Off-Road Pushchair for 3yo

[BaronessBomburst]

Are those collapsible, umbrella type buggies any good over rough ground? DS is 3 and has outgrown the Maxi-Cosi Mura 3, both in length and weight. He can't walk more than about 3km, less if he's already tired, and as that's the distance into town and back I still need a pushchair. It also needs to be able to cope with forest paths and snow!

Any suggestions or advice?

[megandraper]

Umbrella pushchairs IME are useless on rough ground / snow / forest paths, especially with a heavy 3yo in.

We have a Phil & Ted Sport. You can buy these very reasonably second-hand on ebay.

Ours has the double kit on it, but my almost-4yo is very comfortable in the front seat, which would be the only seat if you didn't have the doubles kit IYSWIM). Plenty of room. I think my 5yo would be comfortable in there if the others let him have it.

It's very good going over rough ground/forest paths. Useless on sand, though doesn't sound like that would be a problem for you. Not so good on snow either. It's fine on light snow or snow that's packed down and hard/icy. But really thick snowdrifts, and you're heaving the full weight of the pushchair plus child(ren). I think that would be true of any pushchair though, unless you got special snow tyres.

[BaronessBomburst]

Oh dear, I was worried that someone would tell me that!

I live in the Netherlands and there's not so much choice in pushchairs here, and a very small second-hand market, but I will be visiting the UK soon with the car and am hoping to pick something up then. I'll be relying on you ladies for advice.

If the snow is that heavy I just wait for DH to come home with the car, but sand could be a problem as the woodlands are full of dunes.

Thank you.

[Ihateparties]

As far as i'm aware there aren't any umbrella type of small pushchairs like this. I would like one if there was... The easywalker june was kind of the great hope here but the handling is difficult. The new easywalker mini due out in summer I am very interested to see.

Otherwise bigger heavier pushchairs that will handle terrain and snow OR something small and portable seem to be the choices. I don't know if a baby jogger city mini gt or a britax b motionmight work for you? They both say up to 15kg in the uk but other countries often have different and heavier tested limits.

[forevergreek]

What about the mountain buggy mini?

[BaronessBomburst]

I'll look at those, thank you Ihateparties and forevergreek.

That brings up another interesting point too - the weight limits. Maybe I could keep using the Mura and just run it into the ground as originally intended. I've seen references to UK pushchairs being tested to 150% of their certified weight but extensive googling still can't come up with any reliable sources. I've solved the height problem by removing the clip-on hood, but that means the rain-cover doesn't fit anymore.

[Ihateparties]

The b motion is the same i think or a least a lot of shared components with the bob motion as sold in the us which according to their website here is good to 34.5kilos. The baby jogger information from the us site is likely to be similar.

The MB mini is a great concept but at present the seat is very shallow so quite possibly not that comfortable for a bigger child.

The concept you describe though, I wish someone would make it. Not necessarily umbrellla fold but a basic robust and genuinely compact stroller that can handle some terrain.

[Tiggywunkle]

UK pushchairs only need to be tested up to 15kgs to go on sale - its very very expensive to test a pushchair up to that point, so few companies choose to pay even more to test to higher weight limits - once its on sale then they are happy.
I know several pushchairs are made the same for other countries - not true for all brands, and so looking at websites in other countries is often not a bad idea to gauge child weight.
Is something like a Baby Jogger Elite not a possibility. They are really compact with the wheels removed and carry the weight of a 3 year old well.
The MB Mini is really not great - if you want a MB then get the Swift instead. Its worth the £50 or so more.

[BaronessBomburst]

The Mountain Buggy is available here and I've found some for sale second hand at around 100 euros. Not sure which models though. Thanks for the tip about the seat on the Mini - DS is very broad with a long back and has been uncomfortable in friends' pushchairs.

DH talked about an umbrella pushchair. It would certainly make packing the boot a lot easier. We have to completely dismantle the Mura when we go on holiday and even pop one wheel off just to fit it into the boot. I'm not too bothered though, and certainly not about the weight; I can swing it in one-handed. I just want something easy to push. Did I mention the cobbled streets?

[Tiggywunkle]

Have a look at the Kiddy City 'n' Move. If I were to recommend an umbrella fold, then it would be it.
The Baby Joggers really are some of the best for packing because they do just slide onto the top of a boot (especially with the wheels off), which means if you stop anywhere, then they can be taken out without all the suitcases being taken out to get to the pushchair.

[CruCru]

What about the Out N About? I think that goes up to 4. No idea what it's like folded.