Kid-Friendly Phoenix Hikes

It's been a minute (or a few million) but we're back to blogging! Our kids are much older, and there's a whole other child now, so it's time to get back to it! We're in the midst of summer here in Phoenix but let's talk about outdoor activities here with kids because I'm sure you're planning to come here when it's NOT over 115 degrees.

Grab one of our great Bob Revolution jogging stroller rentals or hiking backpack rentals and hit the trails.  

Some kid friendly trails that we like are:

White Tanks Waterfall Trail - there may or may not be an actual waterfall (usually not since it only rains 7" a year here), but there's usually at least a small pool at the the end of the trail, plus great views of the Phoenix area. There are hieroglyphs along the very wide trail with good explanations of everything along the way, plus a chance to see desert plants up close and personal.  The trail is pretty easy and you could even take a jogging stroller 3/4 of the way if really necessary.  There's a large playground near the trailhead and plenty of picnic areas as well. The trail itself is about a mile long (so two miles round trip). Our oldest walked the entire trail with no problem by age 5.  Enter off Olive Road in the far west valley. Here's a map.

Papago Park - Stroller-friendly trail with benches for resting. A cool window rock to climb into at the top! 1.2 miles. Enter at Papago Park Road on the west side of Galvin Parkway just north of Van Buren Street, Phoenix

Judith Tunnell Accessible trail - South Mountain Park Edcuational Center 10409 S Central Ave. Phoenix. Two 1/2 mile flat paved loops available. 

Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park - up for a short drive? 55 miles east of central Phoenix. This park shows off some beautiful landscapes.  Several accessible dirt paths for walking.

(photo:Boyce Thompson Arboretum)

New phil & ted's Explorer on order!

The newly released phil & ted's Explorer offers some much anticipated upgrades to the popular Sport model. Keeping the same frame, great 12"air tires, and versatile doubles kit, the overall look is sleek and stylish. Here are some of the nice new features coming your way.

1. Seat design - There's now a removable padded insert in red, navy, green, or black. The stroller and frame are all black, with the exception of the all apple green model. The inserts are interchangeable should you wish to change up the color of your buggy. Both the main and doubles kit seats are made with a new design allowing for better air flow and both use a newer quick release harness system like the Smart Buggy. The quick release harness system has two release points on the harness, one for each side, instead of four like the Sport model.

2. Plastic covering in foot well - Similar to the Dash buggy, the Explorer's footwell now has a plastic kick mat instead of all fabric, making it easier to clean.

3. Pedal brake - A new pedal "flip-flop friendly" foot brake is replacing the old wire brake system. From an avid flip-flop wearer, this is a very necessary upgrade. No more bending down to release the brake with your hand.

4.One hand fold - The two release clips on each side have been replaced with one release under the base of the seat, making a one hand fold possible.

5. Sun canopy - Another great upgrade from the Sport is the new follow the sun canopy. The canopy is not attached at the back of the stroller so it can be rotated all the way forward and back to keep the sun out of baby's eyes.

6. Sun canopy for second seat - The doubles kit for the new Explorer now gets a sun canopy as well! The doubles kit attaches the same way that it did in the previous Sport model, to both the front and back of the stroller.

7. Car seat adapter - The car seat adapter can now be used with the main seat in the fully upright position, allowing for a second child to ride in the doubles kit on the rear of the Explorer. Previous models did not allow this function.

The phil & ted's Explorer upgrades do come with a slightly higher price tag of $479.99, about $30 more than the previous Sport model. The doubles kit remains the same at $89.99 even with the new sun canopy. The Explorer is due in stock at the end of August, so preorder now, or reserve one of our new rentals for your test drive on our website at http://sweetpeababyrentals.com.

How To: Part 2 - Bob Strollers

As a follow up to last weeks post about how much we love BOB, I wanted to share some tips on how the stroller actually works. If you've just reserved your first BOB Gear jogging stroller for your Arizona vacation from Sweet Pea Baby Rentals, read on! Maybe you'll be showing your children the beautiful back country of Sedona, taking a walk in the warm desert evening, or just giving a ride to the resort pool. Here's some tips on our BOB jogger rentals that might help get you on the road that much faster. The Bob Revolution Duallie (double) model is show in the photos below but the process is exactly the same for the Revolution single and other models.



1. The fold is very easy.

To fold the stroller, pull up on the red tabs under the handle bar and flip the handlebar forward toward the foot rest.

Pull up on the red cord at the base of the seat to collapse the wheels.









For extra storage space, remove the rear and/or front wheels with the flip of a lever.











