I admit it, I love strollers! I’ve been lucky to review a few on this website, but I have to admit that I owned three strollers before my first baby was born (all purchased on clearance with steep discounts, of z course)! When Micralite asked me to review their newest stroller model, the Micralite Fastfold Superlite, I did a little fist-pump and quickly said “yes!”.

Micralite sent me the Fastfold Superlite stroller close to the beginning of summer. It arrived at my house in this box:

Even though I knew the product was “superlite” the big box was surprisingly light! I’m a complete wimp and I carried the box inside like a champ. This is everything the box contained:
To be honest, I was relieved that the contents were pretty minimal and straightforward. Whenever I review something I do my best to assemble the item fully on my own, and I put this one together in about 25 minutes. Like most products, I wish the instruction manual had more text, but I think the graphics are far better to explain assembly to the masses! I understand things so much better when reading them, but I must be in the minority since it seems like every manual is full of pictures and diagrams these days!

Once it was put together I put Haiden in it to take him for a little spin around the living room. He was so excited he climbed in all by himself. Once he was in, I realized how great the seat was. It’s made from a soft, tightly-woven mesh, and Haiden settled in like he was in an upright hammock. The mesh is also just a genius material for a stroller seat. If one of the little ones were spill or have any sort of accident in the seat, it would flow right through and the seat would be dry within minutes! I haven’t had to deal with anything like that (yet!), but usually when a child is uncomfortable no one is happy, and this is a great way to help make sure baby isn’t sitting in a wet, dirty stroller if something does happen. Because of that feature alone, I think this would be a fabulous stroller to take to Disney World. Think of all the treats and snacks that are consumed when visiting a theme park. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that you could rinse it off with a cop of tap water throughout the day and have it dry and ready for use right away?

The next feature I noticed was the adjustable bullhorn handles. I don’t have a good picture, but each individual handle is an L-shape that can be turned up or down in an infinite number of positions. This seriously makes pushing the stroller comfortable for people of all heights! Even though the handles don’t telescope, the tallest person in my family (he’s inches over six feet tall) rotaed the handles so they were almost straight up and he pushed it without hunching over. My 6-year-old nephew then pushed it with the handles adjusted down and he did just fine with it, too! I can’t believe what a difference this little feature makes in making this a great stroller for tall and short people!

The “fastfold” part of the title certainly isn’t an exaggeration by any stretch. The mechanics on the back of the stroller are a bit complicated with their “Push” and “Pull” directions, but once I thought about it logically I realized which levers to move to fold and unfold the stroller. It folds up with a fluid motion and stores very flat!

I’m a bit of a fussbudget when it comes to keeping baby products clean and dirt-free, so it kills me that every single stroller seems to have some part that gets dirty from the wheels or the ground when it’s folded. I have to say that I was a little floored when I realized this one doesn’t have this issue. When the stroller is folded no part of the sunshade or seat touches the wheels, keeping everything clean. When it’s laid out, the handles and wheels touch the ground. This thoughtful design keeps this product so much cleaner than other strollers!

Finally, let’s talk about handling. The Micralite Fastfold Superlite truly is light: it weighs in at 14 pounds, so its lighter than my vacuum cleaner! That’s pretty impressive considering it functions as a a device to carry children up to 55 pounds!

While I think this stroller is absolutely fabulous, there are just a few things I wish were different:

1. I wish it had removable shoulder straps. From everything I can see, the shoulder straps are adjustable for various heights but there’s no way to remove them from the stroller completely. I haven’t felt the need for stroller shoulder straps since Haiden and Piper have been able to sit up unsupported. The straps make the stroller less comfortable than it would be with optional shoulder straps, but they’re a great feature for younger babies and those that need more support.

2. I wish it were easier to recline/sit up in different positions. The Micralite Fastfold Superlite has only two seat positions: upright and reclined. I like being able to slightly recline my little ones to gauge how tired or relaxed they are, and this is sort of an all-or-nothing option.

