We started out looking for a doll buggy. I liked the old Little Tikes doll pram my daughter once played with in a church nursery. They aren't being made currently and I couldn't find one second hand that didn't have wonky wheels. I wasn't crazy about the current Little Tikes doll stroller.

So I went to my favorite store, Family Toy Warehouse, and examined the shopping carts. I found this cart, which featured the FTW logo (I saw the identical cart at KB Toy Works with the KB logo (for $30). Looking for the manufacturer's name, I saw this was a Step2 product. Aha! Step2 owned by the guy who invented Little Tikes and is based in North-east Ohio.

I compared this cart with the Little Tikes offering and found that the Step2 cart's wheels were larger, the wheelbase wider, and the whole thing felt more stable. Since my daughter would be using this cart indoors and out, on sidewalks and grass as well as carpet, and has been known to climb on anything and everything, I was looking for sturdiness. The main differences between carts are the front doll section flips up on the LT cart (like a real shopping cart), while it stays in place on S2's. The LT cart is a little deeper and narrower also. Overall the Step2 plastic seems thicker. The salesman told me that he though Step2 was better, stronger and tougher overall, and was very familiar with the two brands from putting together many sets of outdoor climbing equipment. The kicker- the Step2 cart was $5 cheaper!

My daughter loves using this cart to haul her dolls and toys around, inside and outside. One larger doll can ride in the front section, and all her Elmos and other Sesame characters, Primos, little cars and other things she's collected ride in the basket. She doesn't have any trouble steering (she's 20 months). She can also see the toys in front of her as she pushes, unlike with the LT doll stroller or with a wagon to pull.

I would recommend this cart to parents of kids who are steady walkers and who can see over the top of the cart.



Recommended: Yes