It appears that they have had 185 reports of the Zooper Tango’s frame latching mechanism failing.   Lan Enterprises says that the recall involves Zooper Tango double strollers with model numbers SL808B and SL808F made between January 1, 2007 and April 30, 2008.  Zooper has produced a free repair kit you can obtain by calling 888-966-7379.

Zooper Recalls Tango Double Stroller

–Happy Strolling!

Click here for the  direct link to the Bugaboo Bee Plus

Happy Strolling!

For weeks i have been bugging Bugaboo about when I could show our awesome readers the improvements to the new Bee Plus stroller due out April 1st.  Well our amazing Bugaboo rep called and finally gave me the green light.  Awesome huh?

Except I’m on vacation.  But now worries I have my laptop.  Think again! I forgot to download the video to my laptop before leaving.  My footage is sitting happily on my flip right now snoozing on my bedside table!  Sorry guys! I’ll post it to the entry as soon as I return.

In the meanwhile, I’ll share the highlights here.

Pros:

* Much easier to reverse.  The complicated 20-step seat reversal is a thing of the past!  This means you can easily flip the seat if siblings are sharing the stroller and prefer to sit different directions. That being said I kept it rear-facing for 18 mos with my daughter and now it’s forward facing only.  But that’s me.

* Higher canopy.  Just like the footrest currently extends or shrinks for younger or older kids, the seat length now extends for older kids so the canopy is right over them whatever height they are.

* The handlebar height has 10 settings.  This means you adjust it and click it into a particular place.  This helps when you are unfolding the stroller and pulling on the handlebar.  If you do this with the current bee, the handlebar extends, with the new Bee Plus, the handlebar will stay right where you left it at.

* No wings.  Ok we are pretty happy Bugaboo found a way to remove these.  I don’t find them a big deal with loading my daughter in but this is probably the second biggest gripe we hear about the Bee. (#1 is the reversibility mechanism)

Cons:

* The price.  The new price will be $629 for the new Bee + your choice of color canopy.  Improvements come at a price!

* The canopy is smaller.  Bugaboo said they had complaints from some people that the canopy was too big.  Who are these people? Seriously we love the current canopy  but the new canopy seems adequate. The new Breezy canopy is supposed to extend it though for those who still want more coverage.

* The carrying handle is gone.  When I fold mine, I grab it by the carry handle to hoist into my minivan.  This handle is gone.  Apparently some people were annoyed by it’s tendency to block the fold on occasion if you aren’t careful.  Now you can carry by the frame. It’s not a biggie but we’ll miss it!

What’s the same?

The basket is still the same size/shape.  Roomy but better access from the front.  The handlebar still goes low/high.  The seat recline is still great to upright. The suspension still rocks and the maneuverability is still one of the best!

Wait or Buy Now?

We like the upgrades, not the price increase.  My basic feeling is that if you need easy reversibility then wait.  If you have huge kids, then wait.  If you can find a great deal on a current Bee, buy now.  If you have no choice and you’re reading this in August, 2010 and there are no “regular Bees” out there, then I guess the choice has been made for you already.

Either way I think the Bee is an awesome reversible stroller and a solid choice for many families who don’t need off-road versatility but want a lightweight little workhorse around town.  At Let’s Go Strolling we definitely love ours!

Stay tuned for our video update coming soon. . .

Corrections from Bugaboo:

* The height adjustable backrest is key innovation on the new stroller that simultaneously adjusts with the sun canopy and 5-point harness to four different height positions; a ground breaking feature that has not yet been seen on any stroller in the market.  It gives toddlers more “head room” as they grow.

* backrest shape – the new ergonomically shaped backrest has been redesigned to mirror the natural shape of a child’s back making the new bugaboo Bee more comfortable for the child.  There’s also a more upright seat position allowing the child to easily see the world while getting the support they need.

* Bugaboo also noted that the stroller frame is wider and the end of the seat is wider. That being said, the width at the base where the child’s butt is, is not any wider so that dimension won’t actually change but it does LOOK roomier which is something parents always worried about, ” But won’t it be too small?”

I hope these clarifications help our readers!

Where can you get this beauty now?  Well since it is now a sold-out limited edition, I usually have to say there are none left!  But we just got word that there are two more left of these beauties! Keep in mind these are refurbished strollers which means they have the exclusive Pink/Blue split fabric/canopies.  They do however have all black baskets instead of the initial baskets with one pink pocket and one blue pocket.  This full-loaded strollers still comes with matching footmuffs, a zip-in UV sunshade, tire pump and maintenance kit, cupholder and storm canopy.

Grab yours now at Let’s Go Strolling while they last and you can look at cool as Brooke pushing your kids!  Keep in mind that last December when we had located two of these valuable refurbished pink/blues, we sold them in less than a week so don’t dilly dally!

KidKustoms Roddlers are the strollers you get for the parents who have everything or just what you get for your guy to make sure he’s willing to do his fair share of stroller pushing.  These are really not just strollers, they are true works of art! (Click below here for a video demo about them!)

Each KidKustoms Roddler stroller is hand assembled/painted/overseen by the amazing Joe Iacono and his team.  Joe is a total car guy who for some inexplicable reason, realized he could make a more beautiful stroller than any others out there – especially one more geared to Dads and/or people who appreciate truly fine car craftsmanship.  Since each stroller is truly hand-crafted, we work closely with Joe and our Let’s Go Strolling KidKustoms customers to create the stroller of their dreams.

