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Pushchairs

Join our Pram forum for pram advice. Plus read our round up of the best pushchairs currently available.

Flip

Original poster

X vs Mamas and papas armadillo flip vs baby jogger versa?

20 replies

ArcticCactus · 17/12/2015 16:41

Which would you recommend? Or is there something else that fits my needs? Neither seem to be sold in the country I live in but will be back in uk at some point and want opinions On which is best!

Must have/be

Patent facing and front facing option
One hand fold
Lightish
Decent basket
Able to cope with a bit of snow
Able to accommodate a decent sized footmuff (big wool and down one)
Able to be bumped up steep stairs into a crap non buggy friendly bus ( by a total weakling)

OP posts:

Heatherbell1978 · 17/12/2015 16:57

Hi I have the M&P Armadillo (not Flip) and the Babyjogger CityMini GT.....so not the exact versions but hopefully i can help. For me the Armadillo is the buggy we keep in the car and only use occasionally. Mine is only forward facing so maybe that's the difference between the Flip? I love it. Pros - big basket (very important to me) with easy access into it, reclines pretty flat, big hood so DS can nap ok, easy raincover to attach and small to fold up, very light and easy to fold one handed and yes it would take a big footmuff. Cons - wheels quite small/flimsy so struggles with big kerbs and certainly isn't an 'off road type buggy'. I'm not sure if it would last years with lots of use coz of this.
Babyjogger - Pros - sturdy buggy with nice big wheels, great big hood, full recline (DS naps a lot in his buggy so these are important to me) Cons - basket is smaller and access into it is tricky, raincover is big and takes up lots of room, the 3 wheels can make it a bit unstable if you're popping up kerbs and you're not meant to hang bags from it for this reason. If the versa has 4 wheels this isn't relevant obviously!

Both really good buggies but I think the BJ would be best for an everyday buggy that is used a lot. More expensive but you get what you pay for. Less frequent use, the M&P one!

Original poster

ArcticCactus · 17/12/2015 17:07

Great advice thank you. One thing about the armadillo seat is it looks quite small and exposed... Do you find that?

OP posts:

Heatherbell1978 · 17/12/2015 17:32

How old is your wee one? Mine is 16m and has been comfortable in it since we bought it when he was 6 months and he's an average sized toddler. There's still plenty room in it too. I know what you mean about the exposure of the seat but I guess if you have a foot muff it kind of takes that away? Not something I've ever really noticed to be honest. We bought it initially for a trip to Madrid in February when it was really cold....and DS1 (at 6 months) slept really snuggly in it during the day with his fluffy footmuff. It's great for travelling/planes

Hufflepuffin · 17/12/2015 17:49

We have the versa gt and love it, but it's heavy (to carry, lovely to push) and wide back wheels make it non-ideal for the bus. Great for bumping up and down steps though! The easywalker mosey gets great reviews, or the graco evo gt.

Original poster

ArcticCactus · 17/12/2015 21:55

Hmmmm had never heard of the easy walker. Thanks... Looks really cool

OP posts:

maamalady · 17/12/2015 22:09

I aleo have a versa GT and love it - would agree that it's heavy to carry but very easy to push, it must be beautifully balanced. As easy now with 18m DD as it was when she was a newborn. I don't find the back wheels a problem on buses though - but I do catch them on stuff on a fairly regular basis, which I think is down to their being wider than the front wheels rather than them being particularly wide, IYSWIM.

I've not tested it in snow, but it has been just fine on muddy fields, sandy beaches, and generally uneven outdoor ground. The basket holds plenty but is a bit awkward to access - though maybe this improves when forward facing. I always have DD parent facing, and on the couple of occasions she's been forward facing I've noticed that the buggy then doesn't fold as flat as it does when parent facing. Very irritating and one big downside to a great buggy (though as I say we use it parent facing anyway so no problem yet).

Hufflepuffin · 17/12/2015 23:35

That's so weird, evil giraffe, I would swear ours is more compact if you told it forward facing! (Which I never do, it's still beat the other way)

maamalady · 18/12/2015 08:12

That is really strange! I want to test it out both ways again now

BowiesJumper · 18/12/2015 09:29

I've got an armadillo flip. Baby is only 6wks but loving it so far. Easy fold, big basket etc and it isn't exposed with the footmuff on there. Only annoying thing is that it doesn't fold with the footmuff on which is inconvenient!!

