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Baby Jogger City Tour – A Quick First Look!

The Baby Jogger City Tour arrived at Best Buggy HQ tonight.
We had a tip off that the first shipment of the City Tour could be here sooner than expected, and here we have it!

The box is absolutely tiny! So small that I walked straight past it!
Master BB can spot a new set of wheels a mile away! He couldn’t wait to get started opening the box. There was no way this would be a slow leisurely unpack – Master BB just wanted to see what was inside. We had the City Tour unwrapped in minutes. Opening the City Tour is going to take a bit of practice especially compared to the Babyzen Yoyo which you literally pick up by the handle and flick open. The City Tour needs approaching from the bottom up. First there is a fold lock to undo. Then the wheels need to slide open so that all four are in contact with the ground. Then, the handlebar can be lifted up with a good pull, until the handlebar locks into position with a click.

Master BB was desperate to clamber on board, but he realised the plastic manual holder was attached to the harness. So he ran off and returned with his special scissors to cut the label off! I opened the harness, and he eagerly jumped on board. We quickly realised that the City Tour has a huge harness height range. We usually automatically set the harness height at the tallest level for Master BB, but actually he was fine with the harness at the middle level. We did decide to move it up to the upper level (this did take a fair bit of huffing, puffing and the fingers of a strong man to get the harness stoppers pushed through the PE back board) and it is clear there is around 3-5cm above Master BB’s shoulders for growth. This is pretty amazing considering Master BB is over 110cm tall.  The seat back comes well above his neckline, so any smaller child will have bags of space to grow. We have found the waist harnesses really tricky to alter. The shoulder harness has been easier.

There is plenty of leg room, and a good ledge for small and large feet. There is no lift up calf rest on the City Tour (unlike the City Zip). The seat could maybe do with being a tad deeper, but this will be a compromise for the amazing fold.
There is a recline on the seat but we haven’t had opportunity to try it out yet. We like that there are loops on the ends of the recline webbing, to help pull the seat up and down. We also like the velcro to keep the two straps neatly together.

We are not fans of the harness. We have seen this harness on many pushchairs over the years and we really hate it. It has sharp pointed edges which have caused us issues in the past.  It also breaks into 5 pieces instantly, which drives you nuts when your child is wriggling and you lose the parts. We will be swapping our harness as soon as we can. But this is  a simple fix if it bothers you as much as it does us. There is plenty of length on the harness, and we like the two padded shoulder pads.

The City Tour hood is a really good size with a flick out visor at the front. There is also a peekaboo window. There is a loop in the centre of the hood at the front. We suspect that the toggle used to keep the peekaboo window open, can also be used to keep the hood back. We need to explore this further.

The handlebar we expected to be low, but it is surprisingly about perfect for me at 5ft 6ins tall. I need to try it properly on the road to know, but first impressions seem fine. I think maybe comparisons with the Babyzen Yoyo and even the Baby Jogger City Mini Zip are a little unfair, as both of these pushchairs have a really high handle. The handlebar is classic Baby Jogger rubber.

The front wheels are lockable swivel wheels. There is a generous sized basket, which is accessible from the rear or the sides. It has a large zipped pocket at the rear. This is to keep a raincover, or the storage bag in. The storage bag comes with the pushchair. The bag is very neat and is smartly embroidered with the Baby Jogger logo on it. It is very quick and simple to put the City Tour inside the bag and do it up. No faffing around! Great for airport Gates. However, if you wish to carry the Tour in it’s bag, as a rucksack, then we recommend that you put the pushchair into the bag, the correct way round i.e. padding nearest you, not the wheels! All the wheels are quick release, but you do not need to remove them to fit them in the storage bag. Mr BB is a little concerned at how close together the front wheels are for stability, but we will have to explore this across time. The wheels are small, but this is a city pushchair, ond one for travelling with. We have had no problem steering or tipping Master BB up i.e. like going up a kerb. We will get the City Tour on the road as soon as we can.

The seat fabric can be totally removed for washing. The fabric is like a strong cotton – like a thin canvas. It is smart, practical and is well padded.
There is a bumper bar available, and we have noted that there is an abutment on the handlebar where a cupholder will probably fit.

Folding the Baby Jogger City Tour had us scratching our heads for a minute. The pushchair folds in thirds. The top third was easy to fold. Simply squeeze the button in the centre of the handlebar and allow the handlebar to drop down forwards to meet the seat. Next reach down, really low on the left hand side of the pushchair (when standing at the rear). There is a tiny red button. Press that, and then pull the fold handle in the centre of the seat to fold. The frame will autolock to complete the fold. The only issue we had is that once folded, the City Tour doesn’t freestand easily. It needs to be laid on its side or propped up against something to store.

We need to have a really good look at the Baby Jogger City Tour in the daylight, but we hope this has been a useful quick first impressions review. All round it appears to be a really smart, neat folding pushchair with a big seat and a lot of functionality and practicality built into a tiny package.

Many thanks to Baby Jogger, and to their two wonderful delivery drivers who got the City Tour to us within hours of it arriving in the UK.

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