In stock now! My first impressions of the new Phil & Teds Explorer
Phil & Teds Explorer Stroller with doubles kit and infant seat
Imagine my surprise when I heard a “knock knock” on our warehouse door and in came two pallets of Phil & Teds Explorer strollers and all of the accessories! We were crossing our fingers for a late August/early September delivery date and here they were right in front of my eyes!
After we unloaded everything, we took a Black/Apple Explorer and Explorer doubles kit out to the showroom to set it up and test it out. I felt like I knew what to expect about the changes as I learned much about the new Explorer when I put up the web pages but it was a pure joy to actually see it in person.
We had some families already in the store looking at the Baby Jogger City Select so they were very interested to see how the Explorer would compare (as was I!) To start, my overall first impression is that the Explorer is terrific. The folks at Phil & Teds really did put their money where their mouths were and took all of the “flaws” of the Sport Buggy and fixed them for the Explorer. The most exciting change was the ability to use an infant seat in the front with the adapter bar while still being able to have a rider in the doubles kit in the back. I wasn’t sure I would believe it until I saw it but we put the Graco adapter bar on today, snapped in a Graco infant seat up top and snapped the doubles kit on the back and it looked great! The space in the back is a little crammed (at least when compared with the space on the Baby Jogger City Select) but keep in mind that the weight limit back there is only 33 lbs. anyway so it won’t hold a huge child to start. We had one mom in the store today that was intrigued with the new Explorer and thought it would be the perfect solution for her travel plans to Disney and on cruises with her 2.5 year old and 4 month old. She wanted the convenience of being able to snap the infant seat in the stroller which wasn’t an option on the Sport Buggy.
Other features that I loved were the little pockets on the sides of the canopy that could easily hold an iPhone or a Blackberry. The seat cushions were soft and easily removable to clean. The new push footbrake is a huge improvement over the wire Sport Buggy brake that was a challenge to use with flip flops! The new fold mechanism is under the seat and was easy to do – a slide and push motion and the stroller folded right in half and locked shut.
Other nice improvements are the plastic footwell and an added mupflap on the front tire. The ventilation on the back of the main seat was impressive. Of course, another big news improvement is the addition of a sun canopy on the doubles kit. It is not a huge canopy and it appears that the slight recline on the doubles kit has disappeared but the doubles kit has a nice seat cushion and some sun protection is certainly better than none!
I wasn’t sure if the Explorer would live up to what it said it was on paper but I can honestly say we really loved it! It has been a long time since Phil & Teds has brought any excitement or innovation to the table and the Explorer certainly brings both. It will definitely be on the radar of parents looking for an inline solution for two kids that includes being able to use an infant seat. I think the Phil & Teds Explorer is a great choice for parents. And we have everything in stock (except the All Apple which is on backorder for all retailers until October). Be the first to get yours today from StrollerMama!
