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Original poster

Which Pram?

30 replies

MrsBee19 · 30/06/2011 17:29

This seems to be my biggest dilema!!
I think we are going to go for a "travel system" but have no idea which one. I also drive a 1 year old Ford Focus and have heard that not all cars seats fit well in them.

Does anyone have any good suggestions of how to start narowing down the list?

Thanks Mrs Bee

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EsmeWeatherwax · 30/06/2011 17:39

If you're set on a travel system, then sort out your car seat first and then go from there. Some car seats fix on several different systems, so you could still have some choice. Then ask yourself what you will be mostly doing with the pram, city/town walking, countryside/off road walking, also, can you fit it in your boot, or in your house?

rooks14 · 30/06/2011 18:07

why do you want a travel system? am i right in thinking they're the ones whos car seat you clip on to the pram section?

I think they look so heavy and uncomfy for baby! I've got a mammas and papas glide, (or sola, it's the same one!) and you can attach the car seat to the frame without all the extra seat stuff which makes it light and not all stuffy for baby to sit in!

nannyl · 30/06/2011 18:27

make sure you check that you dont have floor storage compartments.

because if you do then you cant use any group 0 car seat base (that i have found) because the foot pole thing only works on a solid floor.
(and that includes ISOFIX points which can be stupidly places there is a floor compartment)

I have had this issue. Its very very annoying but important to consider!

thisisyesterday · 30/06/2011 18:32

if you definitely want a travel system then the first thing to do is find a car seat that fits well in your car.

from there, find the pushchairs that are compatible with said seat and see which of them will fit in your boot.

if you have more than one then i would go on criteria such as:
weight
parent-facing
easy to collapse/put up
seat size
does it look nice

nannyl · 30/06/2011 18:45

I think (and might be told wrong) that maxi cosi car seats are tested in ford focus's, so perhaps check them out, as if i remember correctly its highly likely the will fit.

You can check britax and maxi cosi fit online by googling fit finder etc.

Akandra · 30/06/2011 19:12

You don't have to use the base with the car seats. We have a maxi cosi and it fits with the seatbelt alone. The car seat expert who came to our new mums group assured us this was just as safe. Some seatbelts are too short so go to a shop like kiddicare or mothercare or John Lewis and have them test it. You can always buy elsewhere.

I have the Mamas & Papas Rubix and I love it. I brought the adaptors and a maxi cosi seat separately. It is not as heavy as most travel systems despite it's size (I get comments from people who help me' lift it). I am very happy and it fits in the boot of our ford fiesta (not with the cot part admittedly). The cot top doubles as a Moses basket which saved us money and space.

Think about how you will use it and what features you want, then make a short list and go look at and test them in your car. Then wait for an offer and save cash. I wanted a large shopping basket and front and rear facing, plus some suspension for cobbled streets. I waited and saved £80 on the price on an offer a month or so after we chose.

tinker316 · 30/06/2011 19:13

Britax b smart is amazing-I have the 3 wheeled version.

kri5ty · 01/07/2011 09:33

we are thinking of getting the hauck condor 11 travel system.

It is quite small which is importnant for me, as my friends wont fit in my boot... and i have a 5 door new clio and its pretty big!

Its about 230 for everything including car seat, basket, footmuff etc which i think is pretty cheap, yet every review i have read about it says how fantastic it is

I have to admit i am not to clued up on car seats, but im hoping it will fit!

babyonbord · 01/07/2011 09:39

my ex had a focus and they don't have isofix which meant i had to pay 100 quid for a car seat base to fit the primo viaggio from mamas and papas, i have had the luna buggy for both my babies i had the lime green with my first and have bought the stone colour for my second, they fold quite flat and are easy to set up and take down also easy to steer one handed which with an active two year old is fairly handy

babyonbord · 01/07/2011 09:44

plus you can a changing bag and carrycot to match although i didn't bother with the carrycot this time round. i bought one last time and used it once as you can't strap baby into them and if your pram gets knocked over baby is not secure. The luna has a lie flat option anyway so it's not really essential just takes up much needed space in the boot which with 2 children and 2 dogs is space we need lol.

KaraJS · 01/07/2011 10:01

We have the britax b smart 3 wheeler ,it's great

thisisyesterday · 01/07/2011 10:37

all cars from 2006 onwards have to have isofix

you don't need a base .it makes it easier because you can just clip the seat in and out, but i don't think there are any seats that you can't just use the seatbelt round (aside from isofix only ones of course)

Badgerwife · 01/07/2011 11:48

I've also got the britax b smart 4 wheeler. It easily fits in our Honda Civic. Baby not born yet so I don't know how good it is exactly, but the sales person in the shop showed me how to dismantle it and I could do it straight away, plus very light, plus easily accessible shopping bag underneath really sold it to me.

As far as I'm concerned, they are all pretty much the same thing and it comes down to personal preference; all the reviews have both terrible and fantastic comments if you're looking at middle of the range.

