car seat release at the head of the seat and lift the seat by the handle. This does nothing but entertain onlookers and mystify the occupant. The seat releases from the stroller are on the dual adapters (under the sides of the carry handle). They need to be pressed and held simultaneously, so the seat is not lifted off the stroller by the carry handle, but rather by both sides. While this is a safe way to remove the seat, it doesn't position the hands ideally for transitioning to car installation. I usually rest the carrier on my knee and shift my hands to the handle or the seat's head and foot so I can place it in the car base. The movement is awkward, but gets more fluid with practice. This off-beat release method seems like it might befuddle casual users like grandparents or baby sitters.
Another car seat adapter (accessory, $50) works with infant carriers by Graco, Chicco, and Peg-Perego.
Second Seat (accessory, $150)
We call this the rumble seat because it reminds us of those flip-open backseats on some antique cars.It looks sharp and can remain attached when the stroller is folded, but I suspected that no kid would want to ride in that visually obscured position with their feet in the stroller basket. With load protests, our two-year confirmed that she has no interest in being this stroller's back-seat rider.
The rumble seat was shelved until we started taking neighborhood walks. With the baby's car seat in the upper position and both kids walking, I attached the second seat below. While my toddler shunned it in ideal conditions, she's willing to ride if gets too tired to keep walking or the weather turns ugly. I've also employed it, with her protests, when we've had to rush home unexpectedly and could not amble along at toddler-speed.
Lower Infant Car Seat Adapter (accessory, $80)
Though the second seat only has periodic use, this lower car seat adapter is B-READY's ultimate accessory for families with an infant (or two) or an older child.Rather than installing the baby in the upper position and the social toddler in the lower position, this adapter allows the toddler to get the best views while the baby stays discreetly behind the scenes. With our preemie's vulnerability to illness, I am thrilled to have her mostly out of view and reach. Even the boldest stranger wanting to touch a baby will feel uncomfortable leaning down to interact while an adult holds the stroller. If the stroller operator doesn’t back away from the handle, there is a primal instinct that prevents people from putting their heads so close to another person’s knees and feet. I LOVE that. No one attempts to touch the baby if they even notice her in the first place.
Thanks to an older child in the limelight, few people even recognize that a baby is on board the stroller. When I took all three kids to an appointment for the baby, the nurse gave us strange looks when we were called from the waiting room. She literally scratched her head and contemplated my two-year-old as she double-checked the patient's name with me. I repeated the baby's name, and she looked around the waiting room and back at my riding toddler and walking preschooler. "Where is she?" I stepped back and pointed to the low-riding carrier. She laughed, and said "Best preemie stroller ever." Indeed.
The lower infant adapter can make the B-READY into a great twin stroller for infants. The wheelbase is much shorter than the typical front-to-back twin frame stroller.
The lower infant adapter attaches to the main stroller in a manner that doesn't significantly change the stroller's center of gravity. (I have been known to be quite exhaustive in my assessments of stroller tipping.) The B-READY remains firm on the ground and is not prone to tipping even when only the lower infant carrier is occupied. The stroller can be folded with the lower infant carrier adapter in place.
Size & Fold
Even folded, this stroller isn't petite. It can fit in Honda Civic trunk, but it might take some serious wrestling to get it into the boot of a Toyota Corolla.
The cost of its great stability is a pair of wide-set rear wheels that can catch on standard doorways unless carefully navigated.
The stroller latch doesn't always catch when folding the stroller, which is probably a good thing as newbies may catch their fingers when they collapse the B-READY. We class it as a real knuckle smasher, so fold with caution.
Step Lock
The lock works well, but sometimes it is tricky to disengage. If the user does not fully depress the lever, the green indicator only partially reveals and the stroller remains locked. I think this may be a safety precaution, but it feels ridiculous when I push hard on a still-locked stroller. A second press releases the lock, but does little for wounded pride. My preschooler likes to loudly narrate this situation “You need to take the lock off!”
Summary
The versatility of the B-READY is surprisingly handy and innovative. Being able to swap the stroller from a toddler/preschooler + infant double to a single rider or single car carrier allows me to only take as much stroller as I need on any given trip. I don't have to crowd a giant stroller into a small medical office if only the baby comes along. If both big kids want to hike, I can load the baby where she can see us (with or without car seat) and tuck the rumble seat in below should anyone get tired or hurt.
For our family with children ranging in age from newborn to preschool, the B-READY adapts to our rapidly changing needs. It allows me to try more solo situations with all the kids (like zoo trips) than I could with a single stroller, yet I don't have to commit to pushing a giant double everywhere.
Other accessories include a rain cover ($50), a boot cover for the standard seat ($40), UV mosquito net ($40), child cup holders ($20) and a bassinet ($150).
You can find the Britax B-Ready Stroller
and its accessories on Amazon.com, where the B-READY is currently on sale for $400 (from a $500 MSRP) with a free Chaperone car seat ($229), second seat ($150) or bassinet ($150) thrown in. That offer won't last -- and if you click through to the Amazon.com page for the B-READY and don't see the offer, it's over.Adrienne Jones blogs at Baby Toolkit, and contributes stroller and car seat reviews to Z Recommends. You can read her other ZRecs stroller and car seat reviews here She received the stroller from Britax, and is keeping it. (We have a policy of not keeping items we review internally, but don't impose this policy on our outside contributors.)
Categories:
strollers
Large and In Charge: The Britax Chaperone Infant Car Seat and Stroller
By Adrienne | April 26, 2010 | 12 comments / Join the conversation!
The Britax Chaperone Infant Travel System - an infant car seat and stroller that sell in combination or as separates - has won over our family with combination of advanced infant safety features and parental conveniences. Like the Chaperone itself, this is a heavy-duty review: We've been testing the Chaperone infant car seat and its companion stroller for six months, have installed and used the seat in four cars of varying interior dimensions, and have a lot to say about some design advances in both the Chaperone's car seat and stroller. The Chaperone made us put our own money where our mouths are (but we'll save that for the end). First, we need you to know that although we love and are willing to pay for quality, we're a brand-agnostic family of car seat users with two children as well as in-laws in need of safe transport options for our son and daughter.
When my oldest was born we bought car seats solely off Consumer Reports' recommendations. That meant that our first car seats were an assortment of Graco, Evenflo, and Cosco.
I bought our first Britax car seat when our tall two-year-old outgrew his convertible car seat, two and a half years ago. At that time, sticking with discount brands would have meant taking him out of a five-point harness and placing him in a booster with a lapbelt - it was hard to find a forward-facing car seat with a five-point harness to kids over 40 inches. I just couldn't stomach my two-year-old riding in a lapbelt booster. The arrangement seemed unwise and unsafe.
Back then, Britax's Regent was one of a few seats large enough offer my son a five-point harness with room to grow. When our second was born, I didn't feel like replacing already purchased equipment, so we used a Graco Snugride through her early infancy.
When our daughter had come close to outgrowing her SnugRide this past summer, we were offered the chance to review Britax's new Chaperone Infant Travel System. I didn't know if we would be able to cram our unusually tall baby into an infant seat long enough to offer a good test, but it turns out she has been able to use the Chaperone seven months beyond completely outgrowing the Graco, and is just now growing out of the Chaperone.
The Chaperone's height limit is 32 inches; our Graco SnugRide maxes out at 29 inches, although the new SnugRide 35 reaches 32 inches as well (and both it and the Chaperone offer a maximum seated shoulder height, or torso length, of 11 inches). [Thanks to reader MBR for some of this info.]
As soon as I pulled the stroller out of the shipping carton and started laying out parts, my friend working in South Africa called. My geek mind couldn't resist assembling the stroller while we talked. Even while holding a phone, it took me about 7 minutes for a flawless assembly. Britax's instructions are sequentialand very clear. I knew where every part had to go and didn't have any trouble identifying the right part for proper installation.
The car seat assembly consisted of snapping on the sunshade.
An unexpected kids' gear critic in my life is an Engineering Ph.D. (mechanical and aeronautic) who is also my dad and a doting grandfather. He tends to hone in on a product's weakness in seconds. Comments starting with the phrase "That will work fine until you..." have proved entirely accurate. Don't tell my dad this, but I rarely lose the receipts until he's given new gear a thoughtful once-over.
When I rolled the Britax Chaperone set before him for review, he said "That is built to military specification." In case you don't speak engineer, that's high praise ("an elephant is a mouse built to military specification"). He declared the materials to be a surprisingly high quality and he chuckled with admiration at the folding and braking mechanisms.
I stuck my hand into the basket and showed him how the brake cable was slightly exposed. "Could it be broken with rough treatment?" I asked. For my dad, that may have been the funniest suggestion of the year. Apparently the cable is of notably high strength and I have better chances of headlining on the engineering comedy circuit than I do of disrupting that cable.
On the car seat base, he liked the mechanism that secures the carrier in the base and the rebound bar.
One of the Chaperone infant car seat's most distinctive features is its interior head supports. One in four car accidents involve a side impact, and in the absence of a federal standard, almost every car seat company now has an official-looking program name and badge to go along with their side impact technology. Britax's design, which they've named "True Side Impact Protection," includes well-padded wings which support the neck and spine in a side impact collision. These are significantly thicker than those offered on the SnugRide, and appear to offer significant additional support.
Side impact collisions are particularly dangerous to infants, who lack muscular development which protects the neck and spine. While there are many facets to Britax's TSIP, the snug, reinforced, and well-padded head rest is my favorite feature on the Chaperone. I want an infant seat that gives special attention to head and neck protection in an accident.
