Help please, don't know where to compromise

[GreyDuck]

First time Mum to be, and I am a bit overwhelmed by the pushchair choices.
I don't even know for sure what I'm looking for because obviously baby will change my lifestyle. Currently I walk anywhere under about two miles and take the car on longer journeys. I hardly ever use public transport.
Have already spent probably too long researching online and there always seems to be a compromise.

Here is my list of (I think) essential requirements:
Suitable from birth
Tall adjustable handles, and space for a long stride. DH is 6'4", I am 5'7", but take big steps as I'm usually late to everything.
Suitable for tall baby (seems likely)
Big hood and robust raincover. I live in a windy and rainy part of the country.
Easy to push
Big shopping basket. supermarket /shops are in walking distance.
Wheels that will cope with rough paths /gravel. We'll have a carrier as well for proper countryside walks, because of the stiles.
Parent facing
Robust/durable, Nothing delicate is safe near my family.

Things I would also like, but probably can't have all of:
Carrycot suitable for sleeping
Lightweight enough to lift in and out of the car easily
Folds small
Easy to fold
Easy to adjust
High up baby seat

Obviously I would prefer all of this for the lowest price possible, but I could buy a top price pushchair if needed. I'm not at all bothered by which brands are fashionable.

Thank you for any suggestions

I had an I candy apple and this sounds like it fits what your looking for. I loved it

I have an uppababy vista which ticks most of your list but it’s v.heavy - just had 3 days of back pain from lifting it out of my car. Not sure I would go for it again if I had the choice.

Mountain buggy maybe

Definitely look at the Uppababy Vista, it fits nearly all your requirements. We've used ours daily for 19 months and it's still looking good

We had quite similar requirements and got the uppababy Cruz. Lighter than the vista. You can buy the carrycot separately. I don't drive so walk / take public transport and it's been very robust - we're now using it for baby number 2.

Stokke xplory was great for me (5'9") and my brother was fine pushing it at 6'5". It had a narrower base than an uppababy so found it easier to navigate around shops. Carrycot suitable for sleeping and the baby is at a great height when they go in to the chair part once they've grown out of the carrycot.

Absolutely loved mine, was sad to change over to a Maclaren when DS got older.

Have a look at the bugaboo range, I've got the donkey and can't wait to be pushing it along the seafront. My sister lives very rural and has the buffalo... Really robust. Good luck.

Baby Jogger City mini GT.

You really can't beat it. Birth - 4, it's really hardy.

The Cybex Balios S sounds like it would fit the bill.

Adjustable handle
Huge seat
Huge hood
Decent basket
Rubberised all terrain puncture proof tyres
Parent and forward facing seat
Carrycot available but not sure about overnight use
Quite light at 24lbs
Compact 2 step (1 hand) fold
Easy to switch modes and recline
High up seat

RRP is £308 but seems to be selling for around £275.

If you have to compromise abandon the idea of small fold/lightweight and that way it should be super easy to tick every other box on your list; a pram with big wheels/seperate carry cot etc. is never going to be super light and/or have a tiny fold. Then when baby is 6 months+ you can consider getting a cheap-ish small light weight stroller buggy like a maclaren or similar. With that in mind you could consider the Uppababy Vista/iCandy Peach/Bugaboo Buffalo or Chameleon.

Thank you all for your suggestions.

growthrough thanks, I'll look at the apple.

user and Mrstempah I looked at the uppababy Vista and really like it. My big reservation on this is that the carrycot is short inside, a lot of reviewers say their babies grew out of it at a few months. I also thought it was heavy to lift, although this seems to be comparable to other travel systems.

byebyetrain uppababy seem to have a good reputation for robustness, so it's good to hear that yours lasted well. The size and weight of Cruz are attractive . How have you found the wheels/suspension? Also did you have problems with carrycot length?

billyandthesillies I love the height Of the Xplory, but can you get lots of stuff in the basket too?

sprinklesomesparkles thanks for those suggestions. I really liked the Fox in the shop, but it's so costly... Fine if I love it, but don't want to make an expensive mistake. Glad to hear bugaboo are durable.

Dollydaydream Thanks, that one comes up a lot in searches, and is a contender.

YerAuntFanny The cybex Looks great in theory, but it's so new, there aren't any reviews from real life owners. I'll see if I can find a shop to try one out.

Troubledlichen I think you might be right, I just don't want to end up with hundreds of buggies. SIL went through seven in the first year, and I was rather scathing now I can see it's not so straightforward. Two is not so bad though.

The suspension on the Cruz has been fine. Obviously it gets a bit bumpy if you're going over very bumpy ground.

The wheels have lasted really well. I do a lot of walking, plus we have a dog so do lots of tramping round parks and over rough paths. We got replacement front wheels after about 2.5 years (around £35). They would have lasted longer but with baby number 2, we decided it would be worth it.

I wouldn't say the carry cot was particularly short (we're tall and so is ds) but I have to say my DS wasn't a huge fan of it, so we only used it for the first few months (a combination of reflux and being quite a nosey baby). You can get a newborn insert for the pushchair, which we used from about 3.5 months which he much preferred. You can't lie them completely flat with it though.

