An affordable parent-facing pushchair? Any alternatives to Stokke, Bugaboo, iCandy etc?

[Crunchyside]

I want to get a new buggy less than £300, ideally meet the following criteria:

• suitable from birth, just needs to lie flat, doesn't have to come with carrycot or car seat attachment, I tend to use slings a lot in the early days anyway.

• ideally parent-facing this time, as I did struggle with a forward facing one with my first baby!

• steers well and isn't too stiff and heavy to maneuver around shops etc.

• compatible with a buggy board for my 3 year old to stand on.

At the moment I've got on my shortlist:

Babystyle Oyster 2 (would probably have to get a second hand one)

Cosatto To and Fro

Cosatto Yo 2 - not actually parent facing but I do like the design

Would love a Stokke, Bugaboo, iCandy but I'm being made redundant so should really be a bit more careful with budget, even the second hand ones aren't cheap and I don't know if I like the idea of spending £200+ on a second hand buggy that is all scratched up!

Any suggestions much appreciated!

I have a M&P sola, now over 4y old - used for both DDs and still going strong. Whilst it's been great in terms of good pusher, comfy for the kids etc it does take up a lot of car boot. They do come up for sale second hand very cheap so worth keeping an eye out (e.g. Local fB selling pages)

I got it from an outlet shop with a really good offer on sale 4 y ago as the iCandy Strawberry I ordered from JL clearly wasn't going to turn up in time.

It also has quite a wide wheel base for going round narrow aisles in shops (oyster is maybe 2" narrower at the back wheels).

I still use it a lot with buggy board for bubbling around locally but got a BJCM Zip for the car boot which is awesome for days out and holidays.

Also found we use the scooter with pull along strap a lot as it's more fun than the buggy board - my DD was 3 when the baby arrived, and I'd say by 3.5 she noticeably found the buggy board a bit boring and wanted to get on & off all the time, but was fine on scooter with me helping if she was a bit tired or it got hilly.

Good luck :)

Mamas & papas zoom is brilliant and a fraction of the cost of the big brands. Very easy to steer, good basket size and seat can face either way

Such a tricky decision! I'm looking out on FB and eBay but haven't spotted any really good deals yet - they all seem like they're not in fab condition... Thanks for the recommendations... I'm adding to my shortlist!

flutterworc Good to know the To and Fro works - I still really like the Cosatto ones because they come in such nice patterns.

I've got a mammas and papas sola mx2, it lays completely flat, easy to steer and feels nice and nimble. The wheels come of nice and easily incase your boot is small. Very easy to keep clean. It can be both parent and world facing, only downside is that the parasol of you buy one is complete shit :(.
I looked at the cosatto ones and thought the ones in store looked very scratched and tatty on the frame.

IJustWantABrew I know what you mean, at least in the picture the Cosatto buggies don't seem quite as sturdy as some of the other brands (although sturdier than the really cheap lightweight ones). I think I might have to pop to Mothercare to see some in person again now I've done some research.

Kind of wish I'd done the research before Christmas and then had a look in the January sales! I did pop in during the sales but had no real idea at the time what the different brands were and what's a good deal or not!

I went into Mothercare and spotted the Mothercare Orb which I really liked as it was less wide than some of the bigger more expensive brands. Can anyone vouch for that? I've just seen these three second hand, I wonder if it's worth it! They are £300 new but some of these second hand ones are 3 years old so I'm not really sure if they'd be any good by that point?

Update - I dragged DH back to Mothercare and he vetoed the Mothercare Orb as it felt unstable due to the swivel mechanism...

Decided we liked the iCandy Strawberry 2 a lot, but it was nearly £600! Came home and bought one on eBay for £100! Yay

Doesn't come with carrycot, footmuff or raincover though. Might have to get some of these accessories second hand or maybe unbranded cheaper versions.

I recently bought an Easywalker Mosey for under £300 by buying the Easywalker MINI chassis (same as Mosey chassis) from Mothercare who are massively discounting them (www.mothercare.com/chassis-seats-and-components/mini-easywalker-stroller---silver-frameblack-wheels/708193.html) and then buying the Mosey hood, seat liner and the shoulder and crotch pads from Kinderwagengarage.nl. Overall less than £300 brand new for what was originally sold at over £500. It's a great buggy too (though the basket is not huge).