My husband wanted to get our son a better stroller. However, most comfortable and better strollers are expensive. I told my husband that we can just wait until our son’s cheap, simple stroller breaks before buying a better one. But he didn’t want to wait so we went to REI store in Berkeley to buy a BOB stroller. REI was having a sale on their new BOB models. Even though it was on sale, it was still expensive. Plus, the cup holder and tray accessories are sold separately. We bought the cup holder but the tray won’t be available until June or July.
My husband asked me if I knew what BOB stands for. I said ‘Boy Oh Boy’? Of course that wasn’t it. It stands for Beast Of Burden.
BOB stroller is much easier to maneuver than Nathan’s simple stroller that we bought from China. With the old stroller, I have to use both hands to turn the wheels. With the BOB stroller, I am actually able to turn the front wheel with one finger. 🙂
Unlike the old stroller, BOB has a pouch at the bottom for storing items as well as pockets on both sides of the seat which can be used to store some of Nathan’s little toys. Since we bought the cup holder accessory for the BOB stroller, I can now keep Nathan’s sippy cup within reach instead of taking it in and out of his baby bag all the time. Nathan’s old stroller doesn’t have a built-in cup holder. I doubt you can even buy a cup holder accessory for it. There is no place to even put a cup holder in that simple stroller.
The only thing I don’t like about the BOB stroller is the weight. According to some website, it weighs about 80 lbs! So lifting the BOB stroller into and out of the SUV is really challenging for me. With the old simple stroller, I had no problems taking it in/out of the car. The BOB stroller may be heavier than the old stroller, but it is actually easy to push or pull without much effort.
Another good feature of the BOB stroller is that the cover provides a good shade from the sun. The cover can be set to half or full coverage. The old stroller has a cover but it doesn’t provide any shade at all. The BOB cover has a clear plastic cover at the top. So if I want to see what Nathan is doing while the cover is open, I lift this flap at the top to expose the clear plastic cover.
The old stroller has a hard plastic handle. For some reason, after pushing Nathan in his old stroller for a long while, my hands hurt. Also, since the old stroller has no suspension, I felt a lot of vibrations on the handles. So after I take my hand out from it, my fingers shake. On the other hand, the BOB stroller has some type of padding on the handle which gives me a more comfortable grip on the handle. Plus the BOB stroller has a pretty good suspension.
Nathan’s simple stroller (picture taken in China. He was 13 months old.)
His new BOB stroller
I can fit in it as well. 🙂
