Friday, June 28, 2013

Flashback Friday: Which Running Stroller?

Just a couple inches and it would have been there. The gap between one end and the other would be insignificant in any other context. Instead, it was so close, yet so impossible. The pants would not fit.

My place of work is a pretty casual office environment. I pretty much wear jeans every day. In the summer, it's shorts on Friday. When we have visitors, though, we have to dress up a bit, as was the case earlier this week.

The dark brown slacks I wanted to wear have been a mainstay of my dressier work clothes for a couple years. In fact, they used to be the only pants that fit. Now, not even that is the case. When I pulled them on Tuesday morning, I couldn't even get the second hook to clasp onto the first metal loop. How distressing this was!

My only other dress pants are a more recently purchased black pair that I've started to wear with my suit jacket. I'm down to one pair of nice slacks, and even they are showing signs of snugness. This is not good. At least it's an early release Friday, and I can go drown my sorrows in the comforting arms of a Happy Hour special gallon of beer ice water and rice cakes.

What the Baby Needs
Last night, Mrs. Viper and I were browsing through some items for when we have to register for baby-rearing supplies. We came to the most pressing concern: Which running stroller should I buy? Holy Mackerel there are a bunch of options!

The most challenging terrain I'll likely use it on is the crushed limestone paths of the Towpath Trail or Sand Run. I'm barred from the roads, and the trails are too rugged for pushing along a stroller.

You can spend a boatload on one of those contraptions, but is that really necessary? I'm thinking I'll need to cap the price at $200. Any of you running parents have a suggestion? Spill it in the comments below!

Happy Hour is nearly upon us, teammates! Have a finely brewed weekend. Run well and drink well. Cheers!

2 comments:

Jess said...

Oh, dude, you opened the floodgate of opinion!

I have 2 running strollers: a single and a double. The single is a BOB revolution and the dbl is an In Step Safari. The In Step was a MUCH cheaper stroller (BOB's version of the double is about $600+ while this model was less than $200), and while it has fit my needs as far as a dbl is concerned (it got much more limited use), I can tell with the side by side comparison that its quality is far less than the BOB. The single BOB was about $400, but that thing is awesome!

The swivel front tire is worth the extra cost alone. But, seriously, everything about its construction is superior to any other stroller I've owned -- running or regular -- so I recommend it above any other.

It's more expensive, but it's a good example of getting what you pay for; plus, their resale is good, so in a few years, you could potentially re-sell it on Craigslist for a decent return.

My only complaint is that it does NOT fold up small, and transporting it is a bit of a pain (you actually have to remove a tire), but as you'll learn, all kid-related stuff is gigantic (and unnecessarily complicated) so you'll need a new car -- something roughly the size of a barge - anyway.

Buy the BOB (revolution! you want that pivoting front tire!), get the car seat adapter, and use it for all your strollering purposes! You won't be sorry.

Nitmos said...

Running stroller? Yeah, it's called set-the-baby-swing-on-medium-and-see-you-in-thirty-minutes.