Help me find a pram (exciting thread alert...)

[AlexaChelsea]

Yeah, so I'm sure most people have better things to do of a Friday evening, but I need some advice/recommendations for prams so, let's go.

The things I want:

Easy to fold
Easy to fit in boot
Easily moveable handle height (DH is massive, I'm small)
Pram to pushchair facility so it lasts the whole buggy-life of the child
Maybe takes a car seat? Don't know if it matters..
Good for going for walks

The things I don't care about:

Going on public transport
Space for shopping

I don't want to say 'money is no object', because that would be wildly overestimating our account balance. But I am prepared to spend money on a good pram.

So, let's have it.

Can I start you of with the Uppababy vista?

I had a list similar to yours and that's what I settled on (but I loved the big basket, which you don't need). They're £600 ish and come with adapters so you can slot a maxi cosi car seat straight on.

Hopefully a starter for ten ...

Yay! I was expecting nothing, so thank you!

I will go and look at this uppababy (though I take issue with the name - in the same way I vom at icandy...)

I have two DC (now 4 and 2). I've had:
Stokke Xplory
Maclaren Quest Sport
Bugaboo Donkey (double stroller)
Micralite Fast fold classic

Bought Stokke for DD (first baby). It was utterly utterly brilliant. Both DH and I are tall (5'10" and 6'3") and the handle adjusts to a very high position plus the baby is positioned high up so no need to bend over. Really saves your back. Fairly light too and easy to shove in car. Rate it big time.

Bought Maclaren to take on plane trip with DD when she was a year. Rubbish. Worst one not just of the ones we had but of any I have seen. Don't bother. Used it for that trip and never again.

Bought Bugaboo Donkey when DD was 23 months and DS was born. As a double stroller it was so amazing. Made it easy having a new born and a toddler and lugging shopping around. Plus easy to get in car even after a CS.

Both DC mostly walk now but I do have an amazing Micralite fast fold. Same weight as the Maclaren and a one handed fold. But unlike the Maclaren you can go off road because of the big wheels and you can push it with one hand over uneven terrain. Ie push it and walk with one DC holding your other hand. Bargin too at £130.

So if I was buying now for just one baby and with tallish parents. I would look at Stokke Xplory or Bugaboo Buffalo. Apparently the Buffalo is a one handed fold and goes in the car without removing the seat part. Both would set you back circa £1000 unless you bought second hand off eBay/friend/gum tree.

Oh and both Stokke and bugaboo do car seat clips for the early days for several different car seat makes (maxi cosi and others).

Have a look at prices on Kiddiecare and John Lewis.

Feedback:

I like the way the seat goes. I remember trying to get babies into straight prams before and you had to do a one hand shuffle to stop them slipping off. So I like that.

Not a big fan of the rain cover/sunshade thing, but also not wildly bothered about it. Just of note.

Can you switch between forward and rear facing? If so, I like that feature.

Do you get the whole works for your £700, or do you have to buy extras?

Stokke xplory looks interesting! I shall read on that more but first glance raises no questions. Hmm.

Bugaboo buffalo is very attractive. And one handed fold excites me (Oh god, do I fancy a pram? )

Both bugaboo and stokke have seats that can be changed to face either way.

When I bought the Stokke from
Kiddiecare. It came with all extras and a special offer was a maxi cosi car seat thrown in for £700 but that was 4 years ago.

Bugaboo meant buying extras but it added up to about £1000 with all of the stuff needed.

I have yet to find a stroller I like the rain cover on. Bugaboo was less fiddley than Stokke but not much in it. The DC stay dry which is what's important.

I am obsessed with prams. Think its known as a pram-hun here on MN.

DH jokes that I would have another baby just to buy more strollers. The Bugaboo buffalo actually made me ponder. Just for a second before the two DC I have started squabbling.

Budget - Maclaren XLR
Blow the Budget - Bugaboo Bee

That is a £300 difference... £1k is a lot for a pram.

Would you say you'd think its worth the extra £300?

You are like my dream buddy right now.

How do you feel about cots? Because I'm ready to talk.

The bugaboo donkey was bought two years later and it was one of the best side by side double strollers with the added feature that it can be turned into a narrower single stroller by taking off a seat and changing the frame position. So not really a fair comparison.

But yes worth it.

Just looked on kiddiecare and their current offer is the full Stokke system With a car seat for £980. So a bit more than 4 years ago.

Also think resale value!

I sold my Stokke this summer (couldn't be parted from it) for £480 inc the car seat. The whole lot had cost £695 four years earlier. So actually the car seat used for two babies and stroller used every day only cost me a couple of hundred.

