I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for GB. I received a GB stroller to facilitate my review as well as thank me for my participation.
I wouldn’t ever call myself a stroller expert, but as the owner of MANY and the borrower of few, I’ve seen a lot come and go. My friends have lots of adorable babies, I’ve had my share of babysitting adventures, and as the future mom of two, I really have a handle on what my needs are and the gear I need to accomplish my day. Now, the strollers I have owned have been single riders, and although Red may be almost 4, his legs can get tired on big trips and sometimes, let’s be honest. I need a containment unit. A home base. The Evoq Travel System is a full size 4-in-1 stroller system that is going to allow me to have both children ride along AND storage to boot.
A modular system, the Evoq only took me 7 minutes to remove from the box and fully assemble. The “hardest” part was snapping on the wheels, and that was a breeze. I was impressed with the lightweight of the frame, and the sheer sturdiness that it offers for it’s size. As for the modular pieces, there is the frame (which does a few things), the Asana35 Infant car seat, the child seat, and the car seat base. That’s it! The frame accommodates the car seat like a “snap and go,” clicks into the child seat (which shifts forward and back on the frame to allow for a ride along child) and has ample storage in the lower basket. The toddler seat and the carseat both sit on the frame facing forward AND facing out. You have the freedom to choose which way you want baby to sit! The car seat does have an easy release on the back, allowing it to release from both the car seat base as well as the stroller. It’s minimal effort and very simple for such a secure fit. The firm-fit installation is the first time I’ve ever seen a guaranteed way to have the tightest seat belts possible.
I’m really excited to use the ride along feature when the new baby is born (we find out the gender in a WEEK!!!!) and have both kids on the same stroller. Now, granted, I know Red won’t want to ride all the time. He’s found his independence and likes to walk holding hands, carrying his own bag o’ toys and hopping all over the place. But having this immediate option is glorious. When Red was a little baby, I had a few strollers that accomplished these same tasks… a frame to hold the car seat, and a stroller that converted from a bassinet to a toddler seat. It’s almost like the modern car seat – more and more companies are offering “the only car seat you’ll ever need,” but this stroller really will accommodate baby #2 from birth to age 4-5 AND let Red ride along for a while! The child weight limit is 50 pounds, and Red is already 41. And speaking of those 41 pounds, this is what a 3.5 year old toddler looks like in the seat:
He fits, but only just (he’s too long, not too wide)! The seat belts are too short for him, even fully extended. His legs barely fit into the seat leg rest, but instead reach to the foot rest at the bottom. Please keep in mind that this 3.5 year old is much larger than your normal breed of preschooler. Most of his playmates and schoolmates would fit in here nicely. Perhaps we’ll save both the car seat AND the child seat for Red’s sibling! He’s much more at home on the ride along portion, and seems to be very happy there… at least until his little sibling shows up and start playing with all his toys. 🙂
EDIT: Now that Scarlett was born, I had a chance to put her in the carseat, and I was really unhappy with the straps. With a new “self adjusting” harness, the shoulder straps are spring loaded to push down. For any baby that can’t sit up and engage core muscles, this is can be EXTREMELY constricting and possibly painful. I wouldn’t recommend this carseat to any baby that can’t sit up yet.
GB products are sold exclusively at Babies “R” Us stores.
Is there a way for us to strap him in to the standing portion? Could we use handcuffs? Anything to keep that monkey contained =)
I actually rolled him around the house for what seemed like an hour… It was super fun for him 🙂 But no monkey handcuffs.
That sounds like a nice travel system. I haven’t needed one for many years, but they sure have come a long way since my boys were babies.
This looks like a great stroller. I’m a big fan of items like this that are both super tough and super easy to use and store.
That looks like a great travel system. I have my grandsons a lot and we love to take them out shopping, it would be great to have our own travel system.
That looks like a nice sturdy stroller. Looked a little daunting at first but it appears to be a great systems from the looks and sounds of it.
No kiddos here and my nieces and nephews are all too big, but I will keep in mind for any expecting friends. Even though I don’t have children, they think as a blogger I know everything about every product on the market! LOL
Thanks for sharing your HONEST opinions! 🙂
That is such a cool stroller and I love the ride along part! This would have been perfect for when my daughter could walk but but my son was still a baby!
A good stroller is a must! We’ve been through so many and have never found the perfect one and now we are almost finished with needing them.
I look at these updated strollers and I wonder why they weren’t around when my kids were little. So much as changed since then
I love the ride-along feature! And also, 7 minutes box to set-up is AWESOME!
This does look like a great stroller! I also like how it’s not big and bulky. I made the mistake of thinking bigger was better when my kids were babies. That is so not true!
My son is 7, way over the stroller age, YET when we went to the zoo in DC at Christmas time, he was the one who fell asleep, and he’s way too big to carry. My DIL let me borrow her stroller and I was oh so so glad to have it. 🙂 This one looks awesome. I love how fast it was to assemble.
I had a horrible double stroller with my first two kids. It was heavy, bulky, and just miserable. Strollers really have come a long way.
Sounds great! I love the idea of the older kiddo being able to stand. I have a sit n stand and it’s huge compared to this, so I would love this. Especially with that feature!
That looks like such a handy travel system. I wish we had something like this when my nephew was little.
What a great looking travel system. I’m glad to see you posting (or maybe I just have been missing your posts?) again. It looks like kiddo is getting really tall.
OMG congrats on the pregnancy! What a great stroller to have when the little one comes!
Thanks a bunch! Yes, having this with two littles will be really helpful.
That is amazing, Very versatile. Just love all the features.
That does look like a great stroller. I know I tried so many when my kids were younger.
This is great. I love the way you can break everything down. That’s great for storage. I just sold a convertible stroller that didn’t fold up much. It was taking up way too much space.
I love this travel system. It is such a great idea to have the stand up part in the back.
I would love to have one of these for my granddaughter.
I am looking into getting this stroller. I am assuming that yo have had your little one. Any new reviews now that you have used it? I have been reading comments in regards to the self adjusting straps on other sight. Do you have any comments on it good or bad? I have a 5 yr old so that little step in the back is very appealing but I want to fist make sure this is a safe and comfy ride for our new little blimp.
Thanks!
Hi! Thanks for asking. I think the ride along feature is GREAT and my son loves it. You’re right about the self-adjusting straps. What was a good idea is TERRIBLE in actuality. They are like a baby vice grip, and would only be useful if the child could already sit upright and have natural ability to push back against the straps. Otherwise, it’s very uncomfortable for a baby. I will edit the post to reflect that!