ICANDY, QUINNY BUZZ OR BUGABOO CHAMELEON, WHCI DOES WHAT? PROS AND CONS PLEASE.

[mumzyof2]

Hey all. Im trying to decide which pram I would be better with. I REALLY like Bugaboo's, they look fantastic, but are soexpensive, I find it hard to justify the money. Then theres the Quinny Buzz thats meant to be the next best thing, but it look quite basic, and then theres the icandy apple, which looks great, and seems to tick all the boxes, but also expensive as once you've got the pram, id have to buy the car seat, and carrycot, and cosy toe, and that would end up being as much as the chameleon. Also, I really want the pram to be one where you can have a carrycot, or a seat, that changes direction (rear or front facing), and also that you can fit a car seat onto aswell, and I dont know if you can do that with any of these. PLEASe point me in the right direction somebody.

[insywinsyspider]

I had quinny buzz as bugaboo was way out of my price range - with both you essentially have a chassis that you can attach car seat, carry cot or buggy bit to, I thought buzz ticked all my boxes in terms of funtionality of bugaboo without the price tag
pros: as above can do everything a bugaboo can and looks great
light to lift and easy to put up
cons: big, can fold smaller but you have to take the wheels off, not keen on the 3 wheels they aren't as good as some of the other three wheelers on market

hth, never seen an iCandy but hopefully someone can give you some advice

[mumzyof2]

Ok, thanks. Didnt think you could attatch a car seat to a Buzz, but you learn something new every day!

[Chooster]

Hi, I've got the i-candy apple and I love it!! I wanted something light, with a carry cot, and a rear and forward facing pushchair bit. I also wanted the car seat to clip on... oh, and i wanted there to be one handle as I have an older DS and if I'm holding his hand then I need to push the buggy with the only remaining hand! . So the i-candy did it for me...

Pro's - very light and easy to push even over rocky ground, very easy to fold down and put up (can do it with one hand), haven't used it yet but like the fact that Ds can face me when he's in his pushchair. In the meantime he looks pretty cosy in the carry cot.

Cons - Its pricey, the carry cot is quite heavy when there's a baby in it and the carry cot is a little smaller than other carry cots. I reckon my DS2 will be too big for it by the time he's 4 months but then he is quite a long boy. The pushchair bit folds flat as well so I'm not too bothered by that.

Overall though I really love it and I needed to get a new car seat anyway so I didn't mind buying the maxi cosi that fits it.

Good luck!!!!

[bilblio]

I was having the same dilemma a while back, I liked all the ones you mentioned, but just couldn't afford them. Eventually I bought a Firstwheels City Elite and I love it!
It has a carrycot (which my LO also sleeps in instead of a moses basket.) The carrycot folds flat so it's easy to transport. The pram part is suitable from 6 months and is rear or forward facing. A maxi-cosi car seat will fit onto the chassis if you buy the adaptors.
I've only got a small boot in my car, but I only have to take off 1 wheel to fit it in. Most similar style prams wouldn't fit in at all.

On the down side you have to take the seat off before it'll fold up, and it's probably too heavy to use if you're hopping on and off public transport, but most prams in this style are heavy and I can carry it up the half dozen steps to our house without any problems. To be honest the weight thing doesn't bother me as it's reassuringly weighty, other lighter ones felt too flimsy.

The firstwheels looks ace (I get so many comments about it) it's a lot cheaper (you can get some really good deals on it too) and personally I think it's better than a bugaboo because you have a separate carrycot and pram. I didn't realise for a while that with the bugaboo you have to take the carrycot apart to use the frame to make the pram, they aren't 2 separate things.

Good luck making a decision, it took me ages!

[mumzyof2]

Ah, right, Im just going to Google our pram. spunds like a good buy, and thats what I want.

[mumzyof2]

Bilblio, was it This one?

[JayJ]

I had the Quinny Buzz but ended up selling it as it is an absolute pain to collapse. Is quite large too.

[MrsMcJnr]

mumzyof2 my feelings are really similar to yours on this. I really like the Bugaboo cameleon and all I can fault is the price.

I've looked at the Quinny Buzz and ruled it out because I just could not get the safety clip on and whilst the lady in the shop told me you could just not use it, that would really bug me and I have now heard that they can open in your boot if you don't use the catch! I also thought it was quite bulky compared to the Bugaboo.

I am going to look at the icandies at the weekend but I have heard the apple is heavy and the smaller carry cot on the cherry wouldn?t suit me. I have been trying to view a Jane but it seems that there are no carry cots Janes which is what I want, maybe I am being thick!

Interesting Bliblio, I?ll have a look at that one

[izzybobsmum]

There's always two sides to every story - I have a Quinny Buzz, and I absolutely love it!
It fits in the boot of my car with a weeks' worth of shopping - and I only have an Astra. The wheels are so easy to take off, and it has a gas canister in it which means putting it up is child's play.
We've been able to go for lots of walks in the country as the tyres mean it'll bounce over practically any surface, and you can have the buggy seat facing either way.
It's been bashed to bits but still works good as new. I still use it in preference to the Maclaren buggy I bought to take on holiday as my daughter can sit far more upright in the Buzz than she does in the buggy which seems to be permanently at "slouch" setting...

[mumzyof2]

Well iv just had a fantastic demonstration of a chameleon in a shop, and its the one weve chosen. Apparently the prices went up at the beginning of sept as bugaboo made some simple changes to the chameleon, something about making the brake easier, and the clip to put it down. the one we saw was 625 pounds, although there must be cheaper ones. we dismissed the gecko as its too small, and has no fleece on it. so chmeleon it is!

[bilblio]

Hi, probably a bit late as it looks like you've decided on the chameleon, but yes that link is the first wheels (I've got the bright red version). I bought mine from a discount shop not online as I wanted to try it out. The manufacturer website is here

For anyone else who's interested though the firstwheels is good for off-roading, I just have to convince my DD that bumps are fun She's only a few weeks old though so she's got many more months of buggy use to get used to them.

[MrsMcJnr]

Izzybobsmum ? other than the safety catch, I did like the Quinny (you must be much stronger than me! )

Mumzyof2 ? fab make sure you do get the new one, JL warned us that the price has gone up but that includes the current model and it?s the luck of the draw whether or not you get a new one if you order now, apparently December is more likely for the new model. That said, whilst we?d like the new one of course, I understand the changes are: foam filled wheels (so you can?t get punctures), padded harnesses, the following hooks and buttons on the inside of the frame rather than the outside (like the Gecko) and a change to the side clips for the frame so if wouldn?t be the end of the world if we got the current one. What colour/extras are you going to get?

Bilblio ? will check that out, looks good actually.

[Sarahjct]

Bilblio I really like the look of the First Wheels. I'd pretty much decided on the Apple but that looks just as funky but lighter. The only thing is, does the seat turn round to face you?

And it comes in purple!!

[bilblio]

Yes the seat on the firstwheels turns to face you, that was the main thing I wanted.

[Piffle]

i ditched my icandy apple for cameleon
picked one up 2nd hand.
The incady is massive and the cameleon is way easier to steer, far easier to get carry cot and carseat on and off.
plys icandy is pain to collapse

[fihi]

quinny is fab to 'drive' but you can lose limbs and defo fingers tryin to collapse it