Which pram for our needs?

[bubblesforlife]

Hi there,
I’ve been researching various prams and have had a few test drives but I can’t choose one. They all seem to be pretty close in spec.

Our requirements include being able to walk through parks and commons with a mixture of grass and gravel. We will need to travel from time to time, so something easy to bring on a flight. Also ideally a one hand easy to collapse/put together and lift into a car.
I do want it to look nice too!

We have narrowed it down to the following brands:
Egg, Uppababy Vista V2, Silver cross Wayfarer, Silver cross pioneer, Mamas & Papas Strada.

We’ve ruled out other brands.

I like how the Silver cross, Strada and Egg look, more so than the uppababy vista v2.
There is an Egg2 coming apparently, but the specs are not released.
When we add it up, price is comparable so this is not a factor in the decision.

Does anyone anyone have any experience with them. Advice and feedback welcomed.

I have a wayfarer, which is a decent pram. The wheels were a bit small for popping up kerbs but the dc were comfortable in it and I lived the memory foam mattress. You won’t go wrong with a wayfarer, Egg or Uppababy.

However none of the ones on your shortList I would describe as easy to use for air travel. Most people I know who fly regularly with a baby have the travel system which stays at home, and a small umbrella or travel buggy which they can fold up quickly and hand to an air stewardess for storage in the hold.

Uppababy Vista is miles ahead when it comes to gravel/fields, and the basket is mahoosive. Loved ours.
Seconding what was said above, if you travel regularly just buy a cheap umbrella fold buggy. It's really not worth lugging the travel system with you!

We had an uppababy vista. Great pram, like a tank, huge basket so fab for shopping, and can convert to a double if you want. We flew with it a couple of times and just checked it into the hold.

If you're going to fly regularly, and want to get something that will fit in overhead lockers you'll probably need a second, light pushchair. Not many tick all boxes. The babyzen yoyo kind of does, but it's not great on anything other than pavements. It's a very 'city' pram. (It's also very spenny)

Now DD is 2 we have a cosatto woosh as it's easier when she wants to get out and walk (all the time) it's also nice and light as she's quite heavy!

I’d get the Vista- lovely to push, can be folded with the seat on, huge basket big enough so a 3YO can even sit in it (probably not recommended), can convert to a double or take a board if you have a second. Then I’d probably also get a small stroller for air travel- the Babyzen yoyo is the best for this but any cheap umbrella buggy would be fine.

We went for the V2 also. For frequent air travel I’d buy something else (smaller), but I can’t see us doing that level of travel for months due to the pandemic.

I've got the uppababy vista, handles grass and gravel brilliantly. The basket is huge and looks good. BUT after 1.5 years of using it I'm sick of how big it is. When we travel it takes up a substantial amount of boot room in our large car. So I have the vista for big days out and a little silver cross for quick trips and holiday.

Tbh I'd just get the vista and a sling and umbrella/compact pram for travel. You bring the pram right up to the gate or door of the plane, and get it back as you get off or at baggage at worst. Baby goes in the sling during boarding and disembarking the plane.

With travel prams that fit in overhead lockers you're either paying a premium (YoYo) or getting a pretty basic stroller with limited functionality (often little to no basket space, no footrest, very small wheels, poor suspension etc) but still paying more than a decent umberella stroller.

If this helps I loved the vista v2, but the size put me off. The lady in the shop gave me a demonstration of the vista v2 versus the cruz v2, and the cruz has all the benefits but is a fair bit smaller when folded.

The main difference is that the vista can be turned into a double but the cruz can't...I think!

Hi everyone, thank you for your replies.
you all make a good point about travelling, which I had not considered.
If i was travelling with a 2/3 months old, I still need the carrycot.
Any recommendations for how to get around that?

The Vista seems to have a really overwhelming love here. But the mention of size has concerned me, to the point I would rule it out. We live in a flat, it's spacious, lots of storage but I still don't want to have a massive pram if I can get away with a smaller one.

Any other thoughts on the other ones?

Not the wayfarer - my sister has one and it struggles with kerbs let alone gravel etc.

We have a Bugaboo chameleon which is brilliant on most terrains. The bugaboo Buffalo would be even better, not sure on the Fox.

Sorry don't know much about the others. Still using our chameleon and DD is almost 2, i love it

It's not on your list but a Baby Jogger City GT2 might fit the bill? The one handed fold sold out to us, is really easy to do and no squatting down to lift it up into the car. Plus it's a three wheeler with suspension so good on gravel, grass etc. as well as pavements. It might not meet your looking nice requirement thought, it's quite utilitarian.

My vote's for Uppababy Vista. I have never come across a pram which is as easy to assemble, lift, move. It is a lifesaver.

We live in a flat as well and Vista is perfect for us. I store the carrycot in the spare bedroom and the frame goes in the wardrobe easily. Very lightweight and easy to handle single-handedly.

I have had a vista, which I loved, and now have a cruz, which also seems great. It is slightly lighter and slimmer but still with a big basket, really sturdy and good on different terrains. I have previously had cheap umbrella strollers from travel, I wouldn’t want to check an expensive travel system into the hold.

I'm going to echo what another poster said - Babyjogger. I know it's not on your list but they would suit your purposes well. Travel-wise, I'd go for a Yo Yo with the bassinet.

