Baby Jogger City Mini Review 3 wheel compared to Quinny Zapp

Baby Jogger Mini Check Mate

.I was thinking, because of the success of the Valco Latitude on my last trip to court, I would take it's Doppleganger to court this next time. And the success of the new Baby Jogger City Mini has been nothing short of amazing.  http://babyjogger.com/cityminimain.htm  People love the Mini's light weight, huge canopy, and amazingly easy fold. The wheels are by no means all-terrain, but they do perform better outdoors than your average umbrella stroller. I like it's versatility. Because of the deep recline, you can put a very young baby in it. And since the seat is quite large, it can hold a pre-schooler. I have tried it out with both sizes. And you can still push it one-handed with a heavier child.As you can see, the under basket is pretty small. But there is another large net pocket on the back. To recline it, you just squeeze that clip that's holding the strap, and slide the seat down.Now a very cool feature is that when it is in full recline, you can unroll the back fabric, to reveal "voila"! the large net back vent. Great feature for air circulation on a hot day. You can see from both the back and the front how deep the recline goes. Now here is why I am going to court again. I was taking the original Stroller Prince to his first day of Chess. He was so excited! It was early in the morning and the street was deserted. I saw my neighbor walking from the front of the school. He told me to drive around to the back, because it would be closer to the class. Big mistake.  I drove up to the stop sign. On one side, there is an apartment building. On the other, the street was closed due to construction, and there was a big sign that said "Closed to through traffic." I glanced over at all the pavers and bull-dozers. And the next thing I know, a motorcycle cop sprang from behind the apartment building. I was happy I hadn't done anything wrong. Or had I? He was red lighting me! I pull over, and he asks for my license. "I'm sorry. " I tell him. "I was rushing to get my daughter to school, and to take my son to his chess class. I had their backpacks and I was carrying the baby and I had no hands left for my purse. It has my license and insurance card in it. I'll just run home and get it." "Step out of the car please", he says sternly. "The law says every time you go out on the highway, you have to have your license." "But", I say, "I'm not on the highway. I am just on a little old neighborhood street. I'm two blocks away from home!" Now he starts running a background check on me. "Mom, I'm gonna' be late! I'm gonna' be embarrassed!" SP yells. "Could I please just bring him to class?" I ask. "You could follow me." "You're not going anywhere, but he can go", motorcycle cop says. "You mean let him walk four blocks by himself? Do you think that's safe? " "I don't care" motorcycle cop says. OK, now I am getting mad. My son is crying, my baby is crying, and I am being held against my will. "Well, you SHOULD care!" I tell him. You took an oath to 'protect and serve.' You are neither protecting me, nor serving me. No wonder there are so many burglaries in my neighborhood. You are too busy hiding behind buildings and trapping school parents, because that is easy! Easy and lucrative. We don't shoot you, and we pay our fines." Now he is getting mad, too. "You know I could arrest you", he says. "What for, for telling the truth"? I say. "You have an illegal sticker on your car. Take it off", he says. Now, the sticker he is pointing to is mandatory for my area. It allows you to park on the street.  I try and explain that. "Nope, never seen it. Take it off", he says. "You REALLY aren't from around these parts, are you son?" I said. "AGH"! He waves his hand at me, jumps on his bike and takes off. But not before issuing me a bunch of tickets, including failure to come to a complete stop, no proof of license, no insurance, etc. As he leaves, he drives down the street that says "No vehicles allowed."  I drop my son off at his class, go home and grab my purse, and come back. There he is, hiding behind the apartment building, waiting to trap another suburban mom." "Hi there", I said. He jumped. "Here's my license and registration and proof of insurance", I say, handing it to him. "I don't want that. It's too late" he says. "You know", I say. "This is all so uneccessary. There is no through traffic here! If I really didn't stop long enough, as you say, you could have issued me a warning.  You could have shown a little compassion fo a mom juggling three kids, trying to get them all fed and dressed and off to school on time. We are all just human, doing the best we can. I'm sure that you didn't mean to go down that street that is closed to through vehicles." 'WHAT?!!!" He says. "Are you accusing ME of breaking the law?" "I didn't say that", I said. "I'm just saying we all make mistakes." "AHHH", he says, waving his hand at me again, and driving off. So once again,  I have to post another thousand dollar bail.

Baby Jogger Mini Stats:

Weight: 16.5  pounds

Folded: 24" x 29" x 8"

Width: 24"

Length: 34"

Handle height: 41"

Seat Width: 13.5"

Seat Depth: 9"

Seat to Canopy: 23.5"

Seat back: 21.5"

Drop to Footrest: 9"

Comparison of  Mini to Zapp 

Since both of these strollers are very hot right now in the lightweight category, I wanted to do a "mini" comparison. The measurements on these two are remarkably similar, as you can see from the stats. The biggest difference is in the length. As you can see, the Zapp has a much shorter wheel base. The handle height is shorter, too. The Zapp is a pound heavier, and has no recline. Whereas you saw how far back you could recline the Mini's seat.The Zapp's seat back and seat to canopy is about a half inch taller. Both have very wide seats, but the Zapp's is an inch bigger at it's widest part, then tapers down by the hips. It has an inch shorter drop to footrest.Both of these are on the wide side, at 24". especially for a lightweight. However, a 3-wheeler must have a wider rear stance than a 4-wheeler, for stability. OK, neither are technically 3-wheelers, but that is kind of their design. You can see how the Zapp can fold in smaller, with it's tripod legs that tuck in underneath the seat. Both have superb maneuverability.