Buggy/pram advice needed

[Emmalina]

Currently 25 wks pg and I am being bought a buggy/pram as a present (lucky me) so cost is not really a factor and I want a decent quality one that will last. My main consideration is that we are do not drive and will be using public transport all the time and I want one that will work well with buses and trains.
Currently interested in the Phil and Teds Explore and the M and P Pliko pramette, but does anyone have experience of using these on public transport? Can anyone recommend a different buggy that is good, from birth, good quality and good for public transport?

[Titania]

the graco citisport is great and though says siutable from birth, if you want a proper pram style 'vehicle' then may not be right for you. Maybe get one with a carseat if you use taxis or buses with seatbelts on (not that there are many i daresay)

[nailpolish]

emmalina, the reviews of buggies/prams etc on mumsnet are really good. go from the home page

[nailpolish]

click on 'find the best'

[pesme]

Personally, I would use a sling for the first few months and then buy a lightweight pushchair such as the maclaren techno. I found the 'travel system' thing abit of a nightmare on buses that are not set up for prams. I had a Jane travel system that was great and folded up umbrella style but was really too heavy to fold up easily. Sorry to ramble, you should attempt to fold up whatever you buy with one hand and imagine holding a baby in the other!

[nailpolish]

bump

are there 2 of this thread?

[Emmalina]

Thanks all for comments so far. I accidentally posted this in two places, so both threads are me!

[jennifersofia]

Not having a car, and having used buses and trains and tubes extensively, I would basically second what Pesme said. Thin and manoeverable and relatively lightweight are key issues. I did have the citisport and found it good in many ways - lightweight and narrow and raised from ground with protective bar in front which is nice when you are going on crowded public transport - I liked all these features. Negatives were that it did start to feel rather narrow for the babby after a while and quite rickety and not terribly well made. I think the Maclarens are sturdier.
The pilko looks pretty good, though don't know how heavy that is. The thing about the E3 (and all 3 wheelers) is that it is wide, which is not ideal, for buses in particular.
Ideally I would have a cheaper (£100 or under) lightweight pram to use on public transport and another 'comfort pram' as well. I know this sounds excessive, in terms of space and money, but if you consider that you will use it everyday for years, and you don't spend the money on the car, it is worth thinking about.
I did loads of walking all over the place, and really valued having a pram where you can see the baby (esp nice in the first few months) and the baby could lie completely flat, and that also had big wheels, which makes it easy to push. Also, not having a car, having a big sturdy shopping tray in the bottom was a godsend.
So - after all this overwhelming and probably unwanted advice, I will summarise. a) get your person to buy you the E3 (one on Ebay at the moment I think, second hand and in good condition) b) have a sling for the first few months / outings on public transport and see how you get on with it c) when babby is 4 months or so, see if you need a cheapo lightweight umbrella fold pushchair.
Excuse ridiculous excess verbiage - I think about this issue far too much!

[ernest]

have to say, def don't aim to use sling for 1st few months -

-loved being mum & pushing baby, even if that sounds stupid

• couldn't imagine carrying baby & eg shopping
  
• didn't like baby in it for long time
  
• didn't find it particularly comfortable
  
• another million reasons why. I only used sling a few times. Found pushchair much easier.
  
  Ease of use on public transport as didn't have car was key issue for me, but regretted it, as I found I walked much more & even with small lightweight etc buggy, found pub ttransport so diff I tended to walk & would've been better off with big & comfy pram. Love my e3

[Stilltrue]

I have an E3 which I love, but not ideal for public transport because of the width. I walk loads with it - miles every day. My ds is very comfy and it is great for bumpy paths, and for running after my 3 older children as they cycle madly away from me in the park, etc! But I also agree with JenniferSofia that it's good for the baby to lie flat initially, and for you to see him/her and interact as you walk along. The thing with the E3 is that in newborn mode you need the side panniers for shopping (thus increasing the width) as you won't get to the underseat storage. For the 1st few months I used my old 3 in one, then splashed out on the E3 (got a good deal from Practical Pushchairs). Maybe get the E3 as your pressie, then use a sling/hire/borrow off a friend to try a few lightweight buggies for public transport. I think there are a few companies who do hire out buggies; you could search for them; sorry I can't remember the names.