Even with my suggestions, I think the Micralite Fastfold Superlite is a fabulous product. With it’s supreme aesthetic design and performance to match, this is a top-notch stroller. I would, however, balk at the price if I were stroller shopping. It retails for $320 online and in select stores. At the same time, it might have all the features you’ve ever wanted in a stroller (and then some!). Strollers are always a big purchase, and this is one more fantastic option for parents to check out!

Disclosure: Many thanks to Micralite and Scandinavian Child who provided the product to review. As always, my honest opinions were expressed in this product review.

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Micralite Fastfold Superlite Stroller Review is a post from: Baby GoodBuys. Visit us and find more baby deals and diaper deals!

I don’t know how it is in your area, but my mom seems to get the best deals on baby and kids clothes (plus stuff for me – I love my mom!) at JCPenney. I’ll also occasionally stumble upon great prices for baby items, but I’m not nearly as successful as she is!

Because I know lots of readers are able to find great deals “off the rack” at JCPenney, I try to post JCPenney coupons and coupon codes when I see them to make the bargains as good as possible.  but I know I miss some from time to time. If you want to be the first to get in store coupons and online coupon codes, click here to get on JCPenney’s email list!

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Want JCPenney Coupons or Coupon Codes? Get on Their Mailing List! is a post from: Baby GoodBuys. Visit us and find more baby deals and diaper deals!

Today only take 20% off everything from Leapfrog.com with coupon code Back2School!

Offer not valid on Leapster Explorer handheld, Leapster Explorer games, Leapster Explorer gift packs, and Leapster Explorer accessories.

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20% off Everything from Leapfrog.com with Coupon Code is a post from: Baby GoodBuys. Visit us and find more baby deals and diaper deals!

Members of Disney Movie Rewards can log in and request the eBook, Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue for free, even if you don’t have any rewards points to use. If you are not a member, you can sign up today and get this nice freebie!

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Free Tinkerbell E-book from Disney Movie is a post from: Baby GoodBuys. Visit us and find more baby deals and diaper deals!

Today only, if you buy anything from the Children’s section on The Gilt Group you’ll receive a $25 credit to your account by August 13th. There are several items that will ship for less than $25, making this a money-making (or credit-making!) opportunity!

• Swimwear can be found for $10 + $7.95 shipping
• C&C California items start at $14 + $7.95 shipping
• Goodbyn’s awesome lunchboxes are $15+ 7.95 shipping
• 2 pairs of kids Haviana flip flops are $10 + $7.95 shipping for the set

There are a few other options to get items for less than $25, so go here, sign up or login, then click on the Children’s link to start shopping!

Gilt.com is an invite-only (but no-fee!) shopping site. Here’s your invitation!

Note, this is NOT just for new members. Anyone making a purchase will get the credit as long as the item(s) you buy are from the Children’s area.

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Gilt.com: $25 Credit for ANYONE Buying Childrens = Moneymakers! is a post from: Baby GoodBuys. Visit us and find more baby deals and diaper deals!

I’m taking a long weekend to enjoy the great blogger meetup of Bloggers on Bourbon Street! I’ll be back to my regular baby deal posting routine on Monday, July 26th.

In the meantime, be sure to enter the giveaway for the First Impressions baby apparel gift set. Four winners will be chosen.

See you next week!

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Taking a Short Summer Break! is a post from: Baby GoodBuys. Visit us and find more baby deals and diaper deals!

GIVEAWAY HAS CLOSED. CONGRATS TO HAPPYMOMC!

Car seat safety is always on my mind! Did you know that Evenflo recently launched the Momentum 65 convertible car seat? It has e3 side impact technology that absorbs more energy in a  side-impact crash. Evenflo also created the Savvy Parents Guide complete with funny videos of in-car moments, car seat installation tips, a blog and much more!

To celebrate the launch of the Savvy Parents Guide, Evenflo is rewarding one Baby GoodBuys reader with a Savvy Parents Travel Kit worth over $100! The winner will receive:

• $25 Gas Gift Card, a little treat for mom and dad
• Moist Wipes, for quick car clean up
• Baby Mirror, to check out rear-facing baby while driving
• Soft Book, to secure safety of passengers when thrown during tantrum
• Kid/Parent Friendly CD, to inspire a family sign along
• Car Dustbuster, for hunting down cheerios between seats
• Window Shade, to keep the hot summer sun out
• Animal Crackers and a Snack Trap, to carve cravings
• Car organizer, to keep it all arranged neatly!

