Buggy for commuting with toddler

[LauraMipsum]

I've got a Cossatto Giggle system which is great for a lot of things but is just too heavy and unwieldy to get 14mo DD to nursery (she commutes into central London with me two days a week and this will probably increase in the next year or so). Getting a pushchair on the tube isn't too much of a problem because we go ahead of the rush hour, but my local station has three flights of stairs, plus there is one more flight at the other end.

I need something which is

• light weight
  
• ideally collapses easily and not too big
  
• can be carried up 3 flights of stairs, preferably with DD inside it, by one person who is also carrying papers for work and is also a bit of a weed (I am no weightlifter!)
  
  Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to spend a fortune either so if it's something I can get second hand so much the better.
  
  
  --------------------
  
  Hello,
  
  We've noticed this thread is quite old and some of the product recommendations are a little out of date. We've spent weeks speaking to parents and testing out pushchairs and buggies. Read our round up buggy reviews to see which stroller was crowned best buggy.
  
  Hope that helps!
  
  MNHQ

[Pootles2010]

I can't imagine being able to carry an unfolded buggy up three flights of stairs, even without child inside!

Other than that, babyjogger city mini is v light, very easy to collapse.

[EdithWeston]

Maclaren Volo. I think it's the lightest Maclaren, they fold really easily and you can get a shoulder strap so you can carry hands free when folded.

They're also fairly narrow, which will make picking up when unfolded a bit easier, and of course it means they fit much better than most onto buses and trains.

They've been around for years, so I expect there's a good chance of finding them second hand.

[LauraMipsum]

Pootles it's what I'm doing with the current one and my lower vertebrae are not happy about it!! I can't put DD down to walk up, as she still crawls up stairs and they're filthy & she'd get walked on by some dozy git checking their phone and not looking where they're going.

Thanks both I'll check those out.

[Hufflepuffin]

I think in your scenario it has to be a baby jogger city mini or city lite (the lite is lighter but requires an extra button to fold). The city mini folds just by pulling on a handle in the middle of the seat and then you can carry it by that handle.

What will be crucial is managing your stuff - folding any buggy is a faff if you have stuff in the basket. So have your heavy bag as a back pack and the baby's nursery bag as a shoulder slung over the back of the buggy (or vice versa). So then when you get to the bottom of the steps, all you have to do is put the shoulder bag on your shoulder, pick up the baby and then carry the buggy in your other hand.

At the other end of the steps you can throw the buggy open one handed. I reckon you could carry it with baby loaded if she fell asleep too. (I have carried my toddler son that way in the similar baby jogger zip).

[BettyBi0]

Babyzen yoyo is absolutely brilliant for city use. It's super lightweight and tiny yet sturdy at the same time because of the one rounded handlebar if that makes sense. I swapped my city jogger get for one and it was a massive improvement on trains etc. It's really quick to collapse it and sling it over your shoulder like a handbag as long as you aren't using it to carry a load of stuff. Definitely not the easiest to carry on stairs with a tot inside as no comfy grab points at the foot end unless you do it 2 handed if that makes any sense.

[Cupoftchaiagain]

I agree with the volo recommendation. Or a completely basic hoodless £20 buggy. Soon she will be able to walk up the stairs and the shoulder strap will be v useful then. Volo weighs about 5kg maybe just under, which is about as light as they come (unless u want to pay crazy money for a maclaren Mark 2 at 3kg)

[JellyTipisthebest]

have a look at the mountain buggy nano

[BikeRunSki]

Another vote for e Baby Jogger City Mini.

[BananaPie]

Buy a hip seat:

www.hippychick.com/products/hippychick-hipseat

Then you can carry her while you fold a stroller and put the stroller over your shoulder.

[BinaryFinary]

Maclaren mk II. You can lift it with one finger but it's really sturdy and smooth to push. It's a great pushchair and looks nowhere near as odd in real life as it does in the pictures

[Sedona123]

Try Nuna Pepp at John Lewis. We had one for DS and loved it. Extremely light, and folds/unfolds really easily too.

[glowfrog]

Hi there

Any reason you don't want a baby/toddler carrier? Something like an Ergo Baby would be perfect for commuting.

[Avebury]

Definitely one of the lighter maclarens - you can kind of sit them on your hip when you are carrying them with a child in .... If that makes sense. Plus they are easy to balance on escalators both up and down even though you are not supposed to.

[Sundaysmumisfullofwine]

McLaren mark ii. I could carry it up a flight of stairs with heavy DS in it, and it just goes over my shoulder when he insists on walking.

[JeffyJeffington]

i commmute into c london with dd and it's not really practical to use a baby carrier when you've got lots of other stuff to transport. I stopped using my ergo on the journey when she was about your dd's age. I use a maclaren and it's great but wouldn't be able to face so many steps! You are definitely no weed!

[Artandco]

I would use a back sling tbh. Then she is strapped in safe, you are hands free to carry work stuff, and no carrying pram up and down stairs.
The boba 4g worked well for us until almost 4 years size wise. Great for train travel and at airports

[PennyHasNoSurname]

Oh my word that sounds such hard work! Is there no option of her going into a Nursery nearer home so you can commute childfree?

[TheBeanpole]

We commute into central London with a 2 yo and use a volo. We also have a citi mini but that seems too big for tube etc- you can't sling it on your shoulder for eg which makes it tricky with a laptop bag etc. We have a railway bridge to cross and I can lift the lot with her in it if needed. It's a lot lighter than the CM. Picked it up cheap on eBay.

We did use a sling until she was about 14 months and started to refuse to go in it. Also found got a bit hot and bothered with her, nursery bag, work stuff and the inevitable fluctuating temperatures.

[HappyAsASandboy]

I just got a mothercare xss pockit. It folds down very small and is light enough to carry up stairs. I can carry my 30lb toddler up stairs in it, or can carry him on one side and carry the folded buggy in the other hand (though I have to put him down to fold it as you need both hands to fold it. It also comes with a bag to put it in to carry it, but it'd be a faff putting it in the bag for a set of stairs.

That said, I'd take a sling rather than a buggy. I use my connecta a lot if we're in central London.

[PianoThirty]

We also have the Mothercare XSS Pockit. It does indeed fold down to a tiny size, and it's very light; but I can't recommend it.

My main gripe is that the seat doesn't recline; so baby can't sleep in it. The handlebars are too low for me; and both DP and I keep tripping over the wheels. The sunshade flap is completely useless. It folds down to a rectangular shape, making it more awkward to carry than an umbrella-fold buggy.

The XSS's one gimmick is that it folds down to fit inside an airplane overhead compartment. But on the return leg of a recent BA flight, they made us put it in the hold anyway (despite our protestations that it had been fine on the outbound journey). Upon landing we discovered that we were perfectly fine carrying the baby off the plane and onto the airbridge where our buggy was waiting for us. (Honestly, the number of things that we worried about before going on holiday that we needn't have worried about!) Also, taking the buggy on-board means sacrificing your cabin baggage allowance.

If I had my choice again, I'd buy an umbrella-fold reclining buggy with a decent hood like the UPPAbaby G-LUXE. It's not much dearer than the Mothercare XSS Pockit and it's a far better class of buggy. Small enough to not annoy other passengers on the tube, but big enough for kids up to 8 years old. And I'd leave it at the door of the plane.

[Skiptonlass]

Recaro easylife?