[hub2dee]

www.chariotsonhire.com hires out (and sells) loads of buggies. Great for visiting family etc. with kids I imagine.

[Skribble]

My tip is get one with a deep shopping tray / basket so when you get on and off buses everything doesn't slide out .

I used a hardbody silver cross because i went on trains a lot. You get lots in them, baby has lots of room and it cost me a £5 from charity shop.

If using buses is it the kind of bus with steps that you have to fold buggy or does your routes have flat entry buses and pram spaces.
If flat I would go for some thing a bit more substantial. Make sure the seat goes totally flat for a new born.

Slings are useful but you and baby can get very hot I found it to heavy and tiring for me but hubby loved carrying them in slings and used to zip his jacket up around them very cute.

PS get off backwards unless very small step. My train was very scary to get off huge drop.

[hub2dee]

Hi skribble, what a bargain ! Well done. Just been looking at Silver Cross prams on ebay, they tend to go for 300 - 400 for the current models (I think these cost 600 - 800) and older ones can be seen from 50 - 200 ish often needing work.

They certainly are strong, have loads of shopping space and I guess the wheels make it a dream to push.

Any Silver Cross (trad) pram users out there ? Are their modern models (in trad pram form, not travel system) any good ?

[jennifersofia]

Well, it wasn't a silvercross, but we had an emmaljunga, which was similar to the large, deep shopping tray large wheeled old style prams. I thought it was fantastic - really nice to push, loads of space for babby and shopping, and those large wheels did make a real difference. I was worried about them being fixed wheels, but it was actually fine. I think they are fine, and yeah, there are loads on ebay.

[hub2dee]

not typo. Oh I hate that mistake.

Erm... can Silver Cross style 'big prams' handle off road OK - ie a bit of mud, bumpy tracks etc. ? I can imagine small stroller wheels getting instantly gunked up in some of the woods / parks we walk in, and was wondering if those big mama wheels of 10 - 12 inch diameter handle mud OK - they are very skinny afterall...

Does anyone make fat tyres for Silver Cross prams which go mud plugging ?(Same sort of tyres as your Volvo, RTKMstalker )

[jennifersofia]

Ours had approx 12 inch in diameter wheels, and tyres were approx. 1 inch wide. Did well over rougher ground - though didn't go mountain climbing with it, just some v. muddy parks, bit of long grass, etc. Quite stable as well. Don't know about serious rocky rough track. HTH

[Skribble]

I found my silver cross was really bumpy for baby on rough paths. Granny used to lift baby out on one bit of path with lots of tree roots. Mine was really horrible to bump up and down stairs. I loved it though as baby could stretch out when not surrounded by shopping. Used it in the house and porch for daytime naps instead of carrycot. I still used it more than buggy for shopping walking to nursery and trips into town on train but I had buggy and sling/ shawl for bus out to grannies. (Baby went in shawl so I had two hands to carry buggy).

I had a three wheeler with pneumatic tyres, brilliant for country paths and beaches etc. Fixed front wheel is a pain for streets and shopping especially after a c-section as you have to tip up to turn. A swivel front wheel is a pain off road as it tends to turn and jam. Get one that can swivel and lock.

[Martini]

I go everywhere on public transport as no car. Agree with all comments re light/ narrow etc.

I had M&P Pliko for 1st 18mnths - fine on all transport and light for steps on station footbridges etc. Useless to fold (can't do one handed & always coming unfolded) but I just avoided fold up situation as really hard with tiny baby. Baby does not face you but I just used to look over the top a lot.

Car seat attaches which thought would be good for train/ taxi combo journeys but actually not v good as had to carry car seat base as well which is v heavy. If you can find buggy with car seat but no base that's better.

Not keen on big pram type things as too big & slings as you have to have baby strapped to you even when they are asleep and you want to sit down and have coffee. Think you need to try slings out and decide if they are for you.

Good tip for all public transport is to get info on your local transport aimed at wheelchair users as will give idea of pram/ buggy access.