Are all umbrella strollers the same?
We are travelling soon, internationally, with a 3-yr-old and a 4-month old. We do not want to travel with the double stroller because our 3-yr-old would not need it most of the time.
Are all umbrella strollers basically created equal? We need something light and something we can lug the 3-yr-old around in mostly just at the airport while he's sleeping between flights. The baby will be in her regular carrier and stroller (Combi). Will I be sorry if I just get the $16 one from Target? Is there a light one that reclines?
3 Answers
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My co-workers were talking about this, and basically said that the 16 buck ones are not worth it. That it would be better to invest in a slightly better stroller and get better sun shade, storage basket and better wheels and manoeuvrebility. This was echoed by several folks with kids. One family said they had found a nice MacLaren at a garage sale. I am tempted to believe them and will invest in a slightly better umbrella stroller for our own upcoming trip. In your case you have a second user for it in the future, so might make sense to put a bit more into it.
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Now that we've had the Kolcraft umbrella for some time, I'm going to answer my own question! We do really like it for day to day use and for domestic trips. The recline is nice, the stroller is light and easy to manuever. The only bad thing is that the canopy keeps falling off.
We also have a combi single, which we LOVE. For whatever reason we don't consider it an umbrella stroller even though it is light and folds easily. I also like that it can stand folded. But it is a bit of a hassle that the front wheels lock themselves when folded so you have to unlock them again every time you use the stroller.
BEWARE: For international travel with connections in Europe, apparently it is a European law that does not allow gate check/pickup. So you can drop off your stroller at the gate, but you can pick it up only at baggage claim, not planeside. Whether they allow you to take your stroller on board is at the discretion of the crew and how much space there is. On our last flight, it looked like there was plenty of space that would fit a stroller but they allowed us NEITHER the Kolscraft or the Combi saying they both looked big. I felt like if we had a cheap umbrella stroller, they would have allowed it. This meant we had to walk both kids through the connection airport as well as through customs & immigration at our final destination. It was painful.
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We absolutely loved the Combi stroller for our twins. We had a single stroller that we used when we only had one twin with us. It's super lightweight, easy to fold and reclines. I can not recall the model as there are several different ones on the market. We used a Maclaren but it was a bit heavier. Combi was by far the best for what you need it for.
thanks. we got the kolcraft reclining umbrella stroller. :)
- sweethi, Mar 27, 2010