User testing: stroller handlebar extender

We looked at our observations notes from our time with Dale and Tess and saw a great opportunity to help Dale with his sore toes. We decided to make a stroller handlebar extender for his Phil & Ted's stroller which might meet these needs he has:

• Stride clearance - It needs to enable him to stand directly behind the stroller in the traditional stance so that he can walk his natural stride without bashing his toes or shins against the stroller
• Weight - It needs to be light enough that it doesn't add too much to the already heavy stroller (it's 18 lbs)
• Size - It's already a big stroller (over 30 inches long) so it shouldn't make it too much longer otherwise it could make life difficult at the local grocery stores and bodegas
• Style - It needs to appear as if it's a proper accessory as opposed to some frankenstein hack job thrown together by a bunch of students

So we measured Dale and Tess' stroller, hit the shop and bent a bunch of pipe, attached wooden pegs and bicycle grip tape and took our model extender over to their place to try it out. Here's what happened...


So we had to try again. We blew it on every criteria except weight on that one!

We took our revised extender back to Dale and Tess' for another test drive with much better results.
We got the clearance just right so as to make Dale's toes happier and only added 10 inches to the length, though that might actually be difficult in the end so that length requirement might still be an issue. As for weight, our extender is only 3 lbs. - it's made of aluminum alloy so it's light - so we haven't added too much to the errand running burden with this sturdy stroller. It blends right into the look of the stroller so the style issue is no problem for Dale especially after we paint the aluminum and pegs black to match the rest of the stroller.

Dale's initial comment when he saw the revised extender: "..that's more like it. Looks great guys." We'll be leaving this model with Dale for long-term testing. We feel for his toes.