Please help! Babyzen Yoyo or Bee5 (or something else...)?

[inuinnit]

First post here! I'm expecting my first child and currently lost down neverending path that is pushchair research... keep on getting different advice from people and it's driving me mad!

At first was drawn to the super solid, tank-like prams like the Egg or Stokke Xplory, but on reflection think they might be a bit heavy.

In terms of lifestyle, we would generally use pram in urban or suburban setting. Don't do much off-roading or walks in proper countryside. We travel a lot (and hopefully will be able to do so after the baby) so portability is important. I am 5'2", my husband is 6'5" so it's also a bit of a challenge finding something which is comfortable for both of us.

Babyzen Yoyo seems to tick almost all of the boxes (and is cheaper) but have the following concerns:

• World facing only after 6 months - is the parent-facing option useful? I feel like it would be but not sure.
• No adjustable handlebar
• Feel like it looks a bit flimsy in carrycot/newborn mode
• A lot of people seem to have this as a second pushchair and a colleague of mine who has this said as it's not as sturdy as some of the others on the market, his child never slept that well in it

I like the look of Bugaboo Bee5 a lot, and it has a parent facing mode but on the other hand is less portable, heavier and there are fewer reviews for it...

Any of you lovely people able to help with your experiences? Also, am I missing something by focusing on lightweight prams only and ignoring the more substantial ones?

I can't comment on the bee. For our main pushchairs we've always had icandy (and I still have the raspberry which I love and which is potentially more comparable to the bee and the icandy orange) however we bought the yoyo for our two recent holidays.
Not used for a baby but;
Handlebar is high - we are tall (5'11" and 6'6") and I'm not sure how comfortable it would be if you were shorter
Didn't feel flimsy. The fold is brilliant and it is really really light (even compared to the raspberry)
My 11 month old napped brilliantly in it even though it doesn't go totally flat (the raspberry does) in forward facing mode
I like the easily adjustable backrest (rather than having a few set positions for recline like the raspberry)
We're considering keeping it even though we'd planned to use for the hols and sell on, as it was so good

However I'm not certain I'd want it as my only pushchair. It'd depend how much you're going to use it I think. I wouldn't for example want shopping bags or a handbag hung on the handle as it'd tip easily. And there's no good leg rest for as they get older

Oh and no, personally I don't think you're missing anything. We barely got any use out of our travel system as I didn't want baby in the car seat for too long (always had the fear of the research into oxygen levels) and the separate carrycot was grown out of quickly. With my second we just used the raspberry with the newborn pod and it was great

Thanks that's really helpful. Will add raspberry to the list of possibles...

We have a Bee (Bee Plus not Bee5) and it has lasted really well over 5 years of heavy use - my older Dc has ridden in the basket (!) and on the axle, it's also been on lots of flights. I sit in it when watching DC at playground. Very solidly built.

It feels a bit wobbly with a newborn but it gets more solid as the child gets heavier ime. Works well for 5'3 me and 6'3 Dh as the handlebar is super adjustable. Also great for buses and cafes because the handlebar collapses right in.

The main downside is the small wheels which do get stuck on every uneven pavement and pothole which is a pain - you develop a sort of instinct for finding the flattest bit of pavement. However I suspect the yoyo wheels have the same issue.

I think there are a few buggies out there which are the lightweight Bee/Yoyo/Raspberry style but have bigger wheels - makes it heavier but also means it's much better on bumpy ground. I think Mamas and Papas Armadillo range may include a version like this.

Congratulations on your first baby! I'm pretty new to the game...first baby is only 6 weeks but we opted for the bugaboo bee 5 after looking lots, doing endless research & getting totally confused in the process. We chose it mainly firstly because I am the same height as you & wasn't able to lift anything heavier up to the height to get into a car boot without damaging the car (clearly need to get down to the gym to work on that!) & also that my car is quite small and the bee5 is very compact when folded.

