With our fourth child on the way, and a slew of dead and broken Graco and Evenflo strollers and carseats amassing in our garage, we decided to look with more scrutenizing eyes when it came to purchasing our stroller and carseat this time. After several trips to the local baby chain store, we noticed one thing over and over. There was a large selection of Gracos and Evenflos all of which were high on plastic parts and bulk, but low on actual loveability due to short non-adjustable handles, bulky heavy strollers that were cumbersome to fold, seats that claimed to recline that didn't actually make it to a full recline or took alot of threading and rethreading to adjust(not something you want to do out and about with a sleepy baby in tow!) We also noticed that there were TWO other brands at the far end. These were the Chiccos!
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br /The first thing that caught my eye about the Chicco Cortina travelsystem is that is seemed VERY sturdy. The wheels especially caught my eye due to the fact that 2 of our previous strollers didn't offer much in the way of wheels, and they literally broke off within months of use. The wheels of the Cortina system as different. They actually have a tread! No fighting while wearing flip flops to lock and unlock the wheels either. It was simple and painless! The second thing that caught my eye right away was that when you recline the seat on the stroller you don't have to unthread anything! It's a simple lever and it's up or down! It's so simple you have to ask yourself "why aren't all the companies doing this!". One of the great parts about the full reclining seat, and that I never see mentioned in it's review is that the padded seat bottom actually folds up to make it more like a bassinett. It even has straps to secure it! I totally love that feature!
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br /Now, quickly moving on the the carseat. This carseat is wonderful! Not only does it have a button to move the handle so you don't have to push the handle in and jerk it around with a sleeping baby in it hoping it will open like the Graco snugride, but it's clearly made with quality. It's sturdy! The handle is definitely strong and not a sign of wobble or buckling like I've found with the Evenflo line especially. Another feature I like is the bubble level. That's right! It's an honest to God bubble level and not "ye ole ball and the green and white zones on a sticker" this is a REAL level! It also has built in should belt clips so you don't have to worry about not losing that valuable little piece when you loan the carseat to grandma for the day! There's also a storage compartment, great for storing an extra pacifier for instance, and push button leveling instead of turning a big giant cranking wheel.
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br /All in all I can't think of ANYTHING bad to say about this carseat/stroller combo. It's absolutely wonderful and after having had several of the other brands I think this one will hold up alot better and longer. If anyone was trying to make the decision between this Chicco Cortina Travel System and ANY Graco system I'd say it's totally worth spending the extra $40 to ge3t this one. You'll reap the rewards of this choice over and over again!