Friday, August 10, 2007

Calling All Parents

Thanks to a lottery-winning garage sale find by my mom-in-law of a nearly pristine $350 stroller travel system (for all of $25, AND it's the #1 rated model by Consumer Reports, AND it's the one I was going to register for anyway), I now have the luxury of seriously shopping for a jogging stroller because she decided she should get me something else of equal value.

So. I'm looking for advice. I can read reviews at joggingstroller.com all day long, but I don't feel like I'm getting the whole story, especially with the whole fake review phenomenon that is an unfortunate reality on the interweb. I'll feel more confident dropping several hundred bucks on something that will (hopefully!) become an integral part of my existence if I hear some words of wisdom from my triathlon peeps.

So.... what kind of jogging strollers do y'all have? And how do you feel about them?

10 comments:

Jessica said...

Sweet score! Gotta love garage sale finds (of course, I let my mom do the garage saleing!)

I have a BOB SUS and I'm fairly happy with it. Although, had I thought about it more before hand, I would have probably ended up with either a BOB Ironman (which I didn't dare get because I am not an IM finisher!) because of the road bike vs mountain bike tires of the SUS.

And if I really had thought about it before hand, I might have invested in a Chariot because they have multiple conversion kits to use biking/running, or even cross country skiing!

In general, though, fixed front wheel makes all the difference for running. Shocks are nice for bambino when going over curbs or rougher terrain. Other comfort features that the BOB offers for baby include a fuzzy seat cover, a rain fly, etc.

It's quite the workout, let me tell you ;)

Trisaratops said...

I heart me some garage sales! Nice find!

Hopefully I'll have good luck with Craig's list....looking for ottoman/glider combos and so far I've found a few potential winners! :)

I have no good advice to offer on strollers, as I'm about as clueless as they come...but I had heard really good things about BOBs so I felt comfortable purchasing one. AND, got the last year's model (the upgrades looked pretty minimal), so I saved me some dough!

Happy shopping!

TriBoomer a.k.a. Brian said...

Hi Siren,

I'm sorry you had trouble at my blog. I'm told that there's a problem with Blogger that causes the "500 Over 140.6" Honor Roll to temporarily disappear.

Please try again. I'd be honored to race with the names of your aunts and uncle.

Stay tuned...

Run Momma Run said...

I actually have a Kelty that has serviced me well over the past 3+ years. It is very heavy though. I love the sun shade on it (I lived in AZ so that was the #1 factor I considered) and I love all the space/cupholders it has for storing stuff.

If I did it all over again though, I would get the BOB Ironman. I know others who have it and it is truly one of the best strollers out there. Yes, very $$$ but my jogger was the best piece of baby equipment I ever bought and continues to get good use so it is worth the investment.

jbmmommy said...

I have to say that the jogging stroller is not something we've invested a lot of money when buying. We've got both the double and single sold at Babies R Us and Toys R Us- I think they're Baby Trend brand. When used for actual jogging or "trail" hiking they've both been fine and sturdy enough. However, I do most of my running without the kids because I find running with the stroller to be really annoying. It's obviously more tiring because you can't use your arms, but it also messes up my rhythm and the kids always need something or start talking and I can't hear them or something. If I'm going to run I'll just arrange it so I can go out without them. Good luck with your search.

And nice tag sale find, I got a Warm Belly swim suit for Hot Wheels for $3 a few weeks ago- saving $34, and then next door I got a $40 infant to toddler rocker for $5. Score!

LBTEPA said...

I did the same as jbmommy - running time was 'me time' so no jogging pram for us. The only thing I'd be focussing on is make sure you're 100% happy with the brake - ease of use and holding power, as there have been a couple of dreadful tragedies here recently owing to pram brake failure.
A bit off-topic, another thing that was great when Noddie was little was a custom-built change table. J made it to suit my height exactly so I didn't have to bend over or over-reach.
Have fun shopping :)

Jennifer P said...

I just bought an InStep Ultra Runner and I love it! It's super light (14lbs). There's no bells and whistles -- it's a jogging stroller and that's it. It's got 16" wheels and the front wheel is fixed which like Jessie said, is essential. It's got a hand brake that works super well. You can buy extra goodies like screens and cozy bags. I've been blogging about it for the last few posts.

My little guy totally chills out in it. Running with it is hard work though.

Sixteen Chickens said...

I found the perfect one for you and when you get tired you can let the monster take over!
http://homepage.mac.com/joygreen/LinksPage/Links3.jpg

Lisa said...

Not a parent, but as someone who sells them, I would say Chariot all the way. The ease of collapsing them and the way you can convert them into so many different things.... it's awesome.

Julia said...

BabyJogger. Warning: daughter nr.1 would stay in it for hours, son nr.2 could sit tight for exactly eight minutes and then he wanted out. This was from the VERY beginning of his life. With the daughter I could train for a marathon, with son I had to get a babysitter or no training was going to happen. Just so you know...It's pretty much a lottery which type you'll get.