iCandy Pear Tandem or Bugaboo Donkey?

[curiousgeorgie]

Which of these prams would work better for a newborn and a 22 month old... (22 month old is currently 16 months and not walking / cruising so think I will really be needing a double)

The 22 month old is around the 70th percentile in height, if that makes any difference.

I currently have a bugaboo cam and I love it, but with my DD not yet walking, I don't think i'm going to be able to do with a buggyboard by the time shes 22 months?

The icandy pear tandem looks good.. but which seat is for which child? And I'm worried the donkey looks just HUGE and bus like.

I really want the option of parent facing and a phil and teds just looks a bit like one of your children is in the shopping basket.

Thanks!

In my highly unqualified opinion you should go for the donkey. I want a donkey !

Hi curiousgeorgie I am in a similar situation to you, DS2 will be 16 months when DC4 is born. I also love my Cameleon, and will be sad to lose it.
I am trying to choose between the Bugaboo Donkey and the Britax B-dual(I have a thread about single to doubles in this section). My only reservation with the Donkey is that it might not fit into all the cars I need it to.

My friend has the Pear, and she says it's great for her but she rarely walks and her children are quite small, I walk pretty much everywhere and my DC tend to be tall. I have been advised on here that the Pear is heavy to push, and that the carrycot is small. I have to say I didn't love it when I had a go of hers with my DS1 and her DD in, even the brand new one in the shop felt much heavier than the Cam and that was empty.

I've just test driven (drove?) the donkey today. It's really not huge compared to the cam (which is my current pram). It does feel bigger when it's just the single seat and side basket but input it up against mine and it's barely any bigger. Couldn't flip a coin for the difference.

Also the seats are narrower but look tiny, so I put DD in the seat (20 months) and she still had loads of space.

The only things I didn't like were that the wheels are filled with air and I couldn't quite work out how flat the pram folds down. The staff at the shop didn't know either, so I think it needs further investigation.

Think I'll probably go for the donkey as I love bugaboo. It's been great, easy to steer, fold down, etc.

Ooh, lucky you AntsMarching

I can't work out why they have done air filled wheels, especially as the foam ones seem to be marketed as an improvement on the Cameleon. I was wondering about that gum or slime stuff to fill the air tyres.
Slightly disheartening that the shop staff couldn't fold it though.
How much is the Donkey in Duo mode do you know? I seem to have seen conflicting prices.

Air wheels are so much better than all other wheels in my opinion! I'd go for the Donkey without a doubt if you have the space and the money. It doesn't fold well at all though. But is apparently extremely light to push. It's the same width as the Cameleon in mono mode (60cm) and is 74 cm wide in duo mode. That's fairly narrow for a side by side and will fit through most spaces. It only looks wide because it makes use of all the width-others have the wheels sticking out from the chassis so are wider than they look. The seats are surprisingly big too. The only issue I know of is that the seats can't both recline fully when facing away from you but that's probably no big deal anyway.

My real choice would be the Stroll-Air MyDuo but they've not yet brought them over to the UK. They're only £560 to import and fold much more compactly than the Donkey but have all the benefits of a Donkey.

Have you also considered the iCandy Peach Blossom? It's apparently much better than the Pear. Worth a look anyway!

I'd definitely go for a Donkey over a Pear, as long as your boot's big enough!

Donkey folded
Pear folded
Peach Blossom folded You need to scroll right to the bottom here. The current model is the red one at the bottom.

Tough decisions. To be honest it boils down to storage space and car boot space. We have a lot of pushchairs here but last week decided to see the Donkey again (my second visit) I loved it until I saw the fold. It really is chunky. The sales assistant said it would never fit in my car (biggish boot) and I was mentally (and failing) to rearrange my house to fit it in, even with the seats off. You really need to see it. My tall 3 year old looked great in the seat plus she is over weight but it was enough for me to say I would get one.
The Pear meanwhile is a mixed bag. Short and neat. The eldest will go in the bigger blue seat (the one on top) and the baby in the seat lower down (yellow). The seat units themselves are good. But negatives for me were the hard to do seat recline (with toddlers / older baby in), both children got trapped at one point, huge harnesses, extremely poor basket access, still a fairly large folded chassis and the front wheels stick when you stop and try to move again (eg browsing in a shop). It was easy to push though. The parent acing options on the Pear aren't great because it's the toddler who will be facing you, not the baby.
If the Donkey fold and width is no issue then get the Donkey. I love my two Children parent facing. If size is an issue then get the Pear but buy it new so that if the wheels play up then you have a warranty. Mine were so bad, I fixed them straight in the end.
Or consider the Stroll-Air my Duo which is definitely worth importing. It is very good.

Well, I have a new model focus which has a fairly large boot... I can fit my cam and my friends quinny zapp at the same time... i'll have to have a look.

It's tricky :)

The peach blossom looks good... but I can't work out what the difference is to the pear...

Tiggy is probably the best person to ask. Or have a look here.

I think the peach blossom can't have both children parent facing, but can have the newborn facing you in carseat only, while the toddler always faces out...

hmmmm........

This probably will be useful too. But it is the 2012 Peach Blossom, not the current one. The individual pages for each Pushchair under the Tandems section should help too. Basically the Peach is much simpler. The chassis is lighter, highly manoeuvrable, the 2012 one has two good fairly equally sized seats. Both seats only face forwards but the car seat parent faces. The carrycot faces forwards too. It sounds not as good as the Pear options until you try it and notice the difference in pushability. The pip convertor is simpler. The chassis folds smaller and the seats keep growing with your child.
The Pear is just heavier, more faffy, but gives more options. I really don't like the Pear carrycots - you convert them using the seat unit but the footrest bar is above the babies feet. The lower carrycot is quite small too. The seating arrangements may look good - loads of options but there isn't one I would want ie baby parent facing and toddler out. The baby is either backwards or behind the toddler. Both children have to face in the same direction.
Whilst it's nice to see the older toddler in the Pear, you gain more from ease of use and pushability and basket space and longevity (with the new blossom kit) from the Peach.

Just to add, there is one fundamental choice to make - which will work better for you - a tandem or side by side or does it not matter. Some people prefer one or the other. For me, if I were only to have one double then it would always be a tandem whatever the compromises. But if the places you go are easy to use a side by side, then there's no doubt it's lovely to see and interact with your children. Equally if you are in and out of the car or don't spend long out, having half an hour where you and the children see the world isn't a had thing either! There was a period of time where not being able to hear random whinging from the front was bliss lololol Also my LO even now will be asleep within 5 mins of leaving home and so having the toddler parent facing for me was more important (except when whinging!)

Do you use a car seat option because bear in mind the car seat on the Donkey adds to the width and I believe makes it wider than a standard doorway? I seriously suggest you try the Donkey in your car. I have a pretty large boot. Theres a tandem and single in at present and I think the pyramidal shape of the Donkey is too chunky for my boot.

Don't get me wrong, I think the Donkey is fantastic but it's not easy all round whether it's bending down to do the clips, the fold, the width etc. equally there are adapters etc for the Peach or Pear but all round I think they are less problematic.

Definitely the donkey. It really ticked all the right boxes for me (ordered and ready for new arrival!) although iam worrying about width but, would have the same problem with any side by side double on the market (iam definitely not a tandem kind of girl!)
The price i paid for duo was £1100, iam sure thats the standard price? And then £30 for car seat adapters!

Good luck with your search x