Best stroller for israel?

chasidisteh

Sun, Jan 10 2010, 12:44 pm

For people who are living in Israel
What kind of stroller do you have.. do you like it wish you had something different to make life in Israel easier and pros and cons of it?

Im moving in a month and I currently own the valco tri mode. I find it bulky and hard to close. looking for something more practical for Jerusalem life.. buses taxes etc....

BeershevaBubby

Sun, Jan 10 2010, 12:51 pm

My single is a Dr Baby Madrid. I like it even though it's not one of the lightweights.

Marion

Sun, Jan 10 2010, 12:57 pm

There's gotta be a thread on this already.

I have a Graco travel system, and a Maclaren TechnoXT. Both are fine.

EvenI

Sun, Jan 10 2010, 1:53 pm

[Long post, but I figure you won't mind, since you want info]

I don't know if there's really one best stroller for Israel, although every year there are different models available. I looked into this as much as I could when I bought a couple of years ago, and I concluded that you have to prioritize your needs and choose the best fit. There was no all round perfect option. It seems that you have to choose between a jogger that glides along effortlessly but might me too big and heavy to go easily into a car, bus or taxi, or something more versatile but not as easy to push. At the time that I bought, none of the strollers I saw had the option of converting to double, but that has changed a bit. If you think you may need a double as well, bear in mind that side by sides take up a lot f space and can be awkward for shop doorways, and even for going through a supermarket checkout. For your valco, you can get a toddler seat I believe, but you may find the stroller to big and heavy.

Whatever you choose absolutely must be able to do stairs, which your Valco might not. It seems to me that everyone in Israel needs their stroller to go up and down stairs.

Two options on the jogger side that seem worth researching are the Baby Jogger, which seems to be relatively light and for which you can get a bassinet and a toddler seat for expansion, and the Phil and Ted, because of it expands to a double, without taking up the space of a double. There is a cheaper Israeli equivalent of the Phil and Ted, made by EasyBaby.

We needed something that does stairs, something that is not too heavy and folds. I wanted something that you could push with one hand and something that you could fold with one hand. But I also have a car and therefore definitely needed a car seat, and I also was expecting a winter baby and thought I needed something that goes totally flat and nicely enclosed for a newborn to sleep in comfortably.

I went for the Peg Perego Pliko P3 that came in a complete package with a bassinet and car seat. It's a good all round versatile stroller. I am not disappointed. I opted to buy it in Israel, because I was concerned that anything bought in chul might not be 100% fixable in Israel if it breaks. I think that is applicable to all strollers. They are cheaper in chu"l, but if they break, they might not be serviceable in Israel. This is how I would say that the Pliko P3 fairs:

Stairs - I take it up and down stairs all the time and it's fine for that, although it almost never goes forward upstairs, which some strollers often do (depending on the size of the particular stairs).

Car - I find it good for putting in a private car, and good that the package included a compatible car car seat, because we needed a car seat anyway. So, no need for a separate snap'n'go.

Taxi - not as easy as a private car, since it's not a one hand fold, so it can be a bit awkward, but it certainly fits in a taxi.

Bus - Again, no one hand fold for very quick and easy folding while holding baby, but it does have a carry handle once folded, so one way to manage is to fold it before and carry it onto the bus by the handle, but that's not so easy - it isn't super light. I once managed to fold it at the same time as carrying my baby, but it was difficult. If you don't plan to take the baby out and fold it, it's like any other stroller, in that you need to get someone to help you carry it on and off the bus. If you're actually using it with the bassinet or the car seat, and you want to go on a bus, then you would have to do it that way. At least it isn't huge. I think the valco is particularly big and maybe not so good for Israel.

One hand push: It has two handles instead of one bar, so this isn't easy. It tends to veer off in one direction or the other. This doesn't bother me too much with one child most of the time, but is a bit awkard if I take the stroller with me and my toddler ends up walking. I think it will be even more awkward when the toddler is always walking and there is anothr baby in the stroller. For rain, I wear a coat with a hood instead of attempting to carry an umbrella while pushing the stroller.

(Of course, there is the advantage of the two handles, in that you can hang shopping bags from the handles, but it's possible to overload the stroller like that and break it. )

Basket underneath: quite roomy

Smooth movement: It doesn't exactly glide along like a jogging stroller. It can be hard work. But, the wheels are bigger than on a lot of non jogging strollers and it isn't the heaviest.

Bassinet: great - used as baby's bed including at night, for first couple of months.

Other features:

- ledge for older child to stand on. Only usable when using as an upright stroller with regular seat fitted and in upright position - I.e. no bassinet or car seat. actually, I'm not sure about the car seat. Maybe you can use it with the car seat. Child can step off in a split second, so it's not a super secure way to travel around with a toddler, but it is a sort of free buggy board.

- diaper bag that clips on to the handles and hangs conveniently.

EvenI

Sun, Jan 10 2010, 1:59 pm

I forgot to mention that one of my considerations was that I knew I wanted a bassinet and a car seat and when I added up the price of a Baby Jogger and a separate bassinet (which they had just introduced at the time) and a car seat, it came to a lot more than the complete peg perego liko p3 package.

chasidisteh

Tue, Apr 06 2010, 9:26 am

I have to give an update. I moved to Israel and ended up selling my valco and buying the city mini and it was the best decision. it is easy to manuever and easy to go on buses. CITY MINI!!!

amother

Wed, Apr 07 2010, 1:19 am

chasidisteh wrote:

I have to give an update. I moved to Israel and ended up selling my valco and buying the city mini and it was the best decision. it is easy to manuever and easy to go on buses. CITY MINI!!!

I brought a city mini double with me. I'm surprised how many I've seen here used by Israelis. Singles and doubles, I guess they are kinda popular? Or I just have a good eye on coming across them. I like my double and wouldn't mind a single in the future ....