Want to Win? Leave a comment on this post sharing how you’re a “savvy parent”.

The above entry is mandatory. If you’d like additional entries, you may do the following:

1. Subscribe to the Baby GoodBuys feed either in a reader or by email. You can do this by clicking here and adding this site to your reader, or you can enter your email address in the box near the top of the page on the right. You must click the confirmation link in your email if you choose to be an email subscriber. (Leave a comment letting me know you’re a subscriber to get your extra entry for this option)
2. Add Baby GoodBuys to your Blogroll or post my button on the sidebar of your blog (it must be on your front page sidebar, not in an individual post or footer). (Leave a comment with your website URL)
3. “Like” Baby GoodBuys on Facebook (leave a comment with your Facebook display name)
4. Follow BabyGoodBuys on Twitter (leave a comment with your Twitter ID).
5. Sign up for Ebates by clicking here. (Your email address will be verified by Ebates, so leave a comment letting me know you signed up and I’ll validate with your email address in your comment)

Contest Details: Contest ends on 7/25/2010. United States residents only. Valid email address is required. All entries without a valid email address will be disqualified. Duplicate, fraudulent and/or invalid entries will be disqualified. Winning email notification must be responded to within 48 hours or that winner will forfeit the prize and a new winner will be selected. Winner will be selected with the random integer generator at random.org. Screen print of Random.org selection will be saved and provided upon request. Winner’s first name will be posted on this giveaway/contest All questions should be directed to babygoodbuys(at) gmail(dot)com.

FTC Disclosure: This was not a paid post and honest opinions were expressed. Many thanks to Evenflo for providing the prize for the winner and an additional kit for my enjoyment.

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Giveaway: Evenflo Savvy Parents Travel Kit {$100+ Value} is a post from: Baby GoodBuys. Visit us and find more baby deals and diaper deals!

I was just taking a look at some of the high-cash-back offers on Ebates.com and the Gap.com offer caught my eye! Right now you can get 20% cash back at all Gap Online stores when you shop through Ebates! Even better, there are a lot of items already discounted up to 40% sitewide! Here are the individual shops:

GapKids

BabyGap

GapMaternity

Gap.com

Shipping is a flat $7 no matter how much (or how little) you order, but you’ll also get $5 free when you sign up for Ebates.

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Gap.com, BabyGap, GapKids, GapMaternity: Save Up to 40% + 20% Cash Back is a post from: Baby GoodBuys. Visit us and find more baby deals and diaper deals!

Here’s a great way to earn some rewards!  Nielsen HomeScan Consumer Panel is accepting new members, and it’s a great way to earn points that you can exchange for name-brand merchandise like electronics, toys, jewelry and more!

The National Consumer Panel focuses on measuring consumer attitudes and behavior based on what they buy and spend. As a panel member, you’ll receive a handheld scanner. Every time you or members of your household shop, you’ll use the scanner to scan the barcodes on all of your purchases. I’m a big shopper (almost all bargains, all the time!), and I think this is a great way to communicate which products appeal to my demographic! If you’re interested, sign up here!

If you’re interested in becoming part of the Consumer Panel, you’ll want to go on over here and sign up.

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Join Nielsen Home Scan Panel for Free and Earn Rewards is a post from: Baby GoodBuys. Visit us and find more baby deals and diaper deals!

A few weeks ago I reviewed the Diaper Genie II Elite as part of my participation in the Mom Central Diaper Pail Test Drive program. This is part 2, and we’re going to meet the Arm & Hammer Diaper Pail by Munchkin.

