Stroller Research

Hi there, Just wanted to let you know I love my Inglesina. Best money I ever spent. Using it for my second child now. It is well made. I can open and close it with one hand and it cleans up really well. My husband is tall ( 6.7) and even he likes it.

My stroller..after much deliberation and searching over both quality and price is a |Cossatto one.. it's not black!! it's colour is blueberry and pink (as I have a girl) it is comfortable, lightweight, very easy to open and close, sturdy, medium chunky wheels, fits nicely in my boot, high comfy grip handles, 3 position backrest, 5 point harness, free raincover, leg rest 2 positions, foot rest, sturdy retractable and removeable hood.. and it cost £59.99 from eBay from the shop 'online4babies' and this was the cheapest good quality stroller I could find. There are cheaper ones but they are more like a deckchair/dolls pushchair on flimsy silly wheels.

I have a MaClaren Triumph and its great. Very sturdy, I used it all the time for my son and now his sister is using it. It is solid and not wobbly/flimsy and is compact and easy to use anywhere. I'm sure the 2 you are looking at would be the same.

I have a volo, love it for shopping, but I also have an all-terrain stroller that I use for walks (a phil and teds). Now that I have two kids, I will be using my phil and ted all the time --love it, btw. beyond clever.

I have a XLR & love it. As someone else has already pointed out there are huge differences between the volo & xlr. The best feature for me is that it can accommodate a car seat & still be used for a child up to 65 lbs. I don't use it for any sort of exercising. I did get an inexpensive jogging stroller from target that I have also been very happy with (mainly because my expectations weren't real high). Down side of xlr is no tray. I could see that as a possible issue but it's pretty easy to improvise. I also did an extensive amount of research before deciding on the xlr.

I also have the Phil and Teds and love it! I had the Bugaboo, until I had my second in January and needed a double. Phil and Teds can be used as a single or double, which is nice. This stroller is great for all-terrain, especially if you live in the city. And it breaks down pretty easily and fits well in a trunk.
We also have the Maclaren Triumph and I highly recommend this one too. I looked at the Volo originally, mostly because of the low cost. I ended up getting the Triumph on Ebay new (Still in the box) for the same price that I would have gotten the Volo in the store. The recline option was what got me to upgrade from the Volo to the Triumph and I am glad that I did.
Hope this helps!

We have the Maclaren Quest Mod - a little different from the two you are looking at, but more similar to the Techno XLR. I would chose the Techno XLR because it has 4 seat positions and the Volo does not. It is so handy to be able to lay them back when they fall asleep.
We love, love, love Maclaren!

I love both maclaren and pliko. (have both)
There is a huge difference between XLR and VOLO. XLR is a laxury stroller for both parents and a child(reclines for naps, wonderful sun canopy, leg extender for babies), car seat can also be snapped in. Now it is not too heavy, but it is not as light as Volo. Volo is very light, very compact, however seat does not recline at all, and sun canopy is not that good(we had one and it worked for our 4 year old for a run to the mall or something.......but not every day when kids were babies) The only downfall for XLR it does not have a tray in the front(my kids loved having their snacks/cups/toys in the tray in front of them. However they sell one on ebay now that fits all maclaren strollers(it's $30 though)
The only difference between pliko and p switch is that you can turn the seat towards u in the switch. It's great for babies but by the time my kids could sit up they wanted to see the "world" .
Pliko is wonderful, you can use a car seat with it, it's plush and comfy, great sun protection, great recline for naps,it has leg extender, handles extend too for taller parents(my hubby is 6'4 so he loved that:)), it has a very convenient one hand compact fold and has cup holders for parents and a tray for kids!!!!!!!! It also has a little step in the back where older kids can catch a ride(can be useful in the future:))And comes with rain cover(i think) The best part we found ours in great cond, only couple years old for under $100 on craigslist.
However I still like jogging stroller for powerwalking, but we too found ours on craigslist(dreamer design is my fav:))

If you are considering a second child, I think the Phil and Ted's is an excellent option. We got the P&T Vibe when my son was a little under a year and we have used it as our primary single stroller for a year and a half now and love it. Baby #2 is due early April and we are excited about being able to use it as a double stroller now. There are a couple other nice double strollers we like out there, but we are really happy that we are getting our money's worth out of this one. It folds up nice, and although we havent traveled with it, I know they sell a special bag to put it in for travel. I have also seen good prices on these on craigslist/ebay ect.

The only thing i will say about the Maclarens that I have seen (but I dont haver personal experience in using them) is that if you have a taller child, they seem kind of small in comparison. My friends daughter is really tall and at 2yrs old would be kind of uncomfortable in the maclaren.

Good luck! Stroller shopping is so hard!

Hi, my son is the exact same age, and we actually just bought the new strollers,this past weekend ( did the snap and go as well). We just bought the Maclaren Quest, does recline and has a foot extender, it's a little nicer than the volo, extra padding, sun shield, and up to 65lbs. We also got a Phil and Ted's Sport, I've only used the phil and ted's so far, ( the maclaren had to be shipped to us) and it was a smooth ride and my little guy seemed pretty comfy. I researched them both and chose the phil and ted's cause of being able to add the second seat ( when that time comes) and everybody I knew recommended the Maclaren. I see you are in Chicago as well, we went out to Buy Buy Baby in Downer's Grove and got our Phil and Ted's as a floor model for a great deal. Good luck.

I have the BOB (and love it) but I don't think it would be economical on domestic and international travel. Maybe try the Baby Jogger City Mini.....I've heard good things.

We have the MacLaren Volo AND the Peg P3...with our first we used the P3 more, but once out of the baby carrier, we use the MacLaren more. For travel, it's a cinch. I can fold it with one hand and have the kid in my other arm and board a bus, etc. Don't think it would be so easy w/the Peg. MacLaren's about 9 pounds and I think the Peg is closer to 20? The only downside is that the Volo doesn't recline. That doesn't really stop us; my kids only fall asleep when they're really tired whether they are reclined or not so I truly haven't missed it. We only use the Peg now when we take a stroller for both kids.