Review of the BOB Revolution SE
I was pretty sure that despite needing to upgrade to a toddler seat, the Orbit stroller was all we’d need. That is, until I found out that it’s unsafe to jog with a regular stroller (the plastic wheels don’t absorb shock or take bumps very well) and figured we’d probably need a jogging stroller. Tom is a great runner, and we wanted to be able to safely take Liv on outdoor adventures with us.
After doing quite a bit of research and talking with friends who have jogging strollers, we decided to get the BOB Revolution SE, which was on sale on Amazon when we made the purchase (it still is over $100 off the original price).
There’s mixed information regarding when it’s safe to run with a baby in a jogging stroller. First, the company said 6 months and recently increased it to 8. A lot of it has to do with how fast you’ll be running, the terrian, the baby’s head control, etc., so if you’re unsure, err on the side of caution and talk to your pediatrician. I know a lot of people who have run with their babies before they were 6 months old, but it’s not something we were comfortable with, so we waited until Liv was 6 months to make the purchase and talked with the pediatrician before taking her out to Sabino.
A nice little tidbit: you can remove the head support from your carseat and easily attach it to the BOB:
We still put Liv’s head support in there for runs, so if she falls asleep, her head stays upright.
What we love about our BOB:
-The shade can be in one of two positions, and goes pretty far down to protect Liv from the sun. There’s also a flap on top to peer in and check on your baby.
-SMOOTH ride. It’s extremely easy to push and steer, even with the added weight of a child. The front wheel can be in swivel mode (for walks) and even with it locked straight for runs, it’s a dream to push it.
-Oliv loves riding in the BOB. From day one, she’s been extremely happy in it, and I have a feeling we’ll use the stroller for a very long time (up to 70 lbs!). I think a lot of it has to do with the ability to recline the seat and the light, breathable fabric.
-Easy to fold and use, plus lots of additional add-ins. We bought the cupholder and snack tray for when Liv is a little older.
-Basket underneath. Plenty of room to store extra bottles of water, diaps, wipes and an extra outfit.
Cons:
-It’s extremely bulky. It’s definitely not an everyday stroller and a tough fit in the trunk of my sedan. I usually leave it set up in the downstairs storage closet for neighborhood walks, and when Tom and I take Liv running, we put it in the back of his SUV. It’s more challenging to transport in smaller cars. For errands and everyday trips around town, I prefer something lighter and more compact.
-We’ve heard that it’s easy to pop the tires and get a flat. We haven’t experienced this (yet… knock on wood?) but quite a few of our friends had “goo” put in the tires at a local bike shop and have’t experienced that problem. It’s definitely something we’ll be looking into.
-As I mentioned above, you can’t use it to jog/run until the child is older, with sufficient head control. You can walk with the stroller and an infant adapter, but since we had the Orbit, we didn’t think it was necessary to purchase the BOB until Liv was old enough to use it. I’m glad we waited, too, since we ended up getting a much better price.
-I wish the seat was padded on the bottom. That’s the only thing I think might make it more comfortable, but Liv seems to absolutely love riding in it. Tom and I both love pushing it for runs and walks, so it’s been the perfect choice for our family.
Do you have a jogging stroller? Have you done any races while pushing one? I can’t wait to take Liv for her first 5k this fall.
Any favorite outdoor adventures you remember as a child? My nana used to take us to Sabino Canyon. We would get eegee’s for lunch, ride the tram into the canyon, have a picnic and explore, then ride the tram back.
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thanks for the review! I’m over 8 months preg and debating whether to get this now or to wait until after baby. I think you just convinced me to wait until after baby!
Great review. I’m trying to decide on a stroller and everyone says a BOB – but I was curious about every day use. what are you using every day then – for shopping etc? We do most of our walking in trails, so it seems like a good idea for that for sure!
for shopping, i usually wear her in the babyhawk. if we need a stroller, we’re still using the orbit for now
Would you recommend the Babyhawk? We’ve only had the Baby Bjorn, but would love something more “baby-wearing” friendly.