Like I said in the first post, I’m a newbie to diaper pails. I always thought a garbage can would work (and it had, for about 20 months!). After trying out the Diaper Genie II Elite for a week, my opinion was starting to be swayed. Now that I’ve also tried out the Arm & Hammer Diaper Pail by Munchkin for a week (plus an additional week), I have to say that I fully understand why so many people recommend diaper disposal systems.

I changed up week 2 of the Diaper Pail test drive by putting the Arm & Hammer Diaper Pail in Haiden and Piper’s bedroom. When I first started these reviews, I had thought we changed most diapers in our living room. After thinking about it, I realized we also changed quite a few diapers upstairs, either on our bed or in the bathroom at bathtime, especially on the weekdays when I worked. My first thought was that this diaper pail was relatively small. It was definitely smaller than the garbage can I had originally put in their room to contain the dirty diapers. There was no assembly required, all I had to do was pop the bag into the pail, snap it in place and get started. You also have to peel a sticker off the baking soda capsule attached to the inside of the lid so it can start dispensing real backing soda into the diaper pail. After both of those things were done, we were ready to start filling it with diapers.

The Arm & Hammer diaper pail is not hands free: you have to push a lever on the top and pull the lid up to put the dirty diaper inside. The closing motion of the lid automatically shakes some baking soda into the pail, helping to control odors. There’s also an extra odor-controlling measure on the inside of the pail. The closing of the lid also moves a circular panel to block the hole at the top of the diaper pail. Because of that, there’s a second barrier to keep odors inside the pail when the lid is closed.

The actual disposal of the dirty diapers is really easy! The refill bag has a ring around the top that snaps into the pail to keep it secure when it’s in use. When the bag is full, the ring unsnaps from the pail and the entire bag is removed through a door in the side of the pail. Then the ring folds in half and snaps together to seal the bag up.

Here’s what I’ve ended up liking about the Arm & Hammer Diaper Pail by Munchkin:

1. It’s compact. with an advertised capacity of 25 dirty diapers, it take several days to fill this up, even with two little ones in diapers. Granted, not every diaper goes into this pail, but I don’t change diapers in a single dedicated place.
2. The self-sealing bags. These are really nice. Last night I emptied one bag and put in a fresh one. I sealed the first bag up and put it at the top of the stairs until I was ready to bring it down. If the bag hadn’t sealed in the odors, there’s no way I would have done that!
3. The easy emptying process. Pulling out one bag and popping in another is as easy as it gets!

I do have a few suggestions for improvements in this diaper pail:

1. It’s not hands-free. I don’t think you appreciate this until you’re holding a really dirty diaper and a squirmy baby! I’d love to see a foot pedal to pop it open when both hands are occupied.
2. Waste less plastic bags. I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied in this area. When I took the full bag out of the diaper pail, there was definitely room for 5 or 6 more diapers in the bag, but they wouldn’t fit in the pail.  I hate that the bag isn’t really filled to capacity when the pail can’t hold anymore diapers.
3. The cost of refills. Again, this is a a baby bargain website, and I have a hard time with the idea of buying a refill pack of 10 bags for $6.99. The bags are modified trash bags, and that’s a hefty price tag when you total it up over time.

Diaper Genie II Elite Vs Arm & Hammer Diaper Pail by Munchkin: Final Thoughts

When all is said and done, I still don’t believe a diaper pail is a necessity, but I can see how it can definitely find a place in the “Nice to Have” category! Both contained odors much better than a regular garbage can with a lid and required less time and maintenance than a garbage can. They also both had different pros and cons. Since they performed so similarly, I think the biggest difference between the two is the exterior design. The Diaper Genie II Elite was definitely made with style in mind, while the Arm & Hammer Diaper Pail was made for function. If performance is the question, I’m going to be diplomatic and call it a draw. I think both work quite well and do the job they’re made to do.

I am a member of the Mom Central community and I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central, sponsored by Diaper Genie, and received a free Diaper Genie diaper pail and a free Munchkin Arm & Hammer diaper pail to facilitate my review.

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Diaper Pail Test Drive: Arm & Hammer Diaper Pail by Munchkin Review is a post from: Baby GoodBuys. Visit us and find more baby deals and diaper deals!