Baby Jogger City Mini 2 Stroller Review

The Baby Jogger City Mini 2 is one of my favorite strollers. It has a huge canopy, and roomy seat, and can hold a child up to 50 lb. But the best feature of this stroller is the quick compact one-hand fold. This is one of THE easiest folds I’ve seen!

Despite having three wheels and the word ‘jogger’ in its name this is not a jogging stroller. It is designed for everyday life like going shopping at the mall, going to the stores, or parks.

The 8″ wheels with front-wheel suspension can tackle some mommy terrain like grass, mulch, or gravel.

The City Mini 2 is truly the BEST stroller for parents who live in the city because you can have a child in one hand and easily carry this stroller in another.

We all know how challenging it is if you live in a building with no elevator and need to carry a child and a stroller down the stairs. If you travel a lot, you will love how light and compact it is. Now, the weight of the stroller did increase from almost 17 lbs to 19 lbs, but it is still pretty light for its class.

This stroller is full of great features like a huge canopy, large basket, roomy seat with almost a flat recline, and adjustable leg rest. 

You can also convert it into a travel system with the included adapter for a City Go infant car seat or you can purchase a different adapter for your car seat. Works with the most popular car seats. The City Mini Double option is also available.

It’s worth mentioning that City Mini has won many awards including the iParenting Media Award, NAPPA Gold Award, Mother and Baby Award, and Good Design Award. Celebrity moms like Julia Roberts, Halle Berry, Jennifer Garner, Naomi Watts, Salma Hayek, and Tori Spelling absolutely love this stroller.

Celebrities have a lot of money and can afford to buy any stroller they want. So, the fact that they use City Mini shows you that the most expensive strollers are not always the best.

OVERALL

I gave City Mini 2 5 out of 5 stars because I absolutely love the huge canopy, the easiest fold in the world, and how compact and light it is.

There are only two things I would change: I would make the basket a little larger and more accessible, and I would make the handlebar adjustable. That’s it! The City Mini 2 retails for around $299 and comes in five colors.

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Features

CANOPY

This stroller has one of the BEST canopies (if not the best) on the market. It is so huge, they even put 2 peekaboo windows. This three-panel canopy goes all the way down providing full sun protection.

The only downside is that they used a ‘velcro’ closure for both peekaboo windows. It is very noisy and can definitely wake up a sleeping child. I wish they would use a magnetic closure like they did on the City Mini Elite model.

It does cost a little more, but I think parents wouldn’t mind paying a few extra dollars for that. Also, I would like the window to be made out of mesh instead of plastic for better air circulation.

HANDLEBAR

The handlebar is NOT adjustable. It’s located at 41″ from the ground. I think it will be too high for shorter parents. So, test it first.

Now, if you need an adjustable handlebar, there is a City Mini GT model that is slightly heavier and more expensive, but it does have an adjustable handlebar.

SEAT

The seat is very roomy. It can hold a child up to 50 lbs. It’s 14″ wide with a measurement of 23″ from the back of the seat to the top canopy. The leg drop is 10″. It has an infinite seat recline that goes down to an almost flat position suitable from 3 months.

To recline the seat, you need to adjust the one-handed strap system in the back of the seat. To bring the seat back up, you will need both hands. It’s a little challenging to do with a child in the seat.

Once the seat is reclined, you will see a large mesh window in the back of the seat. It provides nice air circulation in a hot summer. If the weather gets cooler, there is a retractable weather cover that you can use.

For 2019 they’ve added an adjustable leg rest which has two positions: up and down. Definitely a plus!

It has a 5-point padded harness that is attached with clips to the loops in the seat. To adjust it to a different height, you don’t need to re-thread it.

All you need to do is to hook it to a different loop. Very easy. You can even do it with your child in the seat.

STORAGE

There is a large mesh pocket on the back of the seat that you can use for all the mommy essentials like keys, wallet, phone, and sunglasses. Since this stroller doesn’t come with a parent console, this pocket is very useful.

BASKET

The basket access has been improved but is still hard to access from the back because of the crossbar. This was one of the biggest complaints. Although you can fit in a large diaper bag, it is still not a very convenient basket. I think they should keep working on it.

WHEELS

The are three 8″ hard rubber wheels. The front swivel wheel is doubled for extra stability. It can be locked in place when the terrain gets rough. To make the stroller more compact, you can remove the rear wheels with a push of the button.

I was thinking that since all of the City Mini models are almost the same with the exception of the wheels, they should sell those forever-air wheels separately, so you can transform City Mini into the all-terrain stroller.

Wouldn’t that be nice? This stroller does have a front wheel suspension that will absorb some of the bumps.

BRAKE

There is a one-step break in the back. To lock it, all you need to do is step on the red pedal located between the back wheels. To unlock it, you can step on the top of it or lift the pedal up with your toes. Not flip-flop friendly.

