Prams/ Buggies/ Travel Systems

Cadyboo

Since there are so many on the market to choose from I was hoping to make this thread for people to rate their own buggies/prams etc? With it probably being easier to pick a car:rolleyes: I would be very grateful for anyone to recommend a travel system. Thanks

Shuwaaah

I'm on my first pregnancy so haven't actually used my travel system yet, but we're getting the Baby Elegance Beep. Anything I've seen about it online has been positive, I know there was someone here on Boards who said they had one and couldn't really fault it, can't remember what thread it was in though.

It's a 3 in 1 travel system, I was messing with it in the shop and it seems really easy to wheel about (3 wheeler), handle can be adjusted to different heights, easy to clip the car seat / carrycot / buggy in and out of the base, and the base part seems easy to fold. You can get air filled wheels for it if the basic ones don't suit. Ours was part of a deal for 400 euro which includes travel system, footmuff for buggy, raincover, nappy bag and isofix base. Think its cheaper on the website now though.

I know I haven't used it yet but it could be worth a look

Saurelin

Shuwaaah what is the name of your travel system?
we are thinking about buying something soon as is sales time

Shuwaaah

Baby elegance beep, if you Google baby elegance it should be on the webpage :-)

annamcmahon

I second the recommendation for the baby elegance. I have a beep but because I'm due a second baby in April I'm probably going to get a beep beep or their new tandem double.

Cadyboo

I like the Beep too but I want a buggy with 4 wheels. Looked at the ego and feel that the buggy in really small width wise.

sillysocks

We have a Quinny and a year on I still love it.
I'd say the main positive is how easy it is to manouvre, it's great when I'm in the shops in my own I can easily hold a full basket and push the buggy one handed.

I loved being able to click the car seat into it for quick trips into the shops etc. It's very easy to fold and unfold.

We got the lie flat car seat as the pram part - almost the same as the Dreami attachment but the car seat is reccomended for longer sleeps than the Dreami is. We used the pram for all daytime sleeps for the first few months so was handy to have.

Main downside is its relatively heavy to lift into the car so maybe not recommended if you had a bad back or anything but we've no problems with lifting it.

liliq

We have the X- Lander XT...
We got it as a gift before we really had chance to look around properly, although I loved it at the time.
I still can't really fault it now, except that the front wheel (it's a 3 wheeler as well) can be really awkard on some surfaces. Also there are different adaptors for the carry cot and the car seat which can be a bit annoying. There's been a few times where I've had him in the car seat from the car, but would have had the carry cot adaptors on for him to nap in the carry cot at home. I got in the habit of leaving the other adaptors in the bottom of the buggy just in case. Once the buggy part goes on though that's the end of that though.
The handle bar (?!) is height adjustable and has clippy things for the changing bag that came with it (which is a nice changing bag as well, good few pockets- side parts for bottles etc.)
It's fairly easy to fold up, I don't find it too heavy. The wheels are easily removable to fit it more neatly into the boot. I have to take the front wheel off to get it into my boot, the OH has to take a side wheel off to get it into his.
The wheels are pumped, and Ive only had to give them a little pump so far (nearly 4 months using it), although a friend who has the same one over pumped her wheels and one of them blew out while it was just sitting in her tv room!

Cadyboo

Well I got my buggy. Got a Britax B agile buggy. Love it as it can fold with one hand. Its not sold as a travel system, all the parts need to be bought separately but still worked out cheaper than a lot of other travel systems. Got car seat, base and pram attachments so am happy out now. Thanks for all your replies girls, and Ill report back in a few months about how it works.

SSFG

The Britax looks lovely Cadyboo, we are looking at the Graco fusio, think we will purchase it next week just to have it paid for out of the way.

silly

Can anyone recommend a website to buy from. Or is it better to just buy from the shop?

doubletrouble?

silly wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a website to buy from. Or is it better to just buy from the shop?

alot of shops now have their own websites. buying a pram/buggy is harder than buying a car. best thing is to visit a few shops as i think the most important thing is to get the feel of a pram/buggy.then if your happy with your choice then surf the web for prices.we wittled our choice down to one of two double buggy's then spent alot of time going backwards and forwards to the same shops making sure we'd made the right choice.i will say this though alot of companies set their own prices that the shops cannot deviate from. i know with bellababy they did give us discounts on other stuff we were buying apart from the donkey. personally i think theres no point in buying something so expensive over the net only to find when it's delivered that it either doesn't feel right, suit the purpose etc.

Moonbeam

silly wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a website to buy from. Or is it better to just buy from the shop?

kiddicare.com is brilliant.
20 euro flat postage to Ireland.

feest

Cadyboo wrote: »

Well I got my buggy. Got a Britax B agile buggy. Love it as it can fold with one hand. Its not sold as a travel system, all the parts need to be bought separately but still worked out cheaper than a lot of other travel systems. Got car seat, base and pram attachments so am happy out now. Thanks for all your replies girls, and Ill report back in a few months about how it works.

Cadyboo: are the tyres on the Britax B inflatable or plastic?

We've leaning toward the Phil & Ted Smart stroller with Peanut bassinet. It looks super sleek and compact, but sturdy enough for heavy use.

kildareash

Has anyone heard of or used the neonate brand?