We’ve had the honor this year to work with customers to create some pretty smokin’ strollers.  They’ve had monogrammed seats, ipod connectors and speakers, rear fender reflectors and even custom-designed fender art.  Unfortunately since these are special order for some high-profile customers, we can’t show them here – but trust us, they would blow you away!  Here’s one Roddler they did for International Pin-Up model Sabina Kelley, which, I have to say, is pretty cute.

Anyways back to us (of course!).  For our Roddler, we had Joe do a bit more toned-down version for the Let’s Go Strolling store in our signature green color.  A few months later a Romanian pop-star needed one ASAP for her music video.  Since Joe lives about 20 minutes from us, he called and asked if he could send ours to Romania and make us a new one.  Of course we agreed.

Joe just forwarded on these Parazzi shots of the famous (though unknown to me!) Corina l-a botezat pe Robin with our, I mean her, KidKustoms stroller.  So even though we’re not hounded by the Paparazzi yet, our strollers sure are!

While we can easily speak to looks & comfort, we’re of course concerned with safety since it is our kids (and yours) that we’re talking about.  Clek impressed us with their attention to safety – evident in their use of a energy-absorbing foam combined with a magnesium frame and structural headrest to provide better impact and intrusion protection, easy latch installation for safety when you kids are and are not in their booster (no flying carseats upon impact folks!) and belt guides for safe seatbelt positioning.  Well the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety just released their ratings of Booster Seats and the Clek Oobr had their top rating and was chosen as one of their top “Best Best”.  Not that we were surprised of course, but 3^rd party verification is always awesome to have!

In honor of this accomplishment, we’re providing our loyal blog readers with a code to save 10% off the purchase of their own Clek Oobr for the next month (or while supplies last).  Use coupon code LGSOobr at checkout for 10% off the purchase of your very own Oobr at our website Let’s Go Strolling.

Haven’t you been thinking it’s time to move your preschooler to a great booster?

Although there are no functional changes between the later model year 2009 EX Twin and Single Trimodes, the 2010 Twin and Single Trimodes have arrived in all brand new colors.  Valco has also jazzed up their stroller colorways, but putting the accent color in the canopy extension.  It really pops when the canopy is fully open!  Plus you can order now for a free Valco snack tray (valued at $26) included with your order (while supplies last!)  You can also grab up a 2009 EX Single Trimode version for a fabulous sale price!

The Valco Ion in the single and twin versions were released in a small supply in the fall but due to its immense popularity, it is now fully in stock and we know why.  I’m preparing a blog just about the Valco Ion which I use and love, but it’s safe to say for now – this is one lightweight you’ll reach for everytime.

Lastly the brand new Valco Latitude EX is now in stock (in most colors, the rest come in February).  The new Latitude EX has an extendable canopy for better coverage as well as a higher seat back and longer legrest to fit taller children.  We have heard from some customers that version one of the Latitude did have a few reliability issues.  Customer feedback and roadtests have revealed that the Latitude EXs are more consistent with Valco’s usual high standards and durability.  If you want to snap up a great deal though – check out the Open Box Latitude Twins on our website now for a steal!

So check out the new Trimode colors below and tell us – which new color is your favorite?

Melissa and I are donating money to charities that deliver food and medical care to the Haitian people.  We’ve also put up a banner link on the home page of our website to make it easy for others to donate.  If you’ve been thinking about donating but haven’t gotten around to it, or don’t know where to donate, we recommend the Red Cross.  You can click here or on the banner on the front page of our website to go straight to the Red Cross donation page.

We believe every little bit does make a difference.

Due to “developmental changes,” Baby Jogger has pushed back the ship date of Chicco adaptors to April, 2010.  This of course is no certain guarantee of availability for all of you planning to use a Chicco adaptor with your next baby.

Of course we’re bummed and we know some of you are too.  Keep in mind though that Baby Jogger does fit the Graco Snugride and Snugride 32 as well as the Peg Perego (the two most popular carseat models) and the Britax and Evenflo infant seats.  Hope this information is helpful to some of you doing your advance planning!

School is finally back in session this week after two long long long weeks at home with my brood.  Generally between xmas and New Year’s is pretty slow here at Let’s Go Strolling so it seemed an ideal time to take off a couple of weeks to spend with my family since my kids are out of school.

This idea turned out to be better in theory than practice.  First my middle son got sick (right on his birthday too!) and ended up coughing endlessly and spending nights awake on the bathroom floor.  As he recovered my toddler daughter got sick, as did my Dad who was visiting for the holidays.

This meant planned outings seemed distinctly less appealing and both my husband and I were grouchy and sleepy during the daytimes.  Then the whining began – “I’m bored.” “There’s nothing to do.” “Can I go to the toy store and buy a gift?”  Nothing like spending time with whiny kids spoiled from too many gifts and sweets to really make you feel like you’re doing a successful job of parenting.

Then New Year’s came and since my parents were visiting – we had babysitters!  We made movie/dinner plans with a couple of friends and got ready to have one night out alone on the town to ring in 2010.  Until around 3pm when our friends called to tell us their babysitter had the flu!  We brought dinner to their house and rang in New Year’s on their couch.  Maybe next year. . .

Needless to say – I had a big smile sending my kids to school on Monday and heading back to work.  I really love time with my kids, but I’m thinking spending times with them during a non flu/cold season might be a better way to go. . .

P.S. Thanks to all our fabulous Teutonia Stroller Giveaway entries. It was won by Matt who entered for his wife Jessica!  What a devoted husband.  We’re so happy for them and they are thrilled.  Meanwhile did you check out these photos of Heidi Klum with her new Teutonia?