FOLD

The fold is a breeze! It is a one-hand one-step fold. This is one of the main features of City Mini 2 that made it so popular. You can hold your child in one hand, and fold the stroller with the other by pulling on the handle that is located in the middle of the seat.

We moms always have our hands full. Don’t we? It’s not a child, it’s a diaper bag or a toy. So, easy fold is very important. And it is such a compact stroller that it should fit in ANY car.

The folded dimensions are 26″W x 30″L x 11″H. If you live in a city and have a small car, this is perfect. Since it weighs only 19 lbs, you can easily carry it in one hand.

Once you fold the stroller, it automatically locks. No clips, no straps! Since I had my baby, I do have back problems and it’s a lot of extra pain for me if I need to place the stroller on the ground to manually lock it.

TRAVEL SYSTEM

You can convert City Mini 2 into a travel system by getting an infant car seat adapter. BTW, it already comes with a City Go adapter which is a car seat made by Baby Jogger.

Since I have not done a review for Baby Jogger City Go, I really can’t give you any advice on that one but here is my list of safest car seats.

INCLUDED ACCESSORIES

Comes with a car seat adapter for the City Go infant car seat. Everything else needs to be purchased separately.

Cons

• No bumper bar.  I like to have a bumper bar, so wish it was included. I feel like it’s an extra safety and my baby loves to put her feet up on it. There is one you can purchase separately but I am not crazy about its design.
• No adjustable handlebar. This should be easy to fix and I hope that the next model will have an adjustable handlebar.
• Velcro on the canopy. Most of the strollers that are sold today, have a velcro closure on their viewing windows. It would be nice to have a magnetic closure especially since Baby Jogger has it on the Elite model.
• Inconvenient basket. The basket underneath the seat is not my favorite. Although you can fit a large diaper bag, it will take some effort to stuff it in and take it out. I think they should change the frame a little by putting the parking brake only on one side (like on Britax B-Agile) and removing that crossbar. This will allow them to modify the basket to make it more accessible.

Video Review

Here is a short video overview.

Specs

Stroller weight: 19 lb
Weight limit: 50 lb
Folded dimensions: 26″W x 30″L x 11″H
Handlebar height: 41″
Seat to canopy height: 23″
Wheels: 8″
Overall length: 39.5″
Overall width: 26″

Warranty

Baby Jogger gives a lifetime warranty on the frame of the stroller and 1 year on small parts and fabric.

Available colors

This stroller is available in five colors: slate, jet, capri, carbon, and sepia.

Accessories

City Mini has a lot of great accessories that have to be purchased separately. I wish some accessories like a snack tray and adult console were included.

-Snack tray. This is a must-have item! It is very easy to attach and remove. It has one cup holder. My daughter likes to grab the tray and pull herself forward, so she can sit up straight and look around. It is durable and very easy to clean.

You can just take the whole thing to the kitchen and clean it there. By pushing a button on one side of the tray, you can easily swing it out to let your child in and out of the seat. There is no need to remove the whole thing! The stroller can also be folded with the tray attached.

Another thing I like about it is that I can attach toys with plastic hooks to them. Some parents complained that it sits too high and I have to agree. It does sit a little too high, but I have a very tall child, so it works fine for me.

If you have a shorter child, I would recommend getting a belly bar instead since it is adjustable. This tray can be used with City Mini, City Classic, City Elite, and Summit 360 strollers.

-Universal parent console. This console is made out of quality material and includes one cup holder and two insulated compartments. The cup holder is large enough to hold my large Starbucks coffee or a water bottle and the drinks stay horizontal without spilling.

The compartments are deep enough to hold all the little items like keys, wallet, sunglasses, and phone. This console is worth the money. It can be used with any Baby Jogger stroller.

-Glider board. If you have an older child who likes to move around and see things, this accessory is for you. It will give your child more independence and will make him feel like he is pushing the stroller. Anything to keep them busy! :)

-Belly bar. Unlike the snack tray, this soft padded bar can be adjusted for the height of your child. When it gets dirty, you can just unzip the cover for cleaning. Very easy. Kids love to pull themselves up so they can sit up straight and look around.

You can also attach toys to the bar to keep your baby entertained without losing them. Many parents like this belly bar more than a snack tray because they can adjust the height.

Some said that it can be used as a car seat adapter because it does hold the car seat very tight even though it doesn’t lock it in place.

-Car seat adapter. If you want to transform your stroller into a travel system, buy this car seat adapter. It works with the most popular car seats like Peg Perego, Maxi Cosi, Graco, Chicco, and Evenflo. This adapter can be used on City Mini, City Mini GT, City Elite, Summit XC, and FIT models.

Where to buy it

You can get City Mini 2 in one of the five beautiful colors for around $299.

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