At first glance, I knew nothing about this stroller, but I knew from the looks of it, I would not want to own it. . .I thought it was terribly ugly. . . boy was I wrong!
I convinced my husband that we should try it out because it was so versatile. We paid for it sight unseen and waited for it to arrive.
Finally, it came!! I was SO excited to put it together, I had it **almost** done by the time my husband got home from work.
Before even putting a wheel on it, I noticed the brightness of the color. . .orange. It was so bright and to me beautiful! I love all of the color choices, as I think they have one to suit any taste.
The instructions were fairly difficult to read. . . I have since seen the CD-ROM now offered, and I do think this helps tremendosly with assembly. If you do not get one (which you should because they come standard now), I would call Bugaboo and see if you could get one!
The inital assembly was fairly easy, but at one point I was trying to get the seat fabric on and I just could not. There is one silver peg on each side of the frame that are supposed to pull the seat fabric's straps and put it through holes on each side. No matter how hard I pulled we couldnt' get it on. As soon as my husband got home, he tried. We tried for an hour, then realized that it has a teeny tiny bit of give and that if you attach one side, then press down on the frame while someone attaches the strap it will work. This was the hardest part of putting together my Frog.
The two part fold can be bothersome to some, but I have never had a problem with it. I would think if you lived in an area where public transportation or cab riding is daily life, you may want to have a backup storller. I have never had issue with it, as it really doesn't take as long to fold as other strollers I have had in the past.
The stroller is suprisingly light weight. It is 16 pounds completely assembled.
I have heard some say that seat is too short. I have not had this problem yet as my daughter is mostly below average in height and weight. I do know that the canopy is eaisly removeable should you need to do so.
The stroller has been so versitile, I have never felt the need to use another. I used it in 2 wheel mode this summer at the beach, I used it on a trail hike and I use it day to day and I have never once seen a difference in the push. Each ride was just as smooth as the next.
In this stroller, the whole seat reclines, not just the back like other strollers. This is the only stroller my child has slept in while out. The full recline means that she is comfortable and laying as if she were in her very own bed.
When out to eat, we simply remove the napper bar, and store it in the under carriage bag, push the handle all the way to the floor, and pull her right up to the table, eliminating the need for a restaurant high chair. When putting the handle on the floor, you pull up on two pegs on each side of the chassis and it will lower. The handle will then sit on the floor. BE AWARE: It is long so it is sure to hit feet! I normally just put my feet between the handle. The other thing that you can do is simply flip the handle bar back, once again using the pegs on the chassis, and leave it upright yet out of the way.
The adjustable handle bar works so that you can face baby or baby face the world, also two small swivel wheels work best in the front, while the two air filled fixed tires work best on back. You will find it much eaiser to turn this way. If you have baby facing you with the swivel wheels in front, and then baby is getting restless, simply flip the handle bar by pulling up on two small pegs on each side the handle bar/chassis and suddenly baby is facing the world. . .but the large fixed wheels are now in front. No problem! You can also remove the seat and turn it around. I never do this with my child in it, so I take her out and turn the seat around. CAUTION: Listen for the double clicks each time you put the bassinett or seat on, then give it slight tug. This way you will know that your seat on snapped on securely.
The accessories are quite pricey but just as good for the money.
The under carriage bag can sometimes be a pain to access, but to solve this I used the bag holder sets. Bag holder sets are two plastic pieces that clip on each side of the handle bar. You can then use these to hang shopping bags from. They retail for about $16.95 and will hold up to 5 pounds. Just make sure bag are evenly distributed so that you don't get too much weight on one side or the other. I put all of my bags on these when out shopping.
For diaper bags, I either use my Bugaboo diaper bag, which will velcro directly onto the chassis or another bag that has the same features. The Bugaboo diaper bag has 4 velcro straps. Two on each side. At the bottom are two longer ones that loop around the middle of the handle bar then velcro on, on the top, two shorter ones that loop around the handle bar. When not being used this way, it will work as a backpack. Backpack straps are tucked away in their own pockets until ready to use. When using the stroller in backpack mode, the velcro straps also have their own pockets. There is a removeable cell phone holder on this diaper bag as well. It velcro's on the side when in clip on mode, but then also velros to the backpack strap when use that way.
The wheel board has been fantastic for my older child. When not in use, we can clip it up and it stays out of the way, but when it is in use, it's just as easy to use the stroller than without.
The parasol gives the stroller a "cute" touch. The adjustable arm helps to block the sun from the baby. The parasol comes clips onto the napper bar and you can adjust it to keep the sun out of baby's face. It retails for $39.95 and comes in 5 different colors, so there is sure to be one that suits your needs.
For the price, I feel I can use this stroller over and over again. Well worth every penny!
Oompa Toys
Comfort1st.com