We are going for the Cybex Balios S for mostly these reasons except I don't want the carrycot. I'll just use it lie flat in parent facing mode when DS2 is tiny. That's what I did with DS1 (I had a Loola Up then). The main problem with carrycots is they take up so much room in the car I don't see us ever using it.

It is a big pain that it's so new because of lack of reviews and the fact it's never discounted but we're keeping an eye out for any deal with a big shop where it's spend over £X get £X off kind of thing. We think that's likely to get us the best price. Don't forget you have to buy the car seat adaptors separately, they are €35 (unsure in pounds) and unique to this buggy so you can't get them second hand, which is a pain! But if you get it as a set with carrycot and car seat included, then I expect they'll come with it. Check with the shop. The fold takes a minute to work out (speed is the key, it only folds if you do the movement fast) but once you know how to do it, it's really easy and DH was quite taken with the smoothness of it!

Our second choice is the Joie Chrome. It meets the same criteria and is cheaper but the fold is a tiny bit bigger and the whole thing feels less well made. But I like the fact the Cybex has a higher weight limit officially which might mean it's more suitable for a tall baby in your situation.

One of the criteria I've found hardest is a proper lie flat seat. A lot of buggies seem to have this weird moulded seat which reclines by tipping back and I don't like this. I want one which hinges so that it goes properly flat without their legs in the air.

I'll just add my others - also on our shortlist was the Maxi Cosi Stella, so look at this as well - it didn't quite make the grade in the end because the recline isn't 100% flat and the seat is lower than some others, but it regularly gets discounted or included in competitions, so it's worth having on the list, plus I thought the little racing bar thing was cool!

And have a look at some of the more upmarket Hauck sets. What put me off these is that you can only buy them with the carrycot - but that wouldn't be an issue if you want it. They seem to go for a good price and regularly have offers on them. The Soul Plus, Atlantic Plus or Maxan 4 Plus. The cheap Hauck buggies look a bit naff but these ones seemed alright when I looked at them, especially for what you get in the package. Problem with oversaturation of models is it's hard to find reviews for these.

Then I also had Mutsy Evo (too expensive, but if it comes up second hand we might get it) and Cosatto Woop (but too difficult to import from UK) as the only Cosatto with a "proper" recline IMO - however, no carrycot.

Here's a more recent review for the Balios S BTW - not a long term use one admittedly but looks like a RL use review. And they are really positive about it :)

www.pushchairexpert.com/en/pushchair-reviews/cybex-balios-s-review/

Joolz geo! Meets every criteria on your list! I still love ours 18 months later

I have an icandy peach, which meets much of your list, but doesn't fold small and is heavy! If I were buying now I'd go for the mamas and papas Ocarro - good for all terrain, lie flat from birth (and has a carrycot), but also folds up pretty small in one piece. I can't recall the basket size, but other than that it ticks all your boxes.

Doh sorry last post I promise!!

I have just looked back at shortlist and we also have the Maxi Cosi Adorra and the Mura 4+ but not much info on why I discounted them - I think the folds are fairly big which is a barrier for us.

I do notice all the reviews of the Balios S say that the seat unit/carrycot/car seat can be removed one handed but we could not find these "memory buttons", they didn't seem to stay pressed in, so we had to do it two handed which was a bit fiddly. If you find somewhere to try it out (the cybex website was helpful for this) then perhaps this is something worth asking to be shown, also with the fold.

Bugaboo are incredibly durable - I live in the countryside by the sea and we use our Buffalo daily. It is heavy but it's fine to lift in and out of the car, and it was expensive, but there isn't a single thing I would change about it. The wheels are foam filled so no punctures on rough terrain, the hood extends to keep wind/ Sun off without a flapping parasol and the carrycot/seat are incredibly long for tall babies!

The basket is huge and it is nice and high up so I can feed him in the seat at the table, it folds small enough for my small SUV boot to be completely flat and not obstruct my view.

It has been replaced by the Fox now as you mentioned, but I still think Bugaboo would meet your criteria! Yes they are expensive, but so is replacing a broken pram/one that you get 6 months down the line and don't like!

Another vote for uppababy vista here - ticks all boxes. As someone who predominantly walks, it’s great and the basket is enormous.

Bugaboo gets my vote too, I've had a chameleon and a donkey (2 under 2).

The donkey is on the heavier side but so versatile, the side basket is incredibly useful for shopping and bits and bobs. The extendable handle works for both DH (6'3") and myself (5'5") and the extendable hood means no need for an extra parasol. It's also got a long carry cot, helpful as DS is tall and the big wheels have got us through some thick mud in the recent rain

I am 5’7 with tall h and I had a stokke crusi. Was brilliant for or heights and I also had my 5’4 mum adjust the bit you push for her as well.
I also like when dd was in the pram that she was high up and away from things like dogs and other children who sometimes wanted to get a bit too close

Joie chrome. Can get a carry cot for it too. Still love mine after 16 months use.

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