Review: Inglesina AVIO Stroller

I have a great jogging stroller. I worked hard to find the money to pay for it. As much as I love it though, sometimes when we are out, Charlotte doesn't need to be strapped in. She is so much better at obeying us in public places that I decided we were ready for a single city-style stroller for short walks or trips to the mall and farmer's market. So, I was waiting patiently to find the money to buy one because a simple, $15 umbrella stroller didn't quite meet my needs.

Then, my friends at Mom Central asked me to review the new Inglesina AVIO stroller. They even let me pick the color! I wanted to pick purple, but that color wasn't available so I settled on the fuschia stroller.

When it arrived, both girls happened to be napping so I happily opened the box to assemble my new "toy." About 10 minutes into assembly, Mary woke up. Despite that, it took me about 30 minutes to put it together, which is less time than I spent putting together my Graco before Charlotte was born.

First impression - The color is awesome and the sun shade is huge. I definitely can not open and close it with one hand as advertised. I like the size and accessibility of the bottom basket (way better than the BOB!).

First time out - I took the girls to the local children's museum and since it was near Mary's nap time brought the stroller in. The slim profile (about 19 1/2 inches wide) made it super easy to navigate around displays, games, and children. We finished with lunch in the park (pictured above) and the crumbs Mary left behind were easy to clean up. If I had needed to though, the seat is fully removable and is hand washable.

After I used it a couple of times, I am really glad it can turn so easily. On a dime really. Mr Graco could do that and I wouldn't expect anything less of new strollers these days. I think my favorite feature of the inglesina avio stroller (besides the awesome bold color) is the huge sun shade. My least favorite part is the lack of a cup holder. I always have a drink of some sort with me and I miss not having a  place to put it. It does have a handy place to keep the baby's bottle though.

Oh, and if you ever get a stroller like this, I do not recommend trying to teach your husband how to open it via text message. Especially if the bottom basket is caught on a wheel. It won't work and your husband will not properly appreciate the beauty and ease of the stroller once he does eventually get it open. Just sayin'. I have no idea how this happened but it was easy to fix so he could get the stroller fully open.

One last piece of good news before I go. Right now, Diapers.com is offering 10% off to new customers using Diapers.com coupon code GET10PCT. After looking at the offer details, it seems you can indeed use this on the Inglesina AVIO strollers and get free shipping as well. Yay!

 

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Inglesina and received an Avio stroller to facilitate this review.