Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Strollin' in a Zapp


So what do you do when your toddler outgrows her stroller just in time to double her body mass with clothing and snow suits? Go shopping of course! But what do you do when you are on an incredibly limited budget but absolutely have to have a new one because your toddler absolutely will not fit in hers for one more minute? Go shopping consignment store styles. But! What if your standards are set way too high for your budget because of the stroller you got at an incredibly good deal and are only replacing because you have to and not because you want to? You go to a liquidation store for a major retail chain and buy a brand new stroller for the same price as the second hand stroller you bout a year and a half prior!

Now, I am not endorsing Quinny as a stroller maker but our luck with the second hand Buzz model we bought for a fraction of the price was/is a great stroller and I was very sad to have to replace it. I was for serious. I like shopping for new shiny things as much as the next person but we really didn't have the money for a new stroller and the ever so practical mama inside me was really quite happy with the stroller we had. But, Wednesday was just not fitting in it one more second and with snow suit season approaching I just couldn't cram her into that harness one more day.

We were directed to a local liquidation store for Sears (who conveniently sell the Quinny brand) and as luck would have it I found a really nice stroller for just inside our budget. About half that price would have been better but with our needs we knew we would not get one under a hundred dollars even second hand. Our needs being smooth gliding action, good maneuverability, quality construction and compact once collapsed.We paid 125 on sale second hand for the last one. So, this one being 125 brand new was just what we needed.

It is the most compact full size stroller I have ever seen. Collapsing to a mere 27" x 11" x 13"and weighing in at a mere 14lbs it fits inside a large gym bag, which by the way it came with and matching. Serious plus over here. Canadian Dad describes it as an "expensive alternative to a umbrella stroller", and he is half right it is an umbrella stroller but it is a fantastic one and even full price it is 229.00 CDN and I can tell you from experience that is a decent price for a quality stroller.

Ours does not have the single front wheel like most pictured but this stroller really glides nicely and turns on a freakin' dime. We love it. It has so much more room for Wednesday than her last stroller both in strap, bum shelf and foot rest that we are just so happy with this purchase.

It has removable everything for cleaning which is uber awesome. But, as much as it is perfect for shopping in its compactness and maneuverability it is not built for shopping accessory wise. There is no giant accessory basket to hold a diaper bag or even cupholders for your fair trade organically grown coffee in a travel mug made from recycled materials. It does have a little basket underneath big enough to hold a purse and some snacks? I just hang the diaper bag off the back and use it like a basket though, and for the cup holders I bought a Jolly Jumper stroller caddy and that worked awesome for snacks, keys, cups etc.

We took it out for a spin this evening, and it was wonderful. We are talking one handed, no effort pushing. Which is nice because with the last stroller it took some control to keep it riding smoothly. The handles are not telescopic which was a selling feature for the last stroller but they are long enough to be comfortable for me and Ron didn't seem to mind the height of them at all.

I believe that is all I can say about our new toy. Sorry if this post read like an ad, it is not meant to I am just excited about having a shiny new toy...that accidentally matches my jacket. ;)