I have a BOB and it is my only stroller. I love it, for running and for every day use (yes, even shopping). Ours has been through two kids at this point and both have only ever known the BOB and both loved it.
Unless you have the space (and cash) for a million different strollers then a BOB really is a great all around single purchase. Get the infant carseat adapter so you can click the bucket seat onto the stroller if you want to take babe on walks in early days and you’re good to go. 🙂
I have a bob with the Greco infant seat adapter and I love it! It is my everyday use stroller and I don’t need another one. I did get a flat and went to rei to get it fixed. While there they put in this plastic shield which subsequently stopped me from getting a flat when a tack got stuck in the tire. I should say that I have used it for 4 months and have put well over 75 miles on it! Plus, I have a VW jetta and my car has a big trunk but bob fits with extra room. My Toyota rental car has a much smaller trunk and the bob fits with the front wheel turned and there is a little extra room but not much! I would deffinitely reccomended it! And if you get it with the infant seat adapter you could avoid redundancy by just getting one stroller!!!!
My parents would take us camping all the time. We would make smores (can’t wait to do that with my little dude), tell stories and roll down the dunes. Indiana Dunes was a family favorite and in next few weeks my husband and I plan on taking Evan there (with the BOB!).
Evan is still far too little to jog with, but we do have this stroller with the infant adapter and we love it already. I agree it is very bulky as it takes up my whole trunk, and too large to take to stores/malls/museums, we have a more compact stroller for those trips but when we do use it we LOVE the ride and how easy it is to push. Although Evan won’t be joining me for my 5k this weekend, he will be with daddy in the BOB for my race (Hector feels more manly pushing he BOB than our Peg Perego stroller), and I can’t wait to do an Easter 5k with him in the spring.
I can’t wait to hear how you and Liv enjoy the 5k! I hope you give us an updated review then 🙂
PS – Love the new layout.
I love my jogging stroller (Bumble Ride) and my son also seems to like it. I got ours when we were pregnant and it has been my one and only stroller (aside from an umbrella).
Thanks for the review! I am 7 months pregnant. I was trying to figure out if I could get by with just the BOB to use for both jogging and everyday use.
my kids have outgrown our jogging strollers, but i do highly recommend the maclaren volo for travel. it is extremely light-weight, you can fold it down and open it up with one hand, and it comes with a shoulder strap for carrying. we have traveled a lot with our girls and it has been a life saver! i even get comments from other mom’s on how nice it is 🙂
My favorite outdoor outing was when I was about 2 and 3 (yes I can remember that far back) and my babysitter would take me to go on a walk to pick up my brother from school. It was so much fun and the school was right near a little market and we would go in and eat ice cream sandwiches and then on the walk home she would put me in the botom basket and my brother would ride in the regular seat.
I have the bob SE too- I love it! I used it for jogging when my daughter was about 3.5 months. I laid the back all the way down so she was basically lying flat and i used supports for her head and body. She loved it and still does (she is almost 6 months). I don’t run super fast with it and I’m extra cautious but I think waiting 8 months as recommended is way conservative. I scoured the runners world blogs before our first run and it seemed that lots of people were using theirs before 8 or even 6 months. However you have to do what makes you comfortable!
LOVE LOVE LOVE the BOB. It’s one of my favorite things we bought for Emmie (and us!). I haven’t used it in a race yet but would love to as soon as one presents itself that is stroller friendly. For everyday use you should check out the City Mini. It’s the other favorite thing we bought. I wore Em (and sometimes still do) for a long time but now that she’s almost 1 a stroller is awesome.
