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An eco-friendly company creates a mom-friendly double stroller!
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Baby Planet is an eco-friendly, new stroller company that is leading the way to improve the environment for our children. Their mission states "there are no limits to improving your child's environment. From the care you provide, to the products you use, to the planet we share, every aspect can play a key role in the upbringing of your baby. Our mission is to help you in this journey by providing products that improve the quality time you spend with your child. In addition we are working hard to protect and restore our planet, so all our children have a fresh clean environment to flourish in." We love this!
Setting out to make great strollers and help the environment? We are on board! What makes Baby Planet eco-friendly is their fabulous recycling program. In an effort to help the environment, the company will help recycle your Baby Planet stroller when your child has outgrown it. It works in two different ways. 1) When you are done with your stroller and there is still some life left in it, Baby Planet will pay for you to ship it back to them, they will clean and fix it up, make it look almost new and donate it to a charity so that a family in need receives it. 2) When you are done with your stroller and you have basically used it up completely and it's no longer road worthy or functional, Baby Planet will pay for you to ship it back to them and they will send the metal, fabric and plastic parts to a recycling center to keep it out of a landfill. In fact, they care about the environment so much that they will happily accept any brand of stroller for recycling. Way to go Baby Planet!!
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So, it's a great company, but what about the strollers you ask? Well, not to worry, the strollers are as good as their mission statement.
A 2007 JPMA Innovation award winner, the Unity Sport Double Stroller, has some unique features that make it mom-friendly.
An innovative feature on the Unity Sport is the unique "easy steer" handle bar. It is the first twin stroller that steers in the middle giving parents more control and better maneuverability. Instead of two separate handles, the Unity has a large, circular handle in the middle for easier maneuverability. The shape of the handle makes it easy to steer and easier to turn than many other double strollers. With two kids aboard, it's not a one-handed steering stroller by any means, but still much better than others. The handle also has two cup holders for mom.
The stroller has two padded, independent reclining seats that recline almost completely flat with an easy strap system. The seats are roomy and easily fit our 3 year old and 7 month old testers. Each seat can accommodate a child up to 55 lbs so even our older kids could hop in for a ride and is complete with simple to do 5-point harness, with comfort covers. Now, we do have a problem with these comfort covers. While the shoulder/chest covers are fine, we find that we are picking up the covers from the part of the harness between the child's legs (we'll call it "crotch covers") off the ground constantly. These covers are not permanently attached to the harnesses, so every time we go to fold the stroller and we didn't fasten the harnesses (which, by the way, a mom would never do), the crotch covers would slip off and onto the ground. We almost lost them so many times, that we took them off completely and pretend they never existed.
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There are two decent sized baskets underneath, not big enough for a large diaper bag, but definitely a small diaper bag, shopping bag, blanket or some loose baby essentials. There are two independent canopies complete with peek a boo windows. The canopies do tend to pop off from time to time when folding but easily pop back into place.
The Unity has 6 sets of 5 ¾ inch wheels with "room to walk" rear center wheels that taller moms and dads will appreciate because they are set in a bit to allow for a long stride. The front wheels also have a swivel lock option.
With an umbrella-type fold, this stroller is rather easy to fold with basically only your foot. It has two auto locks on each side to keep it closed. With folded dimensions of: 17W" x 18.5D" x 40H", we found that easily fit into an SUV trunk and a mostly empty sedan trunk (but leaves room for little else in the sedan trunk).
Folding this stroller is rather easy but we found the same isn't true of unfolding it. Since you have to unlock both locks simultaneously on the sides, we found it very awkward to bend down and try to unlock both while trying to pull up on the stroller to open it. Once you get past the lock issue, you have to apply quite a bit of pressure to the back foot pads to get it to open all the way. Not impossible to do by any means, but not simple either. Just know it will take a lot of effort and you won't be opening this stroller with anything else in your hands.
The easy to clean fabric is appealing and available in 3 different colors, red tech, terra cotta, and charcoal. With a lightweight aluminum frame, it still weighs in at 27 lbs, so this double isn't the lightest on the market for double strollers but we had no problem lifting it in and out of our trunk, so the weight wasn't much of an issue. We found the weight of the frame gives it a sturdy base so we were secure with it holding the weight of our precious cargo without feeling wobbly (like other doubles we have seen before). Also, at 29 inches wide, the stroller fit through all doorways that we tried.
Even with a couple quirks that we pointed out, the Baby Planet Unity Sport is an overall good double stroller with a great unique handle, easy maneuverability, sleek design, "room to walk" rear center wheels, great colors and comes from a really great eco-friendly company retailing for around $290.
Shop All Baby Planet
Shop Baby Planet Unity Sport
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