TipToeTurtle - The Blog

Back from a whirlwind 2-day trip to ABC show in Las Vegas. Two of our team are still there, looking for the best the industry has to offer. Here are the highlights:

1. Sunshine Kids SL car seats: Wow. We learned about these amazing seats just before ABC and couldn’t say anything until the show. First off, the Sunshine Kids people were just super nice, funny, and great to talk to about the seats. They took a grilling from our resident car seat tech, Kelly, and answered all her questions with grace.

Here’s what’s on offer (and ready for pre-sale on our site later today): Sunshine Kids has updated their Radian car seats with SuperLATCH, which allows you to use LATCH past the usually recommended 48 lbs. They’ve tested the seats to the highest standards, so this is a true innovation. They’ve also upped the rear-facing limits on the Radian 80SL and Radian XTSL to 45 lbs. Pretty sweet! One note: the SuperLATCH is only for cars manufactured after September 2005. If your car was manufactured before then, you’ll need to follow the usual 48 lb LATCH limit.

2. Baby Jogger City Select: спални комплектиBaby Jogger won the innovation award with this beauty that’ll give phil&teds a run for their money. The City Select starts as a single stroller and expands to a two-seater and has - get this- 18 configurations. The Baby Jogger folks said there could possibly be more - that’s just what they’ve figured out so far! You can fit two infant car seats, two bassinets, two full-sized seats, and with any combination you can dream of.

What we loved was that as soon as we’d raise a concern, they’d show us how well this stroller is engineered. We thought the seat looked a little short, but then, voila, the canopy extends up to accommodate taller kids. According to Baby Jogger, this stroller took a full 2 years to nail down.

We also loved that both the main seat and the add-on second seat are full-sized with foot wells and a canopy - no kid gets shafted with the City Select.

The price-point is pretty great, and we are just really really impressed. Look for it in December.

3. Mountain Buggy: You may have heard that phil&teds acquired Mountain Buggy this year. Your favorite Mountain Buggy strollers remain of high quality and with a similar look, but with a few changes that make ‘em better than ever.

First the name: instead of Urban, they’re calling them the Urban Jungle. The Double is now the Duo. The Terrain has the same name, but with a few awesome updates.

The Urban Jungle single is now 2″ narrower than before, making it super easy to maneuver. The Swift now comes with a bumper bar and cupholder. Actually, all Mountain Buggy strollers will now come with a cupholder.

The biggest change is to the Terrain which is now…wait for it…swivel wheel! The terrain is now a light jogger (not meant for high-speed racing) with a swivel wheel that locks forward for jogging. The wheel locks either in an extended forward position for great stability for jogging, or in an inward position to minimize the footprint of the stroller when you go into stores.

4. Clek: Cleck’s finally got the oobr on track. Hurray! They’ve also updated their Paul Frank styles, and we are in love with the skurvy loves julius pattern. It’s punky girly (kinda like me)

That’s it for now. Hopefully we’ll have some pictures pretty soon and some more news when the rest of our team gets back on Thursday.

Add This Post To:

Today, Consumer Reports printed a response to the storm that’s been brewing over their Orbit Car Seat tests. While they do an excellent job of pointing out how different tests yield different results and point to a few instances where their tests have revealed important problems, they do not in any way justify their scare tactics.

The main problem with the Consumer Reports testing was their failure to follow Orbit’s installation instructions. Namely, they did not tighten the Orbit StrongArm, which is why the seat failed in testing. If anyone showed intermittant failure here, it was Consumer Reports.

Their response seems to have captured the imaginations of Twitter this afternoon, but a close read shows that Consumer Report’s defense of its actions disregards Orbit’s completely valid point that they didn’t actually install the seat properly from the get-go.

Please continue to use and purchase the Orbit Baby Car Seat. It is totally safe. We’d put our kids in it!

Past Coverage: Shame On You, Consumer Reports

Add This Post To:

Consumer Reports sent the blogosphere and twitter world into a frenzy yesterday with a story claiming that the Orbit Baby Infant System Car Seat separated from its base during tests conducted by Consumer Reports.

