Pram advice...Silver Cross Surf vs Stokke?

[Clarina]

Hi! I had set my heart on a chilli red Silver Cross Surf - I know that there are some negatives, basket size etc but I also know that they are launching a 2013 version in 'spring' with a bigger basket & other improvements. However when we went to have a good look at pram & maxi cosi car seat the sales assistant highlighted all the negatives re the surf and sung the praises of a Stokke! So now my husband, whilst he says it is my choice, thinks it's a silly idea to get a Surf. I hate the look of a Stokke though! Anyone own either? Any advice? Thank you!

at about a grand all told no wonder they were pushing a Stokke at you!

Yes! The price of any 'extras' was frightening!

I haven't bought a pram yet so I can't help you on either, but have you considered subscribing to Which? I am currently pram shopping and have signed up to a one month trial membership for £1 just to read their very thorough pram reviews. They've also got reviews of loads of other baby stuff.
According to Which? The Silver Cross Surf scores 70% whereas the Stokke scores 56%.

Hi

I really wanted a Stokke but when I tested one I found it very plastic feeling with no suspension and just to much money for what it was.

My main reason for liking them was the baby being high up - we ended up buying a Mutsy - significantly cheaper and brilliant! Its pretty much the same height as the Stokke and the suspension is amazing. The carry-cot is also suitable for use overnight and our little girl has slept in it since she was born. I use it most days and have clocked up some serious milage.

Not looked at the Silver Cross Surf sorry!

Yes, thank you, I have joined Which? Having read all the reviews re car seats I had decided on a Maxi Cosi Cabriofix then the sales assistant thought the Pebble was better! The Cabriofix gets a better rating on Which though. Decisions, decisions! Good luck with your pram shopping!

I had the Surf in red for dd3 and LOVED it! Actually cried when she outgrew it and I had to sell it on. Got £200 for it too and it was well used.

I used to get lots of compliments too. Lovely looking pram and even the minute shopping basket didn't spoil it. I got mine before they brought out the extra middle basket was just the tiny basket at the front

Thank you GingerDoodle. I will take a look at a Mutsy. I had read that the Stokke is great for Norwegian pavements but not so good for ours! Congrats on the birth of your daughter.

Thank you mum23girlys - just what I wanted to hear!

GingerDoodle - I am looking on the Mutsy website & like the look of them. Which one did you get? An evo, 4rider or transporter? THANK YOU!

I think the sales assistant was trying to make more money on the car seat as well
I actually asked in the shop we went to what the difference was between the cabriofix and the pebble and got the answer "essentially nothing, the pebble is newer and comes in more colours"

We have a Mutsy 4Rider in Team Purple colour, leather handel and single spoke wheels. Comes with the carry cot and seat unit for use from 6 months.
The adjustable handel means its good for 4ft 11 me and our 6ft friend!

We also got the Maxi Cosi Carbiofix (in Grape which more or less matches the colour) with adapters for the pram.

Cost wise it came to around £700 from BabyBirds (online) (we tried it at the Baby Shop in St Albans but they have problems getting one in for us).

Scissy - thank you - we did joke that she was on commission ! It was Mothercare though so I doubt it. She said the Pebble has better head support, side impact protection & the straps are easier to adjust. She forgot to mention that it is £70 more! Haven't made a final decision yet, waiting to see what we decide on the pram...

O and everyone loves it - even commuters are lulled into admiration lol. Can you tell I love my pram?

We have a stokke and I LOVE it! Always have. And my DD has loved it too. She is really high up so away from the pavement and car fumes and really upright so has great views and can see everything. Yes the suspension isn't great so you need to figure out whether that is important to you. Living in central London this made no difference to us whatsoever. It doesn't fold as flat as some prams do but still gets in the boot of our car easily and is so light to push and steer that my mum who has very bad arthritis has no problem with it whatsoever. 2 years on I still get comments on it every time I take it out. I would highly recommend!

Thank you GingerDoodle & sw11mumofone x

Oh and also, all of DD's friends always want to climb in and sit in it and have a go. I spend ages pushing them all round the park so they can all have a turn!!!

We also have the surf in Chilli. I LOVE it. Yes the basket is a bit pants but I don't use it for my weekly shop, just the odd loaf of bread. Clips that go on the buggy handle are better anyway.
DS was really snugly in the newborn nest & I also like that it has 3 recline positions which some pushchairs don't. Useful for when they're not quite ready to be fully upright but want to watch the world go by.
We bought the silvercross ventura car seat which clips straight onto the chassis. Really useful when they're asleep & you just want to pop into a shop.
Don't buy a pushchair that you don't love. You will use it day after day, probably for the next few years & don't want to be replacing it when you decide you don't like it after all.

We have the Stokke and love it! Agree with you it's not super cheap but is higher up than almost every other pram we tried,pplus although someone up-thread disagreed I think it feels a lot more robust than most others. We bought the footmuff as we have a winter baby and it's been worth every penny - he's super snuggly and really close to us/out of exhaust and dogs' ways. Honestly would recommend the Stokke to anyone, aside from my personal totally subjective view that it's one of the best looking out there.

Agree with others re pebble vs cabriofix too - when we were in John Lewis the assistant said she thought the cabriofix is better anyway, as well as being cheaper.

Agree with utopian I have the stokke and love it. Loads of compliments, it is lovely. And agree about the foot muff, worth every penny!

Stokke - wasn't so popular in 2010 and that's what I loved! Now they are everywhere which I think is good as hopefully the high demand may knock the price down as quite costly!!! The fact that I have am older model and they have brought out another nice looking buggy has upset me a bit but as we moved since I will def use this buggy more the carry cot part never got used before!
Good luck and test drive them before decided as its a personal choice as your pushing it mostly right!!!!

Another vote for the stokke and it's foot muff. I use the pram everyday and walk for miles, I love it

I have a stokke and love it, and unlike all my friends who had babies at the same time as me I'm still using the same pram I had from birth - my friends have all ended up buying mclarens etc but the stokke still fits my 2 year old well. The biggest downer is it's huge - takes up loads of room in the boot, and you have to check carefully that it will fit in your car. But to use it's fab, I've no regrets.

I got the surf in chilli for DS who is 14 month now. It's done us proud, with many, many miles walked. Yes, the basket is a bit small, but we always managed, and you says they're addressing that in the updated model. There's absolutely nothing else on it I could criticise. It fit easily in the car (vw golf) and was a piece of cake to assemble or use with maxi cosi. I reckon we'll be using it for a good while yet.

Oh, we got the red cabriofix too, it was recommended ahead of the silver cross carseat, and the pebble.