Other features of TSIP are deep side walls to prevent direct impact when the car doesn't offer an adequate crumple zone, a seat that curves around the infant to retain their bodies and shield them from intruding objects, and energy-absorbing foam (EPS).
The Britax is a heavier seat than most infant carriers on the market. While this heft made me joke that it should come with a personal trainer, I am happy to know that my baby is surrounded by something of substance. While it's tempting to choose an infant carrier for convenience in carrying, caregivers shouldn't forget that a car seat is what may stand between an infant and the tremendous and violent forces of a car crash. It's easy to get distracted by fabrics and secondary features, but when the chips are down, the seat's performance in a wreck should hold primary attention.
As my dad noticed, the carrier's handle is well-reinforced with metal. This allows the user to leave it in an upright position while in transit (something banned in most infant carriers because of their less substantial construction).
The five-point harness offers no-rethread harness adjustment. Not needing to rethread the seat straps saves time, makes the seat much easier to adjust as the child grows, and prevents performance problems from misthreading. It's also more versatile than a threading seat, as the height can be adjusted gradually rather than being threaded through one of a few designated slots.
Here's how it works, compared to standard fixed-height threaded harnesses.
The Chaperone's front harness tension adjustment is easy to access and operate. Tightening the straps snugly before driving and loosening them when getting out is simple. Britax makes it easy to secure an infant properly every time.
The very large infant canopy works well providing shade and protection from inclement weather.
The lower buckle's belly pad prevented me from pinching the baby's clothing (and the baby) when locking the harness. The seat's fabric is resilient but soft and wiped clean.
Let's start with a video rundown of the basic features and functionality. Text discussion and more details below.
At 25 pounds, the Britax Chaperone stroller weighs more than a jogging stroller we tested (bumbleride Indie, 19 lbs.), but less than Graco's popular full-sized Quattro Tour Deluxe (26.1 lbs.).
The stroller's weight proves advantageous. With a low center of gravity and solid materials, the stroller is not prone to tipping even when fully reclined or with an infant carrier on board. Compact and lightweight strollers simply cannot offer such stability. I enjoy being able to set the kids' coats on the stroller without worrying that it will tip over.
The adjustable handle raises to 42 inches, which is high enough to be comfortable for adults over six feet tall. It has a central hand grip for one handed steering and foam coated grips for two handed driving.
Storage capacity is one of the stroller's strengths. The parent console includes sizable cup holders and a large storage compartment with a snapping lid. I can easily put my sunglasses, wallet, and/or giant key chain in this handy space. I am pretty surprised how often I use it, and I love how it keeps my prescription glasses out of the fray.
The basket design, shown below, is smart. Not only did the designers make it so the back side lowers for good access, they placed the basket far enough forward that a walker with a long stride doesn't accidentally knock it open. The shape allows for taller objects to sit behind the stroller seat supports which is really handy.
The wheels seem to have metal bearings, so they roll with less friction than plastic wheels; this smooth functioning promise a longer life. The front wheels have a quick release mechanism so they can easily be removed for transportation and storage. This presented no problems in use or when the stroller was stowed upright in a vehicle. For some reason when I stowed it laid down in my station wagon, the release was periodically accidentally tripped when I pulled the stroller out of my car. It was easy enough to set the stroller up with three wheels, then quickly reinstall the fourth wheel. I would recommend stowing the stroller upright (which also has a smaller footprint, but doesn't work in my cargo space) if possible.
For the passenger, the included tray serves as toy storage and a traveling snack bar. (I love that Britax didn't cut corners and make this useful feature an add-on accessory.) Our determinedly independent baby loves being able to manage her own stuff, so the tray's basins and a sippy cup or toy provide her ample amusement.
For the convenience of older kids, the tray can be removed and replaced with dual armrests.
Our tall four-year-old son can ride comfortably in this stroller, although we usually make him walk. There's even some room for him to grow.
One of the distinctive new features in the Chaperone is the mechanism that locks the car seat into the stroller.
Most strollers that tote a car seat do so by locking the head end of the infant carrier onto either the front tray or a bar at the front of the stroller. Depending on the stroller, the foot end of the infant carrier is secured by a strap, a set of small plastic tabs, or not at all. These configurations rely heavily on gravity and always make me wonder what would happen if the stroller were to fall or be knocked over. I am uneasy with the unsecured feet and feel like the tabs are easy to forget. While the strap system may be the most secure of the methods mentioned about, it is the least convenient of configurations. I often see parents skipping or forgetting the strap when using car-seat-carrying strollers.
The Chaperone breaks new ground with its mechanism that locks the seat into the stroller at the foot. In order to use the carrier in the stroller, the user must pull up a flap located at the lower back of the stroller seat and turn two large tabs upwards before lowering the seat back fully. This two-minute process prepares the stroller to hold the infant seat. These simple steps must be reversed for a child to sit in the stroller without the carrier.
The carrier is lowered straight down (not tilted in) into the stroller seat. The foot end of the carrier locks solidly onto the stroller frame via the metal reinforced tabs. The head of the carrier rests upon the snack tray (which is locked in its lowered position). Because of the locking mechanism at the carrier's foot end, the entire carrier is very secure. The head end cannot be lifted or wiggled from side to side without unlatching the carrier from the stroller.
The locking mechanism for the stroller operates in the same way as it does with the car base. The user simply grasps the handle under the car seat head and slides it back while lifting directly up. For me, the motions to remove the Chaperone carrier from its stroller are simpler and more efficient than removing the Graco Snugride carrier from its matching stroller frame. (Britax offers an adapter strap which makes the stroller compatible with most other infant carriers. If you are committed to a competing brand of carrier, you might call Britax to confirm that it will be compatible with the Chaperone stroller.)
The steel-reinforced supports in the photo above are where the car seat docks. The supports are raised to the position shown, the stroller seat is then reclined to the lowest position to accomodate the infant carrier.
The overall weight of the stroller and carrier combination might make it difficult for a mom who had a C-section to use on solo trips in the first week's of the baby's life. However, the weight of the stroller coupled with its low center of gravity make the Chaperone a surprisingly tip-resistant carrier-toting stroller.
When the carrier is in place, the baby is facing the caregiver. The stroller's large sunshade can overlap the carrier's ample shade which is great for keeping out the weather, offering some naptime privacy, and offering shade on a sunny day. The peep-hole window in the top allows caregivers the opportunity to check on the child without disturbing the baby.
Since both of our cars are pre-LATCH, foreign cars, we chose to test the seat in an additional two vehicles that are more modern and larger. The four cars we used to test the Chaperone in were a 1995 Toyota Corolla, a 1997 Honda Accord, a 2000 Ford Winstar, and a 2007 PT Cruiser.
The Chaperone car seat base is much easier to install well than our Graco Snugride bases. With the non-LATCH, lap-shoulder belt installation, it's sometimes rather challenging to get the slack out of a seat belt. Britax has made the process a lot easier to see and the belt pathway more accessible. With average geek upper body strength, I am able to pull the belt taut enough that the seat can't be moved more than 1" after installation.
To aid in the non-LATCH installation, Britax has added some clips that clamp over the car seat belt when it is properly threaded. These clamps keep the base from shifting along the car's seat belt.
LATCH installation is simple. By pressing the red button on each clip, the user unlocks the LATCH belt from its ingenious in-base storage. Clip the belt ends to the car's anchors and pull the slack from the belt.
The anti-rebound bar not only keeps the seat from rebounding, but it also wedges the infant carrier into the car's seat base. A lot of infant seats attach to the car only at the foot, and that limited amount of contact with the car seems to offer a lot of opportunity to shift. The Chaperone has the foot anchor, but the 90 degree angle formed by the anti-rebound bar offers a second contact area (touching the back of the car's seat). The anti-rebound bar not only prevents the base from lifting off the seat during a crash, it also minimizes side to side shifting by offering a second contact area with the car seat.
The only drawback to the addition of the rebound bar is that it makes the seat's total footprint longer than most car seats on the market. This doesn't make a big difference in larger vehicles or when front seat passengers don't need all the legroom available, but it might be an issue in smaller cars with taller drivers.
The base's height adjustment knob solves a lot of positioning problems without adding rolled up towels or swim noodles. These feature assists so greatly in achieving a secure installation that I had to wonder why car seats were ever designed without it.
Another feature of the base I really love are the easy to see instructions for placing the car seat in the base. While the guidelines' prominent placement might not seem important to a caregiver who uses the seat more than once a day, they can help to secondary caregivers who only uses it a couple times a week or month. When our kids ride with other drivers, we usually install the car seats in their vehicle. With an infant carrier, I always want to be sure that the adults know how to secure the seat to the base. The simple, visible instructions provide ready answers.
Attaching the seat to the base is simple. The base guides the seat into the proper position.
The base is easy enough to install, even in non-LATCH situations, that a second base might not be required. This is a base I wouldn't mind moving from one car to another because I feel confident that I can get a secure installation every time.
For the first installation, I was able to place the Chaperone in the center of the back seat of a 97 Honda Accord. The Chaperone fit, but if I lowered the carrier handle to the head it projected into the front row. This might not bother other drivers of similarly small cars, but I keep my front row seats in the farthest back position. Also, the Chaperone's carrier handle (unlike most infant carriers) does not have to be lowered while in transit.
Britax has given the Chaperone a much stronger handle than other infant carriers. It looks like the handle is metal-reinforced plastic, while competing brands tend to opt for a honeycombed plastic design. Leaving the handle upright (or lowering it below the head of the carrier) reduces the seat's length about 4 inches.
