McLaren Volo Question

Ok, so after doing a ton of research and hearing the great reviews, we checked out the Volo. I love the stroller! It is truly lightweight and I love how easy it is to fold. I actually like the mesh and my daughter loves it as much as I do. I was pleasntly surprised with the basket. I bought it assuming the basket would be worthless, but it holdmore than I thought it would.

Now for my question - what is with the straps?!? There must be a trick. Is there any way to shorten them? The manual is useless. My daughter is one and very petite. She *should* be on the lowest strap setting, but the straps are just way too long. She's a very wiggly, nosy little girl and she pulled her arms out in no time, not that they were doing a good job of keeping her in. We needed to use it this weekend and I ended up moving the straps all the way up to to top setting and pulling them as tight as possible. It wasn't the ideal, but definitely kept her in better.

Any suggestions? I love everything else about this stroller, including the fact that my 4 year old can use it when she's tired of walking, and I really domn't want to take it back.

Thanks, Amy

I think Maclaren missed the boat with the straps. Most parents I know don't bother with them once their child is mature enough to sit properly (3, in my case) and it's around that same age when the harness actually starts to fit. The harness is horrible for smaller children. My daughter is a few months shy of 2 and the harness fits at the bottom now but the top straps are really loose when fully tight still. I have heard of parents knotting the straps to shorten them--you could see if this works for you.

-N.

Yeah, I'll admit that the straps are the one thing I don't care for on the Volo. I found a way to pull the straps even further through the seat back to get them tighter (I think I retrheaded the buckle back through so it was in a loop, making the strap shorter).

Anyway, since this isn't a car seat and I don't imagine you'll be riding very fast, I wouldn't be too concerned with it being "proper". Just get it so your little one can't escape to easily, and that's good enough.

OK, so I called MacLaren and they recommended that I buy another 5 point harness and just swap it out. They told me I could buy this at any speciality baby store, but I can't find it anywhere. Anyone seen this or know where I can try to get one? According to MacLaren, I can use any 5 point harness assembly as long as it has the d-ring connector. They told me they're sold in different lengths. Any clue?

Thanks, Amy

Uh oh, I just ordered a Volo for my 25mo DD who's not the biggest kid in the world. But she's a Houdini like her older bro.

So I want a 5-pt. that's snug. Ack, maybe this won't be the great stroller I was hoping for.

I'll just see what happens when it gets here.