Rolling with the PetGear No-Zip Jogger Stroller

Cupcake has been using a stroller for a while, but her trip to Global Pet Expo convinced me we needed an upgrade. Small irregularities in terrain, like the carpet seams between exhibits, jostled Cupcake and spilled a drink I had in the stroller’s parent tray during the expo. I had the chance to learn about PetGear strollers while I was at the expo, so about a month later, I upgraded Cupcake to  a PetGear no-zip jogger stroller with large air tires.

The stroller arrived fully assembled except the wheels needed to be attached. I was on a conference call when my husband brought the big box inside, and he had the wheels on before I could finish my call, so that little big of assembly is quick.

Cupcake’s new ride is a much smoother ride across surfaces like the cobblestone brick pavers that lead to her favorite coffeeshop patio. I noticed that immediately. Even better, I could now take her on rides in the neighborhood over the unevenly poured sidewalks and even over grass.

On our first outing in the neighborhood, she leaped out of the stroller to chase a lizard. Normally, she rides with the canopy open, so this was a change for us.

“Please keep your paws, legs and tail inside the ride vehicle at all times,” I told Cupcake when she waved an annoyed tail outside the canopy. The clever clip closure on the PetGear no-zip line is so much quicker and easier than zipping the canopy closed, but it you can’t use it when a tail is flailing through the canopy opening.

I opted not to latch the canopy shut at first, and within 30 seconds, Cupcake realized she could nose her way out of the unsecured canopy to escape in search of that lizard. I always have her leash in my hand, so she wasn’t able to get far. I returned her to the stroller and got her safely latched inside. Away we went through the neighborhood on our walk.

I’m not tall, but the screened opening in the canopy is a good size to let me easily see what Cupcake is doing while we walk. She looks around with interested body language. Ears up, whiskers forward. She tends to want to sit in a low position, looking through the lower mesh of the stroller unless we hit bumpy terrain. Then she sits up higher, I guess for balance.

The air-filled tires rolled so easily over the sidewalk, we enjoyed walking through the neighborhood. When something was blocking the sidewalk, I was able to continue on the grass with no problems, something that would have been impossible with her old stroller.

On that first walk, we saw a creature that really caught Cupcake’s attention. A turtle was crossing the road. It looks like a little blob in the shadows on the road in the photo below, but it was a big turtle. We watched to make sure it got across safely before continuing our walk.

We also went off-road for a walk around the pond. The big air tires did a great job on the hard-packed ground with sparse grass on it as we circled the pond. I discovered that pushing the stroller through thick grass was harder exercise for me, though. Cupcake loved all the sights and smells, and she didn’t think it was too much exercise at all. I was glad she could finally enjoy circling the pond. It’s an area used for leisure activities by many neighbors, and I had never wanted to risk her running into an off-leash dog there.

We were never too far from home on our neighborhood walk, but I made sure the air pump for the stroller tires was in the storage basket beneath the stroller. There is a lot of room for storage down there, and I haven’t taken full advantage yet.

From Cupcake’s perspective, this stroller is a real win. It gives her more space to stretch out, and she loves to stretch out and take up all of the available space. It’s like she expands to fill her container. The stroller also rides more smoothly, and takes her places she never could go before.

From the perspective of the person who gets the exercise pushing it, the stroller is great. Except one thing. The parent tray is kind of flimsy and the drink holder holes are inadequately small. If you like to use a Yeti 30 oz drink vacuum-insulated tumbler like I do, it doesn’t fit in the cup holder. These cups and their clones are wildly popular, so I was astonished it didn’t fit in the up holder. I found a workaround to this with a cup holder adapter meant for using larger cups in smaller cup holders. I chose a cup holder adapter with an adjustable base because the parent tray has a bit of a wobble, and a full 30 oz tumbler weighs 2.5 lb. The adapter works like a champ, but it looks kind of ridiculous when there’s not a cup in it. I get some “what is THAT?” questions about it, and would rather people spend their time interacting with Cupcake than wondering about the wonky cup holder.

That complaint aside, it’s the perfect solution for the cat on the go, and upgrading Cupcake’s ride to the PetGear no-zip jogger stroller has been one of the best decisions we’ve made to help expand her ability to go places.

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FTC Disclosure: I purchased the PetGear no-zip jogger stroller and received no compensation for reviewing it.

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