Because of the narrowness of my car's back bench and the width of my son's car (large) seat, the Chaperone doesn't install in the middle position with both seats in place. See photo at left. It can be installed behind the Honda's passenger seat, but it doesn't leave much leg room for the tall people who ride in my car. The configuration is fine for local travel without adult passengers, but it wouldn't work for a long trip. See photo below, where it is paired with a six-foot-tall passenger.
Our 95 Corolla yielded similar results: Good fit in the middle position, too cramped behind a tall driver (my knees hit the dashboard when the driver's seat was forward enough to accommodate the Chaperone's length), and okay (although crowded for tall folks) behind the passenger seat.
In a 2000 Ford Windstar the seat's length was less of an issue. It would have fit behind a driver's seat in its farthest back position except for the poor placement of an odd handle on the back of the driver's seat. With this atypical obstacle, we opted to lower the handle below the carrier's head rather than leaving it upright. This made the seat a little harder to lower and raise from the base, but it worked well otherwise. Take a look:
We later moved the Chaperone behind the passenger seat. In this location we were able to lower the handle to the head and have the carrier fit well with only a slight forward adjustment of the front passenger seat.
We also used the Chaperone in a 2009 PT Cruiser. It fit well in the center, with some crowding behind the driver, and an acceptable fit behind the passenger. In the PT cruiser we could place our son's large car seat on one side and still have the Chaperone in the center position.
In my opinion, the Chaperone (like many car seats) is easiest to use in a larger vehicle. There may be some legroom compromises in a smaller car, but the seat does fit.
Despite the complications of fit in some of our cars, the seat's nestling head supports and sturdy body won my heart. The Chaperone's excellent materials and design innovations convince me Britax's designers have each infant's well-being in mind. The Chaperone seat is heavily constructed, but the weight is not notable when used with the stroller. The stroller is likely one of the strongest (in terms of construction) I have seen on the market. It will last through a number of children.
Perhaps the best testament to the the Chaperone's strong, well-considered design is that it convinced me to replace our previously purchased mass-maker convertible seats with two new Britax convertible seats with similar head supports, purchased at my own expense. After using the Chaperone, all our non-Britax seats looked flimsy by comparison, and the additional expense felt like an investment worth making. All in all, the Chaperone is the heavyweight car seat that I want in my corner.
The Chaperone retails at $230 for the car seat, $300 for the stroller and $90 for an additional base. Stroller accessories include a rain cover ($30), canopy netting ($30), foot muff ($40), and arm rest covers ($8). While the accessories might be nice, I didn't feel that any of them were necessary to enjoy a full range of stroller use.
Adrienne Jones has reviewed the bumbleride Indie and bumbleride Queen B strollers for Z Recommends, and also blogs at Baby Toolkit. ZRecs does not require guest reviewers to dispose of review items in accordance with our Keep No Stuff policy.
Our Brand Background
When my oldest was born we bought car seats solely off Consumer Reports' recommendations. That meant that our first car seats were an assortment of Graco, Evenflo, and Cosco.
I bought our first Britax car seat when our tall two-year-old outgrew his convertible car seat, two and a half years ago. At that time, sticking with discount brands would have meant taking him out of a five-point harness and placing him in a booster with a lapbelt - it was hard to find a forward-facing car seat with a five-point harness to kids over 40 inches. I just couldn't stomach my two-year-old riding in a lapbelt booster. The arrangement seemed unwise and unsafe.
Back then, Britax's Regent was one of a few seats large enough offer my son a five-point harness with room to grow. When our second was born, I didn't feel like replacing already purchased equipment, so we used a Graco Snugride through her early infancy.
When our daughter had come close to outgrowing her SnugRide this past summer, we were offered the chance to review Britax's new Chaperone Infant Travel System. I didn't know if we would be able to cram our unusually tall baby into an infant seat long enough to offer a good test, but it turns out she has been able to use the Chaperone seven months beyond completely outgrowing the Graco, and is just now growing out of the Chaperone.
The Chaperone's height limit is 32 inches; our Graco SnugRide maxes out at 29 inches, although the new SnugRide 35 reaches 32 inches as well (and both it and the Chaperone offer a maximum seated shoulder height, or torso length, of 11 inches). [Thanks to reader MBR for some of this info.]
Assembly and Initial Impressions
As soon as I pulled the stroller out of the shipping carton and started laying out parts, my friend working in South Africa called. My geek mind couldn't resist assembling the stroller while we talked. Even while holding a phone, it took me about 7 minutes for a flawless assembly. Britax's instructions are sequentialand very clear. I knew where every part had to go and didn't have any trouble identifying the right part for proper installation.
The car seat assembly consisted of snapping on the sunshade.
An unexpected kids' gear critic in my life is an Engineering Ph.D. (mechanical and aeronautic) who is also my dad and a doting grandfather. He tends to hone in on a product's weakness in seconds. Comments starting with the phrase "That will work fine until you..." have proved entirely accurate. Don't tell my dad this, but I rarely lose the receipts until he's given new gear a thoughtful once-over.
When I rolled the Britax Chaperone set before him for review, he said "That is built to military specification." In case you don't speak engineer, that's high praise ("an elephant is a mouse built to military specification"). He declared the materials to be a surprisingly high quality and he chuckled with admiration at the folding and braking mechanisms.
I stuck my hand into the basket and showed him how the brake cable was slightly exposed. "Could it be broken with rough treatment?" I asked. For my dad, that may have been the funniest suggestion of the year. Apparently the cable is of notably high strength and I have better chances of headlining on the engineering comedy circuit than I do of disrupting that cable.
On the car seat base, he liked the mechanism that secures the carrier in the base and the rebound bar.
The Car Seat
One of the Chaperone infant car seat's most distinctive features is its interior head supports. One in four car accidents involve a side impact, and in the absence of a federal standard, almost every car seat company now has an official-looking program name and badge to go along with their side impact technology. Britax's design, which they've named "True Side Impact Protection," includes well-padded wings which support the neck and spine in a side impact collision. These are significantly thicker than those offered on the SnugRide, and appear to offer significant additional support.
Side impact collisions are particularly dangerous to infants, who lack muscular development which protects the neck and spine. While there are many facets to Britax's TSIP, the snug, reinforced, and well-padded head rest is my favorite feature on the Chaperone. I want an infant seat that gives special attention to head and neck protection in an accident.
Other features of TSIP are deep side walls to prevent direct impact when the car doesn't offer an adequate crumple zone, a seat that curves around the infant to retain their bodies and shield them from intruding objects, and energy-absorbing foam (EPS).
The Britax is a heavier seat than most infant carriers on the market. While this heft made me joke that it should come with a personal trainer, I am happy to know that my baby is surrounded by something of substance. While it's tempting to choose an infant carrier for convenience in carrying, caregivers shouldn't forget that a car seat is what may stand between an infant and the tremendous and violent forces of a car crash. It's easy to get distracted by fabrics and secondary features, but when the chips are down, the seat's performance in a wreck should hold primary attention.
As my dad noticed, the carrier's handle is well-reinforced with metal. This allows the user to leave it in an upright position while in transit (something banned in most infant carriers because of their less substantial construction).
The five-point harness offers no-rethread harness adjustment. Not needing to rethread the seat straps saves time, makes the seat much easier to adjust as the child grows, and prevents performance problems from misthreading. It's also more versatile than a threading seat, as the height can be adjusted gradually rather than being threaded through one of a few designated slots.
Here's how it works, compared to standard fixed-height threaded harnesses.
The Chaperone's front harness tension adjustment is easy to access and operate. Tightening the straps snugly before driving and loosening them when getting out is simple. Britax makes it easy to secure an infant properly every time.
The very large infant canopy works well providing shade and protection from inclement weather.
The lower buckle's belly pad prevented me from pinching the baby's clothing (and the baby) when locking the harness. The seat's fabric is resilient but soft and wiped clean.
The Stroller
Let's start with a video rundown of the basic features and functionality. Text discussion and more details below.
At 25 pounds, the Britax Chaperone stroller weighs more than a jogging stroller we tested (bumbleride Indie, 19 lbs.), but less than Graco's popular full-sized Quattro Tour Deluxe (26.1 lbs.).
The stroller's weight proves advantageous. With a low center of gravity and solid materials, the stroller is not prone to tipping even when fully reclined or with an infant carrier on board. Compact and lightweight strollers simply cannot offer such stability. I enjoy being able to set the kids' coats on the stroller without worrying that it will tip over.
The adjustable handle raises to 42 inches, which is high enough to be comfortable for adults over six feet tall. It has a central hand grip for one handed steering and foam coated grips for two handed driving.
Storage capacity is one of the stroller's strengths. The parent console includes sizable cup holders and a large storage compartment with a snapping lid. I can easily put my sunglasses, wallet, and/or giant key chain in this handy space. I am pretty surprised how often I use it, and I love how it keeps my prescription glasses out of the fray.
The basket design, shown below, is smart. Not only did the designers make it so the back side lowers for good access, they placed the basket far enough forward that a walker with a long stride doesn't accidentally knock it open. The shape allows for taller objects to sit behind the stroller seat supports which is really handy.
The wheels seem to have metal bearings, so they roll with less friction than plastic wheels; this smooth functioning promise a longer life. The front wheels have a quick release mechanism so they can easily be removed for transportation and storage. This presented no problems in use or when the stroller was stowed upright in a vehicle. For some reason when I stowed it laid down in my station wagon, the release was periodically accidentally tripped when I pulled the stroller out of my car. It was easy enough to set the stroller up with three wheels, then quickly reinstall the fourth wheel. I would recommend stowing the stroller upright (which also has a smaller footprint, but doesn't work in my cargo space) if possible.
