Replies: 4 comments

To reply to Bill: I've now had Max for six weeks and both my (5'2) girlfriend and I (5'11) have had quite a lot of time pushing him around in it. And it's wonderful. No problems with centre of gravity, controllable with hands anywhere on the bar (even fairly controllable with only one hand). Before I bought it (and I did have a chance to test it) I spoke to a couple of people who had one and they had no complaints either.

Posted by Stephen @ 09/09/2003 10:44 PM GMT

I'm dubious. For all the prattle about ergonomics, the thing looks clumsy. High center of gravity to accommodate stowage underneath. The handle bar or push bar is arched or bowed or curved, suggesting need to keep hands together when pushing--even a clunky supermarket cart has a straight bar for max control with hands comfortably wide apart.

Most troubling of all (since I can't see one in a store here, only order online)is that the handle appears to be of fixed length--not adjustable to parents of different heights. I'm 5'8" and well recall the torture of pushing an umbrella stroller--handles too short and grips badly shaped besides. The Bugaboo doesn't look much better. An article in my local paper touts the Bugaboo as the latest in pricy yuppie-must-have-toys (and notes that Apricas and other recent favorites are suddenly old hat), but it doesn't include user experience. A photograph accompanying the story
shows a tallish man (6ft?) pushing a Bugaboo with baby seated, facing forward--and the man is plainly stooping in order to reach down to the short handle, which also seems to crowd his body close to the stroller so he can't take a normal stride. It seems to me that a non-adjustable handle is un-ergonomic on its face and unacceptable at this price level. (At least the miserable umbrella stroller was so cheap you could afford to throw it out in a rage before it crippled you.)

So user experience is critical here. Is there a user 5'8" or taller who can discuss this?