The bugaboo donkey I sold last summer and I got £900 for it. Sold with the rider board (board to stand on at the back for toddler) which I had bought seperately. So my total spend on that was £1100 but it again only cost me a couple of hundred

Both strollers were amazing and even without resale being so fab I would have paid the money every time! No question.

My friend who bought a Quinney for DC1 for £450 got £50 on eBay for it. She bought a city jogger double buggy when DC 2 arrived for £500 which she sold for £80 last year. So she had (her words not mine) "rubbish buggies" and spent far more than I did.

My worst buy was the Maclaren. Paid £150 for it new and used it 10
Times total and sold it for £30.

Oh cots. Sorry so stroller obsessed I didn't read properly.

Bought a Mamas & Papas Golden Ocean cot for DD when she was born. Also had a Moses basket. DD loved that cot and DS still uses it now.

It was expensive but worthwhile. Only thing is that Mamas and Papas customer service is so amazingly appalling that I would recommend you go and buy your cot from John Lewis. M&P will stress you out so much it's not true. And every deliver has a faulty item in it and to get it exchanged you have to jump through hoops and they accuse you of lying etc. avoid avoid avoid.

Plenty of lovely cots in John Lewis who have fab customer service. You don't need the stress.

Only thing is. The cot we bought was fairly massive so a cot bed which is great because you can take the side of so its a proper bed. However they say you can use the cot bed until child is aged 4 or 5. Erm. No chance!! DS is two and we will be buying him a proper single bed at Christmas. He has started falling out of the cot bed because its getting too small.

Ah, DH will be a fan when I mention this resale value.

I have definitely deduced that I won't be buying a Maclaren.

Ah, se we've looked at the stokke sleepi and it says sleeps child up to age 10. I very much doubt it. DS is 10 and I can't see him still being in a high sided, converted cot...

And I will always go to JL for big purchases, after some absolutely cracking customer service I received about 7 years ago. Incredible, and I vowed them that they'd just won my business for the rest of time (unless they ruined this pact. They, thus far, have not).

Baby jogger city mini gt. Takes a car seat. Isn't parent facing but lovely and snuggly with a cocoon or you can add a carrycot. I've had the lot from bugaboo down to marclaren taking in icandy along the way and have sold them all in favour of this. I love it and it's way cheaper than most. Plus you won't need to buy the inevitable umbrella stroller.

I love this one (drool):
m.johnlewis.com/mt/www.johnlewis.com/bloom-alma-papa-cot/p214636?isd2c=false&colour=Frost+Grey&sku=231141227&un_jtt_v_dummy=yes

If I was cot shopping I might go there. John Lewis has good choice. Other too.

For baby stuff good price and amazing service Kiddiecare cannot be faulted either. I have lots of praise for them. Very good.

Oh crap. I should have said - no three wheelers. I forgot.

Had an incident with nephew win a three wheeler.

Well, that might be the greatest cot I've ever seen. Plus, it folds away, AND fits a changing thing on it? Ideal.

You could look at Bugaboo Cameleon? Cheaper than the Buffalo but still really good. Think its about £800 all in although without car seat.

The Micralite brand do one which has a carry cot and works from birth. Not tried it though but it's only £400.

Stokke also do two new versions of stroller. The Crusi and Scoot. Both look good and are cheaper than Xplory.

Argh so many choices...

Oh god, too much choice. I am overwhelmed again.

What's the difference then, between one bugaboo and another? And one stokke and another (admittedly, I haven't researched the other stokke options yet so feel free to tell me to find out for myself). I realise bugaboos all look different, but them there's £100's difference, and I am missing why.

The Stokke Scoot might be good actually. It's compact and has a one handed fold. Here:
www.stokke.com/en-gb/Stroller/Stokke-Scoot/Product-Information.aspx

I'm liking that a lot too. And it's about £650 including a car seat. Not bad

Baby Jogger City Mini GT fits all of your criteria and is a less expensive option, £330 at JL. The carrycot is a bit extra although you can put the baby in the lie-flat seat from birth if you want to. They seem to hold their value reasonably well-220-250 on Gumtree at the moment.

We've had one for DS and it's been absolutely fantastic, light, reliable, easy to travel with.

The only downside is it's forward facing only (BJ Versa parent-faces though and also apparently v good, but more expensive). Also, it's not very 'plush' and sometimes I looked at my friends' Uppababies or Bugaboos and wished I'd got something a bit nicer looking. But honestly, I think I'd have been paying the few hundred quid extra for the looks, it's a really great pushchair.

Having said that, I now want a Donkey for DC2!

Oops sorry, this moved on quite a bit whilst I was typing!

More cars - I can't do a three wheeler. So it's out I'm afraid.