Experiences with your Donkeys

[bemybebe]

I am (well, 'was') seriously looking at Uppababy Vista and Bugaboo Cameleon for when my first child arrives, but now that I looked at Bugaboo website (and still secretly hope for another baby to follow my first due in Sept) I am in two minds...

Donkey is retailing at John Lewis for 829.00GBP and seems a good mono-to-duo solution. Although I still like the functionality of Uppababy, I like the looks of Bugaboo products. DH, being Dutch, thinks Bugaboo is the best thing since sliced cheese.

Can any Donkey users out here give me their honest opinion about it, please.

I don't have a Donkey, but have had a good play. It is really beautiful and easy to push. Depending on your future age gap, your eldest may grow put of it before you have had the full benefit of the double mode. I have just over 20 months between my two and I think my eldest at two and a half would look huge in the seats and yet baby would have only been in the seat unit for a couple of months. I think if you really want a close age gap the Donkey would be fab. For an 18 month plus age gap (unless your children are small for their age) the Uppa Vista with rumble seat would probably be better but until they arrive in the UK we can't really know. There's also a buggy board for the Uppa Vista. Or buy a Chameleon and sell it to buy a double later on. They have a good resale value (i made a profit on my Chameleon because of price inflation) The huge downside of the Donkey is the fold. It really is huge because it doesn't lie flat even with the seats off. The Baby Gizmo video is good for showing this, but her car boot must be enormous! I don't believe a Donkey would fit in my car boot easily.

Guildfordnanny Thank you for such a detailed post. I did think about the folding issue. I have a largish car, but we travel abroad a lot and I do need to have the space transporting the buggy (and the baby and the dog and the luggage and the dh). Very good point about Chameleon and resale value, I did not think of it. I would be super happy just to get my money back or a bit less of course.

What do you think about the storage on Chameleon, I thought their basket was a bit small especially next to Uppababy, hence my gravitation towards the Donkey.

I am struggling to find a stockist around here that would have Uppababy and Donkey on the same floor. Was in Babybarn yesterday, but they do not have a Donkey, will go to Kingston tomorrow to have a good rummage around JL, Peppermint and Bentalls. (I guess from your name you may be somewhere around Guildford or is it just a name?)

I have a Donkey and i have an Uppababy Vista which i'm selling...I love my Donkey much more...I'm more used to Bugaboo's having had a Frog, Cam and Bee Plus...The handle height on the Vista doesn't feel comfortable to me...I'm 5'2" and love a really low handle which you can have with a Donkey...Suspension is not great on the Vista though over time i guess it might loosen...I have a Brio Go and the suspension on that is similar in the way it works but so superior, like pushing a proper pram...The Donkey has no suspension as far as i'm aware but with 4 large air tyres it doesn't need any...Maybe if you could buy optional air tyres for the Vista i'd like it more...Prefer the hood on the Donkey as when it's fully open it looks tidier as the Vista always seems to have a little wrinkle in it, though the peek a boo window is great...Basket on Vista is fantastic, so so big, far better than the Donkeys lower basket that is a little low at the back plus the cross bar gets in the way a bit if you try and use it for big items...Compensation is the side basket in mono mode...Amazing as DD and i don't travel light, she likes to take lots of toys with her everywhere...A bonus with the Donkey is my custom hoods fit though the elastic is in the wrong place and i need my mum to do a little sewing to make them more secure at the back...I can get the Donkey fine in my Meriva boot...I take the seat unit off as i did the Vista...Instead of putting it in sideways i push it head on so if the handle sticks up a bit, the parcel shelf just moves slightly upwards.

Thank you suzie. What do you think about the handle on carrycots (Vista's handle is in the hood, so no need to attach. I feel it is so much easier with Vista, but you seem not to mind.

What about ease of pushing? Are they roughly the same? One consideration for us is that dh is disabled and needs a stroller that is super easy to push with one hand.

Well my DD has just turned 2 so i've not used a carrycot on either...I did use a Frog carrycot until my DD was 8 weeks old, then she refused to lie in it due to lack of being bored not able to see very much...I had no problem with the handle...The Donkey handle is actually easier to remove than the Frog but obviously the Vista's is more convient i guess as it's always there and not so in the way, not that i found that with the Frog...I never acually carried DD in the Frog carrycot but if you think you'll be doing that a lot then the Vista appears as though it would be easier...Mine's all wrapped up still and as it's now for sale i don't want to be opening it up to test it out...As for pushing you can't generally beat a Bugaboo...Yes the Donkey is heavier than the Frog and Cameleon because it weighs more and is chunkier but you don't really feel it because of the air tyres...Vista is also easy to push but because the handle doesn't go as low as i'd have liked it doesn't feel so comfortable to me...The easiest to push is the Frog or Bee Plus in my opinion...Both the Vista and Donkey have handles that go high if your DH is tall...Both are very solid so unlikely to tip up if you leaned on them hard...Both push easy with one hand even fully ladened...My DD is 24lb so isn't a big bruiser...One thing i do wish Donkeys, Cameleons etc etc had is the adjustable footrest that a Vista has...Donkey has only 2 seat positions forward facing as handle in the way to lay it totally flat so you need to rear face if you want an older toddler to lie 'flat' for naps, which isn't an issue for me...Vista has 4 in both directions i think...Well rear facing it did as i was messing about last night with it as i took pictures...Anything else, just ask

Thank you again suzie, you post is so useful as there is nothing like a having a user's pov. I had a very good look again at Donkey and it is just soooo good.

Thanks for starting this post bemybebe. I have Bee (2009) currently which I have loved and I'm looking for a double where new baby can face me and a toddler seat. I can't do buggy boards as you have to lean over and it's kills my back. I am interested in any double I can take the seats out of to fold (totally the opposite to when I looked for DD)!! Otherwise the frame + seats too heavy to lift into boot. Info from all posters on other buggies was also useful. Thanks

I had a good play with the donkey at a baby show, and its a good compromise for a double/single convert. The seats are the same length as the cameleon, but slightly narrower, and the toddlers (18m+) I have seen look a bit squished, especially with winter jackets on.
Basket is huge though, and it goes between single and double mode very easily - you probably couldnt do it while holding a baby, but is very quick. its a similar sort of thing to the way the cameleon handle adjusts, only sideways instead of up and down.
Only problem I could see is that when you have it in double mode, there is a gap in the foam where it slides inside the other side of the handle back into single mode, and this is exactly where your right hand would be if you are pushing one handed and are, like most of us, right handed.
The side basket is roomy too, although most kids will be taking out and eating/destroying/throwing on the floor whatever is put in it, as its very easily accessible from the seat.

Good point about the accessibility to the basket holidays! I was already thinking stitching some fabric to a side of it to flap over (also to protect in case of rain)... Also, my dh is right-handed and one-handed, so I will ask him to push it around more to see if the gap in foam presents an issue for him.

Incidentally, realistically, how squeezed are your toddlers in those seats? Would it last to 17 kg (3+) or is it wishful thinking on behalf of the company?

honestly, I dont think so. That said, I dont think most pushchair seats are anything like as large as they need to be to fit a toddler in - they may be OK weight wise, and even the back length and width might be OK, but the distance from seat to footrest and the length of the seat is always a problem.

My DD has just turned 2 and is only 11kg so she has plenty of room in the seat...I does go wider at the shoulders though, almost on par with a Cameleon.

As to issues with the basket luckily my DD has grown out of the throwing things about stage unless in a fit of temper but it would have been an issue at a younger age i think...I guess you'd be better putting things in bags to try and prevent that happening.