Help! Bugaboo / Joolz / Sola

[thegirlwhouk]

Ok, so we are totally and utterly overwhelmed by all the buggy options out there! We've done lots of research and everything seems to have pro's and cons!

We like the Bugaboo Chameleon, but aren't sure if the price is justifiable. We also like the Joolz Day, as we love the style and I like that the carrycot itself is high up. Again though, not a cheap option!

So today we went out to look at cheaper options to see if we really did need/want to spend £800+ on a travel system, or if we could find a good quality one we liked for £500 ish.

We ruled out the Oyster and the Uppababy Vista as I didn't get on with them. I was desperate to like the Uppababy but I just couldn't get the knack of the fold or lifting the carrycot!!

So then we went to M&P and my other half loved the Zoom as he thought it was good value for money. It's £300 for the whole system including carrycot & carseat! There's no denying that's good value.

I preferred the Sola, and we thought we'd made a decision when we worked out we could have a full Sola system (the mtx one in denim) for around the £500 mark.

HOWEVER we then came home and a quick google suggested customer care at m&p's is terrible, and that their travel systems (especially the sola) are not great quality and often break.

We'd ideally like it to last for two children... would we get that with a cheap travel system?

HELP! I just want someone to tell me what to do!!!

Bugaboo bee. Lasts forever, great for newborn, but also small enough to use with toddlers/ on planes/ buses/ and easy in and out car

Second the bugaboo. I've got the pram and the bee for travelling (have to travel a lot erc husbands family live away). They are worth every penny and hold their value so you can't go wrong

Had a Joolz for DC2 a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Good eye to eye contact with high up seat in pushchair mode. Felt quite solid, good suspension and quite liked the fact that there didn't seem to be many of them around, unlike the Bugaboo.

Have subsequently seen photos of it being pushed around by Alicia Duvall, Danielle Lloyd and most recently Natasha Hamilton so not sure if it's a bit wagtastic????

If the WAG /reality TV connection doesn't bother you though then I'd heartily recommend it.

My cameleon is still going string after 5 years and 2 children. It manoeuvres brilliantly. I absolutely love it.

Strong that is, not string!

Of the 3 mentioned I would choose the bugaboo. The joolz is way too chunky for me, seemingly I'm not bothered about seat height at all. Have you seen the baby jogger versa, that would come in at around the same as a sola and imo is far better, especially in terms of longevity. The graco evo and joie chrome are also good budget systems. Another I find really interesting but have no excuse to try out is the concord wanderer.

The great thing about the Cameleon is that it is easy to buy parts for. You can definitely pick up chassis' and parts on Ebay and put new fabrics on it. I would MUCH rather have a second hand Cam, than a new Sola. Stay away from M&P products and if you aren't convinced, take a look at the new harness buckles because they are awful - hard enough to do up if they fall into 5 pieces without adding a wriggling child, rain, traffic and an icy wind into the mix.....
The Joolz is lovely - good quality and nice to push. However it is large folded and storage isn't the best. I honestly don't get the need to have a baby high up either ihateparties. One of the best pushchairs I had was the Cam, and I loved that the baby was lower down TBH. It was so neat.
I agree with Parties too about having a look at the Versa. It came out top in a recent survey done by Best Buggy because although everyone has their favourite pushchairs, for value for money and features people were in agreement that it really is an excellent pushchair.
Out of your three, I would discount the Sola instantly, and I would choose the Cam. However I would rather have a Versa or an iCandy Peach.

We have got on really well with the sola and 9 months in I am still very happy with it. I use it daily and it is fine - wheels a little worn, but we walk miles and miles

Lone voice for Sola here.....!

Baby now 16 months, we have walked miles (and I mean miles - out every day between 1 and 8 miles, rarely a day without) and it is going strong; I got new wheels from M&P after about 10 months citing undue wear (ahem, I may not have mentioned the mileage...!) which they posted to me first class for free. Nice

Popped into a shop and said it wasn't steering well and the helpful lady silicon sprayed the bits that move and explained I was meant to do this myself every so often ( I may have skipped that page of the manual...); it was instantly perfect again.

Bought ex display, cost less than £200 plus carry cot and I am still very happy with it. Only thing I would change with hindsight is I would have got a second hand carry cot from eBay or somewhere -my friend has a zoom and it's the same fixing mechanism so I suspect plenty are out there and you only use it for the first few months.

I was going to get an iCandy strawberry, but it was too slow (38weeks pregnant and still no date for delivery at the time) so I had to choose an alternate in a bit of a hurry. Overall I am happy with what I have for the price point.

The Baby jogger city versa is great. Use with a carry cot for early months or use a wedge in the seat (I used the one from Britax first class car seat). Great 1 handed fold in forward and parent facing. Only draw back is at 11kg is a bit heavy. It is car seat compatible but I chose to get a maxi cosi opal car seat that stays in the car.

Argh, I'll be horrified if the joolz gets a wagtastic reputation! I love ours but I do agree that it is big, and quite heavy - although not much more so than the cameleon. We specifically wanted a pushchair with a high seat as we are both very tall and in fact we were seriously considering the Stokke Xplory before we found the Joolz, so the price seemed really quite reasonable in comparison...

I live in a very nappy-valley area of London and every other pushchair is a cameleon or a bee, so I rather like the fact that the joolz is a bit different.

If you want a bugaboo but cant afford it they are less that £300 2nd hand on ebay or if you want new there is the tiny tots optimo or the carrera sport 3 in 1 which are both just as good and come in at less than £350 new
www.tinytotsonline.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=57
www.littledevilsdirect.co.uk/blackcarrerasport.html
Both are UK made and are uk companies too

Hi. Hedwiggity, I'm thinking about buying the carrera sport 3 in 1 pram, but can't tell from the pictures on the website if it is good quality etc, do you have one yourself?