To ask about travel systems vs compact stroller…

I have the bugaboo fox and love it but also got a butterfly for holidays and keeping in the car and equally love that. Feel like you need both really (if I only could have one probably would say the butterfly but there are some things I wouldn’t want to use it for like going round the lake/parks with rougher ground).
for child 2 I also got the Joolz aer to take on holiday when they were under 6 months and equally love it - very difficult to choose between that and butterfly.

I must be in the minority then. I love my Bugaboo fox. My baby is nearly 4 months and still in the carrycot and probably will be until around 6 months. I use it every day, multiple times a day. He sleeps great in the carrycot and it's approved for overnight sleeping. I couldn't take him in the carrier everywhere that would be impractical for me. All my friends who have babies also have prams with carrycots and use them daily so it's surprising everyone here says they don't use them. Everywhere I go I see prams with carrycots, only much bigger babies are in the buggy type prams.

This! No-one needs a ‘system’ it’s just more clutter!

Bought a Bugaboo bee 2nd hand for £200 and it was the best money we ever spent. Both kids used it well into toddler hood til almost 4 - it was light, easy to manoeuvre with one hand, folded up quickly. Had room underneath for bags or shopping. The car seat we had for when they were babies fit it easily.
we walked everywhere usually, sometimes used the car, and travelled a lot abroad with both kids. They could sleep in it anywhere.
We never used a ‘cot’ but of a pram as Bugaboo laid almost flat anyway.

thank you
anyone tried leclerc influencer?
or joolz aer plus?!

Everyone I know who bought the carrycot all say they never really used it.
My kids are older but we bought the britax 3 wheeler which we used as a travel system too. Suitable from birth, easy to open and close whilst carrying baby and the wheels detached so it fit in my vauxhall astra boot really easily with space leftover for other things.
The basket was tiny but it had two large zip up pockets attached which easily fit everything I needed for baby and toddler.

thank you everyone. So the chiltern reference is to my previous lcation! but we now live in a city

We have this. We live in London and don't own a car, so mostly needed something that would work on and off buses. I preferred it to the yoyo which felt too small and low. The dragonfly has a height-adjustable handle and the basket is fine if not enormous.

The joie I snug 2 and maxicosi cabriofix car seats both work with the pram chassis using the bugaboo adaptors.

If your username is a nod to where you live, I’d still advise a slightly bigger buggy. Our footpaths are universally awful! Something like a Nuna Triv, Bugaboo Dragonfly or Joie Versatrax is a bit more substantial than a Joolz Aer, and gives you a parent facing option.

You can buy universal adapters for most buggies that let you fit Maxi Cosi and Cybex infant seats (amongst others).

You can use the Joolz Aer from birth though if you purchase the optional carrycot.

With a travel system you will probably want to get a bugaboo bitterly (or equivalent) aswell

You don't need a travel system. I didn't buy one. Preferred to choose a car seat with good safety in a crash over one he that fits the travel system. You need a pushchair or pram where baby can lay flat for a few months though. Easy to pick up second hand like new. Save the £1000 for other things.

I have the joolz aer and you can use from birth. I only got mine from around 4 months. I guess, from birth, I wouldn't have used it for long journeys. The material of the seat (as with all buggies) is quite abrasive and so id want a sheepskin liner or something. The baby is facing away and there's straps and so it depends how comfortable you are with this at birth (I would have been so worried with my 1st, but 2nd/3rd I faced away quite young). I do have another buggy as I walk a lot every day and so like the baby facing me for eye contact/ speech development. But if you're looking at a small, easily foldable buggy that can be used from birth, you can't go wrong with the joolz aer plus amazing! I haven't tried the leclerc but it definitely bears yoyo hands down (easier fold etc)

hi everyone, anyone got any opinions on leclerc vs joolz aer plus? and also whether either or both i can use from birth as my primary only buggy? we dont really go on muddy fields or anything mainly paths / supermarket. but i live far from anything in walking distance so really want to find an option that isnt too heavy.

Can I just check, did you get the bugaboo bee or butterfly? Butterfly isn't suitable from newborn I don't think, good for aeroplanes, but did you try it? It's quite flimsy compared to joolz aer/ yoyo. You will probably need something else for under 6 months I think unless you use car seat/ sling until then which is possible. If its bugaboo bee, this is heavier etc, but suitable from newborn.

