What makes a jogging stroller a jogging stroller? The

standard, 4-wheeled

baby

jogger has certainly been used for jogging in past

years. Those runs had to be carefully planned to cover only

flat, smooth surfaces, and great care had to be taken in

securing and padding the child while you ran, because the

stroller had a tendency to skitter every which way on the

path due to its shopping cart wheels.

Over the past decade, a new breed of

baby

buggy has evolved with three large fixed wheels,

shocks, 5-point safety harnesses and drink holders for the

child. Since our last stroller review in 2002, the

jogging stroller has continued to develop, and the models

available today offer unprecedented ease of use and safety,

both for the runner and the rider.

Of course, one person's improvement is another

person's scourge. And anyone who has ever tried to find

the "regular" kind of toothpaste on the grocery

shelves knows that having lots of options just makes

decisions that much more complicated. In this guide, we break

down choosing a stroller into the major variables that can

make a stroller just what you're looking for or the

next-best-thing-that-falls-just-short. Then we'll take a

look at a selection of strollers that is available

today and give you some tips for getting

started running with your new stroller.

THE BREAKDOWN

Stability: Stability, of course, is a good

attribute for a

baby travel system that will carry your

precious bundle for many miles. But a well balanced stroller

is not a runner's friend. Turning a stroller when running

depends on uneven distribution of weight among the three

wheels so that the runner can easily and smoothly lift the

front wheel incrementally to turn the stroller around a

corner or bend in the road. We observed that many of the

strollers that are made for walking as well as running were

much more stable, making them more difficult to maneuver when

running. Take into consideration how much of your stroller

time will be spent running versus walking.

Front Wheel: Many jogging strollers available

today offer a front wheel that can be either locked into the

straight-ahead position that is best for running, or set free

to swivel, which makes steering when walking much nicer. This

decision is related to the stability issue above. If you will

be using your stroller only for running, then you don't

need to spend the extra dollars to get one with a swivel

option on the front wheel. Running with the wheel in swivel

mode is dangerous because running over even a small pebble

with a swivel wheel at running speeds could send the stroller

quickly veering in an unplanned direction.

But who uses the stroller only for running? If you live

in a city or other area where space is limited, you'll

find the swivel wheel of great assistance in maneuvering the

stroller around stores, sidewalks and anywhere else you might

take your child. However, if you live in an area where there

is plenty of room in stores and parking lots and the

sidewalks are wide and sparsely populated, you might get

along just fine with a wheel that is always facing forward.

We found that in rural West Virginia, the swivel wheel was a

luxury but certainly not a necessity.

Handle Height: If you are an average-sized man,

this is probably not going to be an issue for you. But if,

say, you and your (shorter) wife will both be using this

stroller for running, you'll want to look for one with an

adjustable handle. Few situations are more frustrating than

trying to do a decent run with a stroller handle that

doesn't fit. Your arm swing is already restricted by

pushing the stroller; if you have to hold your hands

unusually high as well, you'll be much more tempted to

hire a babysitter next time. Many companies offer a stroller

with an adjustable height handle and while some accomplish

this better than others, all were acceptable to our testers.

Wheel Width: The main reasons to consider

wheel width are spacial and aesthetic. Some might feel self

conscious pushing around a stroller that takes up more than

half the sidewalk. Some of us just don't have space to

store such a device when it is not in use. But the wider

wheeled strollers tend to offer more space for carrying along

supplies or errand material, provide a better fit for larger

children and feel more stable than the strollers with more

narrowly spaced wheels. The more narrow vehicles feel sleek

and slim, and fit through doors more easily.


Hand Brake: When we saw our first strollers,

we thought the hand brake was a cute accessory, one of those

things they add on so they can have more bullet points in the

features box. As soon as we started running with them,

though, we realized they are truly a wonderful addition to a

jogging stroller, particularly for those of us who live in

hilly areas. The hand brake allows the runner to maintain

form and pace when running downhill with the stroller, rather

than having to sit back and act as the brake to keep from

losing control of the stroller. This may not be a big deal on

small or shallow hills, but with long steep hills, lacking a

hand brake could create a significant break from your normal

(and healthy) running form.

Folding: There are two main bullet points to

consider for folding: How Small and How Easy. How Small

applies to you if you have a small car or storage space. In

that case, you'll probably want a stroller that folds

twice as these tend to have the smallest profile when folded.

How Easy, though, applies to any parent. If the stroller

takes 4 hands to break down or set up, then you can bet it

will be staying put together 100% of the time. Most strollers

take at least two hands to break down, but some can be easily

snapped fully into place with one hand. This is invaluable

when your other hand is occupied with carrying or comforting

a testy child, or holding on to any number of other things.


The Strollers
The biggest change since the last time we reviewed jogging

strollers (in 2002) is the swivel-option front wheel. In the

past, jogging strollers were for just that: jogging (or

running, as we Americans tend to call it). So a family

generally had to own a "regular" stroller and one

used for running. Most major brands of jogging strollers now

provide parents an option to get 2-in-1 with a front wheel

that can be locked into place for running or turned loose and

allowed to swivel, making the stroller much nicer to use for

walking. The result is that while your stroller garage now

requires only one parking place, the stroller has gotten more

complicated as companies try to satisfy the needs of users in

more situations. It is conceivable that parents who don't

run at all would purchase one of these strollers since the

big wheels and comfortable handles tend to make them much

easier to push than the ones with the small plastic wheels.


The other big change since our last review is that the

wheels, as a general rule, have gotten much smaller. The

largest wheels in 2002 were 24 inches and many measured in

around 20". In 2009, however, the largest wheel size,

16" was shared by several of the strollers and many were

smaller.