For the passenger, the included tray serves as toy storage and a traveling snack bar. (I love that Britax didn't cut corners and make this useful feature an add-on accessory.) Our determinedly independent baby loves being able to manage her own stuff, so the tray's basins and a sippy cup or toy provide her ample amusement.
For the convenience of older kids, the tray can be removed and replaced with dual armrests.
Our tall four-year-old son can ride comfortably in this stroller, although we usually make him walk. There's even some room for him to grow.
Using the Infant Carrier on the Stroller
One of the distinctive new features in the Chaperone is the mechanism that locks the car seat into the stroller.
Most strollers that tote a car seat do so by locking the head end of the infant carrier onto either the front tray or a bar at the front of the stroller. Depending on the stroller, the foot end of the infant carrier is secured by a strap, a set of small plastic tabs, or not at all. These configurations rely heavily on gravity and always make me wonder what would happen if the stroller were to fall or be knocked over. I am uneasy with the unsecured feet and feel like the tabs are easy to forget. While the strap system may be the most secure of the methods mentioned about, it is the least convenient of configurations. I often see parents skipping or forgetting the strap when using car-seat-carrying strollers.
The Chaperone breaks new ground with its mechanism that locks the seat into the stroller at the foot. In order to use the carrier in the stroller, the user must pull up a flap located at the lower back of the stroller seat and turn two large tabs upwards before lowering the seat back fully. This two-minute process prepares the stroller to hold the infant seat. These simple steps must be reversed for a child to sit in the stroller without the carrier.
The carrier is lowered straight down (not tilted in) into the stroller seat. The foot end of the carrier locks solidly onto the stroller frame via the metal reinforced tabs. The head of the carrier rests upon the snack tray (which is locked in its lowered position). Because of the locking mechanism at the carrier's foot end, the entire carrier is very secure. The head end cannot be lifted or wiggled from side to side without unlatching the carrier from the stroller.
The locking mechanism for the stroller operates in the same way as it does with the car base. The user simply grasps the handle under the car seat head and slides it back while lifting directly up. For me, the motions to remove the Chaperone carrier from its stroller are simpler and more efficient than removing the Graco Snugride carrier from its matching stroller frame. (Britax offers an adapter strap which makes the stroller compatible with most other infant carriers. If you are committed to a competing brand of carrier, you might call Britax to confirm that it will be compatible with the Chaperone stroller.)
The steel-reinforced supports in the photo above are where the car seat docks. The supports are raised to the position shown, the stroller seat is then reclined to the lowest position to accomodate the infant carrier.
The overall weight of the stroller and carrier combination might make it difficult for a mom who had a C-section to use on solo trips in the first week's of the baby's life. However, the weight of the stroller coupled with its low center of gravity make the Chaperone a surprisingly tip-resistant carrier-toting stroller.
When the carrier is in place, the baby is facing the caregiver. The stroller's large sunshade can overlap the carrier's ample shade which is great for keeping out the weather, offering some naptime privacy, and offering shade on a sunny day. The peep-hole window in the top allows caregivers the opportunity to check on the child without disturbing the baby.
The Infant Carrier Base
Since both of our cars are pre-LATCH, foreign cars, we chose to test the seat in an additional two vehicles that are more modern and larger. The four cars we used to test the Chaperone in were a 1995 Toyota Corolla, a 1997 Honda Accord, a 2000 Ford Winstar, and a 2007 PT Cruiser.
The Chaperone car seat base is much easier to install well than our Graco Snugride bases. With the non-LATCH, lap-shoulder belt installation, it's sometimes rather challenging to get the slack out of a seat belt. Britax has made the process a lot easier to see and the belt pathway more accessible. With average geek upper body strength, I am able to pull the belt taut enough that the seat can't be moved more than 1" after installation.
To aid in the non-LATCH installation, Britax has added some clips that clamp over the car seat belt when it is properly threaded. These clamps keep the base from shifting along the car's seat belt.
LATCH installation is simple. By pressing the red button on each clip, the user unlocks the LATCH belt from its ingenious in-base storage. Clip the belt ends to the car's anchors and pull the slack from the belt.
The anti-rebound bar not only keeps the seat from rebounding, but it also wedges the infant carrier into the car's seat base. A lot of infant seats attach to the car only at the foot, and that limited amount of contact with the car seems to offer a lot of opportunity to shift. The Chaperone has the foot anchor, but the 90 degree angle formed by the anti-rebound bar offers a second contact area (touching the back of the car's seat). The anti-rebound bar not only prevents the base from lifting off the seat during a crash, it also minimizes side to side shifting by offering a second contact area with the car seat.
The only drawback to the addition of the rebound bar is that it makes the seat's total footprint longer than most car seats on the market. This doesn't make a big difference in larger vehicles or when front seat passengers don't need all the legroom available, but it might be an issue in smaller cars with taller drivers.
The base's height adjustment knob solves a lot of positioning problems without adding rolled up towels or swim noodles. These feature assists so greatly in achieving a secure installation that I had to wonder why car seats were ever designed without it.
Another feature of the base I really love are the easy to see instructions for placing the car seat in the base. While the guidelines' prominent placement might not seem important to a caregiver who uses the seat more than once a day, they can help to secondary caregivers who only uses it a couple times a week or month. When our kids ride with other drivers, we usually install the car seats in their vehicle. With an infant carrier, I always want to be sure that the adults know how to secure the seat to the base. The simple, visible instructions provide ready answers.
Attaching the seat to the base is simple. The base guides the seat into the proper position.
The base is easy enough to install, even in non-LATCH situations, that a second base might not be required. This is a base I wouldn't mind moving from one car to another because I feel confident that I can get a secure installation every time.
Cramped in Small Cars
For the first installation, I was able to place the Chaperone in the center of the back seat of a 97 Honda Accord. The Chaperone fit, but if I lowered the carrier handle to the head it projected into the front row. This might not bother other drivers of similarly small cars, but I keep my front row seats in the farthest back position. Also, the Chaperone's carrier handle (unlike most infant carriers) does not have to be lowered while in transit.
Britax has given the Chaperone a much stronger handle than other infant carriers. It looks like the handle is metal-reinforced plastic, while competing brands tend to opt for a honeycombed plastic design. Leaving the handle upright (or lowering it below the head of the carrier) reduces the seat's length about 4 inches.
Because of the narrowness of my car's back bench and the width of my son's car (large) seat, the Chaperone doesn't install in the middle position with both seats in place. See photo at left. It can be installed behind the Honda's passenger seat, but it doesn't leave much leg room for the tall people who ride in my car. The configuration is fine for local travel without adult passengers, but it wouldn't work for a long trip. See photo below, where it is paired with a six-foot-tall passenger.Our 95 Corolla yielded similar results: Good fit in the middle position, too cramped behind a tall driver (my knees hit the dashboard when the driver's seat was forward enough to accommodate the Chaperone's length), and okay (although crowded for tall folks) behind the passenger seat.
Better in Bigger Cars
In a 2000 Ford Windstar the seat's length was less of an issue. It would have fit behind a driver's seat in its farthest back position except for the poor placement of an odd handle on the back of the driver's seat. With this atypical obstacle, we opted to lower the handle below the carrier's head rather than leaving it upright. This made the seat a little harder to lower and raise from the base, but it worked well otherwise. Take a look:
We later moved the Chaperone behind the passenger seat. In this location we were able to lower the handle to the head and have the carrier fit well with only a slight forward adjustment of the front passenger seat.
We also used the Chaperone in a 2009 PT Cruiser. It fit well in the center, with some crowding behind the driver, and an acceptable fit behind the passenger. In the PT cruiser we could place our son's large car seat on one side and still have the Chaperone in the center position.
In my opinion, the Chaperone (like many car seats) is easiest to use in a larger vehicle. There may be some legroom compromises in a smaller car, but the seat does fit.
Summary
Despite the complications of fit in some of our cars, the seat's nestling head supports and sturdy body won my heart. The Chaperone's excellent materials and design innovations convince me Britax's designers have each infant's well-being in mind. The Chaperone seat is heavily constructed, but the weight is not notable when used with the stroller. The stroller is likely one of the strongest (in terms of construction) I have seen on the market. It will last through a number of children.
Perhaps the best testament to the the Chaperone's strong, well-considered design is that it convinced me to replace our previously purchased mass-maker convertible seats with two new Britax convertible seats with similar head supports, purchased at my own expense. After using the Chaperone, all our non-Britax seats looked flimsy by comparison, and the additional expense felt like an investment worth making. All in all, the Chaperone is the heavyweight car seat that I want in my corner.
The Chaperone retails at $230 for the car seat, $300 for the stroller and $90 for an additional base. Stroller accessories include a rain cover ($30), canopy netting ($30), foot muff ($40), and arm rest covers ($8). While the accessories might be nice, I didn't feel that any of them were necessary to enjoy a full range of stroller use.
Adrienne Jones has reviewed the bumbleride Indie and bumbleride Queen B strollers for Z Recommends, and also blogs at Baby Toolkit. ZRecs does not require guest reviewers to dispose of review items in accordance with our Keep No Stuff policy.
The Britax Blink: A nice compact stroller at a great price point
By Jeremiah | October 29, 2009 | 9 comments / Join the conversation!