We were as surprised as the next person, and are now horrified to find that Consumer Reports set Orbit Baby up for failure with one big mistake: they didn’t read the instructions! First, Consumer Reports used the incorrect harness height for the size of the crash test dummy. Second, they didn’t use Orbit Baby’s StrongArm self-tightening mechanism to tighten the base.

As soon as Orbit Baby heard about Consumer Reports’ testing, they retested their seats - and found them to be totally safe.

Bottom line: Consumer Reports, the bastion of honest consumer information, made a huge mistake. The Orbit Baby Infant System Car Seat is absolutely safe.

What is the lesson to learn from this? First, always read the instruction manual! Second, not every independent testing agency conducts accurate scientific tests.

The following is the statement Orbit Baby sent vendors yesterday:

A recent Consumer Reports article showed that the Orbit Baby Infant Car Seat failed one of their safety tests. These results were very surprising to us. Because we make products for children, nothing is more important to us than the safety and well being of children.

Orbit Baby has run extensive and regular compliance testing in the same independent lab that Consumer Reports uses, and every test has passed. When we were notified about Consumer Reports’ results, we immediately conducted more testing - simulating their unique test conditions - and every one of those tests also passed. We also receive reports of real-life accidents from Orbit Baby parents, and we have never had a report of a separation or injury with an Orbit Baby car seat.

We are very concerned that Consumer Reports did not follow our product instructions when they conducted their testing. Any deviation from a safety product’s proper usage instructions can result in unpredictable testing conditions, and we believe this is reflected in Consumer Reports’ inconsistent results. Of greatest concern to us is their use of a harness position that was too high for the size of the dummy, and the test lab’s failure to engage the StrongArm self-tightening mechanism on the Base. It is extremely important to follow all instructions with safety products like car seats, both in testing and in the real world. Consumer Reports strongly recommends that all instructions be followed for safe car seat use, and we encourage you to consult your product manual, watch our installation videos, or read our FAQs.

We have pro-actively referred this matter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and will work with them on any further recommendations they may have.

If you have any questions, we encourage you to contact Orbit Baby directly at 1-877-672-2229, or email us at support@orbitbaby.com.

Add This Post To:

The New York Times is reporting that parents who are exposed to lead at work can bring the lead back to their car and onto car seats.

Last year, 6 babies and toddlers in Maine were found to have dangerous levels of lead. Health officials tested everything, discovering that the car seats had alarmingly high concentrations of lead.

The parents worked or had worked in jobs where they were exposed to lead and had carried the lead back on their clothing.

It’s important to note that the car seats themselves did not originally contain dangerous amounts of lead - the lead was later deposited by parents.

NY Times - Lead Illness in Children Linked to Car Seats

Add This Post To:

Follow @joggingstroller on Twitter by September 10, 2009 and be automatically entered to win the best-selling BOB Revolution Stroller! If you don’t already have a Twitter account you’ll need to sign up (it’s free!). By following, you’ll get:

• Instant access to secret sales
• Stroller news
• Interaction with other @joggingstroller fans!

Add This Post To:

When designing products, Stokke asks “What is in the best interest of the child?” In answering this question, STOKKE has developed both amazing products geared toward healthy development and an ongoing commitment to philanthropy.

STOKKE highlights their work with orphaned children in Swaziland in a recent post on their blog. Working with the Swaziland SOS children’s village, STOKKE has pledged to help the most vulnerable of children find safety.

This work is especially important since authorities estimate that the number of orphaned children in Swaziland will reach 120,000 by 2010.  Much of the problem has to do with the high rates of HIV/AIDS (around 40% of the population lives with the disease).

In the spirit of bringing what is best for the child to children all over the world, STOKKE is offering a unique opportunity to win a trip to the Children’s Village in Africa. This isn’t your usual contest - entrants must describe how they themselves live the philanthropic life. Simply email a description of your philanthropic deeds to STOKKE by September 15, 2009 and you could win the trip of a lifetime to help children in Africa.