To unfold the BOB jogger, swing the back wheels out until they lock, then unfold the handlebar to the upright position.

2. The canopy is great.
Extend the canopy all the way out (shown on the right side). The two stage canopy can be pulled back half way and locked into place by using the draw string on the top of the canopy (shown on the left side). The draw string is only accessible by the parent from the top of the canopy. (A request from us - parents please don't put your drinks or coffee in the folds of the canopy. Thanks!)




3. Lock the front wheel straight for pushing through sand or on rough terrain. Flip the red button on the front of the wheel, then rotate the wheel around until it locks straight. This helps to keep it from catching when pushing it through the sand or over rocks and rough terrain.

4. Adjust the suspension for older children. Since the BOB strollers can be used up to 70lbs total(single) or 100lbs total (double/duallie), they have two suspension settings. Our rental strollers are set on the softer setting for younger children, but if you have older toddlers and pre-schoolers riding, adjust the suspension to the stiffer setting to give them a better ride.

5. Recline one or both seats independently.

Shown in the Bob Revolution Duallie here, one seat is upright and the other is fully reclined. The recline is infinitely adjustable to this position.





Try out one of our BOB Revolution strollers for your family today. Our Try & Buy program makes it easy and affordable to test drive one of our rentals risk-free too. If you decide to buy one from us, we'll credit the rental cost toward your purchase.

Bob Jogging Stroller Review

Here at Sweet Pea Baby Rentals, we carry top of the line Bob jogging strollers in our rental inventory. After reviewing tons of models on the market, we chose to carry them for several reasons: they are durable and the fabric cleans easily, they have a high 70 lb weight limit (100lb for double), built in adjustable suspension, and a great canopy to keep our Arizona sunshine off your little one. And the best feature of all? The swivel front wheel of the popular Revolution line.

The swivel front wheel makes the stroller a dream to push, even in the Duallie (double) model. I've loaded the Duallie with 100lbs of kids (or other rental gear) and have never had a problem pushing and turning it with one hand. This includes wheeling it through airport elevators and doorways, and up and down curbs, with no problem. The air-filled tires make for a great ride combined with the suspension system. I have had a few flats on our fleet, including one from a very large cactus thorn, but it's nothing the local bike shop can't repair in a matter of 5 minutes. (A recommendation, buy a tube of Slime and fill the tires to prevent punctures.)

We've personally used the Revolution for jogging, walking on the beach in the sand, on desert hiking trails, and in the mall. The swivel wheel is able to be locked into a straight position for added stability when jogging too. It's a great all-purpose stroller and the rear wheels slide off with just a flip of a lever for easier loading into the car. If you'd prefer a smaller set of wheels for storage purposes, try the 12AW model (12" aluminum rear wheels versus standard 16" plastic).

Many accessories are available and I'd recommend the handlebar console, which give the parent two cup holders and a zippered pouch for extra storage. An infant car seat adapter is also available and it comes with a tray attachment to add on when baby gets older. We prefer not to have the tray attachment so our toddler can climb in and out on her own though.

If you've been thinking about buying one but aren't sure, check out our Try & Buy program. You can test drive one of our rental models and if it works for you, we'll credit your entire rental fee toward your purchase.

Strollers, strollers, strollers!

Having run Sweet Pea Baby Rentals for over a year now, I've had the opportunity to try out several different strollers. I think at last count, I actually have owned 15 different strollers! I thought I'd post a quick run down and review some of them, including the ones we currently rent.

Full Sized:

Bumbleride Flyer - A bit heavy for me but the manuverability is great. I loved the reversible handle so baby could face me or the world, and the lockable swivel front and rear wheels were nice too. Height adjustment on the handle was good and manuvering department store racks was easy with both sets of wheels in swivel mode. It came with a lot of accessories for the price too.

Chicco Cortina - A little lighter than the Flyer and a lot of similar features. No reversible handle though and no unlocking swivel real wheels. It was very comfortable for my daughter and the snack tray on the front was great. It's pretty large when folded though.

Peg Perego Aria - I know a lot of people love these strollers, but it wasn't my favorite. It was difficult to manuver with one hand and felt a little flimsy. Maybe it was the light wieght of 9 lbs, which makes it great for carrying and lifting in and out of the car. It does fold quite small too. The snack tray is nice on the front as well but the canopy is pretty small and doesn't do much for the sun.

