lightweight and hill friendly?

[TiredOldMom]

Hi all. My name is Sarah and I'm new to mumsnet, so I hope it's okay to ask for help here. I have a 2010 Vista which I love and has served me very well through 2 children, but I've moved to a very, very, very hilly neighbourhood and am looking for something that might suit our current situation better. The Vista is soooooo hard to push up the hills and takes up our entire kitchen to store. I am wondering if switching to a compact lightweight umbrella stroller might be a better fit. I have been thinking about either the Joovy Groove, Uppababy G-luxe, or Maclaren quest. It is to use everyday for my 19-month old. I don't drive, so I will use it daily for long walks and on public transportation. Any thoughts?

Hiya. Just thought I'd bump this to see if I get any replies. :-)

My pushchair days are behind me but isn't a heavier pushchair with bigger wheels better?

I would have thought big air filled wheels would make a easier push compared to small hard wheels on an umbrella stroller, but that doesn't help with your storage and weight problem on buses etc. Oh, what about a micralite. Combines the two. Strange to look at as they are like no other but would be perfect for your needs. You can get them second hand if your budget won't stretch to new

HI there, I have been using a Bugaboo Frog up till a couple of months ago. This has air rear tyres with solid front, but the pushchair itself it quite heavy anyway, and is especially noticeable on the railway bridge!! Then I got a Bugaboo Bee mk1 and boy was that much better to push. Smaller solid tyred wheels but ever so much easier on the uphill gradients. Then a couple of weeks ago I got a Bugaboo Bee Plus, which is a Bee mk2. Although it looks near enough the same as the mk1, it feels that bit lighter to push that same railway bridge for some reason.

The brochure says it is 17kg, the Frog is 18.2kg. I weighed it for a trip to Geneva. I don't know if it's that 1.2 kg extra weight of the size of the wheels, but the Bee Plus is definitely the easiest to push. I haven't tried the Cameleon yet do to the Bee being so nimble, I can't be bothered to get anything else out now. Of the 8 pushchairs I have here, the Bee Plus is easily the most easy to live with.

Yes, I have 8 pushchairs. All Bugaboo's.

I think you guys are probably right about bigger, bouncier wheels being optimum for hills. I really think in terms of hill-friendlyness a micralite would be great. But then the size/storage issue isn't resolved.

My first pram was a classic Quinny Zapp which I actually quite liked. I am wondering if a Quinny Zapp or Yezz might be a good idea. ?

Have you seen a micralite folded? They're pretty compact!

I think the micralite will still fold smaller than your current vista. I'm not sure of the weight of the micralite. Best buggy website has a great section on reviews and statistics with photos so don't rule it out yet. I saw one for sale on my local fb selling pages for 30£ yesterday, if I'd needed one I'd have snapped it up if only to trial it.