What I would recommend is, go to a couple of shops (Mothercare, independent, whatever) and have them talk you through a few. I found it very helpful to SEE how they worked, drive them round the shop etc...

Second hand from eBay as well but get the car seat new!

babyonbord · 01/07/2011 11:58

my exs car was bought brand new in 2007 and didnt have isofix

nannyl · 01/07/2011 12:52

my car is 2007!

Yes it has isofix... it also has floor storage compartments so you cant actually use them with most isofix seats

babyonbord · 01/07/2011 13:00

god i hope ours doesn't have floor storage compartments, my dh won't be happy he bought a new picasso specially for baby was not happy he had to sell his honda civic.

nicolamumof3 · 01/07/2011 13:08

just a point to make babies are best of laid flat for journeys of more than an hour, so you can't rely on clipping carseat onto frame all the time, its not good for their breather or backs to be in a carseat for a long time.

Think travel systems good for quick trips in/out of car if you do that alot. Otherwise you can't beat a carrycot imo for littlies.

I have the bug bee plus for my baby due in a couple weeks, I had hoped to get a carrycot for micralite but doesn't seem to be happening as new model is now delayed. It is light and compact you can clip maxi cosi carseat on if need be. We haven't got carseat base our car is non isofix and didn't see point in base tbh, as has been said earlier as long as correctly strapped it is just as safe without. Will probably only be in car once or twice a week as I don't drive anyway.

nannyl · 01/07/2011 13:25

mine is a picasso (also bought especially for baby) and they are there in mine [grrr]
have a look under your carpets and find out.

I share your frustration (assuming you have them too)

If you LOOK at the crash tests on which you will see that most seats are sadly NOT as safe without a base. Though the graco seat is safer without the base!
Generally without the bases the seats move more.

I have the britax babysafe II SHR. This seat is the safest seat when in its base. It also scores really well when only strapped in (but not as good as when on a base), better than many other seats with bases

thisisyesterday · 01/07/2011 14:01

ahh hang on, i have just re-read and all new car models have to, by law, have isofix.

but only new models, which i suppose the focus isn't! crafty!

i had read it initially as all new cars from 2006.. apologies

sadly am pretty sure the picasso does have floor compartments. it's ridiculous really. they sell them as family cars and yet you can't fit a huge amount of the safest seats in them. mind boggles.

thisisyesterday · 01/07/2011 14:03

and yes, i have read fantastic things about the britax babysafe. it also, on a non-safety point, has a higher back than the maxi cosi seats (which i would guess are its main rival), which means baby should be able to stay in the seat longer

babyonbord · 01/07/2011 20:24

oooo we have the briatx as well, yeah we checked when my dh got home (he has yet to fit the carseat) and we have floor compartments which are quite cool but not so great with the car seat lol

babyonbord · 01/07/2011 20:28

the problem we had with the focus were that the seat belts weren't long enough either to hold the car seat with a base, the picasso is great in terms of space and getting my older son in and out of although my dh was slightly annoyed when he ripped off the cup holder tray attached to the back of my seat whoops he is such a monkey.

cowboylover · 01/07/2011 22:07

I have got the Norton Storm with the car seat and it fits really well in the back of my 3 door Focus and thats with the seatbelt.

I went to Mothercare and the Maxicosi Pearl (I think) fitted in there well also.

kalo12 · 01/07/2011 22:12

I originally wanted a travel system (although it wasn't my only consideration) I can honestly say that the travel system bit was well overrated. didn't use it once, infact easier to get baby out and into pram than use travel system.

what was the best thing was a pram that baby falls asleep in and you can get alot of shopping in the bottom.

Mountain buggy swift would be my pram of choice these days, which does infact fit a maxi cosi or britax travel system.

I think a carry cot is a must for winter babies too.

All my friends were so envious because mountain buggies are total sleep inducers and very easy to push!!!!

Eviepoo · 01/07/2011 22:22

Due to the guidelines on now having baby in carseats for too long, I decided not to bother with a travel system. Also when I read that long babies can grow out of these infant seats quickly, that also put me off (I did not drive 11.5 years ago when I had DD so never had to look at carseats before). DD was very long born tho

In the end we've gone with the britax 0 + 1 seat that will stay in the car, if I'll be driving, my journeys are likely to be minimum 20 minutes so I'll be wanting to take baby out of seat anyway. And my idea is that if I'm going to spend a lot of money on something that I want to Be super safe I may as well get the best I can afford but will last me longer.

That way I could get a baby jogger city mini which I've heard from any people is amazing. Although you can also get maxi cosi adapters for this push chair too.

So anyway that's a long winded way of my saying be careful of how long your car journeys are and how long baby will be in the seat in between. Also consider your cost options re seats that will last you 9 months (if that for some babies).

Otherwise go play with them at shops/baby shows you'll get a feel for the one you like

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