2011 BOB Revolution SE
After much anticipation, the all new, redesigned BOB Revolution strollers are here and shipping. As many of your know, we here at StrollerMama have long been huge fans of the BOB strollers. Ali is a self-proclaimed “BOB snob”! We saw the prototype of the new design back in Vegas in October and we were nervous about how the “new” BOB would hold up compared to the one that we loved. Other than a more supportive seat, we weren’t sure how they could improve a stroller that we loved so much. Well, we opened one up and played with it yesterday and we really loved it!
There are some major differences with the 2011 line. First, there are now the Revolution SE and Revolution CE models. The SE stands for Sport Edition and the CE stands for City Edition. That is basically a new fancy way of renaming what we called the “16″ wheel model” or the “12″ AW (aluminum wheel) model” The SE Single and Duallie have the 16″ rear wheels and 12″ front wheel and the CE Single has three 12″ wheels. There is no longer a 12″ Duallie model available.
The Revolution SE comes in black, navy, plum and orange, the Revolution CE comes in black and plum and the Revolution Duallie SE comes in black, navy and orange. Here’s a breakdown of the changes:
Accessory adapter: A major change that needs to be noted is that the new infant seat adapter bars and snack trays are only compatible with the 2011 BOB strollers (and the old adapter bars only work with the older BOB models). This is because one of the big improvements on the 2011 models is the new accessory adapter. On the olders models, the infant seat adapter bar was a little bit of a pain to install and you needed tools. The new adapter is great and there is just a socket on each side where you can snap in the adapter bar or snack tray. The Revolution SE and CE single strollers have a specific adapters for the Graco, Peg or Chicco infant seats. The Revolution Duallie SE has an adapter bar for the Graco infant seat. There are also snack tray accessories for the single and duallie models. On the older model, you could only get a snack tray when you bought the infant seat adapter bar. Now, you can get a snack tray by itself which is great for parents buying the stroller for a toddler. This is a nice improvement.
The seat: The slumpiness of the seat was the biggest complaint we got from parents. BOB took that feedback and made a wonderful improvement with their new seat. The seat is more generous than the previous model and has heat-pressed padding (which we think make it look like a Batman suit!) which gives the seat more comfort and support. The new footwell is an easier to clean plastic footwell and the five-point harness was improved to make for a better fit. We also like the new recline system. The old recline system was a bit “basic” where the new straps are adjustable and more updated.
The sun canopy: The sun canopy still offers the terrific sun protection that it did on the prior model. They have changed the peek-a-boo window to include a mesh pouch that can hold the flap when not in use. Subtle changes like this make the stroller updated and cleaner.
The fold/strap locking mechanism: A huge improvement in my mind is the locking mechanism on the wrist strap that locks the stroller in the folded position. In the prior model, you could use the strap to keep the stroller closed but it was awkward. The new clasp on the wrist strap is smart and easy and also addressed a concern our parents had about the older version. We really like this improvement!
Those are the big ones. We did compare the older Revolution Single next to the new Revolution SE and we did notice that the wheel base of the new model was about two inches wider than the older model. We thought maybe the new model seemed heavier but we folded them and put them both on our scale and the weight was within a half a pound for the two strollers. Another observation we made was that canopy on the new model is a different fabric than the older model. Perhaps it is designed to be more weather resistant -it is bit “crinkly” and is a different fabric than what is on the seat.
Overall- we are very excited about the new Revolution SE and CE editions. It looks like the folks at BOB did the right thing and kept the guts of the stroller unchanged and just fiddled with the small things that needed improvement.
All of the Revolution SE and CE single strollers are in stock as well as the Revolution Duallie SE strollers. The Revolution SE and CE infant seat adapter bars are in stock and the snack trays should be in stock soon. The Revolution Duallie SE Graco adapter is not in stock yet and the Single and Duallie weather shields are also on backorder. All of the other BOB accessories are in stock as well as a limited number of older model BOB strollers and accessories which are on sale. If you have any specific questions about the new BOB strollers, please let us know!