Original poster

ArcticCactus · 18/12/2015 14:50

Ahhh... Doesnt fold with the footmuff? That rules it out then :(

The mosey looks amazing. Just seen a deal with the carrycot, footmuff and liner for 5449kr. Tempted.....

OP posts:

Bells2307 · 05/01/2016 11:28

Hi, I've just got the versa gt after lots of deliberating, I think it's great, but I wanted a buggy that could cope with our farm and the lifetime guarantee on the chassis and recommendations from other friends swung it for me. Also the versa just felt more sturdy than the others. They are bringing out a new version of the versa in February called the Metro, but apart from having 12inch wheels on the back and a slightly different adjustable handle I can't see many changes. Because of this, we got a really good deal on our versa gt, £300 for pushchair with delux carrycot! I also got the foot muff for £20 and a few other bits added on. Really pleased overall

vitalite · 06/01/2016 21:10

Bells where did you get ur versa gt if u don't mind me asking? I'm on the lookout for a versa! Cheers.

Squidgling · 22/01/2016 10:30

Not sure whether you are still looking but just to let you know that we fold our armadillo flip with the footmuff on with no problem. Been using it like that for several months with this footmuff

Maybe it doesn't fold if you use a footmuff which isn't mamas and papas but it definitely folds with the one in my link

Alice812 · 31/01/2016 14:43

Hello all,

I am considering getting the M and P Armadillo Flip but we don't have a car so need to make sure I can get on to a bus...does anyone know the back wheel measurement of their Flip? I just have visions of getting this buggy and then it not being useful for the one thing I need it to be! Any advice on if the newborn cocoon is enough or if the carrycot is better for a first time Mum like myself?

Thanks in advance.

Alice

Squidgling · 10/02/2016 19:56

Hi Alice do you mean the width of the pushchair? I will try to measure it tomorrow.

As far as the carrycot vs cocoon I think it's just personal preference. We had the carrycot which was good as we could also use it as a moses basket downstairs and I liked not having to strap a tiny baby in. DD grew out of it lengthwise pretty quickly though and she liked sitting up a bit more rather than lying flat, at about 3 or 4 months we stopped using it so there's that to consider from a cost point of view. I am glad we had it though as it seemed to protect baby from the world a bit more with its solid sides.

Alice812 · 12/02/2016 22:40

Hello!

Thanks for replying. It's sort of the width I guess...I mean the distance between both back wheels including the wheels as I guess that will be the widest part of a pram. I don't know if I should go for the m and p armadillo flip or do a carrier for a while and then do the m and p city. Thanks for your advice re carry cot, if we get the flip I think I will try to find a second hand carrycot. If you have a second to measure the armadillo flip that would be great.

Thanks again for the help.

Alice

Unhappyexpat · 13/02/2016 13:15

Easywalker is 54cm. Quite narrow

Squidgling · 14/02/2016 11:31

Sorry for the delay. I have measured for you and it's 56cm wide. Possibly slightly less, maybe 55 but 56 to be safe

Alice812 · 16/02/2016 11:29

Thank you so much! This is such a help. I am between m and p armadillo city and armadilo flip. Bit worried can't fit a car seat on the city but not sure how much we will use that anyway as we don't have a car. It's a minefield this buggy business!

Squidgling · 16/02/2016 19:45

No problem I like being able to attach the car seat to the pushchair when we are just nipping out and DD falls asleep but if you don't drive I guess that won't happen much! For me though it was really important to have a parent facing option so that's one of the reasons we chose the flip. DD still faces me most of the time now and she is nearly 1.

If you're not bothered about parent facing then I would recommend the baby jogger city mini gt if it's compact enough for you. I have pushed SILs a few times and it feels much lighter to steer etc than the flip and she highly recommended it. Big seat, large hood, small one handed fold, but it's only forward facing so it was out for me unfortunately or I would have probably got that.

Flip