Customer Reviews

Evenflo Aura Select Travel System, Georgia Stripe

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am a first time Mommy so you know what that means: I spent weeks reading reviews and in stores, snapping the car seat in and out of the base, holding it in my hand, fastening and unfastening seatbelts, before actually purchasing one. After my research I was torn between BabyTrends and Evenflo and decided Evenflo for three reasons: The shoulder straps were longer (although BabyTrends has the easiest strap/head rest adjustment system I have ever seen!), the base was easier to adjust and the method to remove the car seat from the base was in the rear instead of the front. I feel strongly about my purchase, so here is the break down:

What's in the box:
Instructions: Care, Assembly, how to install base, and how to adjust straps
The stroller: already assembled except the wheels and front tray for the baby.
The car seat: Already assembled except the canopy, includes removable head rest
Adjustable (to three different heights) Stay in car Base: Includes belt for LATCH system if your car has LATCH anchors

Assembly:

No tools required except a knife/scissors to open the package. VERY easy to assemble, and I am 8 1/2 months pregnant. The most "difficult" thing to put together is the rear wheel axel, and even that was easy! I did have a hard time locating the rear wheels because they were packaged in the basket under the stroller. Also, I didn't realize the front tray needed to be in a certain position to open the stroller, so I struggled a couple of minutes to figure that out too. It took me all of 10 minutes to have everything snapped in place. I even was able to snap the car seat itself on and off of the stroller in that 10 minutes. The canopy for the car seat just snaps in the little slots on the side.

Installment:

My vehicle has the LATCH system in the backseat, so installing the adjustable base was a breeze. I simply hooked the latches to the anchors, put as much weight on the base as I could (I drive an SUV so this was a little challenging) and tightened the strap. That base will not budge and is perfectly leveled! I have not, however, tried to install the base with the seatbelt, but I don't see why it would be any more difficult.

Pro's:

This system was very easy to put together. The majority of the information in the booklets is baby safety with this system. The car seat is tested for side impact to ensure baby's safety. The handle on the car seat allows your to hold it more naturally, and the car seat is not too heavy. The system is also very sleek looking. The price is VERY reasonable and affordable, but you get more than your money's worth. The storage basket underneath is very large. It will easily fit a diaper bag and a few shopping bags as well. The extra features make it all that much more special: The wipe dispenser on the top is great for when baby spits up, you don't have to dig out the diaper bag to clean him up. The cup holders for Mommy are also a nice touch! And even though this has nothing to do with product review, this item qualified for free shipping! And even with that, I got it in THREE DAYS!! The base is wonderfully easy to use, and the one handed steering on the stroller does come in handy when you need to answer your cell phone!

Con's:

It takes a little more maneuvering than what it boasts to collapse the stroller. I usually have to have it up against another item for the "one handed folding" feature to work, or else the stroller collapses but doesn't lock. Also, it isn't free standing once folded, so you have to lean it against something. The rear wheels are slightly wider than the front ones, I'd say an inch on either side, so sometimes when you think you have clearance in tight spaces because the front wheels go through, the the width of the back wheels prevent clearance. In regards to the car seat base, once its installed it is pretty tricky to adjust the base to a different height. I found that I need to totally disengage the base, adjust it, then reinstall it. In regards to the car seat, the straps are a pain to adjust to the higher slots but I think that is common with any car seat. I found that if I push the fabric down and give it a little slack underneath, the metal fasteners pop off pretty easily. The stroller is also a bit heavy and takes up a lot of room, even in my SUV.

Overall, I am very satisfied with my purchase. It was 150.00 (even though it was 10.00 cheaper the week before, it was still on sale from 170.00) which is affordable on almost any budget. The system is sturdy and easy to use. I would recommend it to anyone!!

******UPDATE******
6 months later I am still in love with this set. I use the car seat on a daily basis and the stroller once a week. Everything still works beautifully! The base is GENIUS! I didn't realize though that with some Evenflo sets (NOT THE SELECT TRAVEL SYSTEM) the base is NOT adjustable. The car seat cover had to go through the wash a few times, VERY easy to remove and reattach! It came nice and clean (THANK YOU FRONT LOADER MACHINE!!!) and the seat still looks nice and new! I would still recommend this to anyone, my cons are easier to tolerate but they are still the same. The stroller doesn't seem as heavy anymore, or maybe I just got used to it LOL. My Pros are still ease of use, durability, looks, features, and price. WELL WORTH IT!

