Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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545 of 547 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Kolcraft Contours Tandem vs Graco Quatto Duo, September 24, 2007
I've been trying to decide between the Kolcraft Contours Options Tandem and the Graco Quattro Duo. I needed a double stroller to accommodate my Graco Safe Seat car seat (my son arrives in Jan.) and my daughter who will be 20 mo. when he arrives. It came down to these 2 strollers. The Kolcraft is mostly sold online, but I was lucky to find one in a local baby store in my area and did a side-by-side comparison w/the Quattro using my daughter as a demo (currently 17 mo & 28" tall). Here are my findings:
C = Kolcraft Contours Options Tandem
Q = Graco Quattro Duo
LENGTH
C approx 52"
Q approx 50"
Nearly equal
WEIGHT
C approx 46 lbs w/seats & 40 lbs w/o
Q approx 39 lbs
Both are heavy, but equivalent
STEERING
C was slightly smoother to push over the Q
BASKETS
C was slightly larger & easily accessible from all sides than the Q
HANDLE
C Foam covered bar, not adjustable for height, 2 cup holders and storage case
Q Molded plastic handle bar, w/multiple hand positions, cup holder and storage case
CAR SEAT COMPATIBILITY
C Fits in front or rear seat, must remove stroller seat & insert car seat adapter frame and use strap from stroller frame to hold it securely in place. Overall, less disruptive to infant when transferring car seat from car to stroller.
Q Fits in rear seat only, no extra equip. needed. A bit cumbersome to install my Graco Safe Seat into stroller, I had to jiggle the seat to snap into place; more likely to disrupt infant.
SEAT SIZE
My child's head hit about 3" below the top of the seats in each model. I've read reviews that stated the seats were smaller in the C, but IMO they are equal.
SEAT COMFORT
C Fabric was soft yet durable. Seat cushioning looked more comfortable, had better quality construction & appeared more durable than Q.
SEATS
C Each seat (back and legs) can tilt back in 3 positions; would be less jarring to a sleeping child.
Q Only back portion of seats recline; 3 positions and only the rear seat fully reclines.
SEATING OPTIONS
C VERY versatile; just press buttons on the side of seat to remove seat to change positions. Children can both face forward, rear or one of each. Very cool!
Q Both seats permanently face forward.
FOOT RESTS
C Built into seat frame
Q Molded plastic attached to stroller frame.
Neither are adjustable to grow w/child's height. My child's feet were 1" from touching the foot rest in the C & hung several inches above the Q. One she'd outgrow, one she might grow into someday - IMO a wash.
LEG RESTS
C was easily adjustable in 3 positions - vertical as in a sitting position, horizontal w/legs straight out, or angled somewhere in-between.
Q No leg rests.
CANOPY
C Solid, durable fabric offers complete eye coverage from sun (if in upright position), smooth and quiet when sliding open & closed
Q Parent window on top and see-thru plastic windows on the side of canopy for child to see out; sun shines in side & into child's eyes; offers partial coverage (can't pull far enough forward), noisy & stiff to adjust.
CANOPY HEIGHT
Equal height. The top of my child's head was of equal distance from the top of canopy in each model.
EASE OF FOLDING
C Must remove rear seat (or car seat adapter) to fold. Requires 2 hands on side of stroller handle bar and 1 foot on basket to fold. Takes longer, but is easy enough to do.
Q Easy, quick & convenient one handed fold.
FOLDING POSITION
C Folds upright into standing position, requires no bending.
Q Folds flat onto ground, must bend down to pick up.
COMPACTNESS OF FOLD
C With 1 seat removed (3 lbs), folds a bit smaller than Q, and even more so if both seats are removed.
LIFTING
Q Has more intuitive grab bars.
C More awkward to lift. Grab handle bar and somewhere else; could use toddler handles on the side frame to lift but it's still awkward.
Neither is easy due to weight, but both are doable.
OVERALL APPEARANCE
C Not just my opinion, but I've read many reviews of others that LOVE the look of this stroller. It feels more open & less crowded than the Q.
