Comments on: Britax B-Agile v’s Baby Jogger City Mini 4

By: Charlotte

Charlotte — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 04:20:59 +0000

Dear Justine,

Thank you so much for reply. I was referring only to Baby Jogger City Mini, 2012 vs 2011 / 10 and was hoping you could tell as you tested all. I would much prefer the 4 wheel version.

- 1″ deeper seat (the UK BJCM website shows smaller dimensions for shoulder width and seat depth however German site corresponds to US measures = 32cm shoulder / 25cm seat)
- Includes PE board in back and SEAT for more support ( In UK I can only find info on back but not seat)

I currently have a Cortina stroller and my baby 8 months old is already uncomfortable due to narrow shoulder width…hence not sure if 1.5cm make a big difference later on or if 30.5 cm if this is the case for UK is wide enough…

Once again thank you so much for your speedy reply!

By: Justine

Justine — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 12:58:30 +0000

Hi, we have not had a 2012 B-Agile single, however we have just finished a review of the B-Agile double (a 2012 one) and our review may be worth a read, because the changes may explain some differences that we spotted. I know with some brands that so as you say and simply change colours but I am not so sure with Britax because their Australian products are definitely different, and the US got the B-Agile in 3 wheel version when we got the 4.
I am unable to comment about the use of a car seat on the B-Agile as we havent tried one, however I know with the Baby Jogger City Mini there was a difference in stability with a car seat on, between the 3 and 4 and we generally recommend buying the 4 wheel version if you plan to use a car seat with that.

By: Charlotte

Charlotte — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 12:18:14 +0000

Thank you so much for the helpful reviews! One question I hope you can help me with: the US reviews of BJCM 2012 (strollerguru and babygizmo) state that the seat itself got as well better support in comparison to 2011 which also added an inch in seat depth plus shoulder width is now 12.5 inches so nearly 32cm as per official website specs but the UK websites do not mention this anywhere…. I would have thought changes are globally done and only colours differ from country to country. Did you notice difference between the 2011/2012? I wanted to purchase the 4 wheel version in UK as I feel it might be more stable using car seat and also afterwards but now unsure if 3 wheel option from US might be better due to firmer seat back and bottom and wider shoulder? Plus it is obviously cheaper. How big is the concern / issue of tipping over? Being in Middle East I have no options to see for myself…. And strollers available here are just not an option…

By: hrabal

hrabal — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 10:05:20 +0000

@dean smith,

when someone uses words like “prefer”, it can be gleaned by anyone with access to a dictionary that they are making a subjective statement. in fact, the entire phrasing of this review could lead no one (except an utter knucklehead) to the conclusion that the reviewer was attempting to express “an objective view” or put forth some personal agenda.

i certainly hope you don’t carry on the obvious smith family tradition of dropping infants on their head.

By: Justine

Justine — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 22:11:25 +0000

Hi, Thank you for your comment. I agree that in these photos my son was not harnessed in correctly, but we used the B-Agile for several months for this review and we did adjust the straps correctly for every day use. At the time this photo was taken the pushchair was being used for our eldest, so was really set up for her. We dont always have time to set the straps up for photos although we do try hard to do so when we can.
We believe the issue was with the crotch strap being too far forwards and no matter how tight we pulled the straps or sat our son upright, we were unable to stop him slouching. He just never looked comfortable. I have heard similar comments from other users since I wrote this review. In the photo the crotch strap is tightened up fully and the side straps are almost tight. Yes the shoulder straps should have been lowered (and were later on for use with our son) but his bottom would not stay in the back of the seat and he slumped forwards each time. An additional setting to the crotch strap (a simple loop) for smaller children would have probably cured this issue to be honest.

I said above that the seat recline dropped flat suddenly the first time we tried it and we did have to work hard on a more gradual recline, because if you don’t ease the seat down very gently, then it does quite dramatically drop to flat! I am not saying that it is not possible to do it gently, but it takes a gentle touch.
We try seat reclines all day every day on different pushchairs, so are used to different toggle reclines. Most toggle reclines do need pulling reasonably firmly to release. The B-Agile one doesn’t

The B-Agile has a lower handle to the Baby Jogger City Mini. Yes it is a personal preference, but it made a difference to me. There is 3cms difference between the top of the handle height which may not seem a lot, but it can be. Handle angle also makes a difference as well but it is harder to quantify this.

I have no connection with Baby Jogger other than I have owned some of their pushchairs (along with most other manufacturers – and we have had a Britax B-Dual which we recommend a lot). I am a completely independent reviewer. I bought both pushchairs to genuinely work out which one to keep for our children because I could not decide from the photos we had seen. I have to admit that the Britax had a lot going for it especially for comfort for our eldest child who looked supremely comfortable in the seat. But ultimately the pushchair was for our youngest child, and because we could not get him comfortable, no matter what we did, we felt we could not keep it simply for the future. He needed to be comfortable here and now, and for that, the City Mini was the best pushchair out of the two. I would not be at all surprised if in another year, when our son is over 2 years old, that we revisit the B-Agile and have another look. I always recommend the B-Agile as being excellent for older toddlers.

I hope you enjoy your B-Agile!

By: Dean Smith

Dean Smith — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:15:46 +0000

Having read the review it seems very one sided and bias towards the BJCM.

Having tried both the pushchairs I must say that the Britax is better than the BJCM. Our child is 11 months and a tiny dot but fit perfectly into the Britax, sat up straight and was fine. However the straps need to be adjusted correctly and your child sitting properly might help as well. Its clear that the straps are not adjusted correctly and its obvious he is not sitting correctly either.

The dimensions from the makers themselves stated that the seats on the two pushchairs are different with the Britax one being bigger.

As for the seat recline it sounds as though as you’ve had much more practice with the BJCM you know how to do it and that it was just lack of experience with the Britax recline is why it dropped so suddenly. This is hardly an objective view.

I’m 5″10 and the handle on the Britax is fine. Once again you said that you prefer a higher handle, again hardly an objective view, more of a personal preference.

Overall the review is not very good as you are clearly a die hard BJCM and are probably scared that Britax have pulled one of the bag and beat one of the best buggys on the market.