Travelsystem/ pram/ buggy advice please

[Jemima123]

Hi, I'm 33wks and really need to get buying a pram! Thinking of getting one with all the bits included (forward and rear seat, car seat, base if possible, poss carry cot so it can be like a pram, with footmuff, bag, raincover etc) and seem to have narrowed it down to:

1. Bebeconfort Streety (prob 08 red or black colour as much cheaper than 09's "mint", but no car seat base). I know I can see this in shops but buy cheaper on line... or

1. Chicco Duo (or Trio) "For Me" which is as above but def has the car seat base and all extras and there are good prices at kiddicare.com. I think they also sell it in Argos but I can't find "real" shops to actually see it and am a bit paranoid. Is it mad to buy online "blind" as it were?

I have small-medium car and live in Yorkshire, so some town but also lots of villagey countrysidey etc.

Any advice please? I know I am obsessing, so thanks for any info. Also had a "parentcraft" class this morning, so am beginning to think I should pull my finger out - so to speak!
Ta...

I think you should take a trip to a big place and try some to see how comfortable they are to push, look at how they fold etc.

I had a Pliko with car seat and carrycot for BabyG and was very happy wtih it, although I have just sold it as I wanted rear-facing

We went to John Lewis (you'll have to make an appointment) and they were brilliant. They show you all the different prams and let you try them all out (they even let you try out how well they'd fit in your car which is really helpful). There's no pressure at all to buy anything, so if you wanted to you can decide what you want from them and buy it cheaper on the internet, although to be honest they seem very well priced comparitively.

We went for the Quinny Buzz 3 which has been great for us. Good luck.

Defo go to John Lewis (not Mothercare they will try to sell you the Trenton and that is one heck of a fuggly/crap pushchair!!)

There are so many that on paper will suit what you want Loola (heavy, can't push it once baby is 9 months) pliko prammette/switch (don't get matching car seat), silver cross linear freeway (gorgous but very heavy and bulky for in and out of the car) streety, come over to pushchair shed. Not heard good reports about chico either, sorry.

Do you go in and out of the car a lot (so want something easy for fold) or if you walk everywhere and have room to store in hallway a proper pram with carrycot ideal.

I loved the quinny buzz until I actually bought and used it and it did not suit me and my needs at all. It is a minefield, good luck!!

My friend had the Loola Up which is lighter than the Loola, but incorporates all you describe. We are looking at iCandys - the apple comes with 4 7 3 wheels and the cherry is lighter/smaller, they all come with maxicosi car seats etc. Lots of JL shops stock them so you could look there.HTH.

Ive bought the streety in the 08 model from boots as it was £100 cheaper and got nearly £20 back in points too. Ive had it out of the box twice to try putting it together and show my parents as they paid for it and its so easy to put up and down. Feels really light compared to friends buggies Ive used in the past too BUT baby isnt due until Nov so I may change my mind then whether its so good. There's someone on ebay sells recon buggies and the week after Id bought this he had a choco mint streety that went for £85 delivered and it was immaculate, he sometimes has the carrycots too which go for about £50.

Thanks for the info. Gone off Chicco (for no other reason than I can't find any shops to be honest) and going towards Loola/ Up more. Will try John Lewis if I can get to one (the joys of living in the sticks!!)

Mamas and Papas were brilliant when we went - let me assemble and disassemble everything to check I could manage the weight and it was easy to do and so on, and felt no pressure at all to buy, but lots of good advice. We went to John Lewis as well and they really only seemed to want to demonstrate the Bugaboo - we had to ask them specifically to do the other two we wanted to check (Quinny and iCandy) and they were definitely not as enthusiastic about them and compared them unfavourably.

We ended up with the Mamas and Papas Ultima 8 in 1 as it's light and dead easy to change the bits and so on.

We've just bought the Chicco Trio for me & have to say I've very happy with it. I have heard very good reports about Chicco. its a good sturdy make. We also have a small to medium car so it's perfect for that.

I live in a small village in France where there is a lot of snow in winter and I have just bought a Bebe Confort High Trek, which is brilliant. It's a 3 wheeler all terrain which is good in towns or off road as you can lock and unlock the front wheel. You can buy the car seat, base and carry cot with it and everything is front and rear facing. it's also very easy to put up and down and to change the bits around (Have spent ages playing with it!)
I bought mine in france but you can get them in the UK. :-)

Take some weights/bottled water to simulate how it will steer with a toddler and or shopping in it as well. Actually we used a sling a lot for about the first 8 months.

If you're not desperate to buy new, once you've decided what you want, you could have a quick look on ebay as well.

Bugaboo Bee

Jemima...i live in the countryside and have bought the streety. Its lovely and much easier and lighter than many of the other travel systems out there. Also got good safety reviews on 'which' pram guide. Fits easily into my punto...Hope this helps