Choosing the Right Ride

I assigned my husband Josh to the daunting task of finding the perfect stroller. I was way overwhelmed with all of the different types of strollers to choose from. Seriously, why are there so many?? He compared his research to shopping for a new car. You have your Porsche (Bugaboo), your Range Rover (Bob), your Hybrid (City Mini), your Corvette (Uppa Baby), etc. Before we went "test driving" he asked me what I was looking for/what was most important to me. I knew immediately that the most important thing was that I'd be able to go on long urban walks up and down the steep streets of San Francisco.

After testing driving dozens of strollers I realized there were other things that were important to consider. Since the task of finding the right ride can be intimidating for expectant parents I here are some things to think about that helped me:

1) Use cases: When will you use the stroller most (i.e. walking around your neighborhood, traveling, hiking)?
2) Weight: How heavy is the stroller? Can you lift it in case you need to carry it up a few stair steps or take in and out of a car?
3) Height: Does the handle adjust up and down? Many do, however given that I'm not very tall (rather short actually) this ended up being the deciding factor in choosing a stroller. 
4) Collapsing: How easy is it to collapse/fold the stroller up?
5) Budget: There there so many strollers, with varying price points and features similar to cars. Have a budget in mind in addition to an idea of what the most important features are to you.

We ended up going with a Snap'n Go (a simple frame that your car seat snaps into) that we'll mainly use for traveling for the first six months or so. For the stroller we went with the Bugaboo Cameleon because it was light weight, easy to collapse, has front shocks, and the handle can be lowered to a good fit for me.

Happy test driving!