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Pushchairs

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

Original poster

Bugaboo donkey

39 replies

Bugaboohelp · 26/02/2018 20:12

Hi all
Just joined to ask some advice about getting a bugaboo donkey.
Currently expecting Dd1 and would like to have another baby by the time she is 10-12 months so a bugaboo donkey would be the best for us. But im worried about the storage issue as we live in a 2 bed apartment which has a small cupboard to store the pram in and a large land rover car boot but still worried about getting it in and out of the door and having to disassemble and re assemble it everytime we come in and out from our walks. Is it easy to assemble and disassemble ? Also how easy is it to get in and out of shops and through doorways etc ? It looks huge ! Really has to be a parent facing side by side pram so don't really know anything else that would work besides it ?
Thanks

OP posts:
Chienrouge · 26/02/2018 20:15

I bought one after loads and loads of research (19 month age gap) and if I’m honest... it was a waste of money. It was big, heavy, cumbersome and annoying. Hated getting it in and out of the boot/in my front door etc. I hated the fact that it had so many removable parts and the fixtures felt flimsy. The spec really wasn’t worth the price tag.
If I had the time again I’d buy the mountain buggy duo. Or the newest version of the uppababy vista.

Original poster
Bugaboohelp · 26/02/2018 20:21

Ive looked at the duo and Vista and don't really want them stacked up ontop of each other or with one down on the ground amidst the car fumes and peoples legs etc

OP posts:
Chienrouge · 26/02/2018 20:21

The duo is a side by side.

Chienrouge · 26/02/2018 20:23

I just found the Donkey absolutely huge and really poor quality for the price.

Original poster
Bugaboohelp · 26/02/2018 20:23

Yes but its world facing i can't stand world facing prams no interactions

OP posts:
Anatidae · 26/02/2018 20:26

I’m in a similar situation- seeing kid in the way and wanting a reversible side by side.

The donkey has some advantages- it’s great in all terrains, well built and fully reversible. Resale value is good. Cons: big fold. Expensive

Mountain buggy duet is a side by side. The carrycot plus functions as a parent facing seat up to 15kg but you can’t have both facing. Brake is a bit hard to use.

The other one I was recommended is a stroll air my duo. Both seats reversible- I’ve not seen it in the flesh.

Still deciding here, so I will be interested to see what answers and any other suggestions you get!

Chienrouge · 26/02/2018 20:28

Go for the Donkey then Wink. Different things will be better for different people. I often call the Donkey the worst £1200 I ever spent, but you may love it.

Chienrouge · 26/02/2018 20:29

Oh and it depends where you live but we lived in an old spa town and the Donkey was too wide for the pavements and didn’t fit in any shop doorways!

Original poster
Bugaboohelp · 26/02/2018 20:31

Ive seen the stroll air and the emmaljunga double but i like the colour ways of bugaboo and how much you can customize it
I've watched the videos on their HQ page and in mono it doesn't look anymore cumbersome than a normal pram in terms of folding i just fear with 2 babies I'll get fed up of putting it together and dismantling it for storage each time we come into the apartment

OP posts:
Anatidae · 26/02/2018 20:36

What’s the stroll air like in person?

Definitely true that it’s so variable chien. We have a huge emmaljunga (we live in Sweden, often get a foot of snow in a day.) so a big Pram for sleeping in outdoors at nursery and long walks is useful. BUT we also have an easy walker mosey for getting in the bus and in the car - the emmaljungas are fabulously well built but an utter shit to fold. They work if you just push them into the hall and never fold them but are a major pain to fold and get in a car.

I want something reversible, side by side that folds easily/flat. I’m surprised at how little choice there is.

Chienrouge · 26/02/2018 20:39

Anatidae I think the problem is that none of them are perfect! I did so much research and agonised about it for months before buying the Donkey and then absolutely hated it. On paper it had everything I wanted.

user1499786242 · 26/02/2018 20:40

Yeah it will become the bane of your life if you have to dismantle it every single time
I know a few people who have hated it!