******Another Update******
It's been a year. My son has out grown the car seat (it got impossible to carry right around 11 1/2 months old because of his weight) and has since moved on to a big boy car seat. The car seat STILL looks wonderful. Good thing, because I am expecting my second child....and this set WILL be passed on to his sibling LOL. I Still use the stroller often.....I bent the umbrella on the stroller trying to stuff it in the trunk (along with an excersaucer and a big suitcase) of a small rental car on a trip I took in July. That was mostly my fault because I over stuffed the trunk, but then again, it is a large stroller. My feelings towards this set has not changed. I have put this set through a lot of battery testing, countless spills, diaper messes, food accidents....and it comes in out the wash looking wonderful and feeling softer. I will STILL recommend this set to anyone. Thanks for reading, sorry for such a long review!

I bought this stroller in the "Pink Cuddle Bear" print two months ago and overall am happy with my purchase. The reviews I read had me rather concerned! For instance, one user mentioned that a wheel had just fallen off the stroller. After using it almost daily for the past two months however, the only way I could see that happening is if you didn't use the locking pin that is included during installation. I was also worried because some people had mentioned the handle on the carseat breaking. I did research and found that that was indeed a problem with the older model but has since been fixed for this one. Yet another user complained that their childs head "flopped forward" during use because of the angle of the carseat. I agree that the angle is more upright than that of other carseats I've looked at, but when resting on any flat surface the curve of the bottom of the carseat allows it to sit just right. For car-use the base adjusts too, again allowing it to sit just right. Definately a non-issue!

The only reason I didn't give it the full 5 stars (aside from being a tough critic) are the few problems I have run into. First of all the stroller doesn't stand alone when folded. I usually just lock the wheels and prop it, but I have seen the stand alone feature on other strollers and could see where it would be more convienient. Additionally, as others have mentioned, because of the light color of the fabric dirt shows rather quickly. If I had the choice to go between a darker fabric or this adorable print even now though I would STILL choose the pink. A few extra cleanings is just worth it to me :) The whole systems cleans rather easily. I am dissapointed that when I machine washed the carseat pad a super-small seperation of the fabric fibers occured in one area, leaving a tiny hole. It only required a couple of stitches to fix, but I will be handwashing in the future to avoid any more problems. My washer doesn't have a delicate cycle (as suggested to wash the pads) so the tear is probably more my fault then the actual product.

I would recommend this product to a friend. It's cute and functional. In my house we call it "The Cadillac" because it looks so luxurious for a stroller system!!

This set is very nice. The stroller is well made, with metal legs instead of plastic. The one hand fold and steering are great. The car seat is easy to snap in and out of the base. We like the more ergonomic handle for carrying the car seat (most car seats have straight handles). In addition, you can buy extra bases to keep in different cars.

There are a couple of drawbacks: The fabric, although super cute, is a little rough. Not a huge problem because we use soft blankets around our baby anyway. The car seat base is very stable when put in with the clips. It tends to shift when attached to the car with just the seatbelt.

Overall, I would buy this again.

We purchased this travel system 2 months ago when our second daughter was born. It was bought to replace our older Graco system that we saved after having our 1st daughter. I bought based on they styling and cute girly pattern plus what I thought was a great value. Immediately when I got the seat out I noticed that it was much lighter and not nearly as sturdy feeling as our Graco seat. The sun hood is smaller and doesn't offer as much coverage, and the carrying handle doesn't feel tough and reliable. That was our first impression, then we put the seat in our car and started using it. Only to notice by day 2 that the seat sits much more upright than the Graco and caused our newborns head to flop forward. We used the best adjustment to try and prevent it and not luck, it is just designed to be more upright I guess. Still yet we have continued to use it but over the past month now that the baby is a little older we've been out at least 3-4 times a week shopping and out to lunch and have discovered a new irritation. The seat WILL NOT fit the standard high chair stands (the ones that you flip upside down) in restaurants and I mean all of them. We eat out a lot and I have yet to run across a stand design that will work with this seat. They also will not fit properly on shopping carts either. The handle base is too wide and causes the problem, not necessarily the seat itself. The stroller is nice but also has the lighter, "not made so well" feel and the wheel base is much wider which is difficult for maneuvering while shopping as well. I have decided today with irritation after irritation that we will take this system to the consignment shop and stick with our old Graco. My 2nd time new mommy nerves cannot handle any extra aggravation while out with two children. Please do not consider this as a suitable alternative if you are used to the Graco functioning and feel. I do love the look of the whole travel system though!

