Pushchair for cross-country walks with newborn

[Popsandpip]

Hi all

I could really do with your advice.

We had a Bugaboo Bee Plus for my first DD but we were living in central London and walked on pavements the whole time and hopped on and off buses. We are now country folk which means there are no pavements at all. I'm near woodland with great paths and lovely country parks. The Bee just won't cut it.

What pram would you recommend for a newborn onwards?

Other relevant info:

• I have a bad back so something like the Bugaboo Buffalo is just too heavy for me to get in and out of the car.
• We don't use public transport any more - there isn't any.
• We have a 4 x 4 - absolute necessity given we live down a single track road and have to cross a ford to get to our house. Means we have a big boot though!
• We have a Maxi-Cosi car seat from DD1 that I'd like to use with the new pram if possible so something compatible would be preferable.

I've looked at the Bugaboo Chameleon but am not sure if this really is 'cross-country' enough. I also saw the Quinny Buzz Xtra which seemed a possibility. Any thoughts?

Also, one final question: would you recommend getting a pram that had a 'proper' carry-cot? How would you use it? With the Bee we bought the little cocoon thing which I recall didn't seem to be too much money at the time and we great for walks about town when my DD was tiny but I can't see the use if we're using the carseat a lot whenever we want to get anywhere. Am I missing something?

Thanks so much in advance for your help. Who knew pram buying could be such a minefield?!

I'd get a carrycot or something with a lie flat seat. It's not recommended for babies to use car seats out of the car for long periods of time, the seated position is associated with risks relating to oxygen desaturation, organ and spinal development. Basically it's not a great idea to use a car seat full time for a newborn if you can avoid it.

Some good options to start with are probably a mountain buggy of some kind, a nipper 360, a baby jogger city mini gt, jane trider or something I saw today that looked really good for this sort of thing - a silver cross surf 2 with terrain wheel. The casualplay kudu 3 is something that looks interesting but i have only seen it once, fairly fleetingly.

I'm not a buzz fan, particularly for off road, they're fine but there's lots better out there.

Someone who posts on this board has a mini gt with deluxe carrycot, I think that looks great and ideal for a less urban lifestyle. I have had the pushchair in the past and it is very good. The main down side is losing the parent facing option once the carrycot is outgrown.

Wow, thanks for the speedy reply Ihate. Much appreciated.

You're right about the car seat not being suitable for use all the time. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear. It's more that if a small baby is asleep in the car (in the car seat), then we could just simply click the car seat onto the pram frame for a quick trip out. I understand you're not a fan of the Buzz (and I have no loyalties here as I just saw it fleetingly in Mothercare when I popped in the other day) but I liked the fact that the seat itself could recline to a 180 degree position so the baby could be flat, potentially negating the separate purchase of a carry-cot. I absolutely want something that has the ability for the baby to lie flat. Do all the prams you so kindly mention have the facility to click on a car seat? On reflection, I reckon that should be one of my criteria too.

Sure, I think they all do. The jane ones are tricky as it's their own brand seats only, the others usually have a range of adaptors. You can definitely put a maxi cosi on the baby joggers, the nipper I would have to google.. The surf.. Hmm don't know (I'm not very good at this bit :-D)

I had totally forgotten about the surf terrain wheel accessory until I saw someone using it today, it was filthy and looked like they had really put it through it's paces off road. Thinking about the surf, that comes with a baby nest, which is a wedge type thing that makes the normal seat flat for a newborn. So you can buy a carrycot but you don't have to. I have the surf wedge and it works in basically any bucket shaped seat. Mamas and papas also sell a similar thing for the sola city (it's about £20) so if you want to avoid a carrycot but something you want has a 6m+ seat you can get around that using a wedge insert.

Do you want whatever it is to definitely face you or is that a negotiable?

Oh and the easywalker mosey and new mini are also awesome. I don't know how awesome genuinely off road but definitely a great option in terms of no carrycot needed, folds in one piece, decent wheels etc.

The iCandy All Terrain or Moutain Buggy Urban Jungle?
The urban jungle is getting a restyle this year too and has a parent facing seat available

Thanks all. Lots to check out. I'm grateful for the suggestions!

I'd definitely like a seat that can face both ways.