We've been playing with Britax's new compact, lightweight stroller, the Blink, for a few months now, and are ready to share our impressions with you. We're also ready to experiment with more video reviewing, so today's post is a combination of the two. I'll share a few highlights about the Blink in text form, drop in our video demo review, and follow up with a few things you'll see us tweak as we get further into this video reviewing thing.What Britax does for $150 is impressive. The Blink's basic bone structure is nearly identical to the MacLaren Triumph, but at about $40 less MSRP and with bigger wheels. The canopy is generously sized, it has a pocket I didn't mention in the demo below, and it has a five-point harness. Overall, it's the most lightweight and maneuverable feel you'll get out a stroller built with what also feels like very durable construction. We love how smooth and functional the seat recline is - that plus the five-point harness are two factors that make this stroller truly useful for younger kids - yet this stroller's weight limit tops out at 55 pounds. Z is very tall for her five years, and fits very comfortably in this stroller. (We took it with us to the ABC Kids' Expo in Las Vegas in September. It travels great, too.) The Blink's wheels also have some sort of internal suspension system; we didn't notice this specifically but it does have a smooth ride. Our only real complaint about the stroller is mentioned in the video.
My tripod was an eight-foot ladder, so in choosing between step 4 and 5 I know I didn't necessarily get the best angle on the action. More broadly, we'll try to incorporate still photo details and/or multiple camera angles into these reviews so we can cover things in better technical detail. We'll also do some video reviews of things that don't really need any technical detail, and we'll use multiple camera angles or takes to keep them fresh. We probably won't do much scripting, either, so we'll focus our video reviewing on the products we've had the most experience with and can easily speak about off the cuff. To that end, our videos will probably always be supplemented by some additional information in a blog post, although I'm not sure how best to point people to that post if they're watching the video off-site (on YouTube, embedded in someone else's blog, etc.). Any thoughts on this would be welcome!
Hopefully this model for video reviews can prepare us for even more interesting and personalized video segments soon. And of course, we'll still be doing a lot of text-and-photo reviewing in the format you're used to seeing on ZRecs.
The Britax Blink sells for $150 on Amazon.com and elsewhere. We recommend it for those who want a compact stroller that has a sturdy and open feel, a great child size and age range, and good portability at a very reasonable price point. (You can also outsmart that one design flaw with a pen shoved between one of the pairs of rear wheels.)
The Britax Blink stroller in this review was sent to us by the manufacturer. We will be donating it to charity.
The Bumbleride Queen B: Packing value in a premium stroller
By Adrienne | June 03, 2009 | 2 comments / Join the conversation!
I cannot believe how much we're walking around the neighborhood lately, and we have bumbleride's Queen B ($500) to thank for it. This premium-priced stroller has premium-grade quality and design to back it up, without any of the shortcomings that made my review of the company's Indie stroller a mixed one. Read on to find out how it performed in my family's extensive testing.
Like the Indie, the assembly was easy and did not require tools. Even though the baby and the phone interrupted, it still took me less than 10 minutes to set up the full stroller and the bassinet accessory. (More on that in a bit.)
Within minutes my mom stopped by. Upon seeing the stroller, she offered to take the baby out. I snapped on the bassinet. The baby cooed as they headed out into the neighborhood.
After thoroughly touring the neighborhood (on and off road), my mom had a soundly sleeping passenger and only praise for the stroller.
The Queen B's graceful lines and retro style beckon people to push it. The large wheels maneuver over uneven concrete and lawns with minimal resistance. The gentle shocks offer the passenger a pleasantly hypnotic motion.
With the bassinet attached, the Queen B appears to have rolled out of an English storybook. Don't be mistaken though, this stroller's old school looks may distract from some very contemporary engineering and construction.
The frame is substantially made, causing the stroller to weigh in at 31 lbs when assembled. With that kind of weight, I expected some unwieldiness in movement. The 12 inch air-inflated wheels more than compensate for the material density. Small wheeled strollers cannot compete with these smooth rollers. Even on hilly terrain, Queen B allows for a comfortable stroll.
After years of strollers with one or more independently rotating wheels, the steerable front wheels (on a turning axle) feel a bit strange at first. The arc of a turn is broader than with fully rotating wheels, but hairpin turns are rarely needed in outdoor use (though an easy solution for that is available).
The more static wheels made the stroller less likely to veer off course or tip (especially when combined the frame weight). Our 3.5-year-old son Ranger's help pushing seemed no threat to its stability. Although I couldn't test it, I think this design would perform well when walking large, excitable dogs.
There may be a subtle technique I'm missing, but I had a hard time steering the stroller if I pulled it backwards. It consistently veered in the wrong direction. When I tried to steer counter-intuitively, I still met resistance. There's probably a simple steering solution to this, but it seemed easiest to slightly rock the stroller onto its back wheels and pivot. Once I discovered how easy pivoting was, I abandoned the search for reverse steering. The tilt and pivot method also works well for quick turns and tight corners.
The brakes are the same efficient system I admired on bumbleride's Indie stroller. The single lever back wheel brakes lock quickly and firmly, don't get underfoot while walking, and can be released without scuffing up your shoes (or hurting sandal-clad feet).
The pushbar adjusts to heights comfortable for a wide variety of people.
While Queen B performs well enough that I wouldn't hesitate to use it at street fairs, parks, or roadways ranging to gravel, it is not easy to transport by car. This is a great urban stroller and neighborhood stroller. I think it might perform well on a "kneeling" bus with ramps. It is not going to be good on a commuter train as it doesn't stow easily away.
It can be transported by car. Jim and I took it to a local park for a long evening stroll where it performed beautifully and garnered lots of compliments. The chassis doesn't fold very compactly unless the wheels are removed - which is surprisingly easily, but not convenient. The folded frame prefers to be transported with the basket parallel to the ground, so it has a big footprint.
When placed in my Honda Accord station wagon, there is almost no room left in the cargo area. The space that remains is around the edges as the tall stroller doesn't easily scoot alongside any wall.
We transported it in my mom's minivan, so there was plenty of cargo room, but it was awkward to lift that high with its weight and lack of locks to keep it folded. I cannot imagine using it for a repetitive car-loading trips like traveling from the car into preschool, the library, or the supermarket. Clearly the Queen B is designed for a walkable neighborhood rather than automobile commuter use.
The QB has three primary storage areas: a cup holder that allows for some large cups/bottles, a large aluminum storage tray below, and a zipper pocket on the back of the seat shade.
The cup holder is the same open style used on bumbleride's Indie stroller. It can accommodate my fat HDPE Nalgene bottle or a skinny baby bottle. While it can't hold spare change, it also won't retain spilled lemonade or cup sweat.
The storage tray is strange to someone versed in soft baskets. Would small items slide out on slopes? On different occasions, I tried loose mail, baby hats, small toys, a snack box, a cell phone with slick housing, a camera case, and magazines. Ranger loaded a rubber ball and an assortment of rocks. We didn't lose anything, not even on windy days. I expected the ball to work its way over the rim, but it never progressed to the outer edge. The ridges in the wire basket prevented much shifting.
The rear zipper pocket is unobtrusive, so it looks small. Surprisingly, it can simultaneously hold my camera, cell phone, and toy boat as big as my fist with a little room to spare.
Smart, spacious, and accommodating, the Queen B's seat embodies good design. The seat locks into the chassis via an elegantly simple mechanism. Tilt two of the 4 posts into rear slots, then drop the remaining two posts into parallel slots and fasten the locks.
The seat is very secure in the locked position, but can be swapped for the bassinet in about 3 minutes. This simple system enables one of the Queen B's finest (and least advertised) traits.
The seat can be installed in a forward facing OR rear facing position. I always thought rear facing was convenient for parents but boring for babies. Recent research suggests that infants experience more stress when turned away from their caregivers (even though there's lots of stuff to look at). My baby greatly prefers the rear-facing position as she can watch me as we stroll. She is laughs more and is much more likely to laugh fall asleep when facing the person pushing the stroller. With Ranger and I dancing, singing, and making faces to entertain her, I'm sure our daily walk now provides entertainment for more than a few bystanders.
With a five point harness and full recline, Queen B is ready to transport even tiny newborns. A removable front bar acts as a secondary restraint.
The footrest can be adjusted up chaise lounge style for small infants. It did a nice job keeping toys on board when our 6 month old pushed them away. The footmuff accessory (which comes standard) snaps easily into the sunshade and over the footrest. It has additional snaps to size it down into a pseudo-bassinet. The footmuff provides protection from the weather and retains toys, blankets, and those too often wayward baby shoes.
For bigger kids, when the footrest is lowered, the footmuff snaps over to provide great coverage from wind & precipitation. From the footrest length, I suspect the stroller would work for many kids through the age of 4 and beyond.
The sunshade offers great coverage and has a small plastic window in top (which is hiddden under a Velcro flap). The exterior fabric shed water when we took it out in a light rain, but we did not test it in a soaking rain.
A large clear plastic rain cover and matching zipper bag are included. My friend pointed out that the zipper bag could be handy if the cover is wet and you need to put it away upon entering a building.
Another great option for the child to face backwards is using a infant carrier car seat in the forward facing seat. An infant carrier safety strap clips into d-rings sewn onto the seat's lap belt while the bumper bar restrains the seat at the front. The strap fit easily under our Graco SnugRide's upper belt holders and held the seat securely in place.
I'm not sure how often this feature would be used without transporting the stroller in the car, but it was handy on our car trip with the stroller.
Bumbleride also sells a car seat cover ($60) that includes a canopy. ZRecs recommends against the use of any after-market car seat products, including car seat covers, which may impact a car seat's performance in a crash.