I am awful at being able to figure out how to use things...still haven't mastered the car seat..but putting the buggy up and down takes 30 seconds. It's so light and easy to use, I've been able to get it up/down and lift it into the car a few weeks after c section which i still struggle to do with the car seat when baby is in it! It's very easy to manoeuvre, have had a few times when baby has screamed so I've had to carry her and simultaneously push the buggy but it's very easy and the wheels are great. I found a lot of others we looked at not so easy to manoeuvre. The handle bars take seconds to adjust, you just open a clip and pull them up/down before closing the clip. My husband and I frequently swap between who's pushing the buggy & it's super easy to change the height (he's significantly taller than me!)

We got the newborn carrycot as an add on option which is very sturdy & baby seems to enjoy it. The cocoon option is cheaper and we considered it for a while but it's not very sturdy and made of a fleece fabric so baby could overheat. You can buy an adapter for around £30 to plug the car seat into the buggy frame but I didn't buy this because of the time limits on newborns being in them & the carrycot is so much cosier with its proper mattress. She's so cosy in it, that a few days when I've not been able to settle her, I've pushed her around the living room in the buggy. Thankfully now discovered a motorised baby swing as of this week which has possibly been the best purchase I've ever made!

The only thing it can't do is hold a nappy bag along the handle bars because it doesn't have anything to prevent them slipping down which most other brands do. However, I prefer to keep the nappy bag under the buggy anyway as I found when I tested other buggies with large nappy bags, the bags ended up flapping about. I didn't realise this was the case until we went to buy a changing bag after we had the buggy and were told then so am now looking at backpack options to free up space under the buggy/because formula bottles leak when on their sides in the nappy bag.

Unfortunately I can't give any opinions on what it's like for an older baby/toddler but so far so good!

Thanks for all the replies it's really good hearing from people with experiences of the Bee (and who have actually have babies!) - hadn't even considered shopping baskets as a factor!

The only thing it can't do is hold a nappy bag along the handle bars because it doesn't have anything to prevent them slipping down which most other brands do.

I solved this with a buggy clip (about £6 from jojomaman or amazon) - place it centrally on the handlebar, hang nappy bag across handles and then clip the centre of the bag strap into the clip. Stops it sliding down. A "buggy butler" or "buggy buddy" is also v useful for putting drinks and bottles etc in.

I think with the height difference between you and your DH, you definitely need an adjustable handlebar.

Parent facing is also essential IMO if you're using it from newborn. (Not sure when is best to switch to forward facing, but 5mo is still parent facing and will be for quite a bit longer I think.)

We have got the Mamas & Papas Armadillo Flip XT, and it works really well as our main pushchair. Not too big or heavy, comfy for DS, decent size basket, can be folded with the seat still on it (facing either way). It's not the lightest or smallest pushchair, but we have just bought a small and light one as a second pushchair for holidays etc, and although it's great, there are some compromises.

We also looked at the Uppababy Cruz and the iCandy Raspberry, if that's helpful.

Ohh thanks minipie! I will look into this for the changing bag.

Thanks so much for all the input! We are going to to try everything out in person at the weekend so will keep all of this in mind.

I'm confused. You want to buy this Babyzen Yoyo push chair for your newborn?
It looks like a really nice push chair, I'd like it for my DS, but what about the first six months?

Oh, and congratulations!! Such an exciting time for you :-)

Madonna9 - the Babyzen Yoyo has a 0+ option where you can use from newborn which was what we were looking at.

We had a really useful session and thanks so much for everyone's comments. In the end we've done a bit of a 180 as Babyzen Yoyo (although amazingly light and great fold) was too high for me and too low for my husband (and the shopping basket is really quite small), and the seat of the Bugaboo Bee which I loved was ludicrously low for my husband (to the point where the baby's head would have been at his calf height). We also realised that the terrain near our house is probably a bit more rugged than some of the 'urban' pushchairs seemed designed for,

Think we will end up with an iCandy Peach - handled really well and like how you can adjust the height at which the baby sits. So not at all what we were thinking of but thanks for all the help!

Glad you found one you both like!
There's just too much choice in all of these things.. driving me mad sometimes too.