Tell me what travel systems to look at tomorrow

[Sleepybeanbump]

Off hunting tomorrow.

Want system that can be used from birth with a carrycot. Might well use carrycot for day time naps at home and for overnight sleeping when away. Would like to be car seat compatible for quick nips in and out of places with car but don't plan to use this functionality very much for health reasons.

Want buggy seat to be both forward and rear facing.

Will be used for tootling around town on daily basis and on gravel/muddy paths on the local common etc several times a week and at least twice a week.

We're big walkers but our stomping ground is so full of super muddy bridle ways I can't imagine even a serious off roader being much use to us for proper weekend walks. Not to mention stiles! I anticipate we will use a baby carrier for most walks. That said given how outdoorsy we are it's likely to still get above average off road use.

I don't drive (dh does) so capacity and ease of access of shopping basket is key. Sturdiness also. Don't like look of some really thin looking netting ones.

I started getting bothered about one hand fold etc for buses but tbh I hope to walk as I do now rather than bus, and buses are frequent so can get off and wait for next if have to. I'm thinking that whatever the style dismantling a buggy while holding a baby and bags and shopping etc sounds like a total nightmare that I would try to avoid anyway! That said I do want it to be easy enough to handle that it can easily go on buses in the first place. If weather, time or distance don't allow walking, it's my only way of getting around!

Both dh and I are below average height.

Based on what always seems to get good reviews I'm sort of eyeing up mutsy Evo, uppababy vista, bugaboo cam, babystyle oyster, baby jogger versa. Also Icandy and mountain buggy, but don't know which ones! Some of these may be completely unsuitable but only just starting research!

I was going to say the bugaboo cam with rough terrain wheels but you could also the bugaboo buffalo. DH and I are both short and they were a good height for us.

Come on! You know there's nothing more fun to talk about on a hot Friday afternoon....

I would add in the easywalker mini and mosey, the Jane epic.. Erm. Mind blank. Sc pioneer maybe, I hear good things about that. Possibly the joolz geo if you have half an eye on needing a double down the line?

The oyster isn't very good on any sort of surface imo, the vista is massive (fine as long as you're expecting it) but all the ones you mention imply you're on the right track.

When it comes down to it individual models aside suitability combined with your own preferences are the biggest factors. You're thinking about your day to day lifestyle, it's easy to get overwhelmed in a shop full and forget what you actually wanted in the first at place

The oyster is rubbish off road, it barely handles the rough pavements around here. It is however perfect for getting in and out of my car for use around town/shops. I am finding I use my connecta more and more now though. I'm currently looking for a second hand out n about nipper for dog walking and wish I had just bought one in the first place now. Good luck!

Superb fairy. Do you wish you'd got the nipper from birth even if you can't have parent facing? The two travel systems I'm looking at are city mini games or armadillo flip xt. Obviously the cmgt doesn't have parent facing option and that's the only thing that is making me consider the other. I'm not looking for off reading and don't have a dog but the pavements near us are shocking and I like walks around the park on grass.

Sorry to jump in your post op, hope you have sucess with your shopping trip.

Right that seemed easier than we expected!

Dismissed ICandy in 5 seconds flat. The carrycot sat so far forward that with the handle at the height I wanted I bumped my knees on the carrycot when I walked (5 foot 3 with long legs). As an aside I also wasn't taken with the hugeness and shininess and general in-your-face-ness of it. It felt like the range rover of prams - in a bad way. A pity as was interested in peach jogger.

Dismissed bugaboo both cam and buffalo after a lot of playing about with them both. Cam sat so low that the baby would feel miles away and I'd have to bend down lots (and I'm short!) Also couldn't access the shopping basket with carrycot on. Deal breaker.

Buffalo handled like a shopping trolley. Carrycot was so long and heavy and unbalanced to carry. Tilted head forwards. Minor, but also didn't like unnecessary flimsy fiddly plasticy bits on either- the handle adjustment is just stupid. Why not one pressy button on the handle? What's with the two flippy clippy things? Nope.

Sales assistant showed me a joolz. Tiny storage compartment. Nope.

Shop said oyster awful off road and baby jogger not reversible to they were out. They didn't have mutsy or mountain buggy but I've watched demos and was already put off mutsy because it looks like everything would fall out of the shopping basket and mountain buggy because I don't like the toggle seat adjust (not on something that's your main every day from birth buggy anyway).

But we LOVED the uppababy vista. It was the first we looked at and we loved the feel of it as we spun it round the shop. Light. Easy to move one handed. Then we had a demo and played with it. The fold seemed simpler and easier than others. Loved the way it balanced when folded although one niggle is that the handle rests in whatever gunk is on the floor. LOVED the carrycot release mechanism, and so easy to carry. Carrycot felt much sturdier and nicer than the bugaboo (which is essentially just canvas strung on a frame). LOVED the storage basket. Massive and easy to access. Loved the silver extra sunshade. Loved the fact that the leg position on the buggy is adjustable as well as the seat tilt (I'm not a toddler but can't imagine that your knees being stuck at 90 degrees all the time whether you like it or not is much fun). Everytime we looked at another one we came back to the vista.

