The Jarvii I. Love. Our. Stroller. From time to time I do have stroller envy, but ultimately I still love my Baby Jogger City Mini. We have the 2012 version, which means the newer ones should have little improvements here and there. So keep that in mind when I talk about the City Mini.
Hands down the best things about the City Mini is the one handed fold! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s a video that demonstrates the best feature about this stroller. Why is a one handed fold so important? It’s because everything a parent does now a days is one handed. There are no levers to deal with, no special maneuvers, no nothing when you need to fold it. Just simply pull on the folding strap, and boom, your stroller is flat and ready to go in the trunk of your car, to be carried up to your house, or where ever you need to go.
Another great thing about the City Mini is that it folds pretty flat. It seriously doesn’t take up much cargo room in the trunk of a car. There are so many strollers out there that have many different parts; and if there aren’t parts to take apart, they aren’t as nearly as compact as the City Mini. This is perfect for anyone who wants the luxury of a traditional stroller, but doesn’t have the space for its large footprint.
Lastly, the back goes down nearly flat. If you have a child who just needs to be pushed around to nap, this is a perfect stroller. You loosen the straps and slowly move the back down, and viola, your baby is pretty much lying down. How cool is that?
Other added benefits are the canopy that goes down pretty far. If you are in an area that is super super sunny (like California), this is a great way to shield your child from the harsh rays. You also don’t have to put the canopy all the way down, which my children prefer since they like to look at where they are going. If you put the canopy down all the way, there are two peek-a-boo windows if you want to check on your baby too. But be cautious about these windows because ours uses velcro to hold them shut, and I have woken up both kids from naps trying to sneak a peak.
There are a few things I’m not a fan of, like having to spend an arm and leg to buy some necessary accessories. We ended up buying a child tray, which comes with a cup holder for their bottle or cup. You can also set snacks or a snack cup on the tray so they have a place to eat while on the go. At least you can stick it in the dishwasher to clean. It also doesn’t come with a parent console, but I ended up buying a Diono one that works and is a third of the price. For long strolls this is necessary to hold your water bottle (or cup of coffee, although you shouldn’t put it up there in case it spills and scalds your child). And if you are skipping the stroller frame, you can buy the car seat adaptor kit to make it into a travel system. It adds up, especially when you are already buying a pretty expensive stroller.
So about using the City Mini as a travel system… The stroller becomes incredibly top heavy. This was a major problem when we lived in San Francisco and you are going down hill. I’m not sure if this has changed with the newer version of the stroller, but this is a HUGE safety concern. Another thing that was a problem is that our Chicco Keyfit didn’t quite hook in properly when the canopy was attached to the stroller. It is easy enough to remove the canopy (a few buttons here and there, and undoing some velcro), but still rather annoying.
I also ended up buying the glider board, which is probably the worse accessory you can get for the City Mini. In theory it solves the problem of not needing a double stroller. However, it is just awkward pushing the stroller. Our son was tall enough that we needed the glider board to extend all the way out so he didn’t hit his head on the handlebar. But because he was all the way out it made it more difficult to push the stroller, so you end up straddling your eldest. O loved the glider board though because it gave him a new perspective.
Lastly the storage underneath is pretty large, but it’s hard to put something so basic like a baby bag in there. It’s easy to put small shopping bags that you can squish to fit in. But a fully packed baby bag with diapers and bottles and toys was a challenge. I end up going in through the side instead of the back, but I did put a small tear in the mesh one time. But going through the side works and it comfortably holds a large diaper bag no problem.
Overall I still love our City Mini, despite its flaws. This thing has traveled all over the world with our children. It is definitely a well loved piece of baby kit, and a stroller that my nearly 5 year old (he’s of average height and can still fit in the stroller by the way) fights with his little sister about riding. It makes traveling really easy for us, especially going to the airport. So easy to fold when we put it through the x-ray machine at security, and again when we have to gate check it. But it’s still large enough that sometimes we use it to ferry all our hand carry luggage (our last big trip it held two large backpacks, a large tote bag, and two Trunkis) from security to our gate. We are definitely taking it on our trip coming up.
And just so you know, this is how much I love Baby Jogger. I also own the Summit, which is their baby jogging stroller. You’ll probably see a lot of runner parents who use the Bob. We own the Summit because I love that one handed fold so freaking much! We haven’t traveled with the Summit because it is huge, but we’ve taken it to the beach and a few trails. I’m telling you that one handed fold will change your life!
And also Virginia love because Virginia is for lovers! 🙂