OVERALL
It's called Contour OPTIONS for a reason. Lots of options and higher quality features give it a leg up over its competition. It's not perfect as it's slightly heavier and involves more steps to fold (hence the 4 stars). But overall, I think it's the better stroller - this is the one I'm going with!
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71 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Like a Bugaboo - for two!, February 18, 2007
The Kolcraft Contours Options Tandem Stroller is everything we have been searching for in a double stroller!
I can't stop grinning as I proudly wheel it along!
We have a 2 year old and a 4 month old.
As we had a Bugaboo Frog for our first child, we've been waiting for something just as good (but for 2 kids) to come on the market. In our opinion, the Kolcraft Contours Options Tandem Stroller fits the bill perfectly!
WE LOVE IT!
Our first double stroller was a side by side. It's width & it's weight made it totally impractical. It had to go.....
We were prepared to pay a lot of money for a new stroller, if it was the PERFECT stroller for us. We were considering a Jane Powertwin (triple the price of the Kolcraft Contours Options Tandem Stroller) - which still wouldn't have met all our needs anyway..... So when we discovered the Kolcraft Tandem, we couldn't believe the quality, for such a great price! It's perect for us!
We particularly love:
+ the flexibility in seating options
+ the enormous shopping basket
+ the easy-open armrests to make it easy to get in & out
+ the toddler step - for climbing in and out
+ the drink holders & knick knack compartment (perfect for your mobile phone!)
+ our MAXI COSI Cabrio fits in the car seat adaptor!!
+ the seats are comfortable for our 2 year old
+ it's easy to push
+ it's easy to manouvre
+ it fits through doorways easily
+ it's easy to get up curbs, even with the heavier child in front
+ it's easy to fold up
+ it fits in our VW Golf easily
+ it looks fantastic!
The only negative is that it doesn't come with a rain cover - something that we need because we live in Ireland! We're planning on using our Bugaboo rain cover for one seat, and purchasing another cover for the other seat. Hopefully that will work.....
We bought our Kolcraft Contours Options Tandem Stroller online through Amazon and had it delivered to our hotel in the States when we were over there.
We usually have both kids facing each other and they love it! So far we've had no trouble with leg room. The footrests adjust anyway, to make more room.
At first it felt very long, like driving a train - TOOT! TOOT! But we soon got used to it's length & it's fine....
It's a real head-turner too, because it looks so good and people haven't seen anything like it before!
So we give this product 5 stars! It may not be everyone's perfect double stroller, but it's definitely ours!
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54 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
great concept, poor design, February 17, 2007
***Ammendment: 2 weeks later....I have decided to keep this stroller. I still wish the seats were longer for my BIG baby. HOWEVER, I have found that I can easily switch the seat positions without removing the child (just detach and swing seat around). This is helpful because the seats definitely don't recline well in child facing child position, but if one child gets sleepy, I just swing the front seat forward and then there is plenty of room for each to recline. Also found that it is not as crowded when the temperature warms up and the babies aren't so bundled..good news for summer. It is very easy to steer. Cumbersome to get in and out of car, but doable. Kolcraft could definitely improve upon this, but good features for the money. I would INCREASE RATING TO 3 STARS. : )
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I was so excited to find this stroller for my 7 month old twins. It seemed to have the features that I had been searching for (I had been dreaming of a tandem bugaboo). I wanted a narrow stroller with two reversible seats. However, I doubt that Kolcraft ever tested this with real-live children!
Pros:
lots of space when both babies are facing forward
seats are easily removed
great sunshades
great basket
nice colors, style
Cons:
Seats are SOOOO shallow and short- my 22 lbs baby just barely fits
When children are facing each other, the seats cannot recline properly-the foot rests block the opposite seat from moving
When children are facing, there is not enough room for both of their feet!
When children are facing the driver, the seat closest to the handle cannot move properly-the footrest bumps into the basket
Very Heavy.
The seats recline as a whole unit rather than just the back part moving-makes it hard to recline with kids in the seats (in fact, the instructions tell you to remove the children BEFORE reclining- how inconvenient!)
I would recommend a test-drive with this stroller before purchasing so you can see how your own children will fit. It would probably be good for newborns up to 6 or 7 months, but after that, its use will be short-lived. Please Kolcraft, rework your great idea and design this better!!
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