Not the Greatest Stroller Out There.

I received this travel system as a surprise (it wasn't on our registry) shower gift, and we have used it for almost a year now. It was simple to put together, and the directions were easy to understand. With that we looked forward to using it when our third child arrived.

The first thing we discovered at the hospital on check out day was the car seat is awful. The only good things I can say about it is the fabric is nice with a pretty pattern, and the 'z' handle makes it easier to carry for my husband. However it is really heavy for me to carry with or without the baby in it. The infant head pillow included with the set is way to small to make any difference, and didn't support our newborn's head at all. The base is a nightmare. It was difficult to secure into the car, and the three level booster part kept popping out of place. We finally called Evenflo, and they sent us a "new and improved" base. It worked better - but was never tight enough in the seat using the latch system or the seat belt. The directions say it shouldn't move more than an inch in any direction once installed. Even the fire department couldn't get it that tight. Also the car seat must have a base, it can not be used without it. This is really inconvenient because my son doesn't ride in just one car all the time. With the difficulty installing the base, I hesitate to remove it once it is in one car.

The stroller is not very durable (it has already lost hub caps, and sunshade caps), and the recline system could use improvement. The seat uses a pulley type system to raise and lower the seat back. I have to pull on a tab attached to a strap to raise the seat back, and pull the tab up to lower the seat. The seat doesn't sit up all the way when raised only about 3/4 of the way, and is always at such a recline that my son has to pull himself up with both his hands using the tray if he wants to look around. Also the stroller is really big and heavy, and takes up a lot of room - even in the back of my Suburban - forget trying to put it in the midsized sedan trunk! This stroller does have one hand folding, and is fairly easy to open and close. When the stroller is folded down it just falls to the ground flat and locks into place. No latches to use. The problem with this is the underside of the seat hits the ground. The fabric is becoming dirty, worn, and ripped from this, and its not even a year old yet. It does have some good attributes, I love the cargo space with the net to secure items If the net isn't needed just simply hook it up to the back of the seat out of the way. It has plenty of cup holders, and lots of little storage spaces that are covered to protect personal items like iPods, cell phones etc. I loved the color, fabric, and big wheels. I have noticed that the wheels shake and wobble in the front, but it doesn't seem to affect the ride. I also like the one hand steering handle in the middle of the bar handle. It looks strange, but it makes it easy to hold open store doors with one hand, and still push the stroller through the door with the other.

Bottom Line there are just way to many cons and I wouldn't buy this stroller again or recommend it to a friend. Even though this stroller goes up to 40 lbs I don't see it lasting until my son gets to that weight. We have already started to look for a new stroller because this one won't make it for the long haul.