Off road buggy advice - Help!

[teamseashore]

Hi everyone, I am expecting a baby on 2 May, it's our first and my husband and I went to look at buggies for the first time today. Well, we came away feeling totally confused and feeling like we need to do a lot more research!

We had thought we need to get an off road buggy because we love the outdoors, hiking, camping etc and plan on doing country walks with the little one. However, realistically we live in suburbia and I can imagine spending a fair amount of time in the town meeting friends in cafes, doing the necessary food shopping, mixed in with walks along canal paths and through country parks rather than stomping through muddy fields.

Do we need an off road buggy? Should we just get a lightweight one and will that be fine? I guess we could buy a proper off road second hand if we felt we needed one?

Or will a normal buggy just be completely crap as soon as we hit a bit of mud/ leaves / gravel etc and so off road will be better?

My husband has fallen in love with the bugaboo fox, I have to admit it looks like it might be a good compromise given our expected usage, but will it cope if we get properly out in the countryside? Are we better off with a 3 wheeler? It's also just so expensive it makes me feel a bit sick lol!

Your thoughts and advice very gratefully recieved! X

I don't have one but I doubt the bugaboo fox would cope off road. We have a similar lifestyle to you (live urban but lots of countryside walks, hiking, hill walking, camping) and we went for a mountain buggy urban jungle- it's bloody brilliant! Copes on sand, shingle, mud, every surface we've tried. Handles well enough that although it's big it's not anti social in busy environments. I run with it. Goes from birth to 4+ and it's lasted well- we'll be reusing for our second too.

Others to consider are the out and about, or a baby city jogger. The three wheelers don't look as elegant as traditional prams, but they are so much more practical.

I'd also highly recommend the ergobaby carrier. These were the two best things we bought in terms of being able to continue an outdoor lifestyle with a baby. Still carry my 2.5yo in the ergo now.

It depends how off road we are talking here. I would say the out n about nipper 360 would be your best option, although it isn't a pretty pram it is very versatile and anyone I know who has owned one raves like mad about them.

I had one similar to the out n about, thinking I'd be doing lots of dog walks etc etc, but to be honest my life changed so much when dc1 came along that it hardly got used for its intended purpose and was quite big and bulky getting round coffee shop chairs etc, so I ended up buying a different one.

My advice would be don't spend out on a top of the range brand new one unless you are 100% sure it will do what you need it to do. Second hand is often a good option because if you do find it doesn't match up to your expectations you don't feel so guilty selling it on and can recoup a lot of the cost, whereas brand new you will be losing a lot of money.

I have the mountain buggy terrain, it’s awesome! Can go over everything. Only thing to remember is if you come across kissing gates etc while out, can’t get a pushchair over those easily!

We got an icandy peach “all terrain” which was promoted for jogging and off road but we found it so flipping heavy it was not all terrain at all. We swapped for the Nipper and much much happier.

I have the out N About Nipper love it!