Nice stroller, but....
Written: Aug 31 '00 (Updated Jun 21 '01)
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Pros: roomy, adjustable for mom and dad
Cons: a bit unwieldy, possible collapsing issue
The Bottom Line: Stroller: $200
Your children: priceless
Are they worth risking?
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| gerstein's Full Review: Century Take 2 Travel Solutions |
Make no mistakes: this puppy is big. Very big. It weighs quite a bit, and takes up LOTS of trunk space. We have a mini-van, and I find myself hard pressed to find "trunk" space for groceries when we have the stroller back there.
My wife and I bought this before our 2nd child arrived. I liked the fact that it came with a car seat, however we already have 2 of them - one for my car, one for the wives. Now we have 3. I would think that Century would understand that most people who have 1 kid and 1 on the way (the biggest market for those buying this stroller) would already have an infant carrier.....
My toddler loves this stroller because she can sit or stand, and when she's standing she can see everything we do, and she can "help" keep an eye on the baby for us. My infant doesn't seem to care, but that's just the way he is ;).
I, being 6'4", love the fact that the handle is adjustable. This gives me plenty of room to walk, without having to trip on the stroller. The bar is also nice and high, so I don't have to hunch over to push it.
Before writing this, I checked some of the other epinions to see if anyone had any really good/bad things to say. In one, (http://asmallbusiness.epinions.com/kifm-review-44A-6F94BE5-39AD406F-prod2), I read that someone had the carrier collapse on them, ejecting their infant onto the road. My wife had the same experience. My son came out fine (he also landed face down, but was kept safe by his car seat and the nicely snugged straps), but my daughter was sitting/standing when it occurred, so the stroller collapsed onto her. She came out of it okay, but my wife needed help to do that, and was also a bit distraught at the time - my son had been ejected INTO the street, and there were cars travelling along it. As I said, everyone came out fine, however.....
While I like the stroller in general, I'm very concerned about the collapsing issue. When it happened to me, I figured it was a fluke. When I read that it happened to someone else, I got very concerned. I think I'll be calling Century to find out what their story is......
Update: 9/7/00
Called Century, and they're buying the stroller back from us. I sincerly hope that they will test/analyze this stroller before destroying or "fixing" and reselling it (as a refurb). I believe that this is a fairly new to the market model, so I hope that this is a problem only with a few of the strollers, not all of them - it's a nice model, and it would have been nice to keep it, but I just don't feel safe using it anymore.
Update: 10/27/00
After several missed pickups (before the return box even arrived), we finally got the stroller sent back to Century. They have paid us for the stroller, and I guess as far as they're concerned, everything is ok. It's NOT. I have contacted the Consumer Product Safety Commission (http://www.cpsc.gov) about this very flawed product. They sent me a form to clarify any of the points I made in their online form; they also asked for permission to reveal the complaint, our information, or everything to the company involved (i.e. they could reveal the complaint, or our info, or both, depending on what we requested).
Century has, as far as I can tell, done nothing at this point, and I'm very disappointed by them. We ended up buying a Graco side-by-side stroller, but I'm still nervous: Graco and Century are basically the same company, so there could still be problems. If you buy this stroller and have problems, complain LOUDLY. If you see someone with this stroller while you're out and about, WARN THEM of the potential problems. Please!
Update: 03/30/01
I just received an email from another person experiencing this same problem. I really hope that if anyone out there is considering buying this product, that they seriously re-consider it. If you already have one, please contact the manufacturer to find out if you need to be concerned - I realize that there may only be a few cases of problems with this stroller, but any of these children could have been seriously injured, and the company doesn't seem to be taking the problem very seriously.
Update: 6/21/01
If, after reading all of the above, and after reviewing other folks opinions on this stroller, you still feel the urge to buy this stroller.... DON'T. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (http://www.cpsc.gov) and Century have recalled this and several other strollers. They apparently fixed the problem and have replacement parts available, but it took over 600 complaints and many injuries (including some with possible long term effects) before anyone bothered to do anything about it. If Century has actually fixed the problem, then I guess it's possible that it's now a good stroller, but.... is your childs life worth taking that chance? This is not the first recall that Century has dealt with, and I'm sure it won't be the last. They messed up with this stroller, and the only way to let them know is to NOT buy it.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 200
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Epinions.com ID:
gerstein
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Member: Adam Gerstein
Location: Milford, CT
Reviews written: 110
Trusted by: 5 members
About Me:
Father of 4. Computer geek. Opinionated. What more can I say?
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