In a walking town like Hoboken, every mom is passionate about her stroller.

Bugaboos, City Mini tandems, Phil and Teds, umbrella strollers, there is a huge variety of choices out there, and not a lot of room for trial and error. You can't return a stroller to the store once you've used it, so there is a constant flow of strollers for sale on a local online moms group.

I own three strollers, but the mainstay of our household is our Phil and Teds Vibe with doubles kit. I had a stroller tire blowout last week. The rear tire treads were worn down to their threads, which led to a serious puncture in the left one, probably caused by broken glass on a Hoboken sidewalk. It caused a crisis in our household since the Vibe is our primary means of transport to school and activities.  

One issue with the stroller is a lack of diaper bag storage. The air-filled tires are another major issue. I have to perform constant maintenance on the two rear tires since they bear the brunt of the weight and wear out quickly. I keep a bike pump by my front door for last-minute refills. At $810, the Vibe is also not cheap, but it's a lot cheaper and healthier than using a car in Hoboken.

The upside of the Vibe is that it fits two children at the same time. This comes in handy for those of us with taller toddlers (my 3.5 year old daughter wears size 6x clothing) and children close in age. The single-wide design makes it easy to navigate stores (important when picking up dinner ingredients). 

So I accept the limitations of the Vibe's design and try to plan ahead. I found an online store that stocks replacement tire treads for $14.99 and ships them very quickly (they usually arrive within two business days). I have the local bike shop, Flo on Wheels, programmed into my cell phone along with their hours of operation (they are open late on Mondays and Fridays, which has saved my sanity more than once). They charge $14 for a replacement inner tube, including labor.

Bambi Baby is located on the same block on Washington Street, which is great for emergency purchases and stroller-testing.

The sales associate on duty last week, Selina Aquino, did a great job installing the buggy board I bought to accomodate school pickup while my Vibe was in the shop. The free, on-the-spot installation offsets prices 10 percent higher than internet shopping; worth it for the convenience factor.

To read more about what makes Kathy Zucker tick, check out her blog at http://hobokenmomcondo.com/momblog and follow her at http://twitter.com/zhobokenmom