[Closed] Prams and pushchairs - what do you have and why?

Mountain Buggy Urban Elite here (now apparently called the [url= http://www.mountainbuggy.com/urban_jungle.htm ]Urban Jungle[/url]).

You can get a cot top for it (top picture) which we we found great for the first 4 months or so (got ours on eBay). We used a M&S stroller umbrella to shade the baby, and the cot came with a rain cover.

Once the baby was sitting up, we took it back to normal buggy mode (second picture). Accessories worth having for the buggy (probably for any stroller?) are the rain cover (maybe it's included) and the sunshade. Water bottle holder not so much!

The key problem with it is its size. Very maneuverable, so okay in town once you're there, but no good for public transport. Also not so good for flying with as you can't roll it along when it's folded (unlike the McLarens) and so baggage handlers will not be gentle!

When folded it will fit in the boot of an estate or 4x4, but won't leave much room at all. Its weight is okay and it collapses and sets up very easily.

It has no problems off road (my wife runs on bridleways with it) and still looks smart in town (fwiw!). Highly recommended, I haven't yet seen a buggy I'd exchange it for.

Ah, another downer, last year my wife got a number of punctures (14 holes across the three tires from one run thanks to hawthorn hedge trimming!), Dr Sludge slime filled pram inner tubes sorted that out!

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Micralite toro, it was recommended in a thread on here, it's light and very maneuverable, storage room underneath is hard to get at but otherwise we're very happy with it

I recommended the OutnAbout 360 to Surf-Mat (we have the double version) - pretty cheap, pneumatic tyres, light, folds down pretty well. He was happy with it too.

I think it was the first and only time anyone has ever listened to me on here 🙂

But do you want one that takes a car seat too? They can be very useful TBF

AWESOME
Any three wheeeler with largish pneumatic tyres if you ever want to go to non tarmaced places rigid small wheels are rubbish if it is not smooth. Ensure you can fold it easily and get it in your car

quinny speedy is the one you want. we have had ours for 3 years and it is about to be used for our next baby. it has tubed tyres aswell as built in rear suspension and also a rear brake.

to save carrying the pram around with you in the car you can just clip the car seat onto the chasis.

email in profile if you need to know anything

thanks

Bugaboo Chameleon (or Frog if you want a save a few quid)

May be a cliche, but it is reallt good, light manouverable (?) very hard wearing (our has done 2 kids and still shows little wear or tear) Good off road and in the shops, fits into any old car, take it on the plane or wherever you want to go. I really couldn't recomend it enough.

Thread closed 🙂

i got the Bebe Confort Loola as my main pram as it lies flat and faces rearwards and forwards . that was essential as a lot only face forwards. it is rather heavy though.
so i also got a Maclaren techno xt buggy for the car, it lies flat, folds and unfolds one handed and is very light.

If you think you might add to the litter in a year or two the Phil & Ted might be a good move. I can vouch for its longevity given the hammering ours has had. And the single width is a godsend when shopping.

Just bought a bugaboo chameleon off ebay with loads of extras for an absolute steal, wife is still in shock ha ha thanks for you advice happy days

I would

a)budget for a small, light maclaren after 4-6 months, when you get bored of puahing the great big travel system thing around / fitting it in car boots etc.

b)for off road, get a sling - only way you can do most interesting off road walks, and a lot less effort than pushing a pushchair over anything rough - I took a (big wheeled) pushchair over Loughrigg last summer, and also walked over it with her in a sling, and there was absolutely no contest - in the pushchair it is a pushchair walk, slows you down on hills etc. with the sling, it is just like walking with a slightly heavier daysack. Also, whilst things have big wheels, walking off road on rocks, roots etc. can knacker fancy prams a bit - we're onto our second quinny frame after a few off road running exploits.

c)Budget some more for a fancy off road trailer for the bike - I got one recently (Croozer) and it is brilliant. You can put them in the fancy trailers before they are six months old even, using special baby attachments, and they are good running pushchairs too.

Joe

Thanks all, Joe makes sense what you've said, have fancied a sling look very natural so will defo give one a go.

