Tight Ride!

My husband and I recently embarked on our first airplane trip with our two toddlers. Very exciting!

My daily stroller is a double-wide which I'm very happy with, but my husband realized it might be hard to get through heavy airport traffic and tourist-filled streets. I've never been interested in owning an umbrella stroller because they seem so flimsy and uncomfortable for both the parent pushing and the child sitting in it. But my husband insisted and I realized he was right. So the search for an umbrella stroller was on.

Many friends have high-end "umbrella strollers" but I knew these were going to be a one-time-use deal. So I wanted something... cheap.

After much searching I found the Cosco Deluxe Comfort Ride Stroller. Here is what I loved:

• It was the only umbrella stroller I found that had a canopy that was actually sturdy and large enough to  protect the kids from the sun.

• It has a reclining position which gave my kids about 3 inches to lean back when they were too tired. At times they sat in the stroller for over an hour and never complained about being uncomfortable. The foot-rest definitely made the the ride more comfortable for them as well.

• I'm a typical mom in that I like to carry the just-in-case stuff; sanitizing hand wipes, water, change of clothes, light sweater and hats. All of this stuff and more fit inside the hanging baskets in these strollers! (Pretty surprising for an umbrella stroller).

• I didn't think the mesh bag hanging from the handles would really hold a water bottle without flipping over but it does, which was nice because it was hot, hot, hot!

• The stroller weighs just under 10 lbs. which is a bit heavy for an umbrella stroller, but I found it really easy to pop open, close and secure.

• The Cosco met our needs -- we were able to get through tight spaces even though the wheels don't maneuver very smoothly.

Is there anything I didn't like? Yes. As I expected, the stroller is uncomfortable for the person pushing it. My husband and I are small - 5'5'' but our backs hurt from leaning over to hold the low and narrow handle bar.  Our vacation was a family trip and all seven adults tried to convince the others to take over the pushing. The only ones who got off easy were my very tall, broad brother and his very tall girlfriend -- it was just too comical to see them hunched over like that!

All in all, I would buy them again. We spent $50 ($25 on each stroller) and were able to zip around slow-walking people, saved ourselves a lot of struggling to maneuver between small entryways and walkways, and felt satisfied that the kids were comfortable.

Product link: (Amazon carries this stroller for $39.99 but we got it at WalMart for $25).
http://www.amazon.com/Cosco-Deluxe-Comfort-Ride-Zambia/dp/B004EWGDHY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310970975&sr=8-1