Bugaboo Cameleon 3 - Heavy?

[LadyPenelope3]

Hello all.

I have been looking at prams with the criteria that I'd like something reasonably light (I am a weakling and live in a second floor flat), durable, and stylish.

The Bugaboo Cameleon seems like a good option and is only a bit heavier than the Bugaboo Bee, but it seems more durable than the Bee.

A friend has described her 2012 Cameleon as a "tank" and says it is heavy.

I was hoping to purchase a fairly recent Cameleon 3 second hand.

Has anyone found their (2015/2016) Cameleon's heavy and cumbersome?

Thank you in advance for your help.

I had the chameleon for my dd over a year ago. I found it easy to push and a lovely pram. However when she got to about 14months it was heavy and annoying. I have now got an out n about nipper. Which is the best pram ever. I live in the middle of nowhere and can walk up fells with it,it bounces up steps,folds flat and light. Also I'm sure you can get a newborn attachment for it

Depends if your more a city/country person I imagine

Thank you Gizmo. I'll look at the Nipper. We live in London.

Might not be to your taste. You can always do what I did though and use the bugaboo for baby until you find it heavy? And sell and get a stroller?

The Bee is great for London, it's why so many people have one. I'm still using mine with my second child 5 years later. You won't be able to lug the Chameleon up two flights of stairs!

I could definitely try that Gizmo.

Thanks Tequila - the Bee was my original first choice but my husband talked me out of it as he thought it seemed flimsy (I'm sure it isn't or they wouldn't be so popular like you say). I will go and try it out again with him.

I loved mine. DD is three and should the need arise to use a pushchair I would still use it. For one thing the lighter pushchair we have can't now handle her weight! But it's such a smooth puchchair to use and push that it feels easier to push than a lighter pushchair.
It's more than just weight, it's the smoothness of the wheels, comfort of the handle etc.

It's really not flimsy, lovely to push and folds really easily without having to dismantle it, like so many pushchairs.

We love our chameleon but I have never carried it up two flights of stairs so not sure if it would be heavy for that. In and out the car was fine, it's really great to push and if you like walks I'm the country it's fab. Our wee girl went through a stage of hating being in the buggy though so I used the baby carrier a lot, you might find that a good option for you living in a flat. Especially for short journeys to the shop etc.

Thanks all. Helpful advice.

I tried the Cameleon carrycot in the shop with a weighted baby doll inside it and I could carry it up their stairs, leaving the base behind (which my husband can bring up the stairs once he's home from work). But Tequila is making me think again about the Bee!

Any other suggestions for light and stylish prams are welcome. Thank you.

Have you looked at the babyzen yoyo+ its very light and compact.

I love my chameleon but it is quite heavy

Thanks Sniff - another one for me to look at.

DH and I went for the icandy raspberry in the end.
We also live in London, it was a toss up between the bee and the raspberry.
Raspberry is slightly lighter and handle extends a bit more which DH found more comfortable.

I second the Babyzen Yoyo+ - it's what we are getting for practical reasons, although I did like the Cameleon.

Thanks all! All really helpful.

Also just seen the really good reviews of the Baby Jogger City Mini GT on Which, and the weight looks pretty good as well.

The other thing to think about is if you want them parent facing when they're little. Some prams don't switch between the two. It's nice to be able to see them and then switch them round when they're older and wanting to look out. Plus having a pram you can attach a car seat on to the frame is really useful if they're asleep!

@MissMooMoo did you use the iCandy Raspberry from birth? I can see it doesn't have a carry cot. Thanks for your help.

I've got the Bee as we too live upstairs and trust me it's heavy enough! It is sturdy I think.

Downsides:

• it's only really good on hard surfaces - pavement, Tarmac etc. Not good on grass or stony paths.
• the basket under the seat is smaller than bigger prams

lady I am still pregnant but it doesn't have a carrycot, it lies flat and has something called a newborn pod.
Not too worried as I know a few people who used earlier versions of the bee before they came out with carrycots for them.

Hi lady I think others have probably answered your query but I'll add my 2 pence. I have experience of both models through my niece (bee, purchased 2013) and my own son (cameleon 3, purchased 2015).

The cameleon is pretty manoeuverable in a city environment but the bee is definitely nippier because the frame is slightly narrower and obviously lighter (better for navigating the topsy turvy streets of london, getting on/off buses etc, in/out of elevators, through shop doors that aren't automatic).

Another thing to note if you have a car, the cameleon needs a big boot unless you want to take off the wheels each time (which I need to do when putting cameleon in my mum's fiesta, it fits fine in my meriva).

Regarding the baskets, I actually found it slighter easier to access the basket on the bee than on the cameleon (especially in carrycot mode).

I went for cameleon in the end because I live semi-rural and we go off road quite a bit (and as previous poster has said, the bee or equivalent is not really suitable on off road surfaces),.

Last thing to note, the tilting mechanism on my cameleon broke (which bugaboo fixed, no quibbles), but my brother has not had a single issue with the bee! Obviously anecdotal but goes to show that the cameleon is no more robust than the bee despite what your husband thinks!

Thank you MissMoo - yes the pod looks like the one from the Bee you're right. I am going to check out the Raspberry.

Thanks also Clara that's a helpful comparison.

I think it's weighing up whether I'm going to be more annoyed at a heavy pram or at one which can't really off-road!

The Bee is not remotely flimsy IMO. However I can understand your DH's reservations. After I bought the Bee (and whilst DD was still yet to arrive) I had buyers remorse and wished I'd gone for a Cam as they looked more robust and "proper", but I'm so glad I went for the Bee. We live in London and it's great on buses and squeezing in between tables in cafes/the aisles in small local shops. It's very well designed and made.

We have a Raspberry and had no issues using the newborn cocoon - we used it from birth and it has worked well for us. However, we have had the seat lever (which reclines the seat unit) break once, and the brake twice. All in six months. Apparently both are known faults and have now been fixed on newer models.

However, the straps are also ridiculously short. With the seat liner and footmuff plus coat, I am struggling to fasten DS in and he's only 16 months and not a big baby (9th to 25th centile, still in some 6-9 month tops - he's slim). I plan to contact iCandy about this and see what they say.

I'm really disappointed as, for us, it's been a great pushchair in many ways but we'd hoped it would see us throughout our pushchair years (the whole point of a lie-flat stroller from birth) and we'll be lucky to get another six months out of it.

I echo pp's here, if you're set on Bugaboo, get the Bugaboo Bee - designed for urban/city life.