Bumbleride submitted the optional bassinet attachment, which sells separately for $140, for this review. While the standard seat forms into a nice bassinet like configuration, the additional bassinet has some great features.
The bassinet folds easily folds flat for storage, so it won't occupy lots of storage space between children.
Unlike the seat, the bassinet lacks any harness or straps. There's lots of room for a baby to kick around. I loved being able to put an assortment of toys around the baby. She could travel swaddled or in a baby gown and didn't need to be changed to pants for a spin around the neighborhood.
The bassinet has the child facing the parent. With this attachment, the stroller looks like a proper pram, and nothing looks so good as a pram (I may be overwhelmingly biased on this matter as I often slept in a a pram during my first few months of life).
When we rolled back in the house with the baby asleep, I could park the stroller in a front room and let her continue to nap without interruption.
A matching bassinet cover is included. It keeps the bassinet cozy in inclement conditions. Like the footmuff, the cover easily snaps in at the base of the sun shade.
The bassinet's use-life is short-lived, however, at least for a single child: It shouldn't be used after the baby can sit up or starts rolling over.
Also included standard with the Queen B are air pump, headrest, and shoulder strap pads.
Additional optional accessories for the Queen B that we did not examine are:
The Queen B is top performing stroller in a neighborhood or urban setting. We wouldn't want to heft it in and out of our car on regular basis, but it doesn't seem intended for a suburban, car-bound user.
This stroller will look good at the park, the library, and on the streets. My neighbors came out of their houses to ask about this stroller. This friendly attention and the stroller's ease of use make it much more alluring to take a daily hike.
Queen B's premium price is linked to its versatile seat, rear-facing capability, and quality construction. For those of us who do a lot of strolling, investing in a good stroller can provide years of benefits. The bassinet is a great luxury if you plan on using the stroller often in the baby's first months.
The Queen B's recommended retail price is $499. You can purchase it from bumbleride or on Amazon.com.
Assembly
Like the Indie, the assembly was easy and did not require tools. Even though the baby and the phone interrupted, it still took me less than 10 minutes to set up the full stroller and the bassinet accessory. (More on that in a bit.)
Style
Within minutes my mom stopped by. Upon seeing the stroller, she offered to take the baby out. I snapped on the bassinet. The baby cooed as they headed out into the neighborhood.
After thoroughly touring the neighborhood (on and off road), my mom had a soundly sleeping passenger and only praise for the stroller.
The Queen B's graceful lines and retro style beckon people to push it. The large wheels maneuver over uneven concrete and lawns with minimal resistance. The gentle shocks offer the passenger a pleasantly hypnotic motion.
With the bassinet attached, the Queen B appears to have rolled out of an English storybook. Don't be mistaken though, this stroller's old school looks may distract from some very contemporary engineering and construction.
Maneuverability and Performance
The frame is substantially made, causing the stroller to weigh in at 31 lbs when assembled. With that kind of weight, I expected some unwieldiness in movement. The 12 inch air-inflated wheels more than compensate for the material density. Small wheeled strollers cannot compete with these smooth rollers. Even on hilly terrain, Queen B allows for a comfortable stroll.
After years of strollers with one or more independently rotating wheels, the steerable front wheels (on a turning axle) feel a bit strange at first. The arc of a turn is broader than with fully rotating wheels, but hairpin turns are rarely needed in outdoor use (though an easy solution for that is available).The more static wheels made the stroller less likely to veer off course or tip (especially when combined the frame weight). Our 3.5-year-old son Ranger's help pushing seemed no threat to its stability. Although I couldn't test it, I think this design would perform well when walking large, excitable dogs.
There may be a subtle technique I'm missing, but I had a hard time steering the stroller if I pulled it backwards. It consistently veered in the wrong direction. When I tried to steer counter-intuitively, I still met resistance. There's probably a simple steering solution to this, but it seemed easiest to slightly rock the stroller onto its back wheels and pivot. Once I discovered how easy pivoting was, I abandoned the search for reverse steering. The tilt and pivot method also works well for quick turns and tight corners.
The brakes are the same efficient system I admired on bumbleride's Indie stroller. The single lever back wheel brakes lock quickly and firmly, don't get underfoot while walking, and can be released without scuffing up your shoes (or hurting sandal-clad feet).
The pushbar adjusts to heights comfortable for a wide variety of people.
Portability
While Queen B performs well enough that I wouldn't hesitate to use it at street fairs, parks, or roadways ranging to gravel, it is not easy to transport by car. This is a great urban stroller and neighborhood stroller. I think it might perform well on a "kneeling" bus with ramps. It is not going to be good on a commuter train as it doesn't stow easily away.
It can be transported by car. Jim and I took it to a local park for a long evening stroll where it performed beautifully and garnered lots of compliments. The chassis doesn't fold very compactly unless the wheels are removed - which is surprisingly easily, but not convenient. The folded frame prefers to be transported with the basket parallel to the ground, so it has a big footprint.
When placed in my Honda Accord station wagon, there is almost no room left in the cargo area. The space that remains is around the edges as the tall stroller doesn't easily scoot alongside any wall.
We transported it in my mom's minivan, so there was plenty of cargo room, but it was awkward to lift that high with its weight and lack of locks to keep it folded. I cannot imagine using it for a repetitive car-loading trips like traveling from the car into preschool, the library, or the supermarket. Clearly the Queen B is designed for a walkable neighborhood rather than automobile commuter use.
Storage
The QB has three primary storage areas: a cup holder that allows for some large cups/bottles, a large aluminum storage tray below, and a zipper pocket on the back of the seat shade.
The cup holder is the same open style used on bumbleride's Indie stroller. It can accommodate my fat HDPE Nalgene bottle or a skinny baby bottle. While it can't hold spare change, it also won't retain spilled lemonade or cup sweat.The storage tray is strange to someone versed in soft baskets. Would small items slide out on slopes? On different occasions, I tried loose mail, baby hats, small toys, a snack box, a cell phone with slick housing, a camera case, and magazines. Ranger loaded a rubber ball and an assortment of rocks. We didn't lose anything, not even on windy days. I expected the ball to work its way over the rim, but it never progressed to the outer edge. The ridges in the wire basket prevented much shifting.
The rear zipper pocket is unobtrusive, so it looks small. Surprisingly, it can simultaneously hold my camera, cell phone, and toy boat as big as my fist with a little room to spare.
Seating, Footrest, and Foot Muff
Smart, spacious, and accommodating, the Queen B's seat embodies good design. The seat locks into the chassis via an elegantly simple mechanism. Tilt two of the 4 posts into rear slots, then drop the remaining two posts into parallel slots and fasten the locks.
The seat is very secure in the locked position, but can be swapped for the bassinet in about 3 minutes. This simple system enables one of the Queen B's finest (and least advertised) traits.
The seat can be installed in a forward facing OR rear facing position. I always thought rear facing was convenient for parents but boring for babies. Recent research suggests that infants experience more stress when turned away from their caregivers (even though there's lots of stuff to look at). My baby greatly prefers the rear-facing position as she can watch me as we stroll. She is laughs more and is much more likely to laugh fall asleep when facing the person pushing the stroller. With Ranger and I dancing, singing, and making faces to entertain her, I'm sure our daily walk now provides entertainment for more than a few bystanders.
With a five point harness and full recline, Queen B is ready to transport even tiny newborns. A removable front bar acts as a secondary restraint.
The footrest can be adjusted up chaise lounge style for small infants. It did a nice job keeping toys on board when our 6 month old pushed them away. The footmuff accessory (which comes standard) snaps easily into the sunshade and over the footrest. It has additional snaps to size it down into a pseudo-bassinet. The footmuff provides protection from the weather and retains toys, blankets, and those too often wayward baby shoes.For bigger kids, when the footrest is lowered, the footmuff snaps over to provide great coverage from wind & precipitation. From the footrest length, I suspect the stroller would work for many kids through the age of 4 and beyond.
Additional Weather Protection
The sunshade offers great coverage and has a small plastic window in top (which is hiddden under a Velcro flap). The exterior fabric shed water when we took it out in a light rain, but we did not test it in a soaking rain.
A large clear plastic rain cover and matching zipper bag are included. My friend pointed out that the zipper bag could be handy if the cover is wet and you need to put it away upon entering a building.
Use with Infant Carrier Car Seat
Another great option for the child to face backwards is using a infant carrier car seat in the forward facing seat. An infant carrier safety strap clips into d-rings sewn onto the seat's lap belt while the bumper bar restrains the seat at the front. The strap fit easily under our Graco SnugRide's upper belt holders and held the seat securely in place.
I'm not sure how often this feature would be used without transporting the stroller in the car, but it was handy on our car trip with the stroller.
Bumbleride also sells a car seat cover ($60) that includes a canopy. ZRecs recommends against the use of any after-market car seat products, including car seat covers, which may impact a car seat's performance in a crash.
Bassinet Attachment
Bumbleride submitted the optional bassinet attachment, which sells separately for $140, for this review. While the standard seat forms into a nice bassinet like configuration, the additional bassinet has some great features.The bassinet folds easily folds flat for storage, so it won't occupy lots of storage space between children.
Unlike the seat, the bassinet lacks any harness or straps. There's lots of room for a baby to kick around. I loved being able to put an assortment of toys around the baby. She could travel swaddled or in a baby gown and didn't need to be changed to pants for a spin around the neighborhood.
The bassinet has the child facing the parent. With this attachment, the stroller looks like a proper pram, and nothing looks so good as a pram (I may be overwhelmingly biased on this matter as I often slept in a a pram during my first few months of life).