My only reservation is the off road capabilities, but we looked at an out and about 3 wheeler (not sure which model!) that was surprisingly cheap and decided that if we feel the need, we'll just get that as a second off road buggy. I won't want my main system getting utterly filthy and mud spattered anyway, so would be quite nice to have a round town / shopping etc one and a muddy walks one.

So unless someone can tempt me with something else, I'm not doing to do any more hunting, we'll just order the vista!

I feel lazy and inadequate it seems people drive up and down the country for months trying out everything multiple times. But it seems....kinda good enough. And popular and tried and tested. And life is short.

Ah it seems there aren't many out and abouts! It was the single nipper. Good to hear someone else endorsing the same logic!

We have the Cruz (vista seemed too bulky for buses and shops) and like it. It is one of the few with a carrycot that can be used for sleeping. We used it for all daytime naps. A couple of friends have the vista and love it. Tbh I use a carrier far more than the pushchair though. It suits my lifestyle better.

I had the vista and all of your initial thoughts will stand up to a couple of years of use. It's an excellent travel system. The carrycot can also be used for overnight sleeping which is a massive bonus if you're staying away from home. It's also longer than the bugaboo for example (the carrycot) my two lasted much longer in it than friends' babies did in cameleon . Can wholeheartedly recommend it!

Yes the carrycot suitability for overnight sleeping was a massive bonus too. We travel in the uk quite often, and I like the idea of using it for all daytime naps at home too to save on another cot!

Uppababy Vista or Cruz.
We have the vista and tcks all your boxes - it's not the best on bumpy terrain but it'll get you there. We used the carrycot as a moses basket. The basket is huge. I love how easy it is to flip between parent and away facing. Plus the 2015 model has been updated and you can easily turn it into and double if you have another baby in in a few years (I've got 2013 model and I was a bit sulky when I saw the 2015 model as we're planning on ttc #2 in a few months.)

I read your original post and thought uppababy vista! We have one. Our DD is now 2.4 and we still use it every day.

Autumn2014 I think I do yes! They are only 200odd pounds new which is what I paid for my oyster and it is useless on bumpy ground. If I could go back a year I would get a new nipper and probably a cheap secondhand parent facing pushchair for the first 6months then switch to graco evo mini, joie litetrax or secondhand bjcm. As it goes I have a graco evo mini and my oyster and am looking for a cheap nipper but not found one yet. Nippers seems to hold their value too.
Parent facing is lovely but have been using the evo mini for the past month or so pretty much daily and my dd loves facing out.

It sounds like the vista is the pram for you but just so you know they were wrong about the baby jogger versa, it is reversible!

Uppababy Vista is better than all the I whatever's and the whatever boos in my opinion. We are over the moon with ours and 2 years on looks as good as new.

Only one thing about the uppababy - I don't use it on the bus as it's just too massive. If you're getting on an empty bus and the driver will let you use the back doors you are fine but sometimes that's just not an option.

I think you need two buggies. One city and bus friendly, parent facing one and a nipper/mountain buggy type thing.

The vista is neither of those. I've used my sister's and it was a nightmare in shops and the fold is very slow. It's not an off roader either.

The vista cruz or something like this could work babyjogger.co.uk/product/vue/

Check out eBay for the nipper if you don't mind second hand

Hmmm Scottish that's interesting. It didn't feel massive, but I guess I was only comparing it with other fairly chunky things. I didn't try anything nippy and light and totally urban because I wanted at least a bit of off road flexibility even if we do get a Nipper as well.

Thing is the weekdays are going to be: mix of pavement walks, shops, bus and walks on local common, towpaths etc
Weekends are going to be outdoorsy.

Which is why I see myself with a reasonably tough chunky everyday system and the nipper rather than urban light system plus nipper.

Lentil thanks! I THOUGHT I hadn't got anything on my list that wasn't reversible. Actually really annoyed the shop got it wrong because I didn't even lay eyes on the Versa and looking again online it looks pretty good! Will have to go back.

How does it compare with the uppababy vista? It looks like basket is fairly massive and it has adjustable leg position. Hard to tell about fold and handling obv without playing with it.

I thought looked at the Vista but the way the baby sits in it in double mode really worried me, I didn't like how the newborn baby would be sitting so far forward in the lower position. Went for ICandy as the baby would sit at the back of the pram, which I think looks a bit safer.

What about baby zen yoga? It's good off-road, yet folds small. Parent faces.

The fold on the versa is lovely. It's looks aren't quite like the vistas - it's a bit more of a workhorse. It doesn't come with the rain covers etc. I had the old carrycot, which famously looks like a sports hold-all but the new one is lovely and suitable for overnight sleeping. It's heavy to carry when folded. I definitely think it's worth having a look at it if you get the chance!

Once they get to 6 months plus I think facing forwards is actually better a lot of the time - they can see out and go off to sleep more easily. I had a second hand travel system from a friend for the first 6 months then switched to my trusty nipper. I have an evo mini in the car but it's rubbish in comparison. After 3 babies I wouldn't spend loads of cash on a new travel system tbh.

Just to say have the Vista and it's been great. Just feels really sturdy. I've used it loads off road, useles on sand, but it's been fine with everything else. I've not had any problems getting it on the bus, but I don't do it very often and they've never been busy when I've tried, probably not ideal if it was.

O and the big basket is fantastic. I can get a whole week's shop in there. Worth it just for that!