Overall this is a good buy, especially for the price, but it's big and bulky, as most travel systems are, and didn't fit well in my Mazda 3.
Pros: I'm tall and don't have to bend to use the stroller; manuevers well; handy cup holder; nice print; convenient to use stroller with infant seat; Z-shaped handle on seat
Cons: According to the manual, infant seat handle has to be 1 in. from back of seat in front of it and in the down position. Most infant seats allow for the handle to be up in the car--not this one! Therefore there was not enough room to fit this seat in my Mazda 3 safely. It failed the car seat inspection; Stroller is big to fit in the trunk and heavy to lift in; Wheels shake a little.
As this is my first child, I am quickly learning how fast they grow out of the infant seat, making the bulky stroller a little unneccessary. If I had to do it again, I would buy a stroller frame to put my infant seat in and get a good lightweight stroller to use in a recline position and for sitting upright as my child grows.

We had a much more expensive stroller and car seat combo and it wasn't nearly as good as this one. It collapses easily, turns sharply, has a place for wipes and they even give you a free sample. The car seat clicks in really fast to both the base and the stroller. I have carpal tunnel and it doesn't hurt to carry my daughter because of the direction they have the handle. My son who is 3 and a half and is a really big boy width, and length wise can fit into the stroller comfortably. There aren't many regular strollers that he can fit into, but this one is that roomy. The only thing my hubby doesn't like is when it sits in the stroller he thinks it sits up right to much. He feels it should be tilted back more like when it sits in the base.

i love it i just wish the canopy on the care seat was a little bit bigger !!

The Aura select is easy to assemble and was ready to go in twenty minutes after opening the box. the big disappointment though was the fabric (it was coarse/non-soft). One would have thought all the different colors in the aura select range would be made of the same type of fabric.. however it turns out the black is the only color with the softer fabric.. we were deceived into thinking that the lower price on the pink was only a factor of the color and not the fabric... a difference of [...] bucks.. in hind sight .. maybe I shud have gone for the black.. may be the manufacturers can clarify this when they post product info..
hence the three stars.. so far the travel system has performed within normal parameters

I have had this system in the Georgia Stripe for 13 months. The car seat became hard to carry around 11 months, 19 lbs, but still do-able for a child that cannot yet walk. I find my son sweats a bit in it, but I think that is par for the course, so dress your baby accordingly. The base and carseat fit well in our Pontiac Vibe, and our Toyota Sienna. We also put it in my mother-in-Law's Honda Civic and it fit just fine. I love the center handle on the stroller! I sometimes find myself carrying the baby in one arm and having only one hand to steer the stroller. It is a rugged stroller, we have litterally put many, many miles on it. It does pretty well over the bumpy sidewalks. The wheels are getting a little bowed, but it still rides smoothly. It fits in the trunk easily. The storage under the stroller is HUGE! The cupholders are very safe, and have never failed to keep our drinks from dumping on the baby. I think this color works for either sex. Although it is blue, I cannot count how many people approached asking to see our little girl when the sun shades where closed. I have found only two faults. 1) The main seat does not sit fully upright. My son often needs a blanket behind his back and head for support. 2) The latch that holds the folded stroller closed catches on the fabric, and has ripped a hole in it. It gets caught in that hole while opening the stroller. I saw another one in the shopping mall, in the same color, with the same ailment! With that said, I would still pass this down to a friend. It is worth the small investment. The fabric washes well without fading. If you are thinking of having two children within 3 years, I suggest checking into the Phil & Teds inline strollers. They convert to a double without a bigger footprint than a single, and cover birth to 44 pounds. Rather than buying several strollers, I would have invested in the P & T from the beginning if I had known about it! It does it all! You can find a great deal on Amazon and eBay.

Stylish and functional. Folds down easily and isn't too heavy. The handle height on the stroller is perfect, works for 5'3" me and 6' tall hubby. The handle of the infant carrier/car seat is comfortable as well.