If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you may remember that a long time ago, I
ordered a new stroller and had it delivered to my parents in the states. I desperately needed the upgrade from my Maclaren. It wasn't that my Maclaren stroller was bad; its small little wheels just didn't handle cobblestones very well.
Sadly, due to my crazy pregnancy, I wasn't able to get my hands on my spanking new stroller until my recent trip home. But I couldn't wait to see it. My new, beautiful, red stroller. Ahhhhh. I love strollers. But I digress, no need to bore you with my stroller obsession.
Anyway, here is my long overdue stroller review.
I ordered my stroller from www.strollerdepot.com. In red. So imagine my surprise when I opened the box marked "red" and found my new black Phil & Ted's Dash stroller.
Huh.
But a little color mix up wasn't going to stop me. I had waited
months to get this bad boy. It didn't matter that the stroller was not the fantastic red I had pictured on the flight over. And it didn't matter that I had just arrived from the airport way past 10 pm and I was still on Swiss time, six hours ahead of that. Noooo, I needed that sucker put together and I needed it now.
So I put it together with a little help from a not so happy Brian.
One we put it together I stood in front of it.
Huh.
My first impression was not good. The double seat didn't look very sturdy. The newborn area didn't look very big. And the wheels weren't blown up yet so it didn't move very well.
I started talking aloud, voicing my displeasure and uttering the dreaded words, "I'm not so sure this is the stroller for us."
Brian, having had enough of this nonsense so late at night, said good night adding "We are not buying another stroller. Ever." And off to bed he went.
Exhausted and disappointed, I went to bed as well.
We woke up pretty early the next morning, ready to tackle our favorite Sunday morning activity, the Baltimore Farmer's Market.
We blew up the tires for the Dash, folded it up, and took it with us. I was anxious to test drive it.
And this is when I fell in love.
The Dash pushes like a dream. It moves very easily and takes bumps and curbs like a champ. We also noticed moms checking my new stroller out. Who wouldn't? The Phil & Ted's strollers are snazzy. Plus, you get the newborn surprise from the back.
I continued to use the stroller during our trip and was sold. I love it. It has solved every one of my stroller issues. It is narrow so can easily fit through doors (and narrow train doors in Switzerland). It pushes easily and takes the cobblestones, bumps, etc very well. The hand brake, while tricky at times, isn't as bad as the foot brake was in the store. And Marion enjoys "sitting on Betti." Don't worry, we've had a discussion that this is to only happen while riding in the stroller.
Of course, no stroller is perfect (sadly). So here are the improvements I would make to the Dash:
1. When the box is marked red, include a red stroller. Although this isn't that big of a deal, I have quickly learned that the black/gray hides dirt pretty well.
2. A zipper on the rain and sun covers. Passing something to Marion is rather difficult because there isn't an "access door" for lack of a better word.
3. A sturdier double seat. It seems like the seat is becoming stretched somehow by Marion climbing into and out of it. And she is well within the weight limits for the seat. Very odd.
4. A sturdier support for when the seat is in the newborn position. The seat always looks lower on either side of the support when Betti is lying in the seat.
5. A stronger hand brake. The hand brake becomes difficult to use when it is not in the correct position. However, when you have the hangbag in place, the handle tends to move a bit out of position. This makes the pushing the button harder. It can be done, it just takes a bit of maneuvering. Or you can take the hangbag off.
6. The sunshade is practically useless. It is pretty tiny and narrow- Marion kept hitting her head on it so I took it off. But then, after returning to Zurich, I realized that I needed the sunshade to correctly fit my sun and rain covers. Oops. So maybe not completely useless, but mostly.
So there are my cons. I'll let you know if I have more but I doubt it. Overall, this stroller has been fantastic. It allows me to get around easily; I can take it with me on the trains and shopping around small European stores and it pushes over the cobblestones with ease. Really, that is what I wanted. And I got it! So I'm pretty happy with this purchase. And I hope my review will help anyone else out there who may be on the stroller fence. Happy shopping!
*this is the best picture i have right now. the rain cover does not fit correctly because i forgot the sunshade in baltimore. but it still gets the job done!