Phil and Ted's Classic (in rental inventory now) - Have had this one for about a month now and I like it a lot. No snack tray provided and it's a little on the hefty side weight wise. It does fold pretty easily and is of reasonable size for a three-wheeled stroller. I absolutely love that it's convertible to a double stroller with the doubles kit attachment. The harness has a wide range of adjustment but the canopy could be larger. Height adjustable handle is nice to have on this entry level model as well. It pushes very easily with one hand and is smooth. The air tires keep it quiet on city sidewalks as opposed to the clunking of standard plastic stroller wheels. The lockable front swivel wheel could be suitable for light jogging as well.

Umbrella Strollers:

Chicco Capri/C6 - This was my first umbrella when my daughter was old enough to sit up alone. It served it's purpose and made many a trip to the mall. For me, the handles were a bit too short and I kicked the wheels a lot. It was unsteerable with one hand too but it was much better than the basic Cosco/Kolcraft/etc umbrellas. The recline was minimal but it was better than nothing.

Maclaren Quest (in rental inventory now) - If I had only known how much better this one was, I would have sprung for the extra $100 over the C6 a long time ago. I held off for a long time because of the cost but after the last fateful trip to the mall where my back was killing me when we got home, we picked one up on sale at our local Babies R Us, and have been loving it ever since. It's easy to manuver with one hand and the handles are tall enough that I don't kick the wheels. I selected one with a black canopy because as with most umbrellas, the wheels hit the canopy when closed and it make unremovable stains. A lot of the Maclaren's have white or light colored canopies that look pretty dirty after only a couple uses. The recline on the Quest is nice, but I find we don't use it very often. I probably would have gotten the Volo instead, had I known since that's pretty much the only difference. One last think I love is that I don't have to bend down and unhook the latch to fold it. It can all actually be done with your foot!

Joggers:

Baby Trend Single Jogger with swivel wheel - I purchased this one at Target and it was ok, as long as you weren't actually trying to jog. When running, the entire stroller seemed to shimmy as if a wheel was out of balance or something. I got a replacement wheel from Baby Trend and it still did the same thing. The stroller was decent for the price of $99, but not great. It folds rather large and is awkward to put in a standard sized trunk. If you're main goal is to stroll the neighborhood, not jog, and not put it in your car, then it's a good deal. Otherwise, I'd opt for something better like the Phil and Ted's or a BOB. The folding mechanism got pretty sticky after a few months and had to be regularly maintained too.

Baby Trend Double Jogger with swivel wheel - This model is only sold at Babies R Us as far as I know. It was a decent double jogger but the children tended to slide together toward the middle because of the design. It did have independent recline on each seat and was actually not that bad for weight in terms of a double stroller. I didn't have any real complaints about it but it wasn't extra fancy or anything. It was pretty easy to push one handed and the fold was not bad in terms of size.

BOB Sport Utility Stroller (in rental inventory now) - Wow! What a difference between the cheap joggers and this one. It's fixed front wheel is suitable for walking or jogging but has to be lifted off the ground to turn the stroller. It has built in suspension for the child and some adjustment to how it tracks when moving. A hand brake is a nice feature for running and the foot break is the easiest I have ever used. The flip of one single bar locks both wheels and it's acutally unlockable while wearing flip flops, so you don't have to bend down and use your hand on the dirty brake. Being in Arizona, this is an important feature where flip flops are worn year round by nearly everyone! I've nearly broken a toe on many a stroller trying to unlock the brakes. One of the best features is the huge two-stage canopy that will shield your child from the harshest of summer days here in the Valley of the Sun. It is a bit bulky when folded due to the 16" rear wheels and fixed front wheel, but if you have the space and the funds for the $299 entry price, it's a great stroller.

BOB Revolution Duallie (in rental inventory now) - Again, another WOW! This is an extremely nice double jogger with a swivel front wheel. Many of the same pluses as the review for the single are noted, along with a swivel front wheel. Once again, the canopies are amazing and it also features lay flat recline for newborns and naps, along with attachments for some popular infant car seats, snack trays, etc. A good alternative if you don't need the big 16" offroad tires, is the 12AW model which features 12" aluminum wheels, saving space and weight.

Double Strollers:

Graco Duo Glider LXI - A great tandem double stroller, compatible with many infant car seats that can be used two at a time for twins. Folding is easy and steering is as well. The drop down basket in the back is ingenious when the rear seat is reclined all the way down. Comes with adult and kids snack trays and folds to a reasonable size for transporting. A great mall cruiser or neighborhood walker.

Joovy Caboose (in rental inventory now) - A sit/stand type stroller that's very manuverable. It's a little heavy but there is a ultralight version that's been made since I purchased mine. The fabric has held up well and it's compatible with most infant car seats.