Pram reviews uk?

[MrsBP15]

I’m currently 14weeks + 3days so just starting to think about looking into baby stuff. This is our first so we are pretty clueless though we do have lots of friends and family who have had babies so can get a bit of guidance from them. My husband is big on YouTube reviews for stuff which I get because it’s relatively quick and easy to consume and shows you the product in action. However, we are struggling to find any uk YouTube channels or reviews of things like prams/travel systems. They are all American! Am I missing something? I mean if there’s a gap in the market perhaps we could fill it, I’ve always quite liked the look of the influencer lifestyle 🤣 any guidance on where to look OR which stores are best to visit so we can try stuff out would be much appreciated 👍🏻 I should clarify, I know it’s early to be looking but that’s literally all it is…looking. Like I say husband will want to do lots of research and probs a spreadsheet of some kind (he bloody loves them) so I anticipate this taking several months!

I'm 19+6 and a ftm and me and husband were asking the same questions about a month ago 🙃 We didn't find any reviews - I literally tried to sign up to Which to get them and it kept timing out. In the end we asked everyone we knew who had had a baby recently for a basic list of needs vs wants when it came to a travel system and then just looked online until we found a few that ticked all/most boxes. E.g we wanted one where the car seat moved 360 and could recline, and where the car seat fits to the chassis.

(We found one we liked, asked on here and it turned out the car seat was some sort of death trap 😂)

So we narrowed it down again, looked on all the sites that sell it to read the reviews, and think we've found The One now. We started a spreadsheet to track the average star rating and common phrases but after losing a whole Sunday to this shit the magic started to wear off. 🥴😂

Went into a Mamas & Papas shop to look at it (they all look the same but could see how small it folds and how idiot-proof it was.) Just waiting for 20 week scan and maybe a spring sale before we buy.

It’s not British, but Norwegian, but I’m a huge fan of The Stroller Worshop channel. The guy is American, but the reviews are from models bought in Norway - so pretty much everything they review is available in the UK and is relevant to a British audience. They don’t have all the models we have in the UK, but most of the bigger brands. I really like it because the channel’s perspective is from someone who repairs pushchairs, so has a real in depth knowledge of the mechanics and failure points, which almost no-one else does. Also he’s not trying to sell you a pushchair (unlike most channels) and it’s not like a parent review where you only really know the pushchair you have. I used his categories and insights to build my pushchair comparison spreadsheet! (I went with the Joolz Hub 2 in the end).

I found a local pram shop better than my John Lewis appointment which really underwhelmed me. It had a better selection and they let us try out pushchairs in our car.

You are better off asking for advice a on forum or word of mouth.

Most Youtube review channels give good reviews for everything whilst posting affiliate links to buy the items in the description. ie they get paid a commission when you buy via their links.

We went to The Baby Show in Birmingham at 20 weeks and tried out prams on their test track 😂 We went with the Cybex E-Priam as we live in a stupidly hilly area and the boost is very helpful. DS is now 4 months and in the pram attachment. Both pram and bassinet have been sturdy and taken on very long walks. The car seat is also super easy to fit and carry. Down side is it is quite big so if you’ve got a small car you may struggle and put together it’s a bit heavy to lift into the car. But all the ones I looked at were similar weights

But look at the Baby Shows - very useful

Uppababy vista has been the absolute best - can't fault it at all

When I lived in Chicago everyone had a Vista and/or a YoYo and when I moved to London… SNAP… sea of YoYos in every playground with the odd Vista mostly used as doubles. Pram models unique aren’t unique to the UK. So nothing wrong with American reviews! I think the most important thing is to buy to suit your lifestyle. Next time you’re out locally take a look at the prams you see and note which ones you see a lot of- if almost everyone in your area seems to have a particular model then it’s probably because it’s really well suited to your area e.g. you see a lot of YoYos in city centres.

I would recommend the baby appointment at John Lewis, you can test out loads of different types of pram and you are given a discount code at the end of the session. We bought all our baby stuff from there so saved 15%!

I found going to look at them really helped, the one I thought I'd like I didn't and we thought then we'd want a vista but in person it was massive and didn't fit in my car.

I went for a joolz hub and it was great but it's very personal in terms of what you're looking for.. I wanted something that folded up small, had bigger wheels to cope with some uneven terrain and had a bassinet option.

I also had a yo-yo for holidays and it was the one we used most from 1yr + as it was just so easy, but not great off-road

Thank you everyone for your replies. Some great ideas here for where to look, I wouldn’t have had a clue. I think we’ll tentatively start the search in a few weeks and certainly post on here closer to purchasing as well. Didn’t even know Baby Shows were a thing….😂 thank you again for all the tips, MN strikes again thank goodness!!

Def recommend going to an independent baby shop. The staff in them are usually really knowledgeable. If you post your general area, another poster might be able to recommend one. We went to John Lewis and Mamas & Papas, and then found out about an independent shop with loads more stock 3yrs later when DD2 came along 🙈

I have always had a bugaboo. Was pricey. But first one did 3 children before it broke and it was a workhorse. My second one was brought for the 3rd child after original one broke and is in storage ready to use for this one.

We always found customer service very helpful when we have had issues.

I have to chuckle as I’m also a Londoner with a yoyo and a vista as a double 😂