Bugaboo Cameleon3

A good friend of mine (Katie) was going skiing and asked if we could swap pushchairs for two weeks as she feared her new Cameleon3 may not be so good as my Jane Trider in the snowy conditions she hopefully was going to encounter. As it was just three months old I jumped at the chance and to be honest I was disappointed with its performance. Yes it is lighter than my Trider but when I sat my daughter Laura in it (now 14 months old)the seat seemed very small and her head was nearly touching the hood. Worst of all was the way it pushed, no where near as smooth as my Trider. Bugaboo is a expensive brand and I honestly thought it would be special. That was not the case and on her return my friend agreed that my Tider not only performed in the snow really well but she preferred it during normal usage at home too. Just goes to prove the most expensive is not always the best.

I didn't think the original Bugaboo Cameleon (which we bought nearly 8 years ago) could be beaten, but the new Bugaboo Cameleon3 is even better!

Our Bugaboo Cameleon was the best investment we made - an absolute joy to use, comfortable to push, long lasting and generally pretty fab. The carrycot (newborn stage) clips on/off the main frame, making it enormously useful for carting newborns around (dc1 slept in the carrycot in our living room on a regular basis!), or the Maxi Cosi car seat can be placed on the frame instead (not on top of the carrycot as with other systems), making it super-light and easy to maneouvre around the shops.

The carrycot then converts to the buggy frame, which can be attached either forward or backward (parent) facing....so you choose whether to chat to your baby or have them facing the outside world. Steering this buggy is an absolute joy - the turning circle is unbelievable! - and the advantage of a single bar (instead of 2 handles) is that you can use one hand to push and have one hand free for (for example) holding onto another child!

The frame also converts to 'off road' mode, by flipping over so that the larger wheels go first. I'm not so keen on this mode, as it is less easy to steer, but it has been enormously useful over the years and much easier than trying to drag a buggy backwards across a beach or muddy field.

The only drawback (and this is true of most travel systems) is that the Bugaboo cannot be folded down into a 'single piece' for travel on public transport.

Our Bugaboo Cameleon saw us through 3 children, with not a single problem, and I thought it was pretty much perfect....right up until I took delivery of the new Cameleon3!!

How? Well, for starters, the push handle is height adjustable, which probably makes this a sensible option for anyone taller (or shorter) than average. The steering has also been improved by the addition of shock absorber springs on the small wheels.

The biggest two improvements, however, have clearly been made in response to customer feedback. The frame now flips up and down in one easy movement, making it possible to assemble the buggy whilst holding a baby in one hand. This makes such a change to the experience of using a Bugaboo and removes one of the biggest criticisms of the product.

The other big development (and believe me, this is huge) is that the carrycot can now be easily collapsed to lie flat when not in use - and the collapsing/reassembly takes seconds, so it is a genuinely useful development and means that small car owners can now reasonably expect to get their buggy into the boot.

The other design changes are cosmetic, but rather nice - especially the option to choose from a huge range of colours for the buggy 'hood' and apron cover for a smart two-tone effect against a different colour base material. Bugaboo have also introduced a clever range of bags, cup holders etc which clip onto the frame, as well as new 'snow tires' that can be easily clipped on/off the frame for really bad conditions.

Overall, I cannot recommend the Bugaboo Cameleon 3 highly enough. If you are looking for a single buggy to see you through from newborn to 3 year old, several times over, then this is it!

I was picked by MNHQ to review this product/ service, which I received for free. This review is in my own words and reflects my true opinion.

I love love love the Bugaboo Cameleon 3. Absolutely love it and have been vocally singing its praises to any parent or parent-to-be who has crossed my path!
Let me start by saying that I have a super giant baby. He's 14 months old and on the 99th per centile. He doesn't sleep, and is never slow to let me know when he's not comfortable. Clearly, we have been using the Cameleon pushchair rather than pram. I got my husband to assemble it out of the box, and it couldn't have been more simple. The instructions were easy to follow and it all just snapped together. I'm always a bit nervous when ordering something new that there'll be a screw missing or whatnot, but this was a trouble-free process.

It's a beuatiful looking thing. My design-snob DH is extremely impressed, and spent the first weekend we had it walking up and down the high street smugly pushing the new acquisition. We lined it with a generic buggy sheepkin, which more or less works. I didn't have quite as much success with generic buggy footmuffs, as the way the Cameleon's straps are sewn in makes it a little tricky to easily fit such things. I know you can buy lovely Bugaboo footmuffs etc., but they are pricey, and if you've already spent 800 quid on the Cameleon itself you may want to try to save a little by using non-branded stuff.
One of the most appealing features to me is just how light and easy it is to push. As mentioned above, I have a hefty little boy, and the Cameloen made me think he'd transmogrified into a sylph! You can honestly push this with one finger, which seems and feels miraculous after using any other buggy. It can also practically turn around on top of itself, and is very easy and stable to bump up and down steps and kerbs.
My favourite thing of all is how comforatble the occupant is. My son has fallen asleep practically every time we've used this! There can be no greater compliment. He just looks so comfortable, and this is the only pushchair where he has room to sit back and still have his legs supported. We've been using a Maclaren Quest, which has lots of good points but just cannot compare with the Cameleon for a large baby.

