Opinions on the bugaboo Cam and the Buffalo.

[LittleBairn]

I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas on which would be best for me a Bugaboo Cameleon 3 or the Buffalo.
I live in a town, I don't drive so I walk everywhere.
My town is fairly hilly and we live up the top of a very long hill.
We live near a country park that I like to visit and my parents live near the seaside.
If I use public transport its always trains, they aren't too busy and I've seen a bugaboo Donkey on one before and didnt seem to be a problem.
I do like to visit the City which I do by train.
I have an old shoulder injury.

I was set on the Cameleon until DH and I popped into Mothercare and he took a liking to the Buffalo and now I'm rather taken with it too.
My main issue, and its a bit silly, is that I don't like the way the bumper bar holders sit so high up when the bumper bar is removed.
I'm not a fan of bumper bars and I'm unlikely to use it.
Can you buy anything to fill them in?

Another issue is the basket, I like the Cam draw string basket because it means I can chuck all the baby stuff in it and not bother with any other bags.
But then again maybe the big basket on the Buffalo will work well too with blankets and shopping.

On the other hand if I buy the Cam will it be difficult to use in country parks etc?

Does anyone use the rough terrain wheels on the Cam? How do they compare with the little wheels? Are they worth buying?

If you have either of the pushchairs is there any pros or cons I should know about?

I have pretty much 2 weeks left of this pregnancy and I'm supposed to be on full bed rest so can't really go back and look at them again. The sales assistant didn't seem to know much about the buffalo.

[Imperialleather2]

I think the buffalo folds in one piece? If so I'd go for that.

The cam has driven me mad having to take it apart and get it in the car.

Both are pretty huge and don't be surprised if after 18 months you swap to a buggy.

[LittleBairn]

It is a one fold but huge so not really much of a bonus.
We don't have to worry about folding it down I don't drive and my DH has a van.

I've used the Cam before as a nanny for a toddler and I still prefer them to stroller type pushchairs.

[Becky2208]

We have the buffalo, and I love it.

Pros -

• the seat is high up and quite big, and DS seems very comfy in it. The bumper bar does sit quite high up, but at the moment he likes to rest his feet on it. I don't know if you can get anything to fill the holes, but you can get a snack tray, which slots in to one of the holes I think.
  
• the hood is massive - it comes right down over the seat, so offers great protection against wind or sun
  
• the basket is huge, and the pram itself can carry quite a large weight in comparison to a lot of others, which is great for us as DS is 91st percentile for weight.
  
• we've taken it over very rough ground, and to the beach, and it's very easy to push over pretty much anything, and DS always looks happy even when going over the bumpiest terrain.
  
• it has a bag hook on either side, which is really handy - you can either hang one bag on each side, or loop a changing bag over the handlebar.
  

Cons -

• it does fold in one piece, but it's large when folded, and very heavy to lift, especially in one piece. When putting it in and out of the car, I take the seat off as otherwise I struggle to lift it (I have back problems).
  
• it's big in general, so i suppose in some shops with narrow spaces it might feel too big, but I haven't found this a problem.
  

HTH , and good luck with your new arrival!

[NishyM]

Hi, I looked at Chamelon, Buffalo, Peach 3 and Apple 2 Pear - I ultimately went with the Peach 3 because I also do a lot of walking and liked that it doesn't have air tyres like the bugaboos do.

Funnily enough I didn't like the Apple 2 Pear because it doesn't have the bumper bar, have you seen that one at all?

[LittleBairn]

Nishy the Donkey is the only bugaboo with air tyres, the Cam and Buffalo are both foam. I too hate air tyres, I had loads of issues with a phil and teds constantly getting punctured.

We haven't really looked at the icandys but I did look at the Strawberry online. My hospital is close to a baby shop that sells them so I might have a quick look after my appointment tomorrow.
How does the Peach handle in parks?

[LittleBairn]

becky I really like the hood on the Buffalo too, its windy where we are so a little extra protection might be nice.
Does the basket drag on the ground when full?
I quiet like the idea of popping to the supermarket to do a decent size shop. I can't really do that walking on my own with a bad shoulder.

