At the beginning, we did not buy any stroller because my sis in-law wanted us to use her son's stroller. It was a very old one. Bébé Comfort (french famous brand for baby products) travel system stroller, bought in 1994. We thought, okay, we would use it for a while, to see how it was going, then if we found it was not suitable for us, we could buy another one.
And it turned to be true. We couldn't use it. The stroller was so heavy for me. The wheels could not turn right or left. I believed, that stroller would not make my day easy especially during my times in picking my daughter up from school. Ten days after giving birth, I had to start my routine, taking my girl from school.
At that time, our lovely friends have already bought us a MacLaren Triumph stroller which could be used for 6-mo babies (it's written starting 3 mo, I guess. But I didn't think it was okay for my baby). So, we thought, buying another stroller would be a waste of money. Then we decided to buy a carrier instead. Manduca baby carrier. I used it regularly for 7 months. No complain.
When our baby was 6 months old, we started to use the MacLaren Triumph. It was so perfect for our days in our city, Lyon. Perfect, perfect... Light and slim. Just one thing, sometimes it was not easy for my baby in putting her head straight while sleeping.
We did not want to buy another one even though I caught my eyes on Bébé Comfort Loola travel system (I adored the baby car seat) and Stokke Xplory (so tall and macho, love it!). We knew additional stroller would not be good for our budget and our little place. We did not need it so much either.
When we had a little trip to Lucerne, Switzerland, we saw some nice strollers on the streets. They looked comfortable for travelling. The babies could sleep very well while laying down in the strollers and they were not disturbed by the terrain (the old part of Lucerne city is similar with Vieux Lyon: stone roads). My husband and I were having the same thought: It would be nice to have a bigger and more comfortable stroller just for travelling. But it was just a thought.
Last summer, we moved to another city. It was quite complicated because we only had limited time between the assignment letter from the office, the moving and our summer holidays to Indonesia. We focussed more on things that were urgent and important, at least, for that moment. We knew Orléans was colder than Lyon. But we did not realize that it would have much snow, and, our MacLaren stroller could not move smoothly on it.
So, bang! I was in a big, urgent need for a new stroller. One that could be suitable for snow terrain.
Budget was always in our consideration. Trying to spend money smartly, I decided not to choose Stokke Xplory nor Bugaboo. Those two are recommended for snow terrain. But those two are too expensive. Especially for a second stroller which we will not use regularly.
At first, considering to buy a brand new Graco Symbio with my saving (thank's to Jamsostek). The price is within my budget. But then, "Hey, why do we have to buy a new one for a second stroller? No!".
Okay then. No was the answer.
After browsing about stroller brands & types for snow-winter, and searching in my fave secondhand online market, Leboncoin, I found this Jané Powertrack 360°. This model is not produced anymore, but Jané has one similar model, Jané Slalom Pro. And there is another Spanish company that has a similar one too, Nurse Dakar.
Now, we have been using this Jané Powertrack for a week. We love it! No. I love it! But I should pay more attention on the weight while folded, and the size while being inside the lift. Quite bulky mais comfortable for my baby.
Hope this is enough. I don't like to pull out my hair again just because of strollers. Enough.
Photo is from Babycentre.co.uk.
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