Recommend a suitable buggy for clueless first timer please

aladdin2010 · 04-01-2010 9:00pm #1

Hi there, I'm a new member and would really apprecaite some advice.

First time mum due in April and have just started thinking about buying a buggy but am bewildered by all the options not to mention brands!:eek:
Know I will need a travel system with buggy, car seat and carrier but they seem quite bulky so I would love a recommendation for one that folds easily/takes up little space as I have a v small house.

Also, as well as for normal everyday use, I also hope to be using it on uneven terrain (sort of off-road for excercise) and there seems to be different wheel types - three wheelers/four wheelers etc
Taking into account the above - compact yet good on different terrains, can anyone who knows what they're talking about recommend a good option? Was in Mothercare at the weekend but got completely overwhelmed by all the options and no one available to ask!

Thanks in advance

themysteriouson · 04-01-2010 10:50pm

Hi If your planning to go off road your going to need something with strong wheels so the likes of a Graco/chicco would be out of the question right away. Theres some to cross off you list!
The best ones I have found in my experience would be the likes of the silvercross Sleepover / Freeway, the quinny Buzz or Speedi depending on space, the I candy Peach and the Mutsy 4 rider light.
All of these prams would be great choices however if your looking for something that wont cost you the earth the baby elegance beep is definitely one to look at. Its a nice little system with all the extras for under €450.

aniascor · 05-01-2010 1:58am

I've got the Mothercare My4 and find it fantastic. It is not that small though. But I find I never fold it up in the house because the pram is such a decent size that I use it all the time for putting baby to sleep downstairs during the day.

pearljamfan · 05-01-2010 2:03am

bugaboo bee!! folds tiny, is nice and light to lift and very easy to push, looks good, had great basket space, can be parent facing and actually folds in that position too, alot dont...has good accessories, can attach a carseat. is suitable from newborn, good hood coverage when baby is sleeping.... i love it, can highly reccommend it.

houseman · 05-01-2010 11:48am

i got the mother care graco as well. great value. have a look at their website - they're doing a good sale. As are smiths !

aladdin2010 · 05-01-2010 9:31pm

Brilliant suggestions, narrows things down a little, thanks so much!:D

hacked · 05-01-2010 10:18pm

I've got the Graco Quattro DEluxe travel system and am really happy with it. It's on really great offer at the moment, and comes with just about everything. It's not tiny and an average enough weight, but it folds down nicely. I have the same problem...I have no space in a very small flat, but it will fit at the door for me!
Also, there's no clipping bits and pieces on the chassis...it's all on there already, and suitable from birth WITHOUT the carseat being clipped in. I think that is much much nicer, especially when you have little space. Easier to store a slightly bulky buggy than a chassis and how many extra flipping parts!

mindydawne · 05-01-2010 10:28pm

I got the Quinny Buzz. I love it, but I wouldn't really recommend it - it's expensive, and very large. It barely fits in the boot of the car. The Quinny Zapp is smaller and cheaper. I wish I would have gotten that one. The maxi-cosi car seat fits in it (you have to purchase it separately) and they have a carrycot also you can buy. As far as terrain, I've never had a problem with the Buzz, but it's hard to push around some shops - it's too large!

galway2007 · 05-01-2010 10:57pm

the advise i would give you is to look on kiddicare.com as it a ot cheaper and they ship to ireland for about €20

Moonbeam · 06-01-2010 11:51am

I would give the same advice about kiddicare.

What are your requirments for a buggy?
will you be bring it on buses?trains?small boot?
do you want some thing that can deal with the beach pot holes and off road or something good in shops or both?

I have a maxi cosi mura 4(this is in my opinion the best pram and buggy ever,I have not used anything else that comes close ),a quattro tour deluxe(great if you don't have to deal with long walks on not very well build roads,great all rounder,we keep it in granny and grandads house, and a babylo stroller (trains broke and we needed to use the bus,once we were off the bus I stopped using it)

aladdin2010 · 06-01-2010 12:24pm

Thanks again for the tips and for the kiddicare suggestion - wow, great stuff!

Saw the Quinnys - they seem to have good big wheels on them which I thought would be better on the rougher terrain but then worried if they'd be too bulky. I do a lot of walking in parks/gravelly areas and would hope to continue that as much as possible, as well as the normal path/shopping centre stuff. Won't be using public transport really, as have own car and boot is good size - it's the size of my house that's the problem!

How long do the travel systems last? I mean, can you use them for a few years or just a few months? Know the carseat will only be used for a little while but what about the rest - do they grow out of the buggy v quickly? Sorry - completely clueless about all this - my first and only found out about the pg a few weeks back so loads to learn!!!

