I have the Ginger and Rue. I can’t comment on the DLX because my baby was born way before it came out. Imo, the canopy on both suck.
I got the Rue over the mint because I wanted a base for my own car. My understanding is they came out with a base for the mint. If the mint could be used with the base in my car and just with the latch for grandma’s car, then imo it would be 100% worth it. The rue *can* be used baseless but I haven’t done it & don’t really plan on it.
There was a two week period I swapped cars with my mom & moving the base was annoying. If my car seat had the latch, I would have just left the base. Whenever my parents babysit, I leave my car because of the base but if the seat had the latch, it would be a non issue.
The canopy is quite small on the ginger and the rue, imo.
My friends with the Uppababy and Nuna car seats have much better canopies for the babies to nap on the go. I’m generally not a fan of Nuna but they have this nice flap that comes down to really give the baby cover
We’re also going with the joie ginger for the exact reasons you mentioned. It seems easy to use, grows with baby, and looks just as nice as the other strollers but without the much higher price tag. We’re getting the rue instead just because our car situation is different and we want to prioritize a lightweight carrier.
Also OP- Target is where we “tested” the joie too. Ours didn’t have the exact ginger + rue setup we were looking for, and they’re roped to a post so tightly you can’t push it more than a literal inch 🥲 So I feel you there. But they had the color we wanted and it was good to play with it a little and see the quality in person. Besides that we’ve just watched a ton of videos online of people testing them and just using them in every day life.
Babe is 2 weeks now and we’ve been loving our joie ginger & rue! Stylish, won’t break the bank, meets all the safety requirements (virtually all strollers will in this day and age though). We’ve been out of the house either at a doctor’s appointment or a local park almost every day and haven’t had any issues. It’s very easy to open and close, the bassinet feature is so handy, the ride is smooth. My only complaint is that it doesn’t fold up very compactly. But I’ve never had another stroller so maybe they’re all like this 🤷♀️
LOVE my joie ginger and rue ! We didn’t go with the baseless car seat but the mint is the baseless one ! WE LOVE the bassinet mode when he was super little and now that he’s 10 weeks he can sit up a little on walks !
I'm personally buying the joie ginger and rue travel system, and to be completely honest I chose it because I couldn't find an extra carseat base for the graco travel system I wanted 🤷🏾♀️. I spent months refining my registry and by the time I got to the carseat/Stroller I was just over it and picked one that had good ratings, was cute, had a video on how to put it together, and had an extra carseat base I could buy
anxious_teacher_
