The Holy Grail of Strollers

I'm officially a proud owner of a Joovy Double Stroller.  Double strollers are literally in the same category as trying to find the Holy Grail.  I did not purchase the stroller new and found it on craigslist instead.  I had already purchased the whole entire Britax travel system for my daughter and with another baby on the way in a few months, I needed a double.  So the search for the double started and it was a grueling kind of search.  I had looked at City Select strollers because Moms had raved about them.  They looked pretty amazing and the most appealing thing about these strollers is you can customize the stroller into 16 different combinations.  So if the kids are fighting, you can face them away from each other!

Why didn't I go with the City Select Double?  Well the stroller is a hefty 650 dollar price tag from Amazon.  I believe Amazon has the best deal on it too.  I did not think the City Select would be compatible with my Britax B-Safe car seat either.  The other high end strollers such as Peg Perego had the same problem and would not adapt to my car seat.  So I looked at Baby Trend and actually brought my car seat along with me to the store and the sales person was absolutely amazing in helping us see if it would fit.  I was hoping it would work, but nope!  The car seat sat crooked because of the Britax' click n go system. 

You might wonder why I just did not buy another Britax stroller.  I own the agile and if I had known I was going to have two close in age about two years ago, I would have purchased the Britax B-Ready stroller instead.  The B-Ready allows for an extra seat to be added to the stroller.  Now I do like my Britax Agile stroller, but the problem with Britax strollers is they recline too much.  There is only so much you can tighten the back strap to have your child sit straight.  I did read where a guy managed to set it up so the seat came forward more, but I'm not that savvy nor do I have the time to play with it.  My daughter wants to sit straight up and both the Britax strollers reclined too much for her.  I asked another Mom today at a store today and she agreed her daughter was not a fan of the lazy boy action.  The price tag on the B-Ready was in the 350 range and that does not even include the second seat.  

Most of the other strollers such as the Chico, the Eddie Bauer, and Phil and Ted did not work with the Britax car seat.  I am not a huge fan of the Chico brand either.  Hubby worked at a baby store when he was a teenager and they came back all the time.  I always see them in the consignment stores and I get the feel they are more about selling quantity over quality when it comes to this brand.  Thinking of quality, the BOB stroller is an amazing little stroller.  Okay let me rephrase that, the BOB stroller is a MONSTROSITY.  Yes, it takes the Britax B-Safe beautifully, but its like driving a double wide.  

Therefore, my quest for the ultimate stroller continued and I believe I asked every friend what double they used.  I felt as if I was stalking the Mommy Double strollers when I was out and about.  I researched the best double strollers and many were the double wides I was not interested in.  Finally, I came across Joovy one evening and that is where I began to ponder if my car seat would fit it.  I was not about to blindly buy one and hope and pray it would work.  I thought the Baby Trend would and I saw what happened there.  I could not find them in stores nor could I glean any information online from websites if the B-Safe would fit 100 percent guaranteed.  I tried it out on a used Joovy stroller and my fears were immediately put to rest.  However, the stroller was incredibly long in length due to it being a triple stroller.  I did not think it would even fit in my trunk and decided against buying it.  

Joovy does not make just one stroller though and they all look identical in some fashion.  I was not sure if the Sit and Stand would when I went to look at it today, but it did.  It is an older version of the current one Joovy is selling and it was in great shape with the additional seat being sold with it.  I believe it is smaller than the regular caboose Joovy sells and since they are not sold in stores, it is hard to compare.  Joovy seems to make a great quality stroller and I am extremely happy with my purchase.  I wondered if the second seat would fold easily or if I had to pull it out when folding it and sure enough it folded right along the original seat.  The nice thing is it is about the same size as my single Britax Agile stroller folded in my trunk and that is a definite plus.  I promise to load a better picture of the joovy in action with both tots sitting in it.

Along with the second seat with Joovy sells for $70 dollars, the parent cup holder, infant adaptor, and infant strap was included with the Joovy I purchased today.  I found it on craigslist for a total of $150 which is a great deal and the Mom I bought it from was pretty amazing too.  She said I emailed first and allowed me to see the stroller first before letting anyone else review it.  She even gave me a Mommy hook that she no longer needed.  So the hours of scouring the internet came to fruition and the best part is my daughter loves the upright seating Joovy seems to have perfected.  Now I would love to see the difference between the ultralight versions of Joovy, but three pounds difference to me did not seem worth the cost of the lighter stroller.  My one cat weighs more than that!  

If you are a Britax fan and not in love with their strollers then check out the joovy strollers.  I guarantee you that you will not be disappointed.  The joovy strollers seem to fit in doorways easily which is a definite plus for me.  I feel a little like Sir Gawain when he found the Holy Grail for Arthur.  Isn't that what Mommies all over the world try to achieve?  Perfection and the saving of our lives?  Okay so I had to reference that!!!