Need to replace our toddlers pushchairs. I'm so stuck!!

[CherryPie3]

I have absolutely no idea what pushchair to go for. We had a Luna but after a water escape incident at our house (thanks to that neighbour!) it no longer works and is now a lovely shade of black and dark green as opposed to cress. Our contents insurers are allowing us £200 but we're hoping to spend less and will probably buy second hand as he won't really be in it for more than a year.

(Just to clarify, we are not defrauding the insurers as we will just send them our receipt/proof of purchase and they will pay us that amount if that makes sense?)

My requirements are:

• must be good for pushing long distances and comfy for my son to sit in for lengthy periods (an hour at a time).

• Must have growing room for his legs to 'dangle' and somewhere to put his feet. The Luna doesn't even have a footrest.

• Ideally it would have a parent tray to keep small items in, drinks etc, and maybe even a tray for ds for his snacks although this isn't essential.

• a nice usable shopping basket would be nice.

• nice sturdy wheels are kind of a must as well as we do walk a lot and are planning to do Disneyland Paris again in November so needs to be able to cope with the possible snow. Also needs to be warm enough for the winter preferably with a matching toddler footmuff option.

DH wants to get a small stroller but I'm not sure this will be suitable for all our needs, I was thinking more along the lines of a Mothercare Trenton/Graco Quattro. As long as it will fit in the boot of our '07 Renault Megane I'll be happy. I don't do much travelling on buses so I'd rather have a comfy buggy for DS to sit in than a small thing that he will just want to get out of!

Hope someone can help, sorry if I seem too demanding, I just want to make sure we get it right as I am so fussy when it comes to pushchairs. :)

I would suggest a Baby Jogger City Mini although coping with snow is a bit dubious but you may find a second hand Elite or Classic? Or A Britax B-Agile? Or a Mountain Buggy Swift?

Apart from those, look at the Brio Go, Joolz Day, Mutsy 4Rider, iCandy Apple maybe, possibly a cheap Peach, some sort of Mountain Buggy, Out n About Nipper, possibly even a Nipabout, Bugaboo Frog or Gecko.

I absolutely LOVE our Maclaren techno Xt! It's lightweight, yet sturdy, comfortable & easily manouverable!

Wow thanks everyone, lots for me to look into there! Sadly I have to wait until the weekend when dh is off work but then we're going to go and do the rounds of test-pushes and price comparisons.

Plenty of time for research though!

I IsLovingAndGiving - does the XT have a nice big shopping basket? When we go on picnics and to Disneyland there will be quite a bit of 'stuff' in there as we have 2 older children too.

I'd really like a bugaboo of some sort but I'm not sure hubby will stretch to that!

Off to go have a look at reviews and pictures of your suggestions now :)

Have a look at Hamster bags too :) They are great for adding storage onto a pushchair!

Thanks Tiggy - just looked those up....they look ace!! I've never heard of them before but they could be an ideal solution really as it looks as though they might be more accessible than a shopping basket too.

Oooh decisions decisions.

The new versions detach easily and have a carrying strap too. So you can take them onto rides, onto the plane etc and then reattach.

That's a really good selling point to us for when we're at Disney, we could just take the 'shopping basket' with us!

Can they be used on any pushchair or just strollers? All the pictures I've seen appear to be on 2 handled buggies.

Another vote for the XT. I love ours and won't part with it until it's no longer needed.

Wow that's a popular choice! How does it cope with snow and gravelly/rough terrain?

At the minute I think I'm leaning towards the Mutsy 4 Rider. It has amazing reviews everywhere! MN included.

They're not too badly priced on eBay either, less than £100.

Xt basket isn't massive, but holds plenty for our family of 5. Go and test a few different ones out if you can.

The latest version hamster bags can be used on a wide range of pushchairs, not just umbrella folds.

We found our Maclaren Quest Sport very good, mesh basket at the bottom was a reasonable size, little bag at the back, although not sure if they have a tray option/accessory. Lightweight but strong.

We used abroad, Disney and for both DS and DD too.

If you interested then there is 20% off Maclarens at the moment [[http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/pushchair_chat/1482334-20-off-Maclaren-Pushchairs as per my post here (click here).

Hope this helps. Izz.

We found our Maclaren Quest Sport very good, mesh basket at the bottom was a reasonable size, little bag at the back, although not sure if they have a tray option/accessory. Lightweight but strong.

We used abroad, Disney and for both DS and DD too.

If you interested then there is 20% off Maclarens at the moment as per my post here (click here) - sorry didn't link properly in last post.

Hope this helps. Izz.

Thanks everyone. It's good to know about the Hamster Bags as I'm definitely seeing those in our pushchair future.

Maclaren really does seem to be a popular choice, I've thought they looked a bit flimsy but they're obviously not. How do they cope on different kinds of terrain though because the wheels are only small aren't they?

I thought I was pretty set on the Mutsy 4rider but after having a good look into it I discovered it's a 2 part folder which isn't ideal. I think I'd get frustrated with it after a while so an all-in-one-folder would be a better option. I don't intend ever buying another pushchair so this really has to be the one. (I am a former pram-a-holic wishing to avoid a relapse).

Has anyone had the Silver Cross 3-wheeler? I think it's called the XT, how is that for folding? I bet that would have no problem on gravel or snow!

Or what about the Silver Cross 3D/M&P Pliko Pramette? Then again they don't have parent or baby trays do they? .

Hmm, gonna be a long day on Sunday if I can't narrow my choices down.

CherryPie3, this is the one (click here) that Maclaren recommend for Country Walks.

Here's Maclarens Buyers Guide.

Still doing 20% off too.

Izz

The Maclaren XT on Kiddicare is £150 at the min, but if ordered before 7th June, they are offering an extra 10% off orders over £100, so it works out at £135!

CherryPie3, it's the same model that Maclaren recommended for country walks, £135 is a bargain - here you go CherryPie3 (click here).

Cherrypie- how old is your dc? If you can have a look at a few in mothercare- you'll be able to get a good feel from it- maclarn is a very light weight, yet sturdy pushchair that'll last well. Mothercare will also price match, so that's an option.

I borrowed a pliko pramette- it was good for a newborn, but I wouldn't want to use it as a pushchair for long.

XT here too. Can't fault it. Can still take my 4.5yo if she's being naughty and running off.

Just jumping on the thread is an XT suitable for a heavy toddler for pushing/manouvering? :)

Having had a 3 wheeler (Britain Vigour 3+) which was very smooth and light to push and fine on gravel / grass etc, I'm quite unimpressed with our Maclaren Quest - harder to push, tiny storage basket, can't push one-handed, harness very difficult to adjust. Only things I like are the compact fold and neat raincover. It seems expensive for the quality imo.