Zoe - Terra

It's going to depend so much on how and where you plan to use the stroller, and whether you want something that can eventually be used for a second baby. I don't drive and we knew we wanted 2 kids, so I needed strollers that really worked well and had okay storage capacity. I went through a few different strollers to accommodate different activities and different life stages. All of them were used in conjunction with babywearing because sometimes in the city a stroller just doesn't work at all. I got a City Select first because I wanted something I could convert when we had a second, and the versatility was nice, but all the front to back strollers are so unwieldy to push. Having a tiny baby facing me (preferably not in a car seat) was important to me, and it was a good choice for that, but once both kids were bigger I sold it. I also had a not-quite-umbrella stroller, the Zoe that isn't the super tiny travel size, for those days I wanted to keep it light and only needed it for one kid, but they're really only well suited to smooth floors, like museums, so I only used it if I really needed something small and easy to fold. My second set of strollers, once I knew we weren't gonna have anymore newborns, were a City Mini GT and a Mountain Buggy Duet. The GT is a really solid choice as long as your kid is old enough that you feel comfortable not having eyes on them at all times. Sturdy, handles well, basket is not amazing but it's good enough, folds quickly, and they're popular enough that it's easy to find one used - I think mine was $20 on craigslist and all I had to do was stuff a little piece of cardboard into a spot where the front wheel liked to stick. The Mountain Buggy Duet is relatively unknown but my absolute favorite for when I needed both kids in a stroller. Rugged as hell, smooth to push even with one hand, amazingly shockingly astoundingly narrow for a side by side - I think there's less than an inch difference between it and the City Select single. You can fit this thing on a CTA bus without folding it or blocking the aisle (I did avoid crowded buses with strollers but I surprised a lot of people when they saw it squeeze in). You can take one seat off and attach a shopping basket if you've got one in preschool all day and the other at home with you running errands then put the second seat back in for a weekend zoo trip. It was a pain to fold but I rarely needed to fold it. It's not the best stroller for big kids since it's so narrow, but my oldest was a shrimpy toddler. God, I miss that stroller. If I knew then what I know now I probably would have gotten it and just used it with the basket when my first was born. I also borrowed a Bob double to get the kids to and from school when we were avoiding the bus during covid and it snowed and snowed and snowed and snowed one winter. It did well in the snow but it's so so big, I couldn't even get it in my garage without folding it. If you plan to do a lot of trail walking off road kinds of stuff, a single Bob would be a great choice once baby is big enough, but I wouldn't bother for just city walking.

If you’re looking into different brands, I have LOVED our Zoe strollers. I don’t think there is anywhere to test them out, but I’ve had the single, the double, and the jogger and I have loved them all. They’re awesome for travel too. 

If you’re looking into different brands, I have LOVED our Zoe strollers. I don’t think there is anywhere to test them out, but I’ve had the single, the double, and the jogger and I have loved them all. They’re awesome for travel too. 

I have a 4 year old and a 9 month old! It was so stressful finding a double that made sense with the age gap. If you’re not ready to make a big buy before your trip, I’d rent a double Bob to try it out. We’d have gotten one when baby was born if it were newborn compatible- we love our single Bob and our older will still be comfy in it for a few years. If I were on the market for a double now with my 9 month old, I’d be scoping Bobs out. We bought a secondhand uppababy and immediately sold it to someone else on Marketplace- it was just too small for the wide age gap. My average-sized older daughter’s legs were dangling comically out of the toddler seat. Other moms I know with an age gap wider than 2 years also ditched their uppababy. We’ve loved our Zoe single for our older and will probably get a double eventually when we need it for travel. If you’re flying in, it’s a great, lightweight travel stroller! Only issue is storage, but we hack our way around it with big carabiners and side saddle storage attachments. I ended up purchasing the Austlen Entourage for our big family stroller during a Prime Day. The sit/stand option, the ability to shorten it with one hand if big sister isn’t using it, and the storage are what sold me. It has a bassinet mode for newborns, which I also wanted in case we have a 3rd. Let me know if you have questions about this one! It’s not the easiest to handle as an inline double, but it fits right through every door!

We love our Zoe! My only gripe is that the storage is limited compared to a legit double stroller (common with many travel strollers), but we do well with their side saddle mesh bags and a big carabiner on the handle for jackets and lighter bags.

I love the zoe stroller for my 3 and 1 year old. We have the double one but there is also a single version. It moves very nicely, is lightweight, and folds easily. It has a 60 lb weight limit. Their 7 year old cousin takes breaks sitting in it comfortably.

$20 umbrella stroller or a zoe collapsible. we never used our fancy UB stroller ever. doonas are overrated.

we barely ever used our uppababy. it doesn’t fit in my car trunk! i got way more use out of my zoe and my $20 cosco stroller.

we never used our UB stroller a s defaulted to the zoe or umbrella. sold the UB for a good ROI. it didn’t even fit in my car.

yes. we never used our cruz! always the zoe or the $20 umbrella stroller. sold my cruz recently for $250. good ROI.

Our family has owned a couple zoe strollers. I'd highly recommend. Not sure where to try locally, but they fold up nicely https://zoebaby.com/collections/singles/

Lol, yep. Uppababy isn’t even close to in my budget. I’m perfectly happy with my $200 something Zoe!

Zoe hands down! It is super light weight (can literally pick up with one hand) it folds down flat and turns on a dime. There is also a bunch of room underneath and it reclines on both sides as well so the kiddos can nap if needed.

100%. Our oldest doesn't sit in the stroller much but was enough that we needed up upgrade our Uppababy to a side by side. While I love the Zoe, it's nowhere near as convenient as the in-line one was.

I went through a few strollers, mostly because surprise, twins! Ultimately I decided it was unreasonable to expect 1 stroller to do everything well. But if I had it all to do again, there were 2 strollers that could have taken me through birth to 4ish. A solid multimodal strollers- in my case, the City Select. With adapters, it went from birth up. I had a roller board for my toddler. It was an easy push over rougher terrain, though not quite on level of a jogging stroller. Didn’t tip easily. But it was heavy. A lightweight travel stroller- for me this was a ZOE. Loved how light it was, had snack cups, and the deepest sun shades for napping kids. Could steer the double with 1 hand, which was necessary with a toddler in tow. Quick fold, sturdy for how light it was. But didn’t work from birth (I think they have a model that does now) and wasn’t great on uneven sidewalks or over grass at the park or something. Most umbrella strollers are too short for me to push comfortably (5’10”) much less my husband (6’4”). The ZOE was perfect for me, but my husband did have to stoop a little. We travel a fair bit, so it really was worth it to me to have a really good travel stroller. If I was living in the suburbs and didn’t travel much, the city select could have easily taken us from birth to preschool, kid 1-3. Maybe you’re a runner or live in the country and a jogging stroller is a must. If you take public transit a lot, you’d want something narrow and super easy to fold. You really have to take into consideration what your lifestyle and priorities are.