Best off road travel system HELP!

[Herts501]

Hi, I am due to become a first time mum in early November and am now in the process of doing my research into what to buy but feel like I'm drowning!

I've decided to buy a travel system and am looking for one that would be good for off road dog walking but there are so many I don't know which is best.
Was also wondering if there was one that baby wouldn't grow out of too quickly, so where the car seat will last a couple of years for example.

Am I asking a lot? I don't know but any advise would be VERY much appreciated xxx

If you want a travel system then the car seat will be one that only lasts until approx 12-15 months. Although you could look at something such as the Maxi Cosi family fix (Joie and BeSafe also do their own version of this) which uses the same base for the group 1 car seats. As a general though most group 1 seats don’t need bases as the isofix is built in or it may be a seatbelt car seat.

The Recaro zero 1 elite does do everything you seem to want—the infant carrier can come off and attach to a pushchair and the “main” part of the seat stays in the car.

In terms of pushchairs good off roaders to take a look at would be:

Bugaboo Fox
Uppababy vista
Phil and Ted’s sport
Out n about nipper
Mountain buggy
City Elite
City mini

Are there any particular features you want? Such as parent facing past the carrycot? Ability to convert into a double?

Hi, thanks for your reply, very helpful.

I guess the main things other than off road capability would ideally be parent facing option, easy folding, good under storage, small size when folded and a good package in terms of what you get included. I guess I want it all like most mums lol.

I'd been looking at the:
Silver Cross Pioneer
Bugaboo Fox
iCandy Peach
They seem to be the main ones people talk about but then there are others that come up too.

IIRC the pioneer has a separate carrycot while the Fox and Peach use the same “frame”, but you use different fabrics for the carrycot and seat.

The only one I’ve actually had experience with off road is the pioneer and it was very smooth to steer on grass, had a good adjustable handle etc. It also felt robust which was good, and the car seat that comes with it (simplicity) is actually one of the longest lasting infant seats!

The older bugaboo Fox was apparently difficult to fold but they have resolved this with the Fox2. The seat is very high up which is good too. Basket space is good and it felt rather solid. I thought I would find it hard to push as only 5” but it was surprisingly easy!

They’re also bringing out a new peach, the peach 6. In the peach 5 I remember that there was an all terrain version too which had better wheels for off roading. I have seen the peach 5 for £700 which is a bargain!

The peach can convert to a double and I really like the double version of the peach, seats are the same size and it takes up the footprint of a single. The newer version actually has a built in buggy board too so you don’t have to faff around with them (although the bugaboo one is actually okay).

Another thing with the peach is they have elevators so you can have DC higher up which can be good if you’re tall, and DC can see things better on walks.

Another pushchair to consider would also be the Uppababy vista. Similar to the peach and can convert to a double (although has a larger footprint as a double). Large basket space (I’ve heard of people managing to fit a car seat in the basket. When I tried out in store managed to fit the pushchair seat in the basket!). Although it does feel rather tank like

In terms of car seat a lot of them can fit on all the pushchairs if you buy the maxi Cosi/universal adaptors they can also take BeSafe, Cybex, Nuna and Joie car seat.

Just make sure to get the one that fits your car best

If you want good off road, solid and amazing amounts of storage in the basket below, then Uppababy Vista no contest. It's not one of the lightest pushchairs but it'll cope with whatever you throw at it (can even convert to a double if you need it to in a couple of years!)

How about a mountain buggy? Swift/jungle/terrain? They have a parent facing option (it’s called carrycot plus I think?) and it’s a proper off roader.

Jane trider with the matrix 2 car seat. It's one of the largest group 0+ car seats so it will last a long time, the trider is great off and on road, and the car seat is truly lie flat (in car and out) so you don't need to worry about how long the baby is in it if you are wanting to pop in and out of the car, or on longer car journeys.
Drawbacks; not the biggest basket (although my 4 year old can and does still fit in it!)

Although jane matrix car seat is a good concept—it isn’t actually that safe when using in lie flat in the car

If you want a pushchair for proper off-road walks, then you won't find a super handy travel system that's up to the job. I had an ICandy pram and also a Bugaboo Donkey and neither were up to the job.

You will need big wheels and excellent suspension. Look at Mountain Buggy. They can take a car seat to be used as a travel system and the carrycot converts to a parent facing seat. The buggy is excellent for all terrain use (woods, beach, bumpy paths) and has a super raincover, an excellent hood that acts as a sun shade and a big seat that would take a sheepskin or fleece liner, making it brilliant for all weathers. They're compatible with a range of car seat brands, including best-selling Maxi Cosi.

Thanks for all your replies xxx
The more I research the more I'm wondering whether to get a buggy system and separate car seat.
From what I can tell car seats with travel systems won't last much past 1yr and I also quite like the idea of a rotating/swivelling one which I understand you can't really have with a travel system.
I wanted the whole system only really for when baby was asleep to transfer easily to buggy but some people have suggested getting a snugglebundl (blanket with handles so you can lift them out) which might work?
Decisions, decisions lol! Xxx

All the infant carriers last around a year.

Swivel seats are great (I have one!) but none of them will rear face past 18kg. It’s recommended that a child rear faces for as long as possible and ideally until at least 4. If you have a child who is high up the percentiles they may well outgrow the swivel seat by 3 or so.

If I was starting from scratch with seats now I would probably get an infant carrier for the first 9/12 months and wait to see how big baby is. Then I’d probably go for a 25kg rear facing seat (something like an axkid minikid - Swedish plus tested so very safe) That way you are pretty much guaranteed to be covered for rear facing until your DC is at least 4.

That's a really great tip. It is very hard to plan so far ahead and for a baby that isn't here yet so perhaps that would be a good plan for us. I think I'm going to go out in the next week and have a look at some buggies and seats in person to try to get a better feel for what we want.
Thanks again for all the tips, they've been really helpful xx

I know! I know quite a bit about seats now but it’s not easy!

The 25kg seats are generally only available from specialist retailers. I’d really recommend the In Car Safety Centre for car seats. They are great and will give you good advice.

Personally I’m a fan of the infant carrier in the early days. Much easier to pop into the dr/supermarket etc with a sleeping baby if you don’t have to transfer them! They don’t last long but mine has seen us through two babies so I feel like we got decent use out of it! We had a had a maxi cosi pebble plus.

One tip I found helpful when choosing a new buggy was not to initially go to shops that are trying to sell you something, but to go to the types of places you'd want to go with a buggy and see what everyone else is using. Notice which ones look well suited and those which the users are struggling with. Once you've made shortlist, then go to the shops.

Just a last point on the swivel seats, I’m fairly sure cybex now do an infant carrier that swivels on an isofix base. You then get the next seat up which fits on the same base (and also swivels I think). It’s quite pricy though I think so won’t be the cheapest option (and you’ll still have the 18kg issue above).

The best off road pram by far is the Micralite fast fold, it even goes over sand smoothly. Though you can't use them until 6 months so we used a second hand travel system for the first 6 months.

In terms of car seat we have the joie 360 spin as its newborn - 4 years and absolutely brilliant, the swivel function is really handy. They don't stay in the carry car seats you put on the pram for that long although they are useful when they are small!