TargetWidow · 06-01-2010 9:49pm

I have been using the Mamas and Papas Pliko Pramette system. It has a built in lie flat parent facing carrycot for when baby is tiny, which converts into a faceaway situp buggy for 5/6 months onwards which has 3 positions for baby to lay back and have a snooze if you want. Into this you can clip the car-seat which is parent facing. It comes with two hoods and a rain cape. The buggy folds up very neatly and stands alone in my tiny tiny hallway. The only bits I have stored away are the carseat which she has now outgrown but which we will be fishing out of the attic again before no2 arrives in July, and the cosytoes which TBH I never used, preferring her own little fluffy blankets. The opening mechanism is a doddle useful when you are up to your eyeballs! It folds up in two seconds and pops in the boot of my old corolla with tonnes of room to spare for the travel cot and spare mattress when we go away for the night or weekend. When our second child arrives in July I think I will just be clipping a buggy board onto the back of this because I am very happy with it. Absolutely no problems in shops etc.

themysteriouson · 09-01-2010 12:05pm

galway2007 wrote: »

the advise i would give you is to look on kiddicare.com as it a ot cheaper and they ship to ireland for about €20

I would still check out the Irish websites before buying abroad.
Eurobaby are having their January sale. They have some great offers at the moment.
Dont forget if your buying it soon ordering from the UK would be greatly affected by the current weather where as the Irish sites would get it to you quicker.

themysteriouson · 09-01-2010 12:12pm

aladdin2010 wrote: »

How long do the travel systems last? I mean, can you use them for a few years or just a few months? Know the carseat will only be used for a little while but what about the rest - do they grow out of the buggy v quickly? Sorry - completely clueless about all this - my first and only found out about the pg a few weeks back so loads to learn!!!

The carseat does you from 0-13kg(29lbs) on average about 9 to 12months. The carrycots last you on average 4-6 months depending on the size of the child. The buggy itself will on average hold a max weight of 15kg which is about 2-2 and a half years but in the case of the quinny and phil & Teds they will hold up to 20 kgs for larger children its an advantage.
Hope this is some help to you.

neeb · 10-01-2010 10:34pm

I think a sling or baby carrier is more suitable of you are going on very rough ground. Then you can get a lightweight buggy for around town.

Lots of people just leave them in the car most of the time, so that might suit if your house is a bit tight.

supermum1 · 11-01-2010 5:48pm

mothercare have an amazing sale at the moment. There's a very good Graco travel system half price!

aladdin2010 · 11-01-2010 6:51pm

Thanks all! OK, have seen loads of diff options over the weekend and have narrowed it down to Quinny Buzz, Mothercare My3 or Beep by Baby Elegance as I'm pretty certain I'll need a three-wheeler. Don't like the Graco as you can't interchange the carseat and the pushchair on the chassis, they need to go on together and there's no pram option.

I love the Quinny Buzz but it is big and the most expensive of the three. The My3 looks good too but a bit on the plain side. The Beep seems best of all looks great, is lighter but has the same basic facilities as the Quinny Buzz but a better price.
Anyone have either of these three and can you identify any major downsides to any of them over the other?

hacked · 11-01-2010 7:23pm

It depends on the graco....my one has a pram option, but it's not a seperate part. Buggy lies flat, and you put in a moses basket. It's quite cosy.

As for the My3...I've heard bad things about it. I wanted to go for the My4 originally, and everyone who just got it loved it, but a lot of the mother care prams like xcursion, my choice etc have problems. When I was in buying my pram a women came in with a My3 complaining about the front wheel. For no reason it just came completely off while she was crossing the street!! :eek:

supermum1 · 12-01-2010 12:17pm

I have heard bad thing about 3 wheelers, that they can be unstable. I saw a women walking down the road with one, the front wheel hit a small stone and the whole thing nearly went over! Could have just been the type but it put me off!

Moonbeam · 12-01-2010 7:03pm

You can get most 3 wheelers in a 4 wheel version,the quinnys for example.

eurobaby.ie have some good offers too.

aladdin2010 · 12-01-2010 8:36pm

Def want a 3 wheeler as I prefer the look of them and also because I will need to go off-road etc. Seems most people have probs with three wheelers because they try to use them the same was as 4 wheelers when going off kerbs etc which I'm told damages the wheel. Think I;m going to go for the Beep as it works out best in terms of price and seems lightweight and tidy.

Moonbeam · 13-01-2010 1:15pm

From what I remember the beep it is not suitable for off road use as it has plastic wheels.
It might be worth checking before you buy it.

