Hooked on Strollers

Increasing Stroller Storage Capacity

Maybe your stroller has handles instead of a handlebar, and you can hook your purse, your diaper bag, and your grocery bags all on the handles with ease. But if you’re like me, and your strollers have a continuous handlebar in the back with no gap in the middle, you can only attach bags with straps that are long enough to loop over the entire bar, or bags that have special adapters to click over the bar.

I quickly lost patience trying to get the special stroller hooks on my diaper bag attached. One end of the bag invariably dangled while I fiddled with the other side, trying to get them both attached. Then I would grab my bag and chase after my kid once we arrived, forgetting it would take a couple minutes to detach the bag from the stroller. (Note to future self: detach bag first then release kid.)

Until I met Toogli. I had an umbrella stroller stored in the car to use while running errands or for travel. I hung all manner of things (including the occasional child) off the handlebars. Then I upgraded to a much better stroller that I scored secondhand and it didn’t come with any hooks for my personal bags or anything else. Since I can only shove so many groceries underneath before my kid starts complaining and I risk ruining the groceries as well, I invested in the Toogli hook.

It comes in a pack of two, and looks like a giant carabiner. It goes easily over any sized handle and can hold multiple bags. In fact, it can hold up to 60 pounds on one hook, which is more than two of my kids combined! Whether it’s groceries or all the sandbox accessories, I like carrying as little as possible myself and as much weight and bulk as possible on wheels. It would work great for purses, too, I’m sure, if I ever carried one of those. I suspect by the time that happens again, I’ll have retired the stroller for sure, but I can see these hooks being useful for other things (like corralling all the school gear together in one easy handle) even after that.

PBnJ Baby Clip N Go 2 Pack XL Stroller Hook on Amazon

My kid has already blown through the spring on one of the Toogli hooks, but it works fine even without the extra resistance to close. And if he hadn’t fiddled it open and shut constantly, I’m guessing it would be good as well. In any case, I switched to the second hook and kept the one with a loose spring for backup. I could call and get a free replacement for the loose one, but since it still works and I never get around to a quarter of the stuff on my to do list, it’s still hanging around.