When we rolled back in the house with the baby asleep, I could park the stroller in a front room and let her continue to nap without interruption.
A matching bassinet cover is included. It keeps the bassinet cozy in inclement conditions. Like the footmuff, the cover easily snaps in at the base of the sun shade.
The bassinet's use-life is short-lived, however, at least for a single child: It shouldn't be used after the baby can sit up or starts rolling over.
Accessories
Also included standard with the Queen B are air pump, headrest, and shoulder strap pads.
Additional optional accessories for the Queen B that we did not examine are:
- A matching small diaper bag, the Jam Pack, which works as a messenger bag for parents or a backpack for kids ($60)
- An additional toddler seat that turns the Queen B into a double stroller. The second seat pushes into the front bumper bar slots to accommodate a second child. This seat requires an infant who sits independently and weighs less than 35 pounds. ($80)
Summary
The Queen B is top performing stroller in a neighborhood or urban setting. We wouldn't want to heft it in and out of our car on regular basis, but it doesn't seem intended for a suburban, car-bound user.
This stroller will look good at the park, the library, and on the streets. My neighbors came out of their houses to ask about this stroller. This friendly attention and the stroller's ease of use make it much more alluring to take a daily hike.
Queen B's premium price is linked to its versatile seat, rear-facing capability, and quality construction. For those of us who do a lot of strolling, investing in a good stroller can provide years of benefits. The bassinet is a great luxury if you plan on using the stroller often in the baby's first months.
The Queen B's recommended retail price is $499. You can purchase it from bumbleride or on Amazon.com.
Categories:
strollers
Bumbleride Indie update: So what happens when you install the infant car carrier correctly?
By Adrienne | March 18, 2009 | 4 comments / Join the conversation!
Update: New instructions developed by Bumbleride provide installation options that may reduce the looseness of your infant carrier.
Attentive Z Recommends reader Aura commented that our infant car carrier was improperly strapped into the Bumbleride Indie we reviewed last week, so I rechecked the manual to find my installation was incorrect. Instead of nesting the car seat inside the adapter bar, I attempted to latch the seat's rear clasp over the bar (which I haphazardly installed upside down). As I pored over the manual, I realized that in testing the product for review, I had happened upon the correct installation first, but the looseness of the car seat in that position triggered an instinctive urge to clip the seat over that bar just to keep it from moving from front to back.
But based on Aura's absolutely correct observation - and indeed, I had somehow convinced myself that I did have it installed correctly - I went back to the instructions and walked through a proper install. I flipped the attachment bar into the correct position and adjusted the safety strap over the nestled seat, then took the stroller on some errands around town to see how it performed.
With these changes, the center of gravity moves closer to the ground. But the weight still tends to be in the front wedge of the triangle, causing more instability than should reasonably be acceptable for a means of transporting infants.
The attachment bar does not have a close fit with our Graco SnugRide in its correct position. There is enough space within the bars to allow the seat to slide around. The safety strap can anchor the carrier to the stroller, but it does not completely immobilize the seat. My husband Jim rocked the stroller up on its rear wheels to ascend a low curb and the carrier shifted back at least two inches in the seat.
The manual offers no guidance on the proper position of the stroller seat when using the carrier, so we tried it both ways. With the seat in an upright position, the seat is too long and rests on the attachment (as in our first photos). With the seat in a fully reclined position, the carrier has room to slide around. This sliding allows the center of gravity to from back to front and side to side simultaneously.
We tried tightening the safety strap to stop the carrier's motion, but anchors and the stroller seat would rise. Without using the carrier's notches (which are not addressed in the manual), the seat would squeeze out from under the strap if tightened beyond a certain point. In this instance, the strap would move toward the foot of the seat rather than resting at its midpoint.
The correct installation felt way too loose with a SnugRide carrier and did not inspire much confidence.
Attentive Z Recommends reader Aura commented that our infant car carrier was improperly strapped into the Bumbleride Indie we reviewed last week, so I rechecked the manual to find my installation was incorrect. Instead of nesting the car seat inside the adapter bar, I attempted to latch the seat's rear clasp over the bar (which I haphazardly installed upside down). As I pored over the manual, I realized that in testing the product for review, I had happened upon the correct installation first, but the looseness of the car seat in that position triggered an instinctive urge to clip the seat over that bar just to keep it from moving from front to back.
But based on Aura's absolutely correct observation - and indeed, I had somehow convinced myself that I did have it installed correctly - I went back to the instructions and walked through a proper install. I flipped the attachment bar into the correct position and adjusted the safety strap over the nestled seat, then took the stroller on some errands around town to see how it performed.
With these changes, the center of gravity moves closer to the ground. But the weight still tends to be in the front wedge of the triangle, causing more instability than should reasonably be acceptable for a means of transporting infants.
The attachment bar does not have a close fit with our Graco SnugRide in its correct position. There is enough space within the bars to allow the seat to slide around. The safety strap can anchor the carrier to the stroller, but it does not completely immobilize the seat. My husband Jim rocked the stroller up on its rear wheels to ascend a low curb and the carrier shifted back at least two inches in the seat.
The manual offers no guidance on the proper position of the stroller seat when using the carrier, so we tried it both ways. With the seat in an upright position, the seat is too long and rests on the attachment (as in our first photos). With the seat in a fully reclined position, the carrier has room to slide around. This sliding allows the center of gravity to from back to front and side to side simultaneously.
We tried tightening the safety strap to stop the carrier's motion, but anchors and the stroller seat would rise. Without using the carrier's notches (which are not addressed in the manual), the seat would squeeze out from under the strap if tightened beyond a certain point. In this instance, the strap would move toward the foot of the seat rather than resting at its midpoint.
The correct installation felt way too loose with a SnugRide carrier and did not inspire much confidence.
Categories:
strollers
The Bumbleride Indie: A good stroller, but not for a baby
By Adrienne | March 09, 2009 | 5 comments / Join the conversation!
We invited Adrienne Jones of Baby Toolkit to test drive the Bumbleride Indie three-wheeled stroller with her two children to test its age range. What she found may surprise you - and prepare you to use the phrase "stroller physics" in conversation. Thanks, Adrienne!
The Bumbleride Indie is officially a "premium" stroller in my book at $460. But its good looks, the surprising number of accessories that come in the standard package, and variable front wheel (inline or free-rotating) help establish it as something of a pioneer, claiming a stylish middle ground between the expensive luxury brands and high-end traditional-design strollers.
We tested Bumbleride's Indie stroller with our three-year-old son and newborn daughter, challenging the Indie with a variety of settings and terrain including the zoo, local libraries, and a crowded street festival. Below, find out why we'd recommend it for kids up to age four, but advise against its use with an infant car carrier, making this stroller suitable for children through age four who can sit up independently.
When Bumbleride's Indie appeared on my doorstep, I was surprised by the box's moderate dimensions. Even with assembly required, I had been expecting a much larger box.
The stroller seemed to have a lot parts, but it assembled easily in less than 20 minutes even with a huge pregnant belly while talking on the corded phone. No tools were required.
The manual was sparse in its instructions and images. I was left with two mystery straps after full assembly. One, the foot strap for a car carrier, was clearly identified later in the book. The other, which I currently believe to be a jogging safety leash, was never depicted in the manual.
The Indie has nice lines and comes in great color schemes - Lava, Ruby, Seagrass, Spice and Vita. We went with Seagrass. This stroller attracted compliments and interest even from non-parents.
The stroller performs well on urban obstacles and rougher terrain. With the front wheel free or locked, the Indie had no problem climbing curbs and rolled easily over uneven concrete, grass, and gravel.
The mobile front wheel offers a short turning radius making it easy to maneuver in tight places like our public library stacks. The adjustable handlebar offer height options that will please most users and make maneuvering even easier.
The braking system is great. Its easy engagement and disengagement did not scratch my shoes or hurt my feet when wearing sandals. The long bar is easy to locate without looking, and the wheels lock firmly without requiring a lot of pressure.
The Bumbleride folds and has a quick release front wheel. Folded it can fit in my Honda station wagon, but it occupies much of the cargo area. It would probably be better suited for a family with larger vehicles or those who live in less automobile dependent regions.
It is easy to admire the fact that the car seat adapter bar and safety belt come standard with the Indie rather than being an expensive add-on. Even better, the safety belt is easy to install - it snaps into a d-ring on the stroller's passenger harness. We were able to adjust it once, and have it retain the proper sizing from use to use.
Unfortunately, these elements are not without their design flaws. The adapter bar seemed smaller than necessary to get a tight fit with the Graco SnugRide car seat. Twice, I thought I had the seat snapped over the bar, but later found it was detached. In neither case was the seat fully dislodged (thanks to the safety belt), but the car seat's fit was looser than I like. (New instructions provide installation options that may reduce the looseness of your infant carrier.) Also, the three-wheeled design and free-rotating front wheel complicate the use of a rear-facing car carrier.
But then we started discovering what will be a dealbreaker for many parents. Testing the stroller with our SnugRide and the newest member of our family as its passenger, we noticed the stroller became prone to tipping when making turns or climbing curbs. The tipping was not dramatic, but required two-handed steering to control.
What's happening here involves some basic stroller physics. It's simple, and you can wow your friends with it later. It may also help you diagnose other stability issues in your baby's life, including other three-wheeled strollers designed to accept infant car carriers.
