Is convenience always better?

When you travel you always try to make it convenient for yourself.  Some of the things that I have purchased over the years to make travel convenient include a blow up neck pillow, a blow up cushioned seat, smart tablets, versatile clothing, RFID blocking purse, belt with hidden compartment for money and credit cards, foldable shoes, various pieces of luggage and bags, etc.  Some of these items were amazing and others were a complete waste of money.   Now that I have two little kids to travel with, traveling seems like a huge task!  Anything I can do to make it more convenient on myself and my husband, I will pay for it!

 

If you have or had little ones, you remember how getting through an airport, an amusement park, or even getting on a bus at Disney was a difficult task but the one thing that you bring for convenience is a stroller.  Nowadays, there are some many strollers on the market and when you find that one you like, you take it everywhere with you including anywhere you travel.  The problem with most strollers are that they are beasts!  Even folded over they are bulky and weigh over 20 pounds.  Now, if you have ever been to Disney then you know that the buses to take you to and from your resort are crowded with people, but most of the space taken up is by strollers.  Those people with older children are the envy of the bus, and those of us with our beast of a stroller just give each other the sympathy nod.  Same holds true when you are folding the beast at the end of the runway before getting on a plane. 

 

Well, lucky for us we are at that stage with our kids where they don’t really need a stroller, but it is still a good idea to bring one along, especially for the toddler who likes to run away from us in the busy airport.  With so many trips coming up this year I didn’t want to buy another stroller, but our umbrella stroller broke on our last trip.  Out to the baby store we went, looking to pick up another umbrella stroller but instead we were intrigued by a new stroller on the market.  Weighing in at 9 pounds and folding up to the size of large book, how could I not resist checking out this stroller. I had a huge smile on face at the thought of how this would make my life so convenient on our upcoming trips!

 

The lady at the store, Kathy who needs to be mentioned for having such patience, got out the box from the storage area in the back.  Excited to see the product first hand as she had only seen the video of how to use, she came down the aisle with a huge smile on her face.  The box for the stroller was the same size of the box that my laptop computer came in.  All excited, we started to gather a crowd of employees who also wanted to see the world’s smallest folded stroller.  Kathy opens the box that says no assembly required, and takes it out of the bag.  As she says watch this, she tries to open it as she had seen in the video, nothing happens.  She tries again, and nothing.  Another employee takes the stroller and tries to open it, nothing.  At this point, we have about 8 employees and 3 customers all around this book size, folded up stroller and none of us can figure out how to open it.  My excitement for a stroller with such convenience has turned into frustration and concern about whether I would be able to figure out how to fold this stroller quickly.  After losing several employees, the original Kathy, myself, my husband, and two other employees had figured it out after 25 minutes!  Even though we watched the video several times, it took us 25 minutes to figure it out.  After getting it open, I was disappointed by the lack of a sun screen/visor to protect a child and the stability of the stroller.  I also did not like that the seat did not recline for the child.    If you are interested in finding out which stroller I am talking about I have conveniently hyperlinked the video.  You will be impressed, just like I was. Click Here for Video

 

I am impressed by this stroller company in general.  They have several one touch foldable, light-weight strollers.  We did purchase the stroller called the Qbit and it folds up small enough to go into bag that is provided by the company, and is around 15 pounds.  Both kids have found it very comfortable to be in and me and my husband have found it very easy and convenient for all of our travel needs.  I look forward to using it in a few weeks on our next trip.  In the meantime, I am definitely going to be using it around town to check out the stability. 

 

 

 

So next time you go to purchase that travel gadget that you will think will make your life so much more convenient, weigh the options, definitely try it out, and check for durability.  If it breaks during your trip, then it won’t be so convenient.

 

 

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