I have tried a high-end stroller that rocks on its own. And how expensive stops seeming so when you look at its competition
From the creators of “I have pricked a glucometer without being diabetic” either “I have gone out into the street with an exoskeleton“, everything is for workcomes now “I have had a daughter to be able to go one step further with this type of articles.” It may not have been exactly like that, but the truth is that I have been pushing the Cybex e-Gazelle S, an electric baby stroller, for eight weeks. It rocks itself and helps you on slopes. I have been carrying it since my daughter was born and always in individual mode: I have not mounted the second seat or the tandem carrycot that this model promotes, only the Gazelle S Cot carrycot that came in the pack. I say this because there is reviews out there they value their behavior in double, with two children and purchases on top, and I can’t talk about that. I’m talking about what I’ve experienced: a stroller for a newborn in Valencia, without impossible hills or epic due to a double upbringing (parents of twins, you have my full appreciation). And yet it has given me much more to think about than I expected. Because the e-Gazelle S is, above all, a good stroller. And only later, one that rocks alone. First the car, then the engine It’s easy for the word “electric” to take over the rest of the spec sheet, and I think that would be a mistake. The e-Gazelle S is large, comfortable and built with a solidity that is noticeable in the hand: aluminum chassis, wheels that absorb potholes and poorly graded sidewalks well, huge lower basket plus a removable shopping basket that I plan to use as soon as my xiqueta can go to the stroller. The chassis with the chair (not the carrycot) weighs 14.7 kilos, almost two more than the “normal” e-Gazelle (12.9 kg), somewhat heavy when it comes time to put it in the trunk of the car, figures very similar to those of the most similar stroller in the competition, the Bugaboo Donkey, which I will talk more about later to compare them. Folding and unfolding is quite simple once you remember everything to touch at once. Image: Xataka. Overall maneuverability is good. It turns easily, is controlled with one hand when the other is needed for whatever, and the carrycot, with its XXL hood, is one of the most successful I have tried. My daughter is comfortable in there, and that, at eight weeks old, is the only thing that really matters to me. Although in reality I also care about my comfort wearing it: I’m 1.90m tall and not all of the strollers I tried a few months ago seemed designed for my height. Some made my lower back work and made me walk with a bump. It might be harmless for two minutes, but it would certainly be hellish for a long walk. This car has an adjustable handlebar that when fully deployed reaches 1.10 m in height, at the top of the models I reviewed. Comfortable, great, it lets me walk straight. Image: Xataka. But there is a ‘but’ that I think is not usually mentioned: The rear wheels, the large ones, protrude beyond the width of the chassis, as can be seen in the image above this paragraph. In large spaces nothing is noticeable. The problem appears in the tight maneuvers of everyday domestic life: a turn between the sofa and the living room furniture, leaving or entering the elevator, avoiding a door jamb, etc. There, more than once, especially in the first few days, I have accidentally hit something with that wheel that sticks out a little more than the eye calculates. It’s not serious—nothing has happened—but it’s the type of daily use friction that I haven’t seen mentioned and that can only be discovered by living with the stroller, not by trying it for a while in the store. I think that’s my only real ‘but’ to this stroller. The rocking chair, put to the test This is where the e-Gazelle S differs from any other stroller I’ve tried. You lock the front wheels, brake the rear, turn on the engine, hold down the rocking button until you choose the intensity (there are three) and the stroller It begins to swing on its own, back and forth, like your own hand would do on the street holding the handlebars.. With less grace, yes. One nuance: at first you turn it on accidentally from time to time. Holding the handlebar in one hand to maneuver without looking at it too much makes it easy to end up accidentally touching the button. Although nothing happens, you get used to avoiding pressing that area. But when the stroller falls into the hands of a family member who wants to take it, again it is easy for them to hit it and you will find it turned on. It’s a minor issue, but it doesn’t hurt to mention it. From those two buttons on the handlebar you control its electrical part. Image: Xataka. The first few weeks my daughter didn’t quite give in to the invention. He found it difficult, he preferred human movement in general and holding her in his arms in particular. But in recent times she has changed her mind, and there is one afternoon that I remember well: I was especially upset on the terrace of a cafeteria, for no apparent reason, and I tried the rocking chair almost without faith. He calmed down and stayed that way for a long time, much longer than I expected. In fact, I had the idea (untested, just intuition) that the battery would last about 20 minutes of use. It stayed active much longer than that. lThe autonomy reaches just over a continuous hour depending on the rocking level. Rocking at its lowest intensity. Image: Xataka. And the rocking at its greatest intensity. Image: Xataka. I cannot speak with the same reliability about the … Read more