Original poster
Bugaboohelp · 26/02/2018 20:40

My ideal would be a double version of the bugaboo bee why doesn't that exist ?!?! I've seen a mountain buggy nano duo which is similar to a bee but again no parent facing Hmm when will these manufactures get it that parent facing is so important to parents and children these days

OP posts:
WhereIsBlueRabbit · 26/02/2018 20:45

How about one of the iCandys where you can add a second seat? Might be the Apple to Pear or the new Orange. I don't know if you can have both seats parent-facing but you can have them in different directions, I think - so baby facing you and bigger child facing outwards, maybe?

Anatidae · 26/02/2018 20:45

chien yeah we just ended up accepting that there is no perfect buggy (but whhhyyyy? I could design one!!) and buying different ones for different uses.
The mosey is my favourite. But still not perfect. Someone design a babyjogger city mini with reversible seats and you will be a fucking millionaire 😁

I want to be able to use it with the car, so I’m thinking we will end up with a cheapie unbrella stroller for that and a more solid one for the nursery run.

WhereIsBlueRabbit · 26/02/2018 20:46

I get your point about parent-facing and I wouldn't be comfortable not being able to see a newborn but a ten month old might well be happy to be world-facing.

Anatidae · 26/02/2018 20:46

The ones you add an extra seat to are quite hard to push loaded up. Ditto tandems. I had some serious joint issues after the last birth so I’d have struggled with that.

Babyiwantabump · 26/02/2018 20:52

Contrary to all the other reply’s I absolutely love my donkey! Used it as a single with DS1- then a double when DS2 came along now have it set up as a single again with the buggy board .

Love it so much and it has been so useful - use it everyday for the school run . I do admit it takes a while to fold and put in the car but no longer than any other peaks that are around unless you get an umbrella fold flimsy thing .

Well worth the money in my opinion and I have definitely got my money’s worth out of it

Original poster
Bugaboohelp · 26/02/2018 20:52

I hate icandy because of the stacked look i mentioned in my first post.
Ive just found one called Cosatto to and fro which might be the answer to my problem !
It parent faces both babies and is an umbrella fold

OP posts:
MayFayner · 26/02/2018 20:55

I planned to get a donkey but when it came down to it I couldn't cope with the size- it's huge. I got a Mountain Buggy Duet instead with the carrycot attachment for the baby's first few months. Older child was 18mo by then so world-facing was ok.

I still hated the size of it- and we have no space issues. I used it for a year and then the older child walked everywhere from 2.5 and baby went in the old single (icandy).

No way would I have a double for the single child phase, even if it was only a year. I think, as pp suggested, one of those icandy ones where you can add another seat later on is a good idea.

MayFayner · 26/02/2018 20:55

Whoops! X-post re icandy!

PotteringAlong · 26/02/2018 20:59

It’s a lot of money to spend if you don’t end up with a very short age gap.

N2986 · 26/02/2018 21:00

I love the bugaboo donkey. So practical for me. Realistically all twin doubles are wide so no difference there really. It is pricey but it was the only one that met my needs. Get the foam wheels tho- I've had two punctures in less than 6 months Angry

JustPutSomeGlitterOnIt · 26/02/2018 21:02

I love my donkey. I bought it second hand for 450 and am so glad I did.
Its ease to take apart was the main reason I got it. Folding/reconfiguring is a piece of piss.

The Mountain Buggy kind of does parent facing, but it's so bloody narrow that that mode is not really fit for purpose, and doesn't recline.
It also takes half a lifetime to reconfigure.
I swapped it for my bugaboo a few weeks in to use for this reason, and am delighted with it. It's just so QUICK to change around!

Fits through doorways fine EXCEPT with car seats on. Then the little side bits stick out wider than a standard door width.
If you're really determined, you can take seats off, fold pram, through door, unfold pram, re-fit seats.

I do this quite a bit. But I have quite a high embarrassment threshold Grin

Anatidae · 26/02/2018 21:03

Coasatto wouldn’t cope with the snow here alas.

Those of you with donkeys - realistically how much of a pain is it to get in a car boot?