Michelle's Test Drive Faceoff | Latitude vs. City Mini

Michelle's Test Drive

VS.

Molly's Height/Weight/Age during testing: 31"/20.5 lbs./13-14 months

Assembly

Not too complex: open the frame, install rear axle, pop on the tires, and snap in the sun canopy. The only step in which I struggled was the sun canopy. It takes a little strength to snap the plastic pieces into each other. The assembly took me about 10 minutes from opening the box to loading it into my trunk – with no help!

As always, assembling any Baby Jogger stroller is a piece of cake. Open the frame, pop on the wheels, and click in the sun canopy! It took about 5 minutes in total. You can just tell the materials are high quality and the stroller is well made. It’s small so this is easy to do by yourself.

Fold & Fit

The Latitude has a nice, compact fold! In my little Protégé’s trunk, it fit (with the wheels attached) with a full size pack n play and a 32 lb bucket of kitty litter! I still can’t believe my truck held all of that! The fold is not difficult, but requires a little practice. Push the adjustable handlebar all the way in, turn the lever on the left, and collapse. Valco has included a strap that keeps the stroller folded – always a bonus!

Love the Baby Jogger one step fold! There is a soft strap in the base of the seat. Simply pull it and the stroller is folded. It is very easy to carry with that same handle/strap. The City Mini is extremely lightweight and folds very flat. This is probably my favorite feature of the stroller. It’s really SO light and very portable. It folds almost completely flat. Probably the smallest fold I’ve seen!

Features

For a tiny stroller, the Latitude has lots of features! Big sun canopy, adjustable footrest, included grab bar and rain cover, good sized under seat storage and adjustable handlebar height. The only issue I ran into was the sun canopy kept coming loose when I folded the stroller. I think I must not have pushed it in tight enough. Probably user error!

Very nice canopy with two viewing windows. Easy to adjust seat recline. There aren’t really a lot of extra features on this stroller but it is simple to use and well made.

Getting Baby Comfy

I pulled the Latitude out of my trunk at the mall with the tags still attached so my mom and I had to “get baby comfy” in the parking lot! Adjusting the straps wasn’t particularly hard, but I would recommend doing it in advance. The buckle is tricky. It’s a puzzle piece that fits together before inserting it and then to release, you have to push the buckle further in and then push the release button. I wish they would have just made a standard, simple buckle for this stroller. Molly loved the adjustable footrest. I put it straight out for her and she was laying back and relaxing!

Our inaugural ride in the City Mini was during an evening filled with screaming from teething. So we sort of hurried out the door in the hopes that a nice walk would make things better. That means I was trying to adjust the straps after we took off and with a screaming baby in the seat. Not recommended! They were tricky to adjust. I suppose if I read the manual, it would have been easier. But I wouldn’t recommend winging it while you are on the go.

On The Road

This is the perfect little shopping stroller! It fits through aisles with ease. Turning radius is nice and tight. No tipping when I attached my giant diaper bag to the handle bar.

I’ve used the City Mini on outdoor neighborhood walks and in the mall. This is definitely better for indoor, or at least no terrain, use. I struggled to pop the front wheels onto curbs and much preferred using it while shopping. Molly seemed really comfy and happy. I used the seat in the fully upright position at the mall so she could see everything.

Learning Curve

After using the stroller a few times, you’ll have the hang of it. I struggled folding it the first few times but it certainly wasn’t hard to do. Just had to get used to the collapse step.

The stroller is simple therefore it’s easy to use. There isn’t really much to learn.