New Dad - Help & Advice Needed

[richmonddad1]

Hi All
This is a slightly odd feeling as I never thought I'd be posting on the internet about pushchairs!

My wife and I are expecting and I'm completely overwhelmed with the choice of pushchairs and can't help thinking the really expensive ones are a con bought by people who want the best brands and the cheap ones will likely not last.

So, we live in Richmond and although it's Surrey it's a little more like London. I want to buy a pushchair and it will have to have a travel system as we use the car quite a lot. I don't strictly have a budget (I don't mean for that to sound crass) but wanted everyone's comments on the best pushchairs in the following situation;

1. If money wasn't an object
2. If money was a bit more of an object but you wanted something that will last.

I'm hoping all of you out there will know far more than me!

FYI - Everyone seems to recommend the UppaBaby Vista but then I see the Joie Chrome DLX gets great reviews.

If money is not an issue i would buy this.

Have you tried going to mothercare etc and testing out pushchairs?

There are so many different types such as a light or heavy front facing back facing.

I would suggest you have a stroll to see what you and your wife like

I have a bugaboo travel system with a maxi cosi pebble car seat. I got these 2nd hand and just got a new car seat for safety. Everything fits together really well and the Moses basket is a great size. The only downside is that the Moses basket is quite low so you can't fit much under the buggy. The maxi cosi pebble fits on the buggy base with adaptors and is compatible with isofix.

Thanks Unicornandbows. That is something we'll do but I'd like to get an impression from real mums and dads as to what is actually good coming from experience.

Blackcat86 - which Bugaboo do you have out of interest?

It really depends on what you need it for. We have the Uppababy Vista which I love because it has loads of basket space and I walk everywhere so need lots of room for bringing shopping home etc. Bugaboos are good. Some of the Silver Crosses are good, others are flimsy. You really need to go in and look at them, feel how they handle, figure out what will fit in your car etc. Write a wishlist and take it to a big Mothercare or similar.

Very jealous of you living in Richmond btw. My dream place to live. Sadly for me money IS an object!

It's a bugaboo camelon

I’d say BabyZen YoYo whether I was or wasn’t on a budget. Fits well in a car, light, manoeuvreable. Not sure of travel systems compatibility but you can always buy a separate car seat if needed. I’m now a year in, have seen and tried many prams and this one gets my vote for city living.

Couple of questions to consider -

Are you planning a second with next couple of years? (Obviously plans change but worth bearing in mind)

Do you ever go off road? (Eg Richmond Park!)

How big is your hall?

How big is your car boot?

Don’t worry about the travel system bit, you can buy adaptors for the vast majority of pushchairs. Then you can choose the car seat you like.

(If money genuinely no object is get something compact like the cybex eezy twist for leaving in the hall and going on public transport / into London, then a bulky off roader like the nipper 360 to keep in the car for country walks).

After having two Silvercross prams that we're too difficult to fold and generally too big, I bought a Joie Chrome on sale at Smyths toy shop for £150.00 and it's brilliant.

It's easy to fold, doesn't take the whole boot up, large basket, can either be parent or world facing, is lightweight and overall is a nice pram.

I'm expecting DD2 next year, so I'm going to buy the carrycot attachment and use it again as it's still in fantastic condition.