Buying a baby stroller can be a daunting task with so many brands, models and price points available. Our original stroller was part of a 6-piece Graco Hathaway bundle from Costco.ca which also included an infant car seat, high chair, swing, and pack and play.
As time went on we started to realize what our baby liked and disliked. Turns out the Snug Ride 30 infant car seat and the accompanying stroller quickly became the bane of his existence.
The car seat angle, even when adjusted was sitting too reclined for him and the stroller, well it was a little on the light side. In other words, we quickly realized you get what you pay for and the stroller and car seat had to go.
Enter the Britax B-Ready
As for alternatives, research led us to the Britax B-Ready. This hot-looking stroller allows for 12 different configurations and also has room to seat a second child, if another miracle was to happen. The seat can be easily configured to be rear-facing, the comfort grip handle bar is adjustable, there’s a cup holder and it can fold up easily and stand on its own.
After watching a gazillion reviews and watching videos on YouTube, we ended up pulling the trigger and nabbed this puppy on sale from Amazon.ca for $429, on sale for $100 off its regular retail price. This may be pricey, but after using this stroller for the past little while, it has been worth its weight in gold.
For starters, this stroller is sturdy and its foam-filled rubber tires offer a smooth ride. Coupled with the 4-recline settings and excellent canopy and sun-visor, our baby did the unthinkable which never happened in his Graco—he fell asleep during walks. Yes, any parent will understand how amazing this feels.
Thoughts After Using the Stroller for a While
After using the B-Ready with our baby for the past little while, here are some of our overall impressions. This stroller is easy to maneuver one-handed and the sun canopy’s extension does a great job to block out rays. When baby falls asleep it’s very quick and easy to recline the seat—which can hold up to 55 pounds—back.
The 4-point harness is super easy to buckle and unbuckle and you can raise the shoulder straps very easily: a zippered compartment reveals a quick drag up or down to adjust to your baby’s shoulders. No re-threading or any of that yucky stuff. The storage basket is very large and can be accessed from all sides, a very nice touch.
One of our favourite features is the ventilation window in the sun canopy—it not only lets you quickly check on baby but also provides some more fresh air on those warm days.
Also, the brake is incredibly easy to use and is a one-foot operation. It’s a simple on/off step down break that provides an audible click to confirm actions. Green on the indicator means unlocked and red means locked.
As for some downsides of this stroller? You need to try out the stroller in a store to get the size of this thing. It’s not meant to be a compact stroller and the rear wheels are wide which can make it tricky getting around tight spaces. But they are wide to support the option of having an additional seat hooked up, so keep that in mind.
The Britax B-Ready is very study and smooth, and that’s partly due to its weight. This thing is built like an SUV so it’s not exactly light. Folding and unfolding is simple but lifting into the trunk might be a good workout for moms and dads. Folded up, it took up most of the space in our trunk (2011 BMW 3-series), but still pretty compact.
Overall, we are very happy with the Britax B-Ready and would definitely recommend it. We are always excited to take it out with our baby and he loves it. No more cries, just smiles and he always falls asleep in it! When he does, we can just easily recline him and wheel him into the house to continue his naps uninterrupted. Not only that, this stroller just looks darn cool too on top of being super functional—a bonus!
Learn more about the Britax B-Ready here from Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.
