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Why the Bugaboo Frog really is a Baby-Bargain, January 31, 2006
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Reviewer: lorien_ca from San Francisco Bay Area
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lorien_ca
saw things this way
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Overall Grade
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(10) |
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Pros:
If ever one stroller could do it all, this is it!
Cons:
You guessed it - the price
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I love the Bug. Love, love, love it. Did I say how much I love it? The Bug is the ideal stroller for my "active suburban" lifestyle. I'm a stay at home mom in a busy, suburban city. In my average week, I use the Bug on sidewalks in my neighborhood and downtown, paved and unpaved (dirt) roads and trails, the mall, the grocery store, the pool and a little bit of grass and sand. It is in and out of the car an average of twice a day.We have to keep our cars in our garage, so I knew I would have no room for a 'stable' of strollers to meet all of my different needs. If you want to compare apples to apples, you can't compare the Bug to the best jogger, the best standard or the best umbrella strollers. The Bug is an orange to all of these. As a multi-tasker, it serves many of the functions of each of these REALLY WELL, but it is not better as a jogger than say a Chariot or have storage space galore for the mall like a Savvy or a Metrolite, or have a single hand fold and weigh 7lbs like a Maclaren. The difference is, if I didn't have the Bug, I would own at least three strollers to do what this ONE stroller does for me on a weekly basis - and that's a 'baby-bargain' no matter how you look at it. With the Bug, I can do it all with the one stroller. Here is my list of the most useful and well thought out features:Bassinet: In the beginning, we used the frame with the Snugride adapter for shorter trips and the bassinet for anything longer than a half hour or so. Multi-functional as a travel bed and downstairs bed for the first 4 months. He slept as well there as he did anywhere else - and my DS is not a sleeper, so that says a lot. Bassinet Cover: Unlike the new Cameleon which has a zipper, the Frog cover fits over the frame with elastic, which means you can use it as a foot-muff even once you convert to the seat. It’s a great place to store a few toys, blanket and a cell phone and provides a little extra warmth for DS's feet in our mild winters. As a side note, the fabric of the whole thing washes up great. Seat: We switched to the standard seat at about 4.5 months and it is _so_ versatile for us. He naps in the fully reclined position, and uses the 45ish degree recline and upright positions for riding. The upright also comes in handy as a high-chair on the go. It is well padded and he doesn’t slump in it like I see in so many other strollers. Reversible seating: I admit it, I am a selfish Mama who keeps her baby facing her more often than not. I love being able to see him and talk to him and tell him about what we are doing and seeing. Now that he is 8 mos, he is spending more time in the traditional 'face the world' direction - which he loves. As long as you listen for the 'double click' to make sure the seat is secure, it is easy to flip around, even with the baby in it. Reversible handle: I consider this different than reversible seating because it actually reverses which wheels are in front. Most of the time, you push it with the little wheels leading - which steers on a dime. But sometimes, you need the clearance the big wheels up front can provide (we’ve used it in snow, sand, grass and mud). The Bug obviously loses steering maneuverability with the big wheels in front, but sometimes it's really worth the trade off. The other great thing about the reversible handle is being able to flip it out of the way when you are stationary (i.e. pulling the stroller up to a table in a restaurant) without having the push handle sticking out into the aisle getting bumped all night. Front suspension: I get comments all the time from my walking buddies about how comfortable he looks and how well he stays asleep even over rough terrain compared to their babies. If your primary use will be sidewalks and mall crawling, you won't miss it and would probably be well served by the new knock offs (I'coo and Fisher Price I think??) that don't appear to have this feature. If you do a lot of trail walking like we do, you will adore the smooth ride for the baby and be so thankful for the lack of jarring for you pushing it too!!!Rear air tires and Steering: If you've pushed an air tire stroller and a plastic wheel stroller - then you already know. This stroller really does push, turn and track one handed.Two part fold: With this listed as one of the most frequent draw backs to this stroller you must think I'm crazy, but really, I consider this an advantage. The seat part "nests" into the frame part. In my car (X3 - small to midsize SUV) I can put the stroller in upright at an angle, braced against the back seat and then nest the seat into the frame. That way, the stroller only takes up 1/2 of my cargo area - leaving plenty of space for packages, etc. I can't get my friend's BOB Revolution (too wide) or a Quattro (too long) into my car this way - and they are both single folds. Just as a side note, I can be packed up and into my car just as fast as my single-folding friends. Maybe when I am dealing with a toddler, I'll miss the one hand fold that some strollers have, but not yet. I am neutral about the storage area. I have never found it to be a problem except when power shopping at the mall during the holidays, and then no one you see seems to have enough storage space for all the bags and packages :). The "basket" is really a stuff sack (like for a sleeping bag) - and as such, it really is quite deceptive as to how much you can fit in it. Between the basket underneath and a pair of bag clips on the handle bar, I have never had a shortage outside of the holidays. Wanna see a really small basket -check out the shoe box under the I'coo clone :). Here are the features I wish the Bug had: A parent cup holder - I solved this with a Valco Universal cup holder mounted opposite from the brake. If you play with the placement a little, you can have it on the inside where you can still get to the folding mechanism without interfering with the fold. A child 'snack tray' - I haven't really solved this yet - but so far, we've been fine with just link-a-doing a sippy cup onto the harness. I think I may be able to do this with a snack trap later this month too, since he's just learning how to retrieve things from it. In summary, if you lead the 'active suburban' lifestyle like we do, the Bug may be the one stroller that has a shot at 'doing it all.' If you have room for a stable (multiple strollers) this may not be as functional for you as spending the same money on multiple strollers that are optimally suited to each of your needs. If your primary use will be mall crawling and sidewalk walking, this may not be worth the price tag. If you live in a big city where you may need to be able to carry the stroller and the baby at the same time (i.e. up and down two flights of stairs to public transportation, or in and out of a cab with the meter running), this is probably not the stroller for you. If you will be using it indoors and out, even and uneven terrain, in and out of a car in a standard amount of time, and don't have room for multiple strollers, this may be exactly what you are looking for. This stroller is a multi-tasker - and 'orange ya glad' it is ideally suited as such.
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