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May 3, 2007

Euro-Baby Prexy Cuts Through The Bull About The New Micralite Toro, Fastfold

categories: strollers

micralite_toro_bassinet.jpgNothing like posting a bunch of anonymous Korean webchatter about a company's new flagship stroller to get a CEO's attention.

I just got off the horn with Bill Jacoby, president of Euro-Baby, the US distributor for several premium baby gear brands, including Micralite. We had a great chat; he's definitely excited for both the new Toro and the Fastfold, which has been performing very well since its US introduction. Here are some highlights:

  • The Fastfold is not being discontinued. In fact, they just got a new, bigger factory for it, which enabled them to drop the price a couple of months ago.
  • The US-spec Toro is coming this summer. UK-spec versions are slightly ahead of that schedule, and Korean-spec ones, obviously, have already dropped.
  • The Toro was designed in the UK, by Micralite's own golf-loving dads. That Korean company is the distributor, not the designer. That flickr dude's kimchi is clearly overfermented. [ok, I added that last part. -ed.]
  • The Toro's sweet spots: all that handling & folding magic, plus a full recline Apparently, it may look like it looks the same, but in order to get the same kind of one-handed Fastfold, the Toro was completely redesigned.
  • The Graco adapters are in, and rock. Actually DT reader Jonathan mentioned this, too. [actually, he said, "It saved our ass recently."] Micralites in Europe come with Maxi-Cosi adapters, but since M-C's been slow getting their US plans rolling, Micralite pushed ahead with Graco adapters, which bridge the gap between bassinet and seat.

    micralite_toro_opart.jpg

    We talked about a bunch of other things, but I forget what they were. As soon as I opened the Toro spec sheet Bill sent me, I was hypnotized by the way that op-art seat pad reflected off of the inside of that canopy. Now somehow, I've got five Micralites in my shopping cart, and I have an irresistable urge to pay MSRP.

    Euro-Baby.us
    Previously: Micralite Toro: sweeter than Micralite Maguro

    posted May 3, 2007 2:31 PM | add to del.icio.us | digg this

    • comments

    Does the Toro require the seat to be removed to fold? Kinda looks that way, which would be inconvenient...

    [nope, it apparently folds flat with the seat in any position. -ed.]

    posted by: Josh at May 3, 2007 4:53 PM

    oh, and also, does the fact that it comes with a graco adapter mean that it will not have a maxi-cosi adapter? That was one of the great appeals of the fastfold for me. Or perhaps I will still be able to get the adapter separately?

    [the Graco carriers are listed as optional equipment. Now that M-C's finally getting to the US, I don't know what'll happen. Or if EU/UK Maxi-Cosi adapters will fit on US-spec Micralites. I bet they would. Bugaboo's do. -ed.]

    posted by: Josh at May 3, 2007 4:55 PM

    Is that the actual seat pad? I love it.

    posted by: SC at May 3, 2007 5:37 PM

    Love the psychedelic seat pad—hope that will actually be the one it ships with! Did you get this pic from Euro-Baby?

    posted by: Alison at May 4, 2007 4:41 AM

    The big question is, can the seat attach the other way to face the pusher? Huh? Huh?

    (This seems to be the single most desirable feature on strollers at the moment - there are NO truly lightweight rear-facers out there that are easy to fold.)

    posted by: becster at May 4, 2007 5:55 AM

    The US version of the Maxi Cosi Car Seats will not work on the Micralite series of strollers. The issue, from what I was told, is that the Maxi Cosi adaptor (in Europe)is designed to work with the Cabrio-fix Maxi-Cosi car seats, and Dorel is not Importing the Cabrio-fix system. They have, instead, engineered a base similar to others seen on the US Market. As far as I understand the Graco adaptor will be the only that will work for the time being. The rep at Euro Baby said that there are no plans as of yet to adapt to US Maxi-Cosi.

    posted by: jessica at May 4, 2007 12:55 PM

    i bought the us micralite system w/carrycot back in february and it came with the maxi cosi adapters. one maxi cosi from ebay and an easyfix base my brother brought from the uk and we have a sweet setup. with the base, the carseat is more stable than any us seat i tried.

    posted by: mhs at May 4, 2007 1:51 PM

    Oh I really like this one! I really didn't like the old one, because it seemed unconfortable and not that pretty. I love this one.
    But it seems that almost every brand is trying,in some way or another, to make their strollers looks like Bugaboo's.

    posted by: Ana at May 5, 2007 12:58 PM

    Woooh! Too many episodes of the Jetsons? I like this but the seat hurts my eyes :)

    posted by: melissa at May 6, 2007 8:35 AM

    does anyone know where in new york city micralite will be stocked?

    posted by: sona at July 8, 2007 7:26 PM

    does anyone know where you buy the seat liner in the uk as it doesnt come with the buggy,

    posted by: louise at July 21, 2007 4:04 PM

    Hi there
    I'm thinking of buying the beautiful Toro but I have a Graco car seat.
    Where I live (Ireland), they only sell Maxi-Cosi car seat adapters so I'll have to buy the Graco adapters from a US site...
    My question is: are the Graco adapters universal, as in will the US adapters fit a European standard Graco seat?
    Cheers

    posted by: vix at October 1, 2007 6:30 AM

    Hi,
    do you know where we can try out the micralite toro?

    posted by: eyelet at October 17, 2007 8:39 PM

    sorry, do you know where in nyc we can try out or see the micralite toro before buying it?

    posted by: eyelet at October 17, 2007 8:41 PM

    Try Schneiders Baby at 41 W. 25th Street.


    [i posed the question on the front page, and so far, there seem to be several stores with Toros in stock now -ed.]

    posted by: Jason at October 18, 2007 10:25 AM
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