We were in a similar position as we needed a travel pram for DD when she was three months old. I got a Cybex Eezy+ which was well reduced because they were bringing out a new model, and the car seat adaptors. The seat was essentially lie-flat, but we had the versatility of the adaptors which meant our car seat from our travel system could just snap on. Cybex and Maxi-Cosi car seats have adaptors for most prams.

If you do intend on travelling a lot it's really worth getting something robust that you won't break your heart over if it gets damaged or scuffed. Iirc most Baby Jogger strollers are suitable from birth. You could always get a secondhand Baby Jogger City Mini or similar and buy the adaptors for the car seat, which will offer more flexibility and save the cost of the bassinet which will have a very limited lifespan. You won't get it on as hand luggage but as you can see from my post above I don't personally think that's a deal breaker.

I went with the Egg, can't give a review on how it handles different terrain as baby isn't here yet so it's only been pushed around the house/patio but it was my favourite based on appearance and the fact the chassis folds up small and wheels easily removed to fit next to the dogs in the boot / wheels go in a bag if filthy sold it to me.
Not ideal that the stroller seat won't fold with the chassis but that will go on the back seat of the car next to baby anyway.
It's really easy to fold down and take carrycot/stroller seat off/on or swap around parent/world facing and pretty light, plus the car seat looks really cosy for newborns.
My other options were silver cross pioneer or surf in the eclipse edition or bugaboo fox2 but they were ruled out due to being too big and bulky and no chance of them fitting in the boot with the dogs.
I don't think I would use it for travelling abroad, I'd probably look at a lie flat buggy as an additional pram.
I admit I am disappointed egg2 is coming out soon and we've just missed that but that's the way my luck generally goes, I imagine (hope) it won't be released before my baby is here and will just have to accept I'll have the older model 😆

@FlowerPig

I went with the Egg, can't give a review on how it handles different terrain as baby isn't here yet so it's only been pushed around the house/patio but it was my favourite based on appearance and the fact the chassis folds up small and wheels easily removed to fit next to the dogs in the boot / wheels go in a bag if filthy sold it to me. Not ideal that the stroller seat won't fold with the chassis but that will go on the back seat of the car next to baby anyway. It's really easy to fold down and take carrycot/stroller seat off/on or swap around parent/world facing and pretty light, plus the car seat looks really cosy for newborns. My other options were silver cross pioneer or surf in the eclipse edition or bugaboo fox2 but they were ruled out due to being too big and bulky and no chance of them fitting in the boot with the dogs. I don't think I would use it for travelling abroad, I'd probably look at a lie flat buggy as an additional pram. I admit I am disappointed egg2 is coming out soon and we've just missed that but that's the way my luck generally goes, I imagine (hope) it won't be released before my baby is here and will just have to accept I'll have the older model 😆

Re putting the stroller seat next to baby on the back seat. Please make sure you strap it in/use bungee cords as in a crash that could fly around and do serious damage.

OP if baby and you get on well with a sling (a Close Caboo or Tula/Ergo with newborn insert might be a good place to start), then you might not need to worry about a carrycot. Regardless of sling, a lie flat stroller is absolutely sufficient. Just tuck baby in nice and snug. Some lie flat strollers have additional newborn supports but even if not, it's the lie flat aspect which is important.

I have the Uppababy Cruz and we love it. Had one for DD and (due to poor storing on our part) we bought another one for DD2’s impending arrival. It would have still been great for another child.

It’s smaller than the Vista and more lightweight but still really sturdy and good to push about. For holidays, I wouldn’t take it abroad though because I would be paranoid about someone damaging it throwing it into the hold. We also didn’t take DD1 on a plane until she was 3 and she didn’t need it as much then.

For air travel you need an umbrella buggy otherwise it has to be checked - I would choose a pram for daily use then pick up something cheap for travel (mine was £40)

At 2 months old I would investigate whether you can hire a pram the other end, just use a sling at the airport.

Vista is absolutely fantastic, have loved it and used for all my children. Basket is enormous, can push one handed on any terrain. Nice and sturdy.

Another bonus is that the carry cot is safe for overnight sleep so if you do travel with the buggy then you can use your pram overnight instead of a travel cot. We bought a bag to put both pieces in so that it counts as "one piece" for the hold.

Would agree with others that it is big and takes up a lot of space in our boot (which isn't small itself - (big 4x4). It's not ideal for a flat like you say, but no buggy is really, they are all bulky and take up awkward space.

For me, the main important things are:

Comfort for baby
Easy to push
Easy to fold

It ticks all of those boxes for me.

It's not ideal for a flat like you say, but no buggy is really, they are all bulky and take up awkward space.

This. We have a three bed house and have had to think about where we will put the buggy. We have a garage but, due to the set up of our drive, opening the door is a pain so storing the buggy in the garage would mean traipsing the buggy through the downstairs of the house. We’ve had to set aside space in our lounge.

It's not ideal for a flat like you say, but no buggy is really, they are all bulky and take up awkward space.
This really. Unless you want to go for something super compact like the YoYo (I hang mine on a coat hook) but that doesn’t match up with your brief for easy to push on grass/gravel! We keep the big pram in the car.

As per @movingonup20 I'd recommend a cruiser like the Vista for home, and a smaller umbrella buggy for travel. It worked for us.