The Maxi cosi mura(3 and 4 wheel off road) or Phil and teds might suit.

I really do not like 3 wheelers but got a 4 wheel mura for pot holes,trains and off road and it works brilliantly.

Chet T16 · 13-01-2010 2:46pm

We have a quinny buzz 4 wheeler. If we ever manage to get outside i'm give my opinion on it!

embee · 13-01-2010 3:04pm

Just to say...

I have a child who is 4 next month, I also have the Quinny Buzz (3 wheeler) and I've had it since she was a newborn. I haven't used it since she was about 2 and a half, had started using a lighter Quinny Zapp as she got bigger. Then, on Sunday just gone, when the roads were frozen, slippy, snowy etc... we managed with minimal effort to bring her for a 1.5 mile walk (to the local pub, lol) up and down steep hills and bumpy country roads. We had to put her in the buggy, way too far for her to talk on slippery roads. The buggy is nice and roomy, she is a tall child for her age, about 40lbs and 3 ft 8 and she still fitted in it. The big air filled tyres got us up and down icy, slippery hills with ease. A test of a buggy if ever there was one and it passed with flying colours. The front swivel wheel is lockable for going over rough and bumpy terrain and that was great too.

I'm quite tall at almost 6 foot and I found the handlebar height on the Buzz is great for the taller parent... a lot of buggies I'd tried back in the day were just not high enough.. I do find that I have to stoop a bit with the Zapp but the adjustable handlebar of the Buzz is perfect.

bulmersgal · 13-01-2010 3:23pm

i got the Icandy Apple still pregnant so haven't gotten to use it yet. Cant wait loved it. I think you just need to go out and look at a few and see wat u really like. Then google the pram and reviews. If there's not that many bad go for it. Everybody has a opinion some love some hate diff prams.

Its so hard to know really what ur looking for as a first time mum. I remember for ages every time i seen a pram in my town staring at it to see did i like it.

Moonbeam · 13-01-2010 3:46pm

I loved the i-candy apple and the way it can upgrade easily to the Pear:) I love the whole i-candy range tbh but found them a bit expensive in Ireland.

bulmersgal · 13-01-2010 3:58pm

i got a special offer in murphys. For €625 i got chassis, buggy seat, carrycot, car seat apatators, changing bad and footmuff. I found murphys to be a lot cheaper then Eurobabies. It is dear but like that i won't need to buy a new pram if i have another baby i can just make it a double

AbigailE · 13-01-2010 6:18pm

I was just in Argos and they have pink and blue Graco travel systems for €86.99.

eimsRV · 13-01-2010 6:49pm

Hi aladdin2010

I have the Quinny Buzz 3 wheeler and I love it but dd's daddy hates it! We brought it to spain when dd was 5 months and it was great going up and down the hills. DD is almost a year and we still have her facing us, and for the most part she is content in it!

We got the maxi cosi car seat which fits in to it, coupled with the easy fix base in the car it was so simple to take her from car to buggy.
We borrowed a carrie cot top from a friend. This is worth buying if you plan on walking alot when baby is young as its recommended to keep baby in car seat for less than an hour at a time, also the buggy part of the buzz is recommended for 6months plus.

Cons:
When you have the seat facing you, you have to take the seat off before folding.
Just about fits in the boot of my ford focus.
Heavy and can sometimes be hard to navigate around shops particularily those with narrow aisles.
You have to buy shopping basket seperatly and it doesnt hold much.
No where to hang bags - but you can buy clips in mothercare for a few euro.
No cup holder for water or coffee

We ordered car seat and buggy from kiddicare and it came within 3 days.

Best of luck!

LegacyUser · 14-01-2010 3:29pm

Hi Aladdin, I've got the baby elegance pebble from Smyths - same as the beep just different colour. I haven't got to use it yet, baby is due in 6 weeks. I got it because it's a tidy system, there's only a narrow path up to my house and this system fits fine.
Best of luck.
Fionnuala

aladdin2010 · 18-01-2010 1:27pm

Aargh, my head is really wrecked with this! Had decided on the Beep but as someone pointed out the plastic wheels just won't do for off-road walking which I plan to do a lot of, and I had another look and agree.

So now I am back to the Mothercare My3 as the Quinny Buzz seems just too expensive for something that might not do for very long. The beauty of the Beep was that it included carrycot, pushchair, chassis and carseat/carseat adaptor all-in for 450 euro, whereas you need to buy all these extra with the Quinny Buzz! So it's looking like spending over 800 for the Quinny package or 650 for the My3.

The I-candy is lovely but unfortuantely they don't seem to do them in 3 wheelers

Recommend a suitable buggy for clueless first timer please

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