Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

PRAMS IN LONDON

30 replies

user1465146157 · 02/01/2017 12:07

Hi - I'm due in 3 weeks and still looking for a pram - wondered if you have any suggestions / recommendations?

I need something light and carry-able on the tube in London - sturdy though and suitable for a newborn to at least a year old? If that exists? Would be ideal to have parent facing, with some storage/basket space. Oh, and not something that's going to break the bank.......

It's a minefield, i didn't realise how many types of pram there were!

thanks in advance!

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Artandco · 02/01/2017 12:09

BAByzen yoyo is the easiest size wise for tubes. Just thrownbaby in sling, fold pram and carry like handbag down tube

Otherwise bugaboo bee is small and lasts parent facing until 3+

kmini · 02/01/2017 15:04

I found bus' were so much easier than tube. If it's an option I would always use a bus. Carrying baby plus seat/bassinet/maxi cosi plus nappy bag down tube stairs is impossible and taking the assembled pram down an escalator is harrowing too! I have a uppababy which are wide and heavy ( but brill in every other respect) - so would not recommend that if tube is the only option.

Also tubes feel grotty and potentially (perhaps wrong on this) more polluted. I was reluctant to bring DS to them till he was more older.

Blu · 02/01/2017 15:14

We had the McLaren Techno XT - light, manoeuvrable, easy fold, quality build, and I could pick it up as one and carry it down tube steps. Not parent-facing though.

People always helped carry it on the tube, even though I could manage myself.

Used a sling for the first 3 months though.

kmini · 02/01/2017 15:25

Second sling for travel. Absolutely essential. Agree people are also generally helpful.

It depends what your lifestyle is like. I wanted flexibility with my pram. It wanted hardy enough for lots of muddy Park walks, durable enough to last a couple of kids, strong enough not to be damaged on plane travel and lot of shopping room (I could put my weekly shop almost entirely in the bottom).

My standard London days out were about 3-4 hours. In that time, DS would have slept in pram and potentially sling and I would have taken all manner of kit with me (would have been even more if I had bottle fed). Just keep in mind storage is essential.

061678719x · 02/01/2017 15:28

Silver cross Wayfarer is fab. I imagine it would be good match for a city life.

Bear2014 · 02/01/2017 15:33

We have a bugaboo bee second hand for £200, DD is 3 and still uses it. We lived in zone 2 when she was born and went on the tube loads, no problem. Enough stations are step free that you can plan your journeys accordingly. If it comes to it, people are generally v helpful with steps.

There isn't loads of storage in the buggy but it's enough, and the compact size is worth it. It's also 2-way facing and DD still comfortably sleeps in it now.

Slings are great for London to a point but knackering to carry your nappy bag too, you can't then carry any shopping or put the baby anywhere if you go for lunch etc.

GreedyDuck · 02/01/2017 15:48

Bugaboo Bee every time. There's a reason why 90% of parents in my bit of North London have them.

Stupidly, I decided I wanted to be different and got an Uppababy Cruz. It was great in many ways, but not as light as the Bee (which is totally carryable up & down a few stairs in the tube with a baby in it up to about six months). If we have another I am treating myself to a Bee.

We gave in and got a Maclaren Quest after a year, whereas if we'd got a Bugaboo in the first place we'd still be using that.

Oh, and avoid anything with a stupidly wide wheelbase as it'll get stuck in bus aisles.

SaltedCaramelEverything · 02/01/2017 19:44

Where in London are you? The shop Huggle near Primrose Hill is fab - Ciara (not sure on spelling) in there was so helpful about saying which are best for the tube as she used to be a nanny. Worth popping in if you're not far.

EsmesBees · 02/01/2017 19:47

I've found people are really helpful so you'll often get volunteers to help you lift up and down stairs. I've got the uppababy Cruz and love it. It's pretty light, slim and loads of basket space. If you are after something very light, then the Bee or Raspberry look good.

