travel system advice please

[Jewels]

A lady at mom husbands work is having a baby and is going to be coming to me to learn how to use her stroller and car seat.

The problem is (just by my perference) is that it is an evenflo. I am not a big fan of these strollers and least of a fan of the car seat (because of the lack of up front adjust). Myself I would go with a graco safe seat/snugride and a stroller.

What does everyone else prefer? (Remember i'm in Canada)

[mominabigtruck]

Honestly, I think evenflo strollers hold up alot better then graco, unless you get top of the line like the quattro tour. I have a quattro tour and everytime I'm out people ask me about it because they just don't sell them around here. I do like the graco carseats better though, I had an evenflo one for my last baby and I had a really hard time adjusting it. I think the graco seats are alot more user friendly.

[SusanMae]

Remember that the handle MUST be down for the evenflo seats and they need 1.5 inch clearance from the handle to the back of the front seat.

If she argues with you, get out the manual---doesn't have it, I bet you can find it online.

Don't forget that seats expire 6 yrs from their "birthday." So maybe that will get you out of using the car seat.

Susan

[Morganthe]

Mind you, this was 3 1/2 years ago in car seat years (whole different generation ), I had an Evenflo Infant seat /stroller system. Since Graco & Evenflo were running neck and neck in features. 5pt harness was thought a breakthrough option. 3pts were very popular. Hated them

I liked how the evenflo fit my daughter's shape better and more securely. She sat easier in it as a 5lb preemie than a Graco. As far as the strollers, hands down, Evenflo had the better stroller for a tall person. 6'3 dh could push it without breaking his back bending over to reach then handle. Graco's were too short. I just tried out the new style of Graco stroller, as tall as it is now, it is still shorter than the Evenflo. My feet, sad to say, smacked the wheels as I walk.
The only thing I found annoying was the "handle extension" for one handed steering. It was just in the way. If they had left it out, made it a single bar across, one handed steering would have been just as simple.

I liked the system for as long as my daughter fit comfortably in the carseat. I preferred carrying her out of her seat due to her weight around 9months, so we switched to the rfing Triumph. Lugging around 18lbs with one hand when I didn't use the stroller was just too much weight. Besides, she wanted up & to see the world by then. Laying in her carseat or sitting in her stroller was much too passive for her personality. That's when she started being carried on our backs.

I used the stroller for 2 weeks, decided that I wanted a stroller that was more cobble stone friendly & less plasticky. I sold the entire system (carseat, 2 bases, stroller, instructions) at the Homburg Floh Markt for 120 euros to a lovely French couple. I was pleased since it had cost me around $200 and the sale equalled about $150. 9 months of use =$50 and daughter loved it. So I have fond memories of the entire experience.

I don't know what Evenflos are like today, but back then, it was much more superior than what I could get from Graco through the AAFES exchange system. I know that Graco infant seats go to 30lbs now, but I think I still would have switched her over at the same time to a combo rf/ff regardless of the weight limits. I wouldn't be able to carry it after 18-19lbs anyway. Once we switched to the larger permanent seat, it was easier to get her in to and out of it while inside the car than when I used the infant seat in a similar fashion.

jme & a positive note for Evenflo
good luck
M

[Jewels]

So would you go with a graco seat and a stroller that is a different brand? Or would you go for a graco system (what is the mosaic like?)? Or even something different yet?

For myself if money wasn't the option I would get a p3 or a maclaren with a safeseat. But it isn't for me and we live in a very small town and people around here like to buy the cheapest there is. I would like to see her with a good car seat since it is a safety issue!

Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks

[lovinwaves]

Julie,
I loved my Graco Quattro Tour system.

[Morganthe]

Originally Posted by Jewels

So would you go with a graco seat and a stroller that is a different brand? Or would you go for a graco system (what is the mosaic like?)? Or even something different yet?

For myself if money wasn't the option I would get a p3 or a maclaren with a safeseat. But it isn't for me and we live in a very small town and people around here like to buy the cheapest there is. I would like to see her with a good car seat since it is a safety issue!

Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks

I just wrote a long post and then realized I completely mis-understood your OP. I thought she was giving you a system for YOUR baby

Is she happy with what she has? Does she feel safely comfortable using it? Is it a brand new purchase for her or is it used? If it's brand new, and you don't like it, will she return it? If it's used, what's the age and history of it?

I'm pretty sure you can use a Graco car seat on an Evenflo stroler. Just check with the manufacturer first.
http://www.graco.com
http://www.evenflo.com
has all of the stock online if you want to see picts.

You can always do a search at Google for 'Carseats Strollers Canada'
I found a lot of links to Canadian stores and US stores that will ship to Canada.
http://www.bambinoparadise.ca/ had Pegs and other brands. There's also ebay.ca

My suggestion is to always find the car seat that you want for your child , then look for a stroller that works for you. A stroller is nice, but not as vital. There's countless methods of toting your tot. You can always carry your infant by sling (great in frigid weather under your coat -- I did that with my daughter through a German winter. People were always startled to realize I wasn't talking to a pregnant belly, but a baby).

A stroller is less of a priority than a safe car seat, imo.

[Jewels]

Any opinion on this travel system?
http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B000K...odeid=16340351

or this stroller?
http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B000F...odeid=16340351

Thanks

[Jewels]

Originally Posted by Morganthe

Is she happy with what she has? Does she feel safely comfortable using it? Is it a brand new purchase for her or is it used? If it's brand new, and you don't like it, will she return it? If it's used, what's the age and history of it?

I'm pretty sure you can use a Graco car seat on an Evenflo stroler. Just check with the manufacturer first.
http://www.graco.com
http://www.evenflo.com
has all of the stock online if you want to see picts.

You can always do a search at Google for 'Carseats Strollers Canada'
I found a lot of links to Canadian stores and US stores that will ship to Canada.
http://www.bambinoparadise.ca/ had Pegs and other brands. There's also ebay.ca

My suggestion is to always find the car seat that you want for your child , then look for a stroller that works for you. A stroller is nice, but not as vital. There's countless methods of toting your tot. You can always carry your infant by sling (great in frigid weather under your coat -- I did that with my daughter through a German winter. People were always startled to realize I wasn't talking to a pregnant belly, but a baby).

A stroller is less of a priority than a safe car seat, imo.

Her stroller system is brand new and is from sears, so returning it shouldn't be a problem. Baby isn't supposed to be here til Jan. so she has a bit of time to decide what she wants to do. She really doesn't know anything about her seat, she bought it because she got a good deal on it. Where she is from they just hold there kids on their laps so she wants to get educated on how to use her car seat

It isn't so much the stroller that concerns me but more the car seat. I think that a graco snugride/safeseat with up front adjust would be easier to use. Around here many people just buy whatever, and don't do any research. The most common problem I see is the harness not being near to tight enough, that is why I would prefer to see her with something else.

You would think that you would be able to use a graco car seat in a evenflo stroller, but unless they have changed the design, my graco snugride did not fit into a friends evenflo stroller, the two seats just have a different shape to them.

Even though there are websites you can order from, the car seat HAVE to be from Canada. I called baby universe and they won't ship a car seat to Canada, you would have to buy that seat in Canada. This sucks because the safeseat you can get in the US for 129.99 but in Canada it is 199.99. It would be cheaper to buy it in the US

[lovinwaves]

FWIW, My graco Snugride had the adjuster's in the rear, and I didn't find it a nuissance, but the front adjusters are very nice. I do understand however your concern with her being able to adjust easily and therefore a better chance that the baby will be safely installed.

[Jewels]

Does anyone know anything about the cosco Eddie Bauer system? That is the one that this lady has not the evenflo!

[skaterbabscpst]

A real pain to install, and overpriced to boot.

[Jewels]

Originally Posted by skaterbabscpst

A real pain to install, and overpriced to boot.

Thanks, I was thinking they weren't great but wanted to make sure