So, to summarise:
I love the shopping basket; the design; the comfortable handle; the stability; the generous size; the lightness to push; the way it handles hills, bumps and steps. Most of all, I love it because my little boy so clearly loves it.

Things I think could be improved:
I found the brake very difficult to undo. It's great that you will never accidentally knock the brake off, but I had to use two hands and really struggled.
The raincover is perfectly efficient, but again I struggled with fitting it, as it's a bit of an effort to pull it taut under the frame.
I didn't use the pram, but it wouldn't have worked for us, as my baby had/has severe reflux, and there is no option but to have the pram lying completely flat. I used a sling when my son was young as he needed to be upright or lying inclined. There is no way he would have been able to be comfortable in this.
Umm, that's about it. This is as close to perfect as a pushchair can be. I'm so grateful to have something we can use as my enormous baby transitions to being an enormous toddler, as I see so many of his contemporaries squished into less generously-proportioned pushchairs.

I was picked by MNHQ to review this product, which I received for free. This review is in my own words and reflects my true opinion.

This is a beautiful product.

I'm not easily impressed but it is a true blend of form and function. It is sturdy and looks like it will last a long time. It's also elegant and light.

It's dead easy to assemble and dissemble. The instruction manual was very clear and helpful which is always a winner in my book.

There are white buttons in various points on the chassis to release the seat/carry cot and the wheels. These made it really easy for me to know which buttons to push!

It took me a few goes to figure out how to fold the chassis to put in the car but that's the same with any new buggy. It is a bit of a pain to have to remove the wheels when I was using our smaller car but at least you have that option if you have a smaller car. Some buggies are just too big.

It turns on a sixpence and is very light. I could push it with one finger! It's a real pleasure to use.

The handle can be extended to suit tall people. I'm 6' and dh is 6'2" and the handle was a great height for us. I didn't buy this buggy when I had my first child for this very reason.

The brake is on the buggy handle which is a much better idea than operated by foot - easier to use and quicker when your toddler is sprinting off!

I love the fact that you can choose from such a broad range of colours. The buggy I received is beige and black and because I can wash the fabrics, the pale colour isn't a problem.

Ds3 (9 weeks) was so snug and tucked away in the carry cot. It's very comfortable with a nice plush mattress cover that you can remove to wash. There is no chance of any chilly wind getting to him or the sun dazzling him. He would be very safe, warm and dry in harsh weather conditions. I did have to look for his face a couple of times because he was tucked in so nicely!

My ds2 (aged 3 years) wanted a go so I put him in the toddler seat - he was very comfortable and happy in there. He could face forwards or backwards and there are three different angles to accommodate sleeping or awake children.

I tried dragging the buggy on its two wheel mode whilst walking the dog in woods. Whilst this is a really clever idea, it's still hard work on tricky terrains like muddy pathways but then all buggies would be hard work in a bit of mud.

Ultimately, it can handle uneven grass terrains and dodgy pavements very smoothly without any sense of rattling around which is a first for me! It has great suspension.

There is a shopping bag hooked in the base of the buggy chassis but I found this a struggle to get to and there isn't much room. This part definitely needs a rethink.

I would heartily recommend this buggy. I think it is a superb piece of kit. An awful lot of thought has gone into it and it's sophisticated and comfortable but very simple too. I have really enjoyed using it.

It is an expensive outlay but I think it will last for several children and if you consider the cost per child, I think it a reasonable price.

I was picked by MNHQ to review this product, which I received for free. This review is in my own words and reflects my true opinion.