We started with a Bugaboo for all the reasons listed already and tried a buggy board for our 2yo. Soon ended up with a Phil & Ted's which has had a lot more use than the Bugaboo. Our friends have the newer alu version which is better than our original.

we bought a jane thing that had a lie flat car seat , but my wife ended up having a caeserean and could not lift it so it resulted in buying a new carseat, i would go for a car seat that has isofix as it is the easiest to put in and the safest. i would also check that you get one that has a handle that moves as i am tall and found that some were too small and i was stooped over it ,but its all down to your budget and needs remember bigger wheels go more places but three wheelers can tip easily when going up and down kerbs.also found that some of the accesories were really expensive like footmuff and parasol.dont get caught out with fashion over function.

Second hand travel system for the early months. They weigh a lot. More useful if your a city dweller IMO as you get more space to put stuff.
Then move onto a nice light pushchair.

For offroad use we have a Chariot Cougar. Lighter than the travel systems and has suspension and can be used as a trailer for the bike too. Big wheels and can be used from birth (not off road!) with the right attachment.
They ain't cheap mind!

If I'd fully got my way we'd have got a Quinny Zap as that allows the use of a car seat or as a push chair but we needed one with a cot attachment. Never used it out of the house ;0) the Zap is almost as light as most pushchairs too.

A sling is great if your child is happy in them but not all are and the only problem with the chariot is getting over styles on your own when it's cold out and the baby is a bit young to be dumping on the floor.

We bought a Maxi-cosi mura 3 which is suitable as an offroad pushcair up to 4 yrs or something.

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Combined it with a pram body/carry cot for early months when visiting family on foot - meaning we can detach pram body and it can be used as a cot at friends and families homes. The cot folds flat for storage if you want to put that and frame in car.

Also got the maxi-cosi cabriofix car seat that attaches to the main pushchair body that will be used for walks/shopping when we have driven there. The car seat bases are available quite cheap on ebay we paid £35 for one.

After about 6 months I reckon we will only have use for the pushchair itself.

This is all in a perfect world though as ours isnt due until xmas time.

The idea of this one was that we have a springer spaniel who will need walked twice a day still so it needed to be offroadable and sturdy - it will be used from our door and not really used as our car solution (got a zapp from ebay for that but they are >6months or birth with the cabriofix seat)

We bought a 'Jane Formula', mainly as it has forward / rear facing capability with either car seat or push-chair attached + can take the carry cot, with 3 large wheels for rough-surfaces. Haven't the guts to take it out for a practice yet, not due for another 2 weeks...
Be aware of [url= http://www.mothercare.com/our-price-promise-services-advice/b/330387031 ]Mothercares Price-Match deal[/url], saved us about £120 🙂

+1 for Mountain Buggy.

We looked at loads. Phil and Teds are good if you are looking to have another baby, but I found the old style one a bit flimsy - the new alu one may be better.

We looked at the full on Terrain model, but it was overkill for what we wanted (good if you live on a farm or something!) and was too big folded for our boot at the time.

We eventually bought a Mountain Buggy Urban - totally excellent bit of kit which I can't recommend enough. Has enabled us to do loads more and go more places with the little one than we ever imagined. Despite the name it's more than able to go anywhere you'd want to take your baby. It's done beaches, coast path, fells and local muddly bridleways and been really robust and comfy for the little one - he love it. Also a lot lighter than some buggies half the size. Has a swivel front wheel for use in town which "locks out" for use off road. Filling the tubes with slime will sort out puncture issues.

Like Markle we started off with the carry cot top until our son was about 4 or 5 months and then he moved into the buggy. Buggy has a waterproof canopy which has dealt with the worst downpours you can imagine and still left the little one snug and dry. Would recommend getting the matching sleeping bag, which is a proper bit of outdoor kit.

Yes, it is big, but we managed to get it into the boot of our Golf without too much problem (taking the carry cot off first for the first few months), but it didn't leave room for much else. It now fits in the boot of our Octavia estate with loads of room to spare. The wheels also pop off really easily to give you a bit more room when you've got extra luggage.