We have the BOB Ironman (non-swivel front wheel) and we’ve had it for almost 6 yrs and our almost 6 year old still rides in it! Yes, when we go on long runs or hikes, there’s no way she could walk with us the whole way, so we push an empty stroller for awhile and then when she’s tired, she hops in. She pulls the canopy down and tells us she thinks it’s a comfy ride. Lol. Over the years, I can guarantee we’ve put at least 8000 to 10,000 miles on it and it has an easy 50k more miles in it, no joke.
I love taking my daughter out in the jogging stroller, the only problem we’ve run in to now that she’s older and completely sitting up in her seat is that the wind makes her eyes watery, I keep thinking I need to get her some goggles haha. For shopping and quick outings when Olivia gets too big to wear Id recommend each of you getting a basic umbrella for your vehicles, we got ours for $20.00 a piece at babysrus and they’re awesome especially since we both have smaller cars and the jogging stroller is a tight squeeze. Olivia is so adorable!
I absolutely LOVE our BOB!! I have the SUS (sport utility stroller) since we do a lot of mtn biking( spectators of daddy for right now) and off road things I thought it would be better suited for our lifestyle. It threw me off a little bit at first since the front wheel permanently stays locked or straight, but after a couple days I was well adjusted. We use it at least once a day for walks or runs, but it definitely isn’t something I would like to push through the grocery store. Hahaha!! I HIGHLY recommend the BOB for any family. They have a couple different models to choose from so you an find whichever suits your lifestyle best 🙂
I have a BabyTrend jogging stroller and love it – really smooth ride, too. And Leo, who is 13 months, has liked it from the beginning. We even did a half marathon together when he was 7 months old. He lasts for 1-1.5 hours in it, easy, before he gets bored and uncomfortable.
I have a BabyTrend jogging stroller since our car seat matches to it, but I have yet to go jogging with it. My son turned 6 months old a couple of weeks ago and I plan to talk to his pediatrician at his appointment tomorrow to get the go-ahead. I can’t wait to test it out! I hope I can write as nice of a review for it as you did the BOB!
we have this and love it. used it as our regular stroller with carseat adapter when she was small, and starting running with her at 6 months.
unfortunately, at 19 months she’s totally over being confined and doesn’t want to be in any stroller, ever! oh well – at least it has good resale on craigslist!
we’ve never had a problem with the tires.
We’ve had a bob revolution for over two years and we love ours. We live in the desert and the first thing we did was get thorn-resistant tubes for a stroller at the local bicycle shop – not one flat so far 🙂
We have a mountain buggy, and love it. We wore our babies when they were little, although the mountain buggy also fits a car seat and a bassinet. Yes, it’s bulky. But if I don’t want to take it somewhere, I just use the ergo or baby hawk instead.
The family I sit for uses a BOB as well – looks like the same one, other than the fact that their’s is orange. I love taking the little girl for walks in it. She’s 20 months and loves sitting in it as well.
The BOBs great! When my little guy still agreed to sit in a stroller, my arms were so toned from pushing it while jogging! Patiently waiting for the new baby to reach 6months to break it out again…
We’ve never had tire problems, and ours is on the older side (purchased second-hand).
We have a Chariot Cougar- just sold our single and bought a double since there’s two to push now. I’m pretty much obsessed with this stroller. My almost-three-year-old has been running with me since he was a baby so he is used to it and loves it. We made such a special bond going on so many runs together. It’s really fun!
I’ve been considering investing in a jogging stroller so I can run part of the school run (after I’ve dropped the two toddlers off) but I think my husband would flip out if I bought another pushchair (there are 4 in our house at the moment but we will be selling 2!) 🙂
I’ve been considering investing in a jogging stroller so I can run part of the school run (after I’ve dropped the two toddlers off) but I think my husband would flip out if I bought another pushchair (there are 4 in our house at the moment but we will be selling 2!) 🙂
I just used my baby trend jogging stroller yesterday for the first time with my daughter. My run speed is so slow at the moment that it’s at the speed of a power walk so I didn’t mind putting her in it at 5 and a half months (and checked on her frequently to make sure her head was steady – it was). She loved it – first time getting to see scenery while in the stroller. It was so nice to go for a slow run without waiting for someone to watch her, it was wonderful for both of us. 🙂
We have a Quinny Speedi for everyday stuff. It’s amazing (not to run with though, not safety tested for that) because it has heavy duty tires and it is lightweight and folds down. Very popular where we live in Germany/Netherlands, and I think they’re sold in the States.