It always seems like people are warned off buying these things 2nd hand (or is that just car seats?)

I would add, we went with a 3-in-1 style big pram system: wheeled frame; bassinet attachment; lie-flat/situp attachment, and baby car-seat attachment (isofix) - this was in a deal from Cosatto, about £600quid
Once baby got big enough, we switched to a swivel base 0-4years car-seat (isofix).

Also bought a compact stroller from John Lewis, about £100

The big pram is for long walks and rougher ground etc, compact stroller for short runs etc.

I never used my travel system for my baby. She had a fixed in isofix car seat and we got the silver cross clic. It's well priced. Easy to store and manoeuvre. Compact. Easy to open and shut.

If you are going to do lots of popping to places as you say, in your car, then you definitely want to make sure you can attach the infant carrier car seat, regardless of whether it's a travel system or compact. Most do, some don't.

I know pp have given some really good suggestions for non-travel system prams which are good from birth, but I would absolutely get a second hand travel system.

IME it doesn't take very rough ground for the smaller strollers to start to struggle. Travel systems have no problem at all. (That country park you mentioned?)
If you have a bassinet approved for occasional overnight sleeping then you don't need to take a travel cot for the first six months if you go anywhere.
They also tend to have bigger baskets which are obviously useful. You can pack in a serious amount of stuff.

It's also worth having a think about your longer term plans. If you think you'll have a second, a travel system might allow you to convert to a double, or add a buggy board. We actually ended up buying a second hand Nipper Double, on top of the travel system we already had, but once DC1 grew out of it, we sold it (for more than we'd paid!) and got a buggy board. It's given the travel system a new lease of life and if forgotten how easy it is to push compared to strollers.

They are big, but you should find a retailer where you can try putting it onto your car boot. Much as they seem similar, they are all slightly different, and as part of looking at one, it's really worth seeing which fits best.

I have the icandy all terrain pram/travel system. DS is nearly 2.5 and I think we’ve used it almost every single day. It is bulky compared to a compact stroller (especially when you’re using the carrycot), but we walk the dog twice a day with it so it’s been an essential purchase!

the carrycot is also certified for safe sleep so DS slept in it overnight when we were away for the first few months.

being able to click the car seat onto it was great when he was older than newborn as if he fell asleep in the car I could just transfer him onto the pram and get on with the day without waking him!

Marketing them as lie-flat is quite misleading to be fair! I can see why people would think that.

Ah, I see.

They started appearing when we stopped using an infant car seat and I didn't look into them in any detail.

I think I'm in the minority but with both of mine I had an Uppababy Vista and had various stroller types. I always went back to the Uppababy because it was nicer to push, easier to steer, could load the basket without the pram tipping up and my kids always seemed comfier in it. I tried 4 different strollers with my first and I do have one for my second but I still use the Uppababy. A carry cot is very handy for the first few months.
I brought both of them secondhand though as they are expensive new! And I could never get one with baby slings, wraps or carriers.

I’ve been a nanny for nearly 15 years and I wouldn’t be without a proper pram, I think it’s much better for them to have more space and if you’re going to want to give naps on the go, a bigger more comfortable space is much better. I believe both the uppababy ans nuna bassinets are also certified safe for overnight sleeping so handy for staying over with friends and family.

My favourites are Uppababy Cruz and Nuna mixx next, but they are very expensive options. for the safest infant carrier you can’t go wrong with the Avionaut pixel pro 2.0. It offers the best fit, particularly for newborns. It’s the lightest on the market and the longest lasting due to the decent length shell. It fits Maxi Cosi adapters if you did need or want to pop it on a pram chassis.

I had both. The bulky travel system with the big wheels was great for walking everywhere and anywhere (small wheels can get stuck in gap of lifts, trains etc), hanging the shopping from it, the scooter, the buggy board when DC 2 came along. DC1 could not be carried in a carrier (due to a hip issue), and DC2 was so heavy very early on that it was back breaking.
the compact was great for the nursery run, popping anywhere in the car, going on holiday. But terrible for transporting much more than DC

I had a bugaboo bee from birth and had the newborn insert in the lie flat position. It’s compact and fits on the boot with space to spare. We never felt the need to buy a stroller as the bee is quite compact and easy to set up and push. I would really recommend it.