BeershevaBubby

Wed, Apr 07 2010, 1:24 am

The City Elite double (regular, not mini) doesn't fit through most Israeli doorways. Friends found that out the hard way.

amother

Wed, Apr 07 2010, 1:56 am

Is there an Israeli equivalent of the citi mini double? I've been debating asking visitng parrnts to bring one vs. looking for an Israeli version vs. going with the double we have but I hate since it's so hard to push.

BeershevaBubby

Wed, Apr 07 2010, 1:58 am

Pretty much anything you buy here in Israel is going to cost much more than anything you can get in the US.

And I have never seen an Israeli version of a City Mini double.

amother

Wed, Apr 07 2010, 1:59 am

amother wrote:

You know you can buy the city mini double here, right?

ray family

Wed, Apr 07 2010, 5:12 am

amother wrote:

You know you can buy the city mini double here, right?

for double the price

amother

Wed, Apr 07 2010, 6:16 am

ray family wrote:

amother wrote:

You know you can buy the city mini double here, right?

for double the price

Really...double...wow! That's like what 1000 shekalim for a double city mini than!?

BeershevaBubby

Wed, Apr 07 2010, 8:27 am

amother wrote:

ray family wrote:

amother wrote:

You know you can buy the city mini double here, right?

for double the price

Really...double...wow! That's like what 1000 shekalim for a double city mini than!?

"Baby Jogger Elite Double" (so I don't think it's even a City Mini double) for 2400NIS http://www.babydeal.co.il/Prod.....D=415

Here are some other doubles I found: http://www.zap.co.il/models.as.....12771

EvenI

Wed, Apr 07 2010, 9:00 am

The flipside of the coin to think about is this: I have friends who bought a Baby Jogger stroller in the States and brought it here. At some point, it needed fixing, and they could not get it fixed in Israel because the parts were not actually identical to the parts on the equivalent model that they sell in Israel (with the same name and appearance). That puts me off buying strollers outside of Israel. Strollers do break, and a broken stroller that can't be fixed is a very expensive stroller! And I don't think this is a phenomenon specific to Baby Jogger. The specs are often subtley different in different countries.

BeershevaBubby

Wed, Apr 07 2010, 9:16 am

EvenI, I've commented on other threads that a big motivation for me buying a Doctor Baby over a Peg was that Dr.B is an Israeli company and getting it fixed would be easy.

EvenI

Wed, Apr 07 2010, 9:33 am

YESHASettler wrote:

EvenI, I've commented on other threads that a big motivation for me buying a Doctor Baby over a Peg was that Dr.B is an Israeli company and getting it fixed would be easy.

Yes, I remember. I wasn't writing this for your benefit. That said, if there is a service center in Israel and you buy the Israeli model, I don't think the stroller has to be from an Israeli company.

I found it quite a simple process to get my Peg fixed here (bought in Israel), and not unreasonably expensive. The key things were that Peg has a site in Israel where they fix strollers and a few stores in Jerusalem (that's where I live) that work with Peg, one of which was willing to send the stroller to the company for me, even though I didn't buy it from them. I could have been scuppered if the companies that work with them had refused to help me, or if no company worked with them. Then, my only option would have been to take it myself up to some moshav somewhere near Netanya where Peg Perego is located, which would have been highly inconvenient. The company I bought from had stopped working with Peg.

torahtots

Tue, Apr 13 2010, 9:48 am

I know this is no longer relevant to OP but thought I'd contribute my 2 cents in case someone else needs the same advice down the line.

One of the best purchases I made was the Snap n Go. I used it for a long time and it is so convenient for the car/taxi.

I bought a Phil & Ted's when my first child was born, keeping in mind that later I could just buy a second seat and it could be a double stroller as well. I really like it in terms of pushing it easily and in terms of its narrowness (it's hard enough to get through on Israeli sidewalks, in doorways and checkout aisles with a single stroller. It's not practical for buses at all - it doesn't fold up small enough, and it's very heavy to shlep once folded. Plus you have to remove the second seat in order to fold it! I usually walk or drive places. If I take a bus or cab I just take my cheap umbrella stroller. I try not to travel by bus or cab with both kids. (My older DD can walk but she's 3.5 and when she sees her brother in the stroller she usually wants to get in too.)

Thank G-d I've never needed major service on it. (I've had it for 3 years.) I have gotten several flat tires, which can be repaired at the local bike shop. I once needed the tires replaced. The small tires for a child's bike fit fine so I got that done at the bike shop as well. I once did need an axle replaced, which I ordered from the website to my parents' in the States. Someone brought it to Israel for me and then the same bike shop was able to replace it for me.

The basket is a good size but not really accessible when you have a child in the second seat. I bought these hooks called Stroll'r Swivel'rs that I can attach to the handlebars and hang things from. I really love them - just have to be careful not to put anything too heavy on them or they can break. (I've never had that problem.) Also, I often don't have two kids in the stroller at once so I can use one seat to hold stuff.

It doesn't have a cup holder or anything so I had to order one from joggingstroller.com, so I guess it adds up when you start buying accessories (you need a special rain cover for it too), but overall I am very happy with my P&T.

Amazon.com

hotcocoa1234

Wed, Nov 27 2019, 3:31 am

Bump

fiji

Wed, Nov 27 2019, 3:36 am

Love love love my city mini gt. I have the single and double. Super easy to push on uneven roads And bump up stairs. Very affordable. The only drawback in my opinion is the single one can tip easily with too much weight on the handlebar.
Allot of my neighbors prefer the uppababy vista but I think city mini gt is just as good for a fraction of the price (uppababy does have a much bigger basket which is obviously a plus if you don’t have a car)