The center of gravity for a car seat carrier is very close to where the carrier's handles join to the carrier. The mass of the baby's weight rests approximately at the center of the car carrier. When the carrier faces backwards, the primary weight of the baby and carrier rests near the single front wheel rather than toward the twin rear wheels. This places the carrier's weight at one of the stroller's least stable points. With the car seat is raised above the seat level, the center of gravity is relatively high. These factors make the stroller more prone to tipping.
To illustrate, I've drawn straight lines from the point where each wheel contacts the ground (green or pink triangles). The majority of the stroller's weight must rest within this triangle to remain upright. From each side's midpoint, I drew a line through each opposing vertex (corner). The intersection point of these three lines (yellow x for locked front wheel, blue x for rear-pointing front wheel) shows the center of gravity where ideally the majority of the weight should rest.
Deviation from this center towards any side of the triangle creates instability. The closer the weight moves to any side of the triangle, the greater the instability. The higher up that center of gravity, the more the instability is magnified when the triangle is tilted.
Now let's add the chalk tub to represent the weight of the carrier.
The primary weight of the carrier rests above the stroller's center of gravity in the narrowest point of the triangle. This leaves little room for side-to-side tilting without resulting instability.
Another consideration in stability with car carrier use is the free rotating option on the front wheel. When the wheel is locked in an inline (jogging) position, the triangle is elongated, making it more stable. When the wheel is released to free rotation it tends to go under the seat closer to the axle. This position creates a smaller triangle than the jogging triangle and moves the center of gravity back approximately three additional inches.
When the wheel turns, it can be in any position represented by the orange circle. This creates an asymmetrical triangle and temporarily moves the center of gravity off the central axis (purple line). The car carrier remains over the centerline, creating temporary instability in turns.
We never tipped over, but the tippiness was a little unnerving, and it did require some extra muscle and coordination to keep it safely upright. For the precious cargo you're carrying, we'd advise you to select an alternative stroller if you need it to safely accommodate a car seat.
The manual makes no statement regarding whether the stroller could be used for jogging with the car carrier in place. I would not jog with the car carrier attached.
Note: The photo above shows an incorrect installation of the infant car carrier. See our update post for more details.
We like the Indie's easy roll over a wide variety of terrain, and think it's a solid choice for use with toddlers and infants who can sit up independently. This stroller performs well indoors and outdoors - it has a nice turn radius for tight spaces, but its large wheels that roll well make the Indie my first choice to explore local parks or visit a hilly zoo.
But the loose fit of the infant car carrier and the tippiness with it in place, the Indie will not be my first choice for use with a car carrier. For an urban family, car carrier use might not be important, but for suburbanites who rely on auto travel, it's an important consideration in the first year.
Our abnormally tall son has outgrown the Indie lengthwise at 3.5 years old, but it would probably work through age 4 for most kids.
The Indie's recommended price is $459. You can purchase it directly from Bumbleride or on Amazon.com.
The Bumbleride Indie is officially a "premium" stroller in my book at $460. But its good looks, the surprising number of accessories that come in the standard package, and variable front wheel (inline or free-rotating) help establish it as something of a pioneer, claiming a stylish middle ground between the expensive luxury brands and high-end traditional-design strollers.
We tested Bumbleride's Indie stroller with our three-year-old son and newborn daughter, challenging the Indie with a variety of settings and terrain including the zoo, local libraries, and a crowded street festival. Below, find out why we'd recommend it for kids up to age four, but advise against its use with an infant car carrier, making this stroller suitable for children through age four who can sit up independently.
Assembly
When Bumbleride's Indie appeared on my doorstep, I was surprised by the box's moderate dimensions. Even with assembly required, I had been expecting a much larger box.
The stroller seemed to have a lot parts, but it assembled easily in less than 20 minutes even with a huge pregnant belly while talking on the corded phone. No tools were required.
The manual was sparse in its instructions and images. I was left with two mystery straps after full assembly. One, the foot strap for a car carrier, was clearly identified later in the book. The other, which I currently believe to be a jogging safety leash, was never depicted in the manual.
Style
The Indie has nice lines and comes in great color schemes - Lava, Ruby, Seagrass, Spice and Vita. We went with Seagrass. This stroller attracted compliments and interest even from non-parents.
Maneuverability, Performance, and Portability
The stroller performs well on urban obstacles and rougher terrain. With the front wheel free or locked, the Indie had no problem climbing curbs and rolled easily over uneven concrete, grass, and gravel.
The mobile front wheel offers a short turning radius making it easy to maneuver in tight places like our public library stacks. The adjustable handlebar offer height options that will please most users and make maneuvering even easier.
The braking system is great. Its easy engagement and disengagement did not scratch my shoes or hurt my feet when wearing sandals. The long bar is easy to locate without looking, and the wheels lock firmly without requiring a lot of pressure.
The Bumbleride folds and has a quick release front wheel. Folded it can fit in my Honda station wagon, but it occupies much of the cargo area. It would probably be better suited for a family with larger vehicles or those who live in less automobile dependent regions.
The Indie's big miss: The car seat attachment
It is easy to admire the fact that the car seat adapter bar and safety belt come standard with the Indie rather than being an expensive add-on. Even better, the safety belt is easy to install - it snaps into a d-ring on the stroller's passenger harness. We were able to adjust it once, and have it retain the proper sizing from use to use.
Unfortunately, these elements are not without their design flaws. The adapter bar seemed smaller than necessary to get a tight fit with the Graco SnugRide car seat. Twice, I thought I had the seat snapped over the bar, but later found it was detached. In neither case was the seat fully dislodged (thanks to the safety belt), but the car seat's fit was looser than I like. (New instructions provide installation options that may reduce the looseness of your infant carrier.) Also, the three-wheeled design and free-rotating front wheel complicate the use of a rear-facing car carrier.
But then we started discovering what will be a dealbreaker for many parents. Testing the stroller with our SnugRide and the newest member of our family as its passenger, we noticed the stroller became prone to tipping when making turns or climbing curbs. The tipping was not dramatic, but required two-handed steering to control.
What's happening here involves some basic stroller physics. It's simple, and you can wow your friends with it later. It may also help you diagnose other stability issues in your baby's life, including other three-wheeled strollers designed to accept infant car carriers.
The center of gravity for a car seat carrier is very close to where the carrier's handles join to the carrier. The mass of the baby's weight rests approximately at the center of the car carrier. When the carrier faces backwards, the primary weight of the baby and carrier rests near the single front wheel rather than toward the twin rear wheels. This places the carrier's weight at one of the stroller's least stable points. With the car seat is raised above the seat level, the center of gravity is relatively high. These factors make the stroller more prone to tipping.
To illustrate, I've drawn straight lines from the point where each wheel contacts the ground (green or pink triangles). The majority of the stroller's weight must rest within this triangle to remain upright. From each side's midpoint, I drew a line through each opposing vertex (corner). The intersection point of these three lines (yellow x for locked front wheel, blue x for rear-pointing front wheel) shows the center of gravity where ideally the majority of the weight should rest.
Deviation from this center towards any side of the triangle creates instability. The closer the weight moves to any side of the triangle, the greater the instability. The higher up that center of gravity, the more the instability is magnified when the triangle is tilted.
Now let's add the chalk tub to represent the weight of the carrier.
The primary weight of the carrier rests above the stroller's center of gravity in the narrowest point of the triangle. This leaves little room for side-to-side tilting without resulting instability.
Another consideration in stability with car carrier use is the free rotating option on the front wheel. When the wheel is locked in an inline (jogging) position, the triangle is elongated, making it more stable. When the wheel is released to free rotation it tends to go under the seat closer to the axle. This position creates a smaller triangle than the jogging triangle and moves the center of gravity back approximately three additional inches.
When the wheel turns, it can be in any position represented by the orange circle. This creates an asymmetrical triangle and temporarily moves the center of gravity off the central axis (purple line). The car carrier remains over the centerline, creating temporary instability in turns.
We never tipped over, but the tippiness was a little unnerving, and it did require some extra muscle and coordination to keep it safely upright. For the precious cargo you're carrying, we'd advise you to select an alternative stroller if you need it to safely accommodate a car seat.
The manual makes no statement regarding whether the stroller could be used for jogging with the car carrier in place. I would not jog with the car carrier attached.
Note: The photo above shows an incorrect installation of the infant car carrier. See our update post for more details.
Notable "extras"
- Ample shade and weather protection are offered with both canopies in place. The coverage offered to a car carrier impresses me. The window atop the canopy offers a the ability for the stroller driver to see the occupant.
- The Indie also comes standard with a clear rain cover, a jogging strap (though it is unclear how to install it), an air pump (which we have never needed), and a padded bar which fits accross the seat and allows you to attach accessories like Bumbleride's snack pack.
- The cupholder expands enough to securely hold a large (BPA-free) Nalgene bottle. There is a zipper pocket on the removable canopy which is nice for keys, wallet, and cell phone. The under-seat basket is spacious with a fully open back that provides easy gear access.
Summary
We like the Indie's easy roll over a wide variety of terrain, and think it's a solid choice for use with toddlers and infants who can sit up independently. This stroller performs well indoors and outdoors - it has a nice turn radius for tight spaces, but its large wheels that roll well make the Indie my first choice to explore local parks or visit a hilly zoo.
But the loose fit of the infant car carrier and the tippiness with it in place, the Indie will not be my first choice for use with a car carrier. For an urban family, car carrier use might not be important, but for suburbanites who rely on auto travel, it's an important consideration in the first year.
Our abnormally tall son has outgrown the Indie lengthwise at 3.5 years old, but it would probably work through age 4 for most kids.
The Indie's recommended price is $459. You can purchase it directly from Bumbleride or on Amazon.com.
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