All that said we did end up getting a Maclaren as well for use around town and travelling on trains etc, mainly because it's a really small fold and easy to stash away when you're in cafes and restaurants. The Mountain Buggy still get's about 80% of the use though.

As he's got older we've started to use a Little Life backpack as well for more adventurous trips -again another great bit of kit.

Link here: http://www.littlelife.co.uk/html/child_carriers/freedom.html

and if you doubt how comfortable it is, here's the proof:

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We bought a mothercare spin for travel system, which we're really pleased with. Not an off roader (it's fine for non tarmac tracks in the park, but not proper off road iwswim) but I use a Moby Sling for that and GF uses a mamas & papas carrier thing.

Being Kiwi's, We really really wanted to like the Phil n Ted and Mountain Buggy prams, but were just underwhelmed by the build quality and folding mechanisms of both. The PnT also had very weird front wheel 'floppiness' when turning tightly, odd sensation. Some of the high-end prams (Bugaboo etc) are very poorly made, one stockist said they actually have the most problems with those.

We then discovered the US brand Baby Jogger and their City Elite model. Similar prices to the others, but beautifully well made, brilliant folding mechanism, and loads of thoughtful features. We got it from [url= http://www.pushchairs.co.uk ]www.pushchairs.co.uk[/url]

Our baby is due today, but doesn't appear to want to make an appearance just yet!

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Quinny buzz when mini-clubber was younger (up to about 18 months), main reasons being that it didn't have a rear axle for me to kick and the handle is adjustable height - I'm tall y'see.

Now a Maclaren Techno XT pushchair which is easy to use one handed and good for travel.

MF - indeed it is good (Out N About 360) but doesn't do much in the way of converting into other stuff.

For a young baby we still have the Mothercare My3 (baby seat/pram/pushchair) but it's way too weak for a child over the age of about 18 months and the wheels and tyres are poor. Very versatile and great VFM though.

The 360 is about ten times stronger, has "proper" wheels and works a treat.

When buying a buggy, look at the wheels and tyres - trust me, many use tyres SO poor that they should be banned and changing a buggy tyre is not fun at all, even with all the right kit.

Phil and Teds and Out N About have decent wheels and tyres.

MF - indeed it is good (Out N About 360) but doesn't do much in the way of converting into other stuff.

Maxi Cosi Mura here too, £199.99 from kiddiecare as it was electric blue colour, solid and should last for a while as she grows, ok offroad, you'll need a fairly large boot to fit it in though.

MF - same here but that could work out a bit pricey for many even though the 360 is pretty reasonable.

Travel system for when they are young then a 360 when they get bigger is ideal.

We found a moveable cot/pram completely essential in the early days.

MF - same here but that could work out a bit pricey for many even though the 360 is pretty reasonable.

Yummy Mummy choice is the heavy Quinny etc.

I love our Baby Jogger citybuggy, light enough (mrshora isnt a big or strong girl) and it folds and opens within 2seconds by simply lifting a grab handle.

Fantastic.

MF- OUCH!!!!

Our My3 will be back in action when no2 arrives in Feb. Got new wheels and tyres all round and given it a good scrub up and oil. Still a creaky, flexy thing though. Still very handy and the car seat it comes with is a good un.

Just a bit, but consoling myself with the fact the whole lots 'should' net us about £400/£450 when we sell it. Although we might keep one Isofix base + car seat just in case.

We now have the Out n About and a Combi We2 (very clever thing - folds down smaller than lots of single strollers), both bought second-hand for a fraction of that first bit of kit.

the whole lots 'should' net us about £400/£450 when we sell

Depends in the condition its in. Our nursery seem to store the pushchairs in a coal cellar and it gets thrown in and out of the back of our car so I doubt ours would be worth selling (baby jogger can be used from 0-3yrs old).

Depends in the condition its in. Our nursery seem to store the pushchairs in a coal cellar and it gets thrown in and out of the back of our car so I doubt ours would be worth selling (baby jogger can be used from 0-3yrs old).

(He says hopefully - we have an expensive Christmas/January coming up).