Seen what I think is a relatively good second hand deal, but I've never heard of the brand before?

Any thoughts appreciated!

Cadyboo

feest wrote: »

Cadyboo: are the tyres on the Britax B inflatable or plastic?

We've leaning toward the Phil & Ted Smart stroller with Peanut bassinet. It looks super sleek and compact, but sturdy enough for heavy use.

Plastic wheels I couldn't be dealing with tyres. I want something very low maintenance like myself;):D

Moonbeam

Plastic wheels are really awful:(

Push a buggy with and with both before you make any decision.

Max Powers

new expectant dad here..we were looking at travel systems at the weekend (pram with upright seat, car seat and lie flat thing) how important is it to be able to transfer from pram into car seat without moving baby. are those systems even available? recommendation for same? Im also conscious of fact that baby shouldnt be in upright position for 2hrs+


PS im finding this more complicated than buying a car

mickydcork

Max Powers wrote: »

new expectant dad here..we were looking at travel systems at the weekend (pram with upright seat, car seat and lie flat thing) how important is it to be able to transfer from pram into car seat without moving baby. are those systems even available? recommendation for same? Im also conscious of fact that baby shouldnt be in upright position for 2hrs+


PS im finding this more complicated than buying a car

Hi Max

I'm a new expectant dad too. I agree 100% that buying a car is far easier than buying a pram!

As far as I can tell you can't have a newborn in an upright buggy/seat. They have to be in a pram/basinette thing for the first 6 months.

So your options are to buy a 'pram' and then when the baby is ready/able buy a stroller/buggy. You will also have to have a car seat.

The other option is to buy what's known as a 'travel system'. This is a stoller/buggy where you can remove the upright seat and attach a basinette. Also you can attach car seat adapters which allows you to take the car seat from the car and attach it onto the stroller, which means baby isn't disturbed. Although it is not recommended that they spend too much time in the car seat (I think).

There is no option of having the baby in a basinette in the car. If using the basinette you will have to remove the baby and place them in the car seat.

Travel systems are pricey though.

Hope this is as clear as mud!

wmpdd3

sorry to go against you, but you can have this for a hefty price:

http://www.kiddicare.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/productdisplayA_904+5002+56_10751_-1_14552_131681_10001_14552

carann

I compared the Quinny & iCandy yesterday and love both but the iCandy is easier to put up/down (not that the quinny is that hard either) - the icandy is also a good bit dearer, its so hard to make a decision. I want to feel like i'm getting a good deal aswell! can't win

Cadyboo

Moonbeam wrote: »

Plastic wheels are really awful:(

Push a buggy with and with both before you make any decision.

Tried loads of different ones. I have my decision made. I do not want tyres. They are not plastic as such, more like foam but stronger.

Moonbeam

carann wrote: »

I compared the Quinny & iCandy yesterday and love both but the iCandy is easier to put up/down (not that the quinny is that hard either) - the icandy is also a good bit dearer, its so hard to make a decision. I want to feel like i'm getting a good deal aswell! can't win

Which Icandy?
Apparently there is a lovely new quinny to replace the Buzz.

Moonbeam

Cadyboo wrote: »

Tried loads of different ones. I have my decision made. I do not want tyres. They are not plastic as such, more like foam but stronger.

Ah, that is no where near as bad.

ted1

I'd recommend the cassato cabi. Best value one on the market. Think Smiths now sell a rebranded version. Price includes everthing foot cosy, nappy bag, rain cover. This are normally extra with others. It also comes with a pram and buggy seat.

Brian87

We went saw the new iCandy strawberry yesterday and have to say its fantastic. The only thing now is to decide what colour!

Johnnio13

Anyone tried to import a travel system from the US. Saw one that is 300eur cheaper on amazon.com than euro baby. I have a way to get it here. Just wondering would customs slap VAT on it?

feest

Johnnio13 wrote: »

Anyone tried to import a travel system from the US. Saw one that is 300eur cheaper on amazon.com than euro baby. I have a way to get it here. Just wondering would customs slap VAT on it?

I wanted to buy one in the states and bring it back with me because the prices can be so much lower. We decided against it because I couldn't bring the stroller to gate check without a baby travelling with me, and it was too heavy/awkward for checked luggage.

I briefly looked into buying on amazon.com and having it shipped over, but didn't find it to be an option to ship certain baby products like strollers and car seats internationally. I think this is because the safety standards are different between the two places. If you were dead set you may be able to use one of those receiving/onward shipping companies that serve websites that don't ship internationally. The packing info would have to be written a certain way to avoid paying customs in Ireland though, as far as I know.

We ended up buying at an Italian company: www.newbabyland.com. Their prices are great, shipping was only 40 euro, no problem with customs as it's inner-EU, and everything arrived in one week in perfect condition.

silly

Is there any buggy that you can convert to a twin later, but only if you need to. Like I don't want to buy a twin buggy now when I'm only having one! But i'd like the choice to convert to twin if I wish in 18/24 months?