I have a Chariot Cougar and we LOVE it. We chose the chariot because it also can be adapted to be a bike trailer as well. I also like that baby is completed covered as well. I use the chariot to run of course, but it was also useful when camping and during my track and field meets. It collapses into nothing and is really easy to put back together. The only negative that I’ve really encountered is it is a little bulky and kind of a pain in the shopping mall. So we have a Graco stroller for mall/shopping outings.
Max and I have run in 2 races together. He has also run 1 race with Daddy and will do another in a couple of weeks. He loves it. We were even photographed together in our local Ottawa newspaper during one of the races!
I have a double BOB and am so happy with it! I scored it at Buy Buy Baby – it was a return so I got it 20% off. Plus they let me use a BBB coupon for another 20% off! I have the snack tray/car seat adaptor so my two year old and 3 month old can both ride. They both love it and my son always asks to go for walks.
I agree – it is big to put in a trunk. I have a Subaru Outback and it takes almost the whole back part. But, the wheels do come off pretty easy. I usually just suck it up and load it up if I’m going somewhere that I think I will need it.
Oh, and I’ve put my 3 month old just in the seat part, all the way leaned back, and she loved it. Although I wouldn’t run with her like that! I think they like to look forward, just like in the car.
We have a BOB and love it! My daughter is 2 and now knows how to climb up and buckle herself in! But we started using it when she was 2.5 months old with the carseat adapter and yes..gasp..we ran with it. Granted my running is a 10-11 min mile and we always used super flat, paved sidewalks. It helped me train for my first marathon when she was 13 months old! I would recomend this stroller to anyone!
We used the BOB with noth or kids for 2 years. Never a flat tire and actually we did use it as our everyday stroller. It fit into my Honda Civic trunk and I got used to folding it up and putting in the car.
We love the BOB.
We wanted to get the bob but couldn’t get it here in Australia, and there was no international shipping from some of the sites we tried. So we ended up settling with the Chariot. I must say it was a better choice for our family as we do a lot of cycling. We got the Chariot that fits in 2 toddlers. As I’m expecting baby number 2 next week. Can’t wait to go out running with my jogger, light, nice to steer. The con’s it’s bulky I have to take the wheels off to get it in my SUV. Though our everyday stroller (strider 3) is a beast of a pram too…
I LOVE my BOB stroller. I still put my 4 year old (40 lbs) in it when I have to get a training run in and he’s not in school. Its one of the best baby gear purchases I made. 🙂
I only wish I had a BOB! I had a Schwinn Running Stroller to start. It was a hand-me down. It was actually pretty handy. It was a fixed wheel, so not a whole lot of bell’s and whistles. But it was great for hiking, especially when the trails go extremely rough! But, it started falling apart, so we bought a used Baby Jogger Summit. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. Baby Jogger usually costs about as much as the BOB, but we got a killer deal from a friend. And even though it’s the bomb, I still wish I had a BOB!
Hi! Your photo of your Bob is in black. I just purchased mine because I found the same reviews, EVERYBODY recommends the Bob to jog/run. Does the black color of the stroller an issue during the summer months? I wanted the orange one, but I couldn’t get a deal on the orange.
thanks!
the black color was fine. i would moisten an aden and anais swaddle blanket and drape it over the front and she’d get a little cool breeze
Very detailed review! All BOB strollers have a common drawback that is it’s bulky. But BOB is still the best of best when it comes to jogging strollers. I always prefer orange BOB.