I was so excited the happy day my new bugaboo arrived, couldn’t wait to get it out the box! It seems to come in about a hundred bits, but the pictorial instructions are pretty clear and it’s quite easy to put together. I don’t need the pram bit as my ds is 9 months. The seat fabric fits over the frame very snugly and feels very secure. The wheels are a breeze to get on and off too, which would be good if you had a smaller car boot. Once put together it looks great, lovely and neat with nice clean lines. Popped the baby in it to adjust the strap around him and he was asleep within five minutes! Instant pram love for me anyway!
Using the pram is really great. It’s fantastic to push, feels like it’s on air! I’ve had it on pavements every day on the school run, along the local nature trail, and down on the beach for a brisk Sunday walk. It coped really very well with all of them, although with the bigger real wheels in the forward position, it felt a bit like it had a mind of its own. The brake is brilliant, very secure and really handy having it on the handle, my enterprising five year old hasn’t been able to figure it out either, which is a definite bonus. Handle height is a dream, very tall when fully extended, and as I’m six foot, this is just great! The rain cover is tight to get on, but after it’s on, it’s one of the best I have seen, close fitting and impossible for the baby to kick off.
The main features of the pram were simple to use, everything that was supposed to click in to place did so with no effort, the bumper bar in particular, and the folding mechanism is very good and effortless. As it is a two part fold, I wouldn’t take it on a bus where it had to be folded, I just don’t see how you could do it and hang onto a baby at the same time.
I’ve got a few niggles with the pram. First is the hood. I didn’t find it particularly effective as a sun hood, the baby was still squinting away in the sun, and when it wasn’t sunny it covered him up so I couldn’t see him. Second is the reclining mechanism, which I find to be a complete faff, because you need two hands to do it. I’m used to a Britax Vigour, which has a one handed recline, so this is a pain, especially getting it up from flat reclined with a heavy baby in it! Third are the straps. It’s a bit of a nightmare to fit a (non-bugaboo) cosytoe to the buggy, you have to unthread all the straps completely to do it, so hopefully there will be no accidents in the cosytoe, because I won’t be taking it off in a hurry!
All in all this is a fantastic pram; it looks great, feels fantastic to push and turns on a sixpence. The little niggles in no way detract from the overwhelming recommendation I would give it, but then, I was sold from the minute ds closed his eyes the first second he was in it!

I was picked by MNHQ to review this product/ service, which I received for free. This review is in my own words and reflects my true opinion

This is a fantastic pushchair.

It is lightweight, turns on a six pence, easy to fold, comfy for baby, and (not that I'm shallow or anything) looks brilliant too! We have used it in town, parks, countryside, on trains, and carted it about in the car boot too, and it is perfect for all of these areas.

The best features of this pushchair are:
how easy it is to collapse/assemble - I pull it out of the car and it just clicks together without any complicated maneuvers from me.

the ability to switch from forward to rear facing by flipping the handle over is an amazing feature, and one we use a lot! the adjustable height of the handlebar is fantastic too, as DH is quite a bit taller than me, so being able to adjust the height in seconds is very useful when out and about.

the rotating carry handle on the seat, which doubles as a bumper bar to hang toys from/restrain excitable toddlers. I have never had a pushchair on which the bumper bar was so easy to remove, and it just makes getting baby in and out of the seat so much easier!

the pram bit, which is suitable for up to 6 months old, is great, really spacious, and gets a lot of compliments from older people when out and about! ('ooh, I do like to see a baby in a proper pram' is the phrase most often heard!). DD is a large 5 month old and can still fit in it (she is on the 98th centile for length and weight, so has outgrown pretty much every other pram we've looked at)

the brake is AMAZING, we have used it on a steep incline, on trains, and the cameleon doesn't budge! and having the brake as a switch on the handlebar rather than a kick brake is a genius idea. Plus it is the first brake on a pushchair that my 3 year old hasn't figured out how to unlock yet.

the steering - easy to do one handed whilst dragging a reluctant toddler along with the other hand - this is an invaluable feature actually, as my toddler is 'going through a phase' of being incredibly hard work when crossing the road or walking in town, so being able to hold his hand whilst pushing DD along is a good thing.

The hood is the first one I have seen on any pushchair that actually provides proper shade from the sun. I have owned several different pushchairs (Graco, Maclaren, P+Ts, Britax) and none of them had effective hoods, so I am incredibly impressed with the Bugaboo one.

Features I am slightly less impressed with are:
the straps are a bit of a faff to adjust (but this may just take some getting used to, rather than yanking at them whilst both children are whining at me and we're all in a hurry to get out of the door).

the basket is pretty inaccessible in the pram mode, and once the raincover is in it, doesn't hold as much as you'd expect. However, the pushchair is so sturdy (despite being lightweight) that I have the changing bag over the handles and even without a child in the seat, the pushchair doesn't tip.

changing between pram and pushchair seat is a bit more effort than I would have liked, which is a shame, as I would love the option to put DD in the pram, then maybe carry her in the sling and have DS in the pushchair seat another day - as both use the same frame, and take a bit of time to put together, this isn't possible, but it would have been nice.

Overall, this is an excellent pushchair and pram. It looks good, and feels good to use. And, most importantly, my baby sleeps in it. Which is very high praise indeed, given that she doesn't seem to sleep anywhere else at the moment.








I was picked by MNHQ to review this product, which I received for free. This review is in my own words and reflects my true opinion.