To wonder if an expensive travel system is worth it?

[overprepper]

I can’t believe the cost of some, nearly £2000…!

My friend who had a baby 6 months ago has already ditched her travel system and bought another.

Is it really necessary to get a bulky & pricy all in one when they use it for such little time? Surely a better investment if you’re going to spend a lot is on a compact one that they will be in for longer, ie the yoyo or another cabin friendly one that can be used for travelling and every day, in and out the shops etc

We dont exactly need to make this choice immediately but just saving and budgeting for expensive items as we are about to start ttc. We both drive, live somewhere suburby and about a 10-15 min drive from the nearest town. Public transport isn’t great. We like going for a couple of big walks a week but if there’s no path/even surface then I’d imagine it would be easier to use a carrier for those situations

Did you get much use from yours?

It's really not. We had one. When DD started nursery we bought a cheap umbrella fold we could throw in the storage box at nursery. From that day on we didn't use the expensive one again. The cheap folding one was so much lighter and more convenient.

Depends.
ours weren’t £2000, but we do have 2 prams. We have a yo-yo for travel, we love it. But it’s useless we’re we live as off road so have a larger three wheel for day to day. It’s been used daily over 3 years

For me it wasn't worth it. I got a brilliant buggy from mother care that could be a pram or buggy and both forward and rear facing for £200. It folded easy and fit in the back of my car. Got a separate car seat suitable up to stage 3 for £80 which I used for my second. I then swapped it for a secondhand bugaboo bee once my youngest was past the pram. There's a lot to be said for the pram but the ease of getting around people and obstacles and in and out of the house plus the space it took up inside was negligible so if I had another I would get something cheap and easy to maneuver. Even my first buggy was significantly easier than some of the expensive travel systems I looked at so really do try and play with some before you buy. Think about ease of use for you whatever that may look like.

I had an uppababy vista.
Used it as a carrycot as the base has airholes so safe to sleeping overnight. As we caravan it was a bonus for us. The bassinet is also bigger than most so DC we're in it until around 5/6 months.

I did use a sling if popping to the shops or would put the baby seat in a trolley more than using the base as a travel system. I think I was paranoid about the length of time they were in the car seat.

Loved that it front and rear faced and was so easy to "drive". My friend had her DC at the same time and bought a Chicco system and hated it as it was so clunky and like a 3 wheeled shopping cart to push. We used to swap when we went for walks to stop her taking her DC out and throwing it in the road. By her next pregnancy that was binned and replaced by my uppababy.

It's now 10 years old and has had 8DC in it, with new car seats for each and new mattresses.

So I'd go for a great 2nd hand system rather than a cheaper new one.

Definitely not. I only ever had a maclaren techno

We had an icandy peach. It was bulky, took up the whole boot of the car, DD hated being loose in the bassinet, the wheels were massive but weren’t proper tires so it was crap off road, the seat was weirdly small so at 18 months she was really cramped. Monumental waste of money.

Also had a YoYo which was fantastic. So compact, great for public transport, narrow shops, plane travel. As tiny babies they were so much more snug securely strapped into the newborn pack rather than loose in a bassinet getting bumped around. We’ve had it in continuous use for 6 years now and it’s still going strong. Yes the basket is small but we buy 99% of stuff online so who cares.

My youngest DS3 is now 22, but my experience is still the same
For my first I bought a top of the range silver cross wayfarer travel system with carrycot car seat and pushchair, which was really heavy and actually put me off going out with him, so at 4 months I moved on to a Maclaren lie back buggy which was brilliant
DS3 I had a really cheap but brilliant lie flat Graco for £70 with a huge basket then the Maclaren
Separate car seat as I didn't use the one on the silver cross
Don't spend 2k, do buy second hand( new car seat)
You can then buy a second stroller

We used a bugaboo bee, separate car seat, or sling when out. Always took our bee on holiday until he was 1 and luggage got left behind, then when it arrived it was jammed shut. After that we bought a light holiday buggy gb pockit which was fantastic. Both had really amazing wheels. Now 7 years later we’re having number 2, dragonfly doesn’t look as robust as the bee but looking at the fox as it’s sturdy and know we’ll buy a travel pram at 6 months. Probably won’t buy the yoyo as the wheels look rickety and don’t seem to cope well.

Had the all singing all dancing pram for 1st child but soon resorted to umbrella buggy . Number 2and 3 straight into lie flat buggy with cosytoes for number 3 because born in January.
. I would save the money for very decent car seat instead.

Travel systems are a con. I only used slings and a cheap buggy (and a car seat), but mostly my babies were in slings. I cannot believe it when I see what parents parade their kids around in.

I have the bugaboo fox and the butterfly. The butterfly is great for certain situations and the fox great for others. I wouldn’t have wanted just one of the two as there are situations when one is better than the other (the butterfly for travel and the fox for muddy walks). We could have gone for something half way in between the two big then we would have been always compromising and anything bigger than the butterfly wouldn’t have been good for travel.

I think it depends what you are using them for in terms of what you need. I liked having the carrycot that could also be used for daytime sleeps and the ability to attach the car seat and used that a lot.

We have a cosatto woosh 2 (ex display too) and a car seat separately and never regretted it for a second. I never had issues with folding or lifting the pushchair/pram or fitting it in boots like other mums I know. I’m disabled so travel systems weren’t an option due to the weight but even some fit and healthy mums had retired theirs before the first birthday as it was just impractical. Also, I personally find the set ups where the car seats clip onto the pram wheels silly. We just got baby out of her car seat and put her in her buggy. Even with my mobility issues I can still do that in a regular width bay. Having said that I’m sure some people swear by them! It does depend on lifestyle as some people will need something to go more off-road or load up with bags etc but for what we needed our set up was and still is perfect.

Depends what you do with it. I walk everywhere including to the shops, and my Vista is perfect (I can get a weekly shop underneath it). I’ve never had a problem on London busses with it.

It wouldn’t be so great if I needed to put it in a car, or regularly use tube stations with stairs.

I think there's a big status element for some parents.

Uppababy Vista still being used, DC are 5 and 3. Bought for the first, never put away (but it was shit as a double, we had a separate double). Can take the 3yo, changing bag, towel for swings, two helmets, two scooters and god knows what else.

An absolute workhorse, definitely our best baby buy and possibly the best product I've had.

However, it's still in great nick (if filthy!) so second hand would be absolutely fine.

Really interesting & helpful mix of answers so far!

Yes we’d definitely get a new car seat and research which make is safest.

Nah, you don't need a whole travel system. We got an ex-display Uppababy Vista, which was worth it to us as I walk miles and miles with it. I've just got my almost 3yo out of it as I'm due to have my second any day now.

We got a Joie 360 car seat, which goes from newborn to four. It's great. I'd highly recommend both.

These two items combined still set us back 1k. If you aren't a big walker then you could probably get away with a cheaper or second hand buggy.

I never knew they were seen as a status thing. The more expensive prams seem to be everywhere to be honest.

I used a lightweight buggy and carrier from birth. Never had a travel system. We live in London and are car-free, so we didn't need a car seat and the bulky prams just stop you from being able to access the tube, lifts and buses at busy times. They are looked down on around here as they use up the whole of the buggy space on a bus and in lifts, and the big tyres are like driving a 4x4 around central London, total overkill for city centre use.

It’s funny how things are so different! Where we are isn’t that well connected so most people drive and have a huge travel system, which they usually use day to day. There’s lots of retail parks & town centres though dotted about and I can’t imagine it’s easy to push anything but something lightweight around!

I think it’s great as a double! A bit of a workout to steer if DS1 is in the rumble seat over the front wheels, but on days where for whatever reason we don’t use the rumble seat he just curls up in the basket 😂 we’ve also got the buggy board so we’ll be using it as a triple when DS3 gets here in a few months!

You're stronger than me. We struggled to get it round corners, steered like a bus. But as a single it turns on a dime.

I think a lot depends on whether you are a drive everywhere sort of family or a mostly walk family. Huge pushchairs/prams often take up an entire boot - but can also be enormous in your hallway if you store it there because you walk a lot (so either way the big ones can be a pain)
Also in the first weeks a pram/pushchair that can be forward facing and with a lie flat facility is what you want - but from 12 months on a lighter buggy is much more what you want. And if you end up with two close in age you'll want a double buggy........... so its not really one purchase but possibly several.

It depends what you do with it and you don't have to spend £2000 on it unless you want one of the expensive brands. We have a Joie one with a compatible pram, car seat and carrycot for less than £400. The carrycot got some use but not loads as they grow out of it quickly and it depends if you have a baby who is happy to go into it! I found it useful to be able to put the car seat on the pram for the first year or so if going to the shops (if baby falls asleep in the car or at the shops you don't need to transfer and risk waking them!), but you do have to be careful not to leave them in the car seat for too long anyway (no longer than 2 hours and less if they are young). We still use the pram (DS is 3 and a half) as it copes better with uneven footpaths, kerbs, fields etc but we did get a travel pram as well about a year ago (we were going to London and wanted something we could take on the tube easily.)