Jogging strollers are very important exercise tools for sport inclined parents. With a jogging stroller, you can share your exercise with your baby . You no longer have to find someone to watch the baby when you exercise. Each persons has different exercise needs and need specific types of jogging strollers to fulfil these needs.
When buying a jogging stroller, there are many things you should consider. These things include, your jogging environment (terrain), family size, use (are you going to use your stroller for jogging only or will you use it for shopping and other errands?) , comfort and last but not the least safety.
Let’s begin with what I consider the most important, safety.
Safety
Safety is very important when choosing any stroller and is even more important with jogging strollers because they are used for exercise while the baby is in it. So what makes a jogging stroller safe?
There are many safety features that jogging strollers should have and these include;
- Ability to hold your baby securely in their seat during exercise. This is usually achieved with the use a five point safety harness. Plenty of cushioning especially around the head area is very important too.
- Shock absorbers to take away the stress of running from the baby. Some strollers have multi-level shock adsorbers that can be adjusted to accommodate for the weight of the occupants and luggage.
- Wrist or waist strabs that are designed to attach the stroller to you in order to avoid the stroller from rolling away from you during exercise.
- Brakes that can stop your stroller whether it is going uphill, downhill or on level ground.
- Reflective logo especially for people who plan on jogging at night or in areas where visibility is low. This will help others see you easily and thus prevent people from running into you.
Jogging environment
Strollers are designed with tires that work well on different terrains. Smooth tires are designed to work well on paved roads while rough tires are designed for use on dirt roads.
Some strollers are called all terrain strollers because they have wheels that can handle a variety of terrains. So when picking your stroller, think of what kind of places you’ll be using it on.
Comfort
Comfort is very important for both parents and children when it comes to jogging strollers.
Strollers with good shock adsorbers and ample padding provide comfort for your child. Shock absorbers provide a smooth ride while padding on both seats and harnesses also reduce the stress from the ride.
For added comfort, the seat should be able to recline to multiple levels.
For a parent, comfort is enhanced by adjustable handle bars. Good posture is a very important part of any exercise and with an adjustable handle bar, you can achieve the most suitable height for you.
Family size
Strollers are made with many seat combinations to suit the needs of different families. Some can take a car seat and a toddler seat, some can take two toddler seat while many can only handle on seat.
Depending on the number of babies you plan to taking with you on your runs, a single, double or triple might be the best choice.
It is also important to consider weight limit when choosing a stroller. Some strollers can handle as much as 70lbs while others can only handle about half.
Use
Some strollers are made for outdoor use only while others can work both ways. If you plan on using your stroller for both exercise and say shopping, then a lean design like the Thule Urban glide with swiveling front wheels will work best (many other strollers are lean and have swiveling front wheels. Check out the stroller store for more examples).
Swiveling wheels can be locked to increase the stability of the stroller when jogging. Many strollers that are designed purposely for jogging are made with fixed front wheels which makes the stroller very steady.
So, swivel mode increases manueverability, especially around corners while fixed front wheels are harder to manuever around corners but are very steady during exercise.
These I believe are the most important things you should look for when buying a jogging stroller.
I hope this post was helpful. Please leave a comment