How do you find it going up pavements? I was wondering if the extra weight makes that more difficult or if the big wheels help.

[KatoPotato]

little This is my dilemma right now! I like the idea the Buffalo is self standing when folded and prefer the idea of a foot brake?

[KatoPotato]

rather than the knuckle snapping handbrake on the cam! (had a 1st gen with DS1)

[LittleBairn]

I was thinking the hand break might be a Postive. But I'm so used to foot breaks it wouldn't bother me too.

[VeryPunny]

A friend has the buffalo and it is ENORMOUS! I would only buy one if I could stick it in a porch, and didn't have to wrestle it in and out of a car frequently. If you can leave it up, it looks fab!

[LittleBairn]

I'm planning to leave it up. But I can store it in a closet downstairs if it start to annoy me.
I think it looks huge because of the high seat and thicker frame but when DH took them off the display and compared them with rear wheals matching up the buffalo was only a wheel width wider.

[CountingThePennies]

What about the uppa baby vista?

[Becky2208]

I've had quite a lot in the basket and it's never dragged on the floor.

I find it easier to get up and down curbs than the smaller pushchair my mum has - I think the big wheels do help.

We were considering the peach 3, and a friend has one, and to be honest I don't like it at all - both the seat and the carrycot look small to me, and I don't think it's that great on rough terrain, but she really likes it so it might be worth a look.

[LittleBairn]

counting I've heard a lot of good things about the Uppa Baby brand but it is the one brand I haven't used before so would want to see it in person but I haven't yet managed to see it in a shop.

becky thank you it sounds in despite of its weight it would handle well, not doing further damage to y shoulder.

[Artandco]

A completely different option but take a look at the babyzen yoga. It's a nifty yet suitable pram for what you want. It's a 3 wheeler, so great on sand and of road. Much lighter than the bugaboo options, parent faces if you want, and seat comes off as baby seat say at relatives. Folds fairly small for larger type pram and in one piece, and bounces up curbs easily with your shoulder problem

Don't eat me wrong, we had the chameleon, and used over 4 years, with x2 children and we like it ( and never used a MacLaren type), but I think if I was buying again I would get something different as many others have come out since we bought 6 years ago.

[Artandco]

www.babyzen.com/collection-zen.php

[LittleBairn]

I'm not too keen on 3 wheelers (with the exception of mountin buggies) after tipping a Quinny with a toddler inside it. he was fine recovered from his shock much faster than me.

[scew]

I have the cam and love it - the latest editions of the cam have the hood that comes right down over the pram too

[LittleBairn]

scew thank you I didn't know that about the hood, I liked that feature on the Buffalo.

[KatoPotato]

How you getting on little I'm still scratching my head over this!

[LittleBairn]

Kato I'm pretty much the same as you no further on in the decision. It doesn't help that I shouldn't really make the journey to the shops to have a good look at them and I'm likely to deliver within the next 10-14 days.
It's silly but I love the Buffalo but put off by the way it looks with the bumper bar off.
I like the fact the Cam 3 has the same hood as the Buffalo, something I didn't notice in mothercare and the assistant didn't mention.
The most helpful person in the shop was another customer who said her sister has a Cam 3 and lives on a farm and loves it.

[LittleBairn]

Update went again to view them in Mothercare and the assistant brought us weighted 'baby' to try out on each of them. You really felt the extra weight of the Buffalo once there was the extra weight of the baby so I'm going to go fir the Cam instead.

[Tiggywunkle]

I didn't get chance to write, but I agree with your decision. It was your shoulder injury which would have steered me towards a Cam for you. I am sure the Cam will be fine off road - ours went everywhere. Even though I loved the Buffalo there were times when it felt huge and the weight of folding, lifting etc. was more than I needed.

[KatoPotato]

I do appreciate your update! I've been thinking today and swaying back towards the cam3 too!

Noticed it's mostly men Makng the fold look easy in
The demo vids