Holiday Gift Guide: Kolcraft Contours Optima Tandem Stroller Review & Silent Auction!

For families with more than one child, a double stroller is a MUST. It makes walks to the park, trips to the zoo, shopping outings, etc. much easier and less stressful. Now that we have three children 4 years old and under, we have noticed that we use our double stroller more than ever. It's the best way we've found to keep everyone together, especially when Christmas shopping and fighting all the crowds.
There are many double strollers on the market to choose from, but one of my favorites has been our Kolcraft Contours Options Tandem Stroller. I had the opportunity to review it a couple of years ago and to this day, still love the unique features it offers. Having been so happy with it, I was thrilled to learn that they were coming out with Contours Optima Tandem Stroller. This stroller offers the same great features of the Contours Options Tandem Stroller, but even better!

As a Kolcraft Mom, I was given the opportunity to review the new Contours Optima Tandem Stroller. It couldn't have arrived at a better time either, as our baby boy arrived just a week after receiving it!

Features/Benefits:

• Lightweight aluminum frame - only 36.8 lbs
• Six different seating options (LOVE this!)
  
• Height-adjustable canopies, with peek-in windows, can be raised or lowered: min. 23" to max. 27" so your baby is always covered
• Infant car seat attachment fits most car seat brands.
  
• Extra large storage basket
• Accommodates one or two infants/children
• Independent reclining seats, child cup holders & sun-rider canopies
• Two 8" front single swivel wheels and 10" rear never-flat wheels
• Four cupholders, 2 for parents and 2 for children
• Infant head rest
• Easy-trigger fold
• Convenient Free-Stand™ allows the stroller to stand upright when folded
• Height adjustable 5-point safety harness & padded infant head rest sleeves for comfort

When the Contours Optima Tandem Stroller arrived, I was really looking forward to checking it out and seeing the new features it had to offer. As I pulled everything out of the box, I found assembly to be a breeze.

In no time we had the stroller set up and ready to use!
Looking at this beauty, the first thing I noticed right away was the fabric. I absolutely love how plush and soft it is...making it possible for the kids to ride in comfort. They really seem to love it! The pattern is also great! It's absolutely adorable, not to mention stylish and neutral. We've always bought baby gear that is neutral since we have both both boys and a girl...so this is great for families like ours! It's a lot of fun, and when out and about it's something that turns heads. I love it!!

My kids' safety is of the utmost importance to me, so having high quality products is by far the most important thing I look for when it comes to the gear we use. As with the Contours Options Tandem Stroller, the quality is also something I greatly appreciated and was evident from the moment the Contours Optima was put together. The fabric and frame on this stroller are durable and something I can tell will hold up well to a lot of use...a must with any stroller.

Speaking of safety, each seat has a height adjustable 5-point safety harness & padded infant head rest sleeves for support and comfort. I love that this stroller is made to grow with a child and accommodates both infants and older children (it has a max weight of 40 lbs per seat; 80 lbs total).

Whether you have little ones, or your child is a bit older... the adjustable safety harness and independent reclining seats are great! Even the footrests are adjustable! They're easy to use and make it possible to allow for children of all ages to ride comfortably and safely. I like that I am able to adjust each harness and seat to the needs of each of my kids. If Kaden is needing a nap, I can simply recline the seat back a bit, while still leaving Kaelyn's in the upright position. It's wonderful!
Each seat also features a 4-position, height-adjustable sun-rider canopy which I love!! The canopies can be raised to a max of 27" and lowered to a minimum of 23". It's a great feature to have, especially for covering the kids when we're in the sun or when Caysen is napping.

There's even peek-in windows on the top of each canopy to make it easy for parents to keep an eye on their child at all times! Just another feature that makes this a wonderful stroller for both the needs of the children and parents.

We've already had the opportunity to use the Contours Optima Tandem Stroller several times and of course, the neatest feature and by far our favorite, is the fact that there are SIX different seating options! This is what really sets this stroller apart from the other double strollers I've come across and used. The seats are easy to remove and place for an option that works best for you!

My favorite option is the fact that it can be used with an infant car seat. There's an infant car seat adapter included for use on one of the seats, and it's compatible with most car seat brands, including the following:

• Britax® Chaperone
• Chicco® KeyFit
• Chicco® KeyFit 30
• Combi® Shuttle 33
• Cosco® First Ride DX
• Cosco® Starter
• Evenflo® Discovery™
• Evenflo® Discovery 5™
• Evenflo® Embrace™
• Evenflo® Embrace™ 5
• Evenflo® Embrace™ 5 LX
• Evenflo® Serenade™
• Graco® Safe Seat
• Graco® SnugRide® Infant
• Graco® SnugRide® 30
• Graco® SnugRide® 32
• Graco® SnugRide® 35
• Maxi-Cosi® Mico™
• Peg Perego® Primo Viaggio
• Peg Perego® Primo Viaggio SIP
• Peg Perego® Primo Viaggio SIP 30-30
• Safety 1st® Designer 22™
• Safety 1st® onBoard™ 35
• Safety 1st® onBoard™ 35 AIR

Thankfully, our car seat is on that list and it fits perfectly! I love this option, because not all double strollers make it possible to use an infant car seat with it. Being so cold out, we keep Caysen in his carrier when we're out and about, and it's been GREAT being able to use it with the stroller. As many parents know, infant seats are heavy, so being able to set it on the adapter and strap it on securely has made out outings a lot more enjoyable!