Re the carrycot, what are the advantages/disadvantages of using one?

BOB by britax worth a look. You can clip a car seat on and they do a lay flat attachment.

Have you considered a really good wrap sling for country walks? I live in the countryside and carried both the DDs everywhere. The only time I ever used a pushchair was when I went into town shopping and needed somewhere to put the bags.

Depends on your day to day life really. Advantages for me were sleeping place downstairs in the house, not fiddling with straps and clips around a newborn (my last carrycot had a soft harness, which was great) so easier to put down if asleep, all my babies liked the enclosed thing. Downsides were expense vs relatively short lifespan, bulky in car boots etc. left with it afterwards to either store or sell. I walk almost everywhere so car boot etc was never an issue. If I drove most places I'm certain I would have different priorities and be more likely to go for a single fold pushchair with a lie flat seat.

We have an out and about 360... suitable from birth... I love it.... not expensive either

I have a easywalker mosey and it's great. I am semi rural and it copes fine. I chose it because I also have a bee but wanted something with all the same features that could handle rougher terrain and it ticks all my boxes. I took it through the woods the other day and it went over long grass, thick piles of leaves, small branches without getting stuck at all.

I've bought an old Phil and Teds sport to tank around the countryside.

Huge tyres, 3 wheels, and I haven't managed to kill one yet in 8 years of use!

We have a Mountain Buggy Swift. Sturdy without being massive, great on rough ground, and you can get an adapter that works with a Maxi-Cosi car seat.

Remember that non inflatable tyres are much more practical. Nobody wants a puncture to contend with!

I have the Jane trider. I got the full set up at massively reduced price from precious little one as it was in last years colour. I got the buggy which the seat can go either way, I use it parent facing but turn it around to use as a highchair as little one is too small for those rubbish wooden restaurant ones do he slides through them! It also came with the strata car seat and the transporter carrycot which is a carrycot that can also be used in the car so you get the best of both worlds by them being in the carrycot but not in a carseat if you want to move them from the car asleep. Can also get an overnight mattress for it if you want to use it as a Moses basket alternative.

Recaro baby zen. I love mine. It has carrycot which turns into a chair for indoor use and the pushchair is really light to lift. It also has solid tyres, mine has done miles of muddy walks and after nearly three years is still going strong.

We used the Silver Cross Surf with adaptors to clip her Maxi Cosi into.

The Surf has front wheels that lock into place meaning that it's pretty good off road. I took it on the sand and stony beach and up into the dunes without and problems.

It's pretty light and has an extending handle if anyone is tall.

Downsides could've been the basket which was small but that wasn't crucial to our lifestyle so didn't matter.

I was also going to suggest a sling. I've barely used the buggy for ds2 I find the sling much easier. I realise back problems might put you off but the wrap ones spread the weight very effectively

Thanks so much for all the suggestions. I'll have to do some research over the weekend.

A sling is a definite no-no for me unfortunately due to back issues.

So it seems the main advantage of the separate carrycot is that there are no straps to contend with and there's somewwher familiar/good for the baby to sleep downstairs.

Disadvantages are the cost, storage and using up space in the boot.

Is that right? Is there anything else springs to mind?

Don't forget with the Jane carrycot it won't take up space in the boot as you use it as a car seat in the car also. Re cost well it will also replace Moses basket so a big of a saving there too.
It's worth trying to find a local stockist to have a look at it, the only problem is finding a local stockist!

Baby might loathe the carrycot. Mind you mine also loathed the car seat...

We've just bought a Baby Jogger Summit 3 - we live out in the sticks too. Baby isn't here yet so not used it for real, but it looks like it'll do the job, and very sturdily built.

See if you can get a landrover buggy on eBay. We had one and it was fantastic. It's so light and easy to steer, takes up hardly any room once packed up and goes over any terrain easily.

We managed to sell ours for the same price that we bought it on eBay 4 years later!

I have a maxi cosi mura- dream to push on all terrain: hill farm- ds gets dragged up to check on the stock in it as I can't sling him incase I have to do something while I'm there (the practicalities of lambing with a baby strapped on???) although it is incredibly heavy to lift so might not suit if you need to get it in and out of a car. I never found bugaboos to be sturdy enough for real off-roading!

Oooh more to check out. Thanks all!