maclaren

anyone have a maclaren and like it.. i have combi..tis great but shot..... and i have mountain buggy great but heavy ...looking to get a new on the go stroller..which maclern if u do have

 

I have the twin techno and LOVE it, the only draw back is no snack tray.

 

QUOTE(Melis @ Jun 7 2007, 04:46 AM) [snapback]282670[/snapback]
I have the twin techno and LOVE it, the only draw back is no snack tray.

 

I do like it, it is super light. but i have a few issues with it.

accross the top, there is no bar, just 2 handles. Its very hard to stear with 1 hand, because there is no bar. (on the phone, eating, drinking while walking is hard)

It gets very heavy over grass once they are over 20pounds each. Its ok but heavy.

but it is very light and easy to fold away and it fits thru most doors because its quite narrow

 

I also have the Twin Techno, and I'm extremely happy with it.

For outdoor walking I have a Baby Jogger, and the Maclaren really is made for smooth indoor surfaces, so you should hold on to your MB! But for what it is and what it does I think it does the job well.

Pros:

1. Folds very easily
   Sturdy -- has 12 wheels rather than the 8 that (I think) the Combi has. I may be getting the #s wrong and I'm not looking at it right now, but when we tried it in the store and tried the Combi and some others as well DH and I felt a tremendous difference in how it/they handled based on the number of wheels.
   Seat "extenders" -- I don't know what to call them. The seats on the stroller are not especially deep, and when we first put our kids in the stroller in the store they did not look very comfortable. But then I noted these...extenders...basically, each seat can be elongated by just pulling out an extender. To say it's easy doesn't do it justice, just give a slight tug and it's done, and the kids are comfortable. Now, it's a matter of how they like/don't like their legs to dangle, and later I imagine, if they stay in the stroller long enough, it'll be a matter of, well, butt size!
   Canopy -- Nope, no such thing as a perfect sun canopy on a stroller but these aren't bad. More importantly they function completely independently,
   Independent seat recline
   Did I mention it folds easily? Worth repeating. This is a great stroller, IMO, to use for those trips that require a car. It's not as lightweight as some others but the fold makes up for it, I think.
   Handlebars -- have good and bad points. The fact that there are two separate handles rather than one bar presents certain steering difficulties and it'll never be a one-handed steer, but the handles are very good for hanging bags off of. Considering I use it as an indoor stroller, for appointments or *shopping*, that's a big bonus. Also, I have a Skip Duo double stroller bag and it's nice the way it slides onto these handles; much easier than having to open and close the straps when using the diaper bag with my Baby Jogger.
   Narrow enough -- fits through standard doorways no problem.

Cons:

1. It's a bit heavy.
   Maclaren isn't the cheapest make on the market.
   Narrow -- great for fitting through doorways, but I think children with a wider build wouldn't be so comfortable.
   No snack tray. (But I've seen snack trays that are attachable/universal recently at BRU; don't have one yet but plan to try it out when the kids get interested in that.)
   Two handles make it harder to steer one handed.
   The fact that there are so many wheels mean that *some people* may kick the middle wheels when using the stroller. To my surprise, many parents say they love the Maclaren because they're tall people (and so they also have long legs) but report that they do not have trouble with the wheels. Frankly, my arms are disproportionately short for my body -- I can't hold the stroller at as big a distance as most other people can and it's for that reason I find I have to shorten my stride a bit or sometimes kick the middle wheels. But if you have short arms, this may be a problem/annoyance.
   I wouldn't want to use it for extended outdoor use on rough surfaces or anything.

That's all I can think of. Basically I'm extremely happy with it -- and it seems to hold up well as ours doesn't even look used. But I would only recommend it if you also have the option of a more rugged stroller, like your MB.

 

Lisa did a great job with the pros and cons. When my babies were young, I bought a sun shade by Kiddopatamus (sp?) to provide more shade because it didn't provide enough protection. Now that they are older, it is fine. At your children's age, I don't think you would need anything extra. All and all, it is a great stroller - sturdy, easy to fold up and unfold, and small enough to fit through doors.

 

Love the pro/con list! We have it too and it's great. It's my car stroller for shopping etc. We use a Chariot for walks, the park, running etc. so if you are out walking a lot I would also keep the mountain buggy.