I am liking the iCandy range at the moment.

mickydcork

silly wrote: »

Is there any buggy that you can convert to a twin later, but only if you need to. Like I don't want to buy a twin buggy now when I'm only having one! But i'd like the choice to convert to twin if I wish in 18/24 months?

I am liking the iCandy range at the moment.

Babyjogger city select was one we were looking at.

Moonbeam

It is my current favourite buggy in the whole world:)

The Phil and Ted type buggies are single buggies too,The Britax B Dual.

saggycaggy

Does anybody know anything about the Twingo Travel System, it's a good price on hugsbabystore.ie but I can't find any reviews.

Thanks

Adrift

A friend has recently set us a blog reviewing buggies prams accessories which some may find useful
http://willowtreebee.blogspot.ie/

Princessa

We bought the Maxi Cosi Mura 4 in Smyths and i dont like the soft carrycot that came with it so i ordered the hard carrycot seperate from maxi cosi too. It seemed to get really good reviews online. Anybody on here have any first hand experience of it? I know i have it already but id still like some opinions

Rachineire

We went ahead and got an Uppababy....It was the one that we both liked the most and we were looking for something that would last us for more than one child, or that we could make into a double stroller as we aren't planning on having too much time between babies if all goes well (knock on wood). I know it was much pricer than something we could have gotten in smyths (found a Graco that I loved there for half the price) But we felt like the Uppababy was going to be more durable over time.
Other features we loved were:

-The carrycot is approved for overnight sleeping and can be used in place of a moses basket
-How high up the carseat sits in the buggy frame
- How light the frame is even with carry cot or pram in it
-The really large basket underneath. I spoke to another mom who had purchased one and she said with the carseat on the frame she can fit her entire week shopping in the basket
-the fact that we can add a second seat to make it a double stoller.
-The wheels are made of foam- no need to inflate and no hard plastic so baby will get a smooth ride

Things we didn't like

-Mainly the price and cost of accessories.
- The travel system doesnt come with any footmuff...not sure how essential these are...would a blanket not suffice?
- Would have been nice if a nappy bag came with the system for the price!

We did a lot of research and felt overall the Uppababy ticked all of our boxes and our con list wasn't enough to turn us away...Was glad we shopped around at a few different nursery stores though...The first place was quoting us a price with carseat and base for nearly 1,200 euro and we ended up getting the travel system with same carseat and base at another store for 900! Thats a big difference!

Edit: And I agree with all previous posters who said this: Shopping for a pram is SO much harder than a car! Who would have thought?? haha!

Moonbeam

wait until you are shopping for a car that fits them all in and a pram;)
I researched both of them a but tooo much.
My favourite bit looking back was the amount of random strangers I asked for a go of their buggies:) It was the only way I was going to get a proper idea. The zoo was the best place to do it:)

instamum

Does anybody know where in Ireland you can buy the Orbit G2? I've heard from different people that they're coming to Ireland and their Facebook page (which is UK & Ireland) says they'll have a list of stockists soon but nothing yet!

sillysocks

instamum wrote: »

Does anybody know where in Ireland you can buy the Orbit G2? I've heard from different people that they're coming to Ireland and their Facebook page (which is UK & Ireland) says they'll have a list of stockists soon but nothing yet!

I got a mail last week saying it was coming to Bella Baby so might be worth ringing them to check.

Takestan

We also got a uppababy travel system last april has been great since easy to fold, push, fit in car would highly recommend

SusieBlue

We got the Bugaboo Chameleon, love it. Apparently a lot of the prams/buggies on eBay are fake brands that haven't passed European guidelines, so be weary if your buying online!

toby2111

We put a deposit on an Uppababy cos we were told that any orders placed from Sept will be an extra €50.They're pricey enough as it is but defo seem a top quality buggy.We liked the fact it can turn into a double if needed,its got good storage,basinette can act as Moses basket and its easy to push around with no fear of punctures.Buggy shopping is nearly as stressful as car shopping!!Glad we settled on the Uppababy though.

Moonbeam

I am not finding anything about a double uppababy online,have you got a link?

toby2111

Its got a thing called a Rumble seat which you can buy,basically an extra add on seat if needed.

instamum

sillysocks wrote: »

I got a mail last week saying it was coming to Bella Baby so might be worth ringing them to check.

Cheers sillysocks!

Torn between UPPAbaby and Orbit now! i found a site called Clever Clogs with both buggies and all accessories, they give a list of stockists. I'm going to email them & Bella Baby and see when the Orbit is launching, maybe see if they can send me on some extra info on both to help with the decision. I'll keep you posted!

p.s There are so many accessories, it's like buying a car!

instamum

Takestan wrote: »

We also got a uppababy travel system last april has been great since easy to fold, push, fit in car would highly recommend

Did you get the new model, the Vista? Just wondering are they sturdy? I'm concerned that the new model (the Cruz, I think) isn't as sturdy as the Vista.

Rachineire

instamum wrote: »

Did you get the new model, the Vista? Just wondering are they sturdy? I'm concerned that the new model (the Cruz, I think) isn't as sturdy as the Vista.

We got the vista...I didn't even know the cruz was available in Ireland, but the vista does seem sturdier from what I can tell! (sorry to butt in hehe!)