Another position this stroller can be used in is having both seats face forward. When using it with Kaelyn and Kaden, this is the position we use most often. Both kids love to ride looking forward, seeing everything as we stroll along. They both have plenty of room and seem to really enjoy the ride.

For those with infants or younger children you want to keep a better eye on, there's also the option to face both seats toward the parent. I like this option for the times when the kids might be napping.

Then there's the option to face both seats toward each other, which is unique and not something you see with double strollers very often. We have already used this seating position and the kids really enjoy it. They like being able to interact with one another which I think is great!
The back to back seating option is also a great one. During the summer months we visit places like the zoo a lot. Caysen will still be pretty young, and I like that I'll have the option to have him facing me while I push the stroller, while still allowing one of the older kids to face forward. It's really the perfect set up with families who have one child who is quite young and another who is older. We'll definitely be getting much use out of this option as the months go on.
The final option, which gives you a LARGE amount of storage is one that would be great for one child if you were shopping in the mall, out for a day at the park, and many other settings as well! It's the front seat only option where the back seat is taken off.

Even with the two seats on though, there's still a lot of storage! The extra large storage basket is absolutely amazing and a must in my opinion. We often find that strollers do not have a large enough basket to hold our diaper bag, shopping bags, jackets, etc. The Contours Optima Tandem Stroller however, has room for it all and then some!! It's by far the most storage I've seen with a stroller and something I greatly appreciate! With three kids, we often have a lot of stuff with us, so having this kind of storage is a must!
Another neat feature for both children and parents are the cup holders. We always have drinks with us, and usually the kids do too. It's nice that there's not only a parent tray with two cup holders, but each seat also has a swivel cup holder on it too.

When it comes to strollers, especially larger strollers...one thing I notice is that they are often heavy and difficult to fold and unfold. Thankfully, that has not been the case with this stroller at all! In fact, these are a couple of the improvements Kolcraft has made that I appreciate so much! This new model is even lighter weight, with a lightweight aluminum frame weighing just 36.8 lbs! Both my husband and I are able to get it in and out of the car with ease.

Folding and unfolding is a breeze as well! Not only are there easy trigger levers to make it super simple and fast to do, but one of the big changes made to this model is the fact that the stroller can be folded up with both seats still attached. One of my suggestions for improvement with the Contours Options Tandem Stroller was the fact that one of the seats had to be removed to fold it up. I love that this double stroller does not require that... it makes it even more convenient for the busy parent. I love it!

It also features a free stand fold which allows the stroller to stand up-right when folded. This has come in handy when we've folded it up and are opening the back end of the SUV to put it inside. It is also a nice way to store the stroller in our garage when we're not using it. It doesn't have lean up against anything.

Overall we've been VERY pleased with the Contours Optima Tandem Stroller. I love the improvements Kolcraft has made to make this stroller even better for the busy parent, while still keeping the features I love about the Contours Options Tandem Stroller at the same time! Both my husband and I have noticed how easy the stroller is to push and maneuver thanks to the front swivel wheels. It's an extremely smooth and comfortable ride for the kids and something we don't mind pushing around at all! The quality is also fantastic, and in my opinion...no double stroller can beat all of the features and options this one has to offer. If you're looking for a top of the line, lightweight double stroller...I'd definitely recommend checking this one out.

I would recommend this stroller to any family I know and think it would make a terrific gift for Christmas or anytime of the year! Be sure to head over and read more about the Contours Optima at Kolcraft.com.

You can connect with Kolcraft on Twitter and Facebook as well.

Buy It: You can purchase the Kolcraft Contours Optima Tandem Stroller for $299.99 at BabiesRUs.com, BabyAge.com and more! However, one lucky reader is going to get this stroller at a discounted price!

WIN IT:
**Silent Auction**
The highest bidder of this auction will win a Contours Optima Tandem Stroller (ARV $299.99)! Proceeds from this silent auction will be paid to KIDS (Kids In Distressed Situations). It not only helps bring hope to children in need, but gives the highest bidder an amazing stroller at a fraction of the retail cost.

How it works: Bidding starts at $10. To bid, leave your bid in the comments section in increments of $5. At the end of the auction, whomever has the highest bid wins! The winner will then make their donation to KIDS for the winning dollar amount (all details of this process will be emailed to the winner), send me a copy of the electronic receipt and Kolcraft will send them the stroller! It's that easy!! There is no additional tax or shipping charges. If for some reason the highest bidder does not claim the prize or pay the charity within 72 hours, the next highest bidder will be selected as the winner.

Please leave your email address with your commenting bid if it is not in your profile so I can easily contact the winner.

**Silent auction begins NOW and closes January 2nd, 2012 at 11:59 pm CST. Silent auction is only available to people in the continental USA, 18 and older.**