JohnLapsleyParlabane · 02/01/2017 19:50

Second the sling/babyzen combo. However it isn't parent facing past a certain point so if that is a priority then the BugabooBee is your friend.
I live in Z4 and have an Armadillo Flip for buses and local walking and an Ickle Bubba Aurora (a babyzen yoyo imitation) for going on the tube and flying to my home country for visits.

Candidfruits · 02/01/2017 20:34

I've gone for the Babyzen with the newborn pack - not had the baby yet though. There are pros and cons to them all, but for us the weight (less than 6kg), slimness and easy fold won out.

minniebear · 02/01/2017 20:37

I second the Bee! Ours is second hand and perfect for city life.

YoHoHoandabottleofTequila · 02/01/2017 21:00

I also have a Bee!

Lules · 02/01/2017 21:01

Another vote for the Bee!

SeasickCrocodile · 02/01/2017 21:05

I'd go with the bee. The babyzen just isn't substantial enough in crowds for a newborn. They seem very exposed and low down. On the tube I use a sling most of the time with a backpack in my back/front depending on the age of the baby.

ninenicknames · 02/01/2017 21:06

Bugaboo Bee!

Also a good sling .....

sleepyMe12 · 02/01/2017 21:13

Another vote for the bee!

soundsystem · 02/01/2017 22:24

Yet another vote for the Bugaboo Bee!

Original poster

user1465146157 · 02/01/2017 22:45

wow thanks so much all pp's for your comments - so helpful.

looking like the Bee is highly recommended, but will research on all of the above!!

OP posts:

RedCrab · 03/01/2017 07:16

Just to throw into the mix - an alternative to the Bugaboo Bee is the Obaby Zezu. Pretty much exactly like the Bee but about a third of the price. Everyone has a Bee but I didn't like how low the seat feels to the ground when I pushed my friend's baby around for a while. If you get the one with the plastic wheels, it's not good for getting up and down steps in the way that rubber wheels are - are the rubber wheels more expensive? The Zezu comes with big rubber inflated wheels as standard and much more comfortable in suspension. It literally does everything a Bee does - bassinet, parent facing, front facing all in one. It's a wonderful buggy.

Artandco · 03/01/2017 07:21

Red - that obaby is nothing like the bugaboo bee. It weights 13.3kg v 8.5kg bugaboo which is a huge weight to carry on a tube, plus you can't fold in one piece, you have to take seat off to fold. Plus it takes up so much space open, where as bee fits in behind bars on buses and down tube escalator with space either side.

starsinyourpies · 03/01/2017 07:22

Baby jogger city mini is also worth checking out but not parent facing.

AbbeyRoadCrossing · 03/01/2017 07:28

I love our yoyo. DS still asks to go in it even though he's much too old now!
It's also carry on luggage size for air travel too.
I had the old one but I hear they've improved it.
I found it much lighter than the bee but they've since improved the bee to look more like the yoyo.
In short I'd try both in the shops and see which you like. I was swayed by yoyo being much cheaper if I'm honest!

RedCrab · 03/01/2017 07:31

Artandco I've always folded my Zezu with the seat on all assembled. Not sure why you think you can't? It is heavier true but not so much that you can't lift it up and downstairs using the rolling it backwards a step at a time. I could never have flat out lifted up a Bee so would have used that method anyway. I had also Baby Jogger which I think is slightly lighter than the a Bee and couldn't flat out lift that up and down either so the rolling up and down steps one at a time method is fine. I live at the top of an external staircase of 22 steps and roll the Zezu up and down it with 22 month old toddler in it twice a day. Whilst 27 weeks pregnant. So it's really not so heavy that it makes tube travel hard.

Ilovefffffffridays · 03/01/2017 07:35

Bugaboo bee! Use the tube and bus lots. It's so small fits through the smallest of gaps. Can go up centre isle on single bus. Light enough to carry up and down steps to tube on your own if nobody offers a hand.
So pleased we got one used it for all 3 dc.

Flip

1 2