Can you use a jogging stroller as your main stroller?

Need a jogging stroller but don’t want to have two strollers? Here’s what you need to know about when it makes sense to use a jogging stroller as your everyday stroller.

Also read: Best Strollers for Hiking and Rough Terrain

Quick answer:

If you don’t live in a city and have a massive car trunk, then you can get away with using a jogging stroller with a lockable front wheel as your main stroller. However, life will be a lot easier if you have two strollers. It’s definitely a bigger initial investment but pays off once you consider how often your strollers get used.

Why You Probably Need Two Strollers

Jogging Strollers Are Massive

While some models are smaller than others, all jogging strollers are very large. They need to be to handle rough terrain or high speeds.

The size of jogging strollers usually isn’t an issue when you use them outside.

But try taking a jogging stroller inside and you can encounter a lot of problems.

For example, I once had a sitcom-worth episode in a crafts store: My stroller bumped into a display mannequin and knocked it over. That mannequin hit another, which hit another. It was a HUGE mess!

Sometimes it can even be difficult to fit a jogging stroller in supermarket aisles. As one mom said, “in some stores I have to pick and choose my route, and leave the stroller a few feet away from the thing I’m looking at.”

And don’t count on being able to fit a jogging stroller inside a restaurant, bus, narrow elevators…

They Might Even Be Too Big for Some Outside Places

Most of the problems with jogging stroller size will be indoors. But they are sometimes too large for outside spaces.

Here are some of the issues you’ll encounter outdoors:

Pedestrians will get pissed off when they can’t pass by you on a sidewalk because your stroller is so big.
Cars park on the sidewalk and you can’t get your stroller through. Thus you have to walk in the street. This has incited rage in me many a times!
Narrow streets in old parts of town. Especially in Europe, some cute little streets will be too small to fit your stroller.

Getting a Jogging Stroller in Your Car Can Be a Pain

If you frequently go places with car, the jogging stroller can be annoying. Firstly, it can be too big to fit in your car. You may need to take the wheels off to get it in the trunk. Jogging strollers are also heavy, so loading it can be a pain. It’s much easier to have a lightweight, small stroller that you take for car trips.

Investing in Two Strollers Is Worth It…

With my first kid, I was pretty broke and bought the cheapest used stroller I could find. Surprise surprise, I hated the stroller and ended up carrying her in a sling most of the time.

By the time I had my second child nearly 8 years later, my financial situation had improved but my core strength weaken (couldn’t handle the constant baby wearing anymore!). I ended up buying two strollers: an off-road stroller and a lightweight umbrella stroller for when she got a bit bigger. Here’s why I think it was worth it.

You Will Use a Stroller Every Day

Unless you are baby wearing or never leave the house, you will likely be using your stroller EVERY SINGLE DAY.

You will use it to walk your screaming infant to sleep. You will use it to run errands like grocery shopping. And, if you live in a cold climate, you’ll also use it in winter over ice and snow.

Considering how much use strollers get, it is really worth it to have strollers which make life easier.

The Cost Isn’t As Bad As It Seems

Jogging strollers can easily cost over $500. Add another stroller to the equation and you are nearing $1,000.

I used to think this was an insane amount of money to spend on a stroller.

But, when you factor in how much use you’ll get out of the stroller, the price isn’t too bad.

Let’s say you spend $900 on two strollers and are able to use them for 3 years:

$900/1,095 days = $0.82 per day.

If you use the stroller longer (my 4 year old sometimes still gets pushed around) or have a second child, then the price breakdown is even lower.

And don’t forget that brand-name jogging strollers have good resale value, so you’ll be able to recoup a lot of the investment.

The Second Stroller Should Be Compact

IMO, I only think it makes sense to get two strollers if they are significantly different. There’s no point in buying a second stroller if the “regular” one is only a few inches smaller than the jogger.

I have my “beast” stroller for hiking and rough terrain. And, once my baby got big enough, I began using a compact stroller for trips around town, public transport, air travel, and anywhere else that a big stroller would be annoying.

Since the compact stroller was cheap, it wasn’t really much of an investment.

The Exception: You Run Fast

Jogging strollers need to have a fixed front wheel to keep them stable at high speeds. But it is very difficult to maneuver a jogger with a fixed wheel. For this reason, many jogging strollers have front wheels which can be locked or unlocked.

Note that the wheel lock can sometimes fail on cheap joggers. For this reason, it’s recommended that you

Only use a fixed-wheel jogger when going at high speeds OR
Buy a very good quality jogger so the locking mechanism won’t fail

If you are a really serious runner, then it might make sense to get a jogger with a lockable wheel, a (non-compact) stroller for everyday use and a compact stroller for when your kid gets bigger. Yes, that is three strollers!

Warning: You’ll Get Used to the Jogging Stroller’s Smoothness!

I got used to being able to plow over tree roots, holes and other bumpy terrain with the all-terrain stroller.

This was a problem when I switched to the lightweight stroller: I forgot to avoid bumps and my kid suffered a few bad jolts. Luckily I always strap her in or she would have gone flying! My wrists would also hurt if I’d lazily try to use the compact stroller on rough terrain.

So please be cautious when switching to a lightweight stroller after using a beast: it simply doesn’t handle the same.