another chariot Q

[AidaR]

Hi,

I have been researching about those chariot carriers for a couple of weeks now. I am looking at the Cougar for my almost 4 months old daughter so we will be buying the infant sling as well. I am not a runner but an avid walker. We have trails within our neighbourhood and we walked it regularly. Dont plan to stop with the babe around. We do plan to have more kids, say once our first turns 2. Is it advisable to get the Cougar 2? Its pricey, we are thinking to perhaps get Cougar 1 and trade it in with a Cougar 2 when we are ready. We will mainly use it for walking, strolling in malls and attaching it to our bikes. Perhaps with such an expensive carrier, heck; I might be even take up jogging.

any thoughts? thanks

[masiman]

It's cheaper to get the double now. The Chariots are very nice but expensive. Do you think you will use the trailer to its full potential? I estimate typical families will ride ~1000 miles with the trailer over 5 years with one child. Each additional child extends the trailer usefulness by the age difference in the kids. That is, if your kids are 2 years apart, you will get an additional 2 years out of the trailer or about another 400miles. At ~$400 this is not very cost effective. Conversion kits extend the usefulness of the trailer however most conversion kits are not nearly as functional as dedicated units. I do think some of the upper end Chariots look like good jogging strollers. I rarely see trailers used as strollers. They do get used that way, just not very often. In the end, can you justify another $400 child carrying system? You'll probably have a $100+ single stroller. If you have more, you'll have a $150+ double stroller and you'll need to buy another trailer for a net of about $200 (after selling the old and buying the new). You could easily end up with $1000+ in trailers, strollers and carriers. Buying the single does not make alot of sense if you will only have it for 1-2 years before needing a double.

I'd vote for a double trailer and finding a good used single jogging stroller. Whichever one you will use with little frequency, I would buy used, trailer or stroller.