We at TipToeTurtle strongly advocate giving back to the community. We run blood drives and allow time off for volunteer work. Personally, I work with urban farming movements in Detroit, and help to teach young people about living sustainably and in good health. What can you do to create world that is best for children?

Enter STOKKE’s Contest

Add This Post To:

We got a deal on the European Style Mountain Buggy stroller and are passing the savings on to you

For one low price, you get a Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle (European Style) single or double AND one FREE carry cot.

This is one crazy deal - you save up to $750!

Urban Jungle Single & Carry Cot: Was $849.98, Now $299.99 Shipped - You Save $550

Urban Jungle Double & Carry Cot: Was $1149.98, Now $399.99 Shipped - You Save $750

But hurry, this deal disappears when we sell out! And at these prices, they won’t last long!

Standout Features:

• Super easy pushing
• Near-flat recline
• Includes a FREE Carry Cot
• Includes Stormcover (a $45 value)
• Mountain Buggy quality and durability - they’re all hand made in New Zealand!

These strollers are European Style strollers and are similar to the Mountain Buggy Urban Strollers, but with a few minor differences:

• Logo says Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle
• Logo is the older Mountain Buggy logo
• No water bottle holder
• No newborn support strap

Get the Urban Jungle Single

Get the Urban Jungle Double

Add This Post To:

When we first got the Sunshine Kids Radian 65, we thought: this thing is built like a tank! And now we’ve found the story that proves it.

When a 5 story parking deck crashed down on Sarah Maglione’s car, her vehicle was totaled. But the Sunshine Kids Radian 65 installed in the back seat survived unscathed.

Despite 3 floors of parking garage on top of the seat, the Radian 65 didn’t bend an inch. Why? The Sunshine Kids Radian 65 uses a unique steel alloy frame that is meant to survive even the worst impact.

In addition to the super secure steel frame, the Radian 65 also sports 7″ deep, high-impact-grade engineered sidewalls reinforced with EPS foam to provide superior side impact protection. The Radian 65 is a convertible car seat built to protect children from 5 to 65 pounds.

The Radian 65 not only protects, it is also convenient, fitting 3 across in most cars thanks to a narrow profile. For travel, the seat folds up for easy (if heavy) transport.

Sunshine Kids also offers Radian car seats that accommodate kids up to 80 lbs, the Sunshine Kids Radian 80 and Radian XTraman amplifier.

Add This Post To:

You have until tomorrow at 11:59 PM to enter to win a FREE Chariot Cougar 1 and Jogging Set (worth $664.99). Enter Now!!

Add This Post To:

When the temperature rises, leaving kids in the car, even if just for a minute, becomes extremely dangerous. Having grown up in El Paso, TX, I’m particularly aware of the risks of leaving a child in a hot car.

The temperature inside a car in the middle of summer can be roasting - anyone who’s burned their thigh on a hot leather car seat knows this. And babies do not have the ability to control their body temperature as well as adults, making hot cars particularly perilous to infants and young children.

The truth is, however, many parents don’t purposely leave their children in the car. Sometimes parents get on autopilot and the worst happens. So the TipToeTurtle team has brainstormed a few strategies to help you out as the temperature rises:

• Place something you need on the floor of the back seat: a cell phone, your purse, your wallet. Make it something you’ll remember no matter what.
• Put something important to your child in the passenger seat, that way when you see it, you’ll be reminded to check the back seat for your child.
• If you go some place on a daily basis with your child (day care, babysitter, grandma’s) be sure they know to call you to check if you forgot to drop off your little one. It sounds crazy, but there are horror stories of parents going straight to work without stopping by daycare and forgetting their child in the car. Of your child’s babysitter knows to call you if you don’t arrive by a certain time, you’ll know to check.
• Perform your car routine in the same way everyday and be sure checking the back seat is part of that routine. For maximum impact, be sure you open the back door before leaving the car. Once you have a routine, you’re less likely to forget.
• Don’t even think about leaving your child in the car, even if just for a minute while you run into the store for an errand.
• If you see a child alone in a car, call 911 immediately.

I got some ideas for this post from The Tranquil Parent

Add This Post To: