Can anyone help me decide what pram to go for?

[PickupperPenguin]

Hi everyone, would really appreciate any pram-related advice and wisdom you can offer. We’re expecting DC1 in November and know we need to crack on and think about prams etc., but have no idea where to start!

I’m being followed around social media by Cosatto adverts which look good (all-terrain capability, single-hand control), but apparently they’re not the sturdiest of prams?

Based on a few reviews I’ve read so far, the Bugaboo Fox looks like a good bet, and I’ve found a few reasonably priced second-hand ones online. Would anyone recommend this one?

Our requirements at the moment (being first-timers and knowing nothing whatsoever about prams or indeed anything else!) are:

• Comfortable to push on any terrain - pavements, gravel, woodland trails, stony paths etc, as we’re pretty rural and out and about with the dog a lot.
• Convertible between the bassinet-style seat for brand new babies and a more upright one for once s/he’s older.
• Sturdy and durable!
• Fits in a small car boot - I’ll still be driving my Toyota Aygo when DC is born until budget allows for a bigger, more child-and-assorted-paraphernalia-friendly car. You can get quite a lot in the boot for the size of the car, but obviously it’s not the biggest.
• Can be steered with one hand, or alongside steering the dog.
• Can be found at a reasonable price second-hand (up to £500? I’ve seen older Bugaboo Foxes for ~£200 which seems promising!)

We’d eventually also like to take DC running, but it looks as though we should get a separate running buggy after 6 months - is that the case? Or is there one Holy Buggy which would do it all?

If anyone’s able to offer any advice or insights, even just a starting point for some different models to look at, we’d be so grateful! Thank you 😊

You are looking for a lot tbh so willikely struggle
All terrain... but compact!
High quality...but cheap!

You might be better off with a doona 0-6m (you can resell even if you buy 2nd hand and they hold value) then something like Baby jogger for 6m +?

I personally love le clerc yoyo and dont mind a bugaboo butterfly

I absolutely loved our Ickle Bubba Moon as it was light and easy to fold. I had to use Uber a lot with it and it was so easy to fit in the back booth.

Thank you both! You’re right, @TemuSpecialBuy, it’s a bit of a contradictory list of requirements, isn’t it…? We’ve not done this before and have no idea where to start or what’s reasonable, so thank you! @Olika thank you for the recommendation! I’ll look at all of these 😊

Icandy. Ours has no issue with forest floors, sand, gravel, can be used one handed and goes from bassinet to pushchair. Spacious underneath. The only issue is that you have to take the seat off (which is easy) and it folds flat so you'd have to see if it would fit in the boot. One that would fold like an umbrella would be easier but I've had a mountain buggy, ickle bubba and baby jogger and none were able to be used one handed or go over all terrain

We had/have a Cyber Priam. Fab pram, large bassinet which is high up, the seat for later lies completely flat too which was important to me. Handles city life well and a decent basket underneath.

As most similar prams (tested a few when with friends), not amazing for woodland trails and very uneven paths. Always had the feeling that the little one was getting bumped around!

So maybe a few tips from me based on what I'd look for if I were to buy another.

Air filled wheels/tyres (?)
Three wheeler with the front wheel being large.
Lie flat

I would probably look at Thule or the new Cybex three wheeler. Zero idea if they'd fit in your boot tho!

We have a Fox 3 which is still going strong for our 2.5 year old DS and will be used for DD due in November. It’s really comfy to push, light and great on bumpy pavements, forest floor etc. It has a function where you can flip up two wheels and drag it behind with child in it for the beach. I’d definitely recommend it.

We have the hauck runner which isn't massive folded but doesn't fit in my fiesta boot so I just fold half the back seat down. We never bothered with a pram, just put her straight in a lie flat pushchair, (joie mirus as handle swaps direction) you can get universal fabric basket things for them but we didnt bother with one.

We absolutely loved our Fox2! But it didn't fit in my Peugeot 208 boot without popping the wheel off, which was a compromise I was happy with as I adored the pram!

I love my bugaboo fox. I also have the butterfly which I got once he was 10 months and we were going on holiday.
to be honest, I think you need the two to get the best of both worlds

We had the egg2 which was super comfy and good on all terrains, VERY sturdy and durable but heavy in return. I don't think any sturdy first pram will be easy to steer one handed or with a dog but once you get to 6 months or so you could have a more lightweight stroller which would be easier to manoeuvre... but these are obviously less comfy and sturdy.

The fox can be steered one handed

I have uppababy and very happy with it. Although it's not the smallest.

But if you want all terrain, sturdy etc then you probably have to compromise somewhere.

My sister has cybex Priam and really likes it, but it is also heavier and not as easy to stir as uppababy.

If you have a baby store near you, I would recommend going in and testing a few.

We also tried Nuna mexx and liked that one too! We didn't go for it as it is not possible to add a second seat in (we are planning a second child so needed something that can be used as double stroller).

I'd suggest a Mountain Buggy Swift - with carrycot for newborn. Absolutely the best for all terrain walking and you can run with them if you lock the front wheel.
We bought ours secondhand - cheap as chips and a real workhorse.

I’d always go for Bugaboo. I’ve owned pretty much all the models they’ve made over the years - had a Cameleon with my first, a Donkey when I had two tiny ones and a Buffalo with my third. My absolute favourite was the Buffalo but they don’t make them anymore and haven’t for a while, so anything second hand is getting on a bit.
I’ve got a Fox 3 for this baby but I’m not due for a few months so haven’t tried it out yet. My sister has the original Fox and has been pleased with it (as have I when I’ve had a push).

If you're looking at 2nd hand Bugaboos, join one of the Facebook groups... They really help with getting a good idea for how much they should cost so you don't end up paying over the odds.

I think you're making a good call looking at a good brand 2nd hand for your budget... When it comes to things like a one-handed push, ease of turning, that's where often you notice the benefit of the more premium brands (my well recommended but cheap super compact is more tiring to push than my friends Uppababy despite being a fraction of the cost for instance).

I have a cheap super compact and it's more tiring to push than my bugaboo despite weighing half as much.

Your compact requirements will make the all terrain bit really hard! You need big wheels for all terrain. We have an uppa baby vista which is so good off road, but it’s big, I have to take the wheels off the base to get it in my Volkswagen polo.

We have a mountain buggy swift. It does pretty much everything you've mentioned. The newest version is more compact than the older ones though - and if you are tall I would recommend the most recent update as it has a slightly higher handlebar than the one we have. As a PP said, you can run with it - it's not really designed for that, but I've done it and it's fine (a proper running buggy would have bigger wheels so would be easier to push, but wouldn't fit in a small car). If you're not bothered about parent-facing seats, you can buy a cocoon quite cheaply instead of the carrycot+ and it just clips in and out without having to remove the main seat fabric. You can fit it into the boot of a tiny hatchback. The only disadvantage is the shopping basket underneath is quite small, but you'll have that with any compact pram.

Honestly I can't recommend this buggy enough - we got it as a lightweight travel buggy for our toddler, but ended up using it all the time for our new baby as it's so much better than the pram we had before. We bought ours for £300 second-hand, but they're not mega expensive new, especially if you get the cocoon instead of the more expensive carrycot. And you don't even need that to be honest as the main sling seat can recline completely flat for use from birth.