With that sort of lifestyle, an umbrellaish stroller with a small storage net for the baby’s things (diapers, wipes, bottle*, bib, two changes of clothes) should do you fine. I wouldn’t bother with the big one. We use ours mostly as a cargo hauling cart! 
*A tip for smaller packing if you do formula feeding: get some snack size ziptop bags and put single servings of the powder in them. Bring along one bottle and several bags of powder for a long trip. You can get water anywhere, and not having to measure formula powder or lug around that big can or keep the mixed formula cold is really nice. They sell individual serving packets of formula now, but they’re really really expensive on a per-serving basis.
I’ve been out of the baby-hauling racket for some years now, but I think what was true then is true now:
- The best strollers are made by McLaren
- The bigger the stroller, the more it sucks
- Larger wheels look like they’d help, but they don’t.
To add to what’s been said: most strollers seem to be designed for people who are about 4’8" to 5’4". If you’re taller than that, you’ll have to stoop, walk to the side to avoid kicking the wheels, push with your fingertips, or some combination of the three. That means that, if one of you is anywhere in the six foot range, for everyday use you’ll want a stroller with adjustable handles. Third-party add-on extenders exist, but most folks seem to hate them.
MacLaren does indeed make highly acclaimed strollers, and I believe they all fold down very small and have adjustable handles. Most seem to weigh around 14 pounds. The downside: they’re expensive, as the best usually is. The upside: you can find them at a good discount on eBay.
Or, if you’re an active sort, you can look into a jogging stroller. I’ve been looking at Phil and Teds, whose prices put MacLaren to shame, and eBay isn’t much help there. Jogging strollers are made to accommodate a longer stride, which once again is helpful for us tall folks. One good thing about Phil and Teds is that a single stroller can be changed into a double with the addition of a kit.
I’ll echo what’s been said above: the big “travel system” strollers look nice and all, and work fine, but lugging them around until you need them is too much of a hassle. Remember, you’ll already be carrying loads of junk when you go out with the baby, and you don’t want to add an offroad vehicle with no engine to that. You’ll use something small, light, and collapsible far more than you’ll use a bulky stroller that you can’t sling over your shoulder.
I’m going to go against the grain and say that a moderately large stroller has some advantages, too. I also used the Graco Snugride car seat. Rather than getting just the frame to snap the seat into, I got the stroller that can either accommodate the seat or function as a stand-alone stroller. I think it might be a MetroLite?
While I agree that this size stroller is a pain in tight spaces, it is better than a tiny umbrella stroller for some things. When my kid was very young, I did a lot of exercise-type walking with him in there. The larger stroller could hold my water bottle, had a sun shade for him and didn’t feel like it would shake apart at a brisk pace. I also used to do one of those mommy & me stroller fitness classes. Can’t really do those with an umbrella stroller. As others have said, it’s often nice to have some storage space. I also strongly disagree with the person who said the trays in front of the kid are a waste. My son is a great eater, and always had snacks/drinks on his tray.
Having said all that, chances are you will end up with more than one stroller. Pretty much all my friends have two… if not more. My son is two, and I now use an umbrella stroller most of the time, but I’m glad I started out with something more substantial.
I really liked our Graco.
(I’ve forgotten the model)
The snap in car seat was so wonderful when she was little, and it’s still the stroller we use for trips to the zoo, and if there’s a lot of shopping to do.
I never found it “too big” for anywhere I’ve taken it.
We do have a smaller umbrella style stroller that we bought for flying that we use more often now, but I don’t regret getting the Graco at all.
I liked having two strollers - the cruser when the kid was really young, so he could nap in it; and the light stroller for the kid as a toddler.
Are you going to take kid and stroller on buses or trains? If so, it might be an idea to take a few rides while observing with stroller in mind. If you can actually ride while test-driving a stroller, so much the better.
I’ve seen so many young parents with enormous SUV-sized strollers having all sorts of difficulty negotiating the buses here, and most of our buses are low-floor specifically because of this kind of thing. With the remnant of older high-floor buses, and the high-floor streetcars we have (currently being replaced, if they ever agree on a contract), it’s much worse.
The trains aren’t so bad, except you have to get to them, and some stations do not yet have elevators or even two-way escalators, resulting in long trudges down and up stairs.
The larger strollers definitely have their place, but bus-riding isn’t it.
It doesn’t matter which pushchair you choose - it will inevitably be the wrong one. At least, that’s been the experience of everyone I know who has children (including me). The upside is that when you have your second child, you will know exactly which type of pushchair you want because it will have all the attributes the first one didn’t.
I’m now using a super-lightweight Graco with a big shopping basket that can easily be pushed with one hand and has an adjustable handlebar (because I am 5ft tall and my husband is 6ft)and can fit into the boot of a car and is easy to get on a train.
I’ve been reading the Baby Bargains book that a friend gave us after having her baby, and annotated the stroller section.
We went to a baby store after work tonight to try out some strollers. I was surprised by the results after the examination.
I didn’t like the Peg Perego stroller at all. The handles felt too low even with adjustment and it was too complicated to fold in terms of trying to do while holding the baby.
My wife and I didn’t like the Maclarens as much as we thought we would. They seemed a bit trickier to fold and even with the handles adjusted they seemed like I was too tall.
The one that my wife and I really liked was the Baby Jogger City Mini Stroller. It was ridiculously simple to fold with one hand and could be done in a second. We were able to recline the seat easily and we liked it overall. I didn’t seem to be kicking it as I walked and it seemed pretty maneuverable.
Has anyone used this stroller?
I haven’t used it, but don’t let that stop you from buying it if that’s what you like.
In my case, we went looking for a Phil and Ted three-wheeler, but ended up with a Valco Runabout just because it had a smoother roll, and the fabric seemed to be of higher quality. We also liked the bassinet attachment…
Like many people have said, big strollers are for people who do lots and lots of walking in their own neighbourhood, while little strollers are for people who drive to do their shopping.
Note that the child weight **minimum **on that stroller is 20 lbs. That’s about a year old. It looks like a great stroller for an older baby/toddler/preschooler, but not a newborn. Generally speaking, umbrella, “lightweight” and jogger style strollers require that the infant be able to sit up on their own to ride safely.
I am not sure why that website says that, but that is not the case. We sell those stollers in the baby store where I work. The city mini is good from birth to 50 punds. It reclines flat, and will even take a carseat. It defenatly does not require the infant to sit up, and is not a Jogger.
I, personally, love that stroller. The fold is so ridiculously easy that even great grandma could do it if the need arose. It also folds really small. We had some customers who were able to fit theirs in the overhead compartment on an airplane.
You seem to have steered away from the Combi, but I did want to say that those strollers are really short. I am 5’2 and have to stoop to push them. You would find it unbearably uncomfortable to push.
We use the Graco Metrolite that allows us to click the baby’s carseat into it. It’s great for travelling by plane as well. We don’t own a car however so YMMV.
For getting around town, NYC is a walking and subway city, we use a hand-me-down K-Mart special that is super light and just awesome.