Lockdown travel system advice - Bugaboo Fox 2, Cybex Mios, Yoyo 2?

[YogiBearcub]

I'm going mad trying to decide on a pushchair in lockdown with baby due the first days of March. Really hoping some kind people who have the above systems can help (or suggest alternatives)?

A quick description of us: we're an active couple in a family oriented part of SW London where there are shops, cafes and parks. We're not crazy tall, I'm 170cm, hubby 180cm. I love running and may try to get back into that - if possible with the pushchair, it would be a bonus. I love the tube, but with COVID and me WFH since March, we have bought a small SUV which I'll use locally with baby rather than regularly get public transport. Compactness is right now less of a priority than it was 12 months ago, but we plan to go to Spain 3-4 weeks during the parental leave May-June, COVID permitting, as well as more regularly in future when life returns to normal. C.10kg weight would be good. We have limited storage space under a staircase (won't need to fold) so need one system for everything and I would like it to last until baby is out of the pushchair. We're c.40 so not sure if we'll have more children, but if we do it'll be soon I guess so need to have a way to attach another child and reuse the pushchair (I hate waste!).

I've been told we MUST get a swivel 0+ car seat, hence the Cybex system (with Cloud Z lie flat seat) is in the running but personally I'm not sure how necessary the swivel is as I foresee more walking locally than driving around. We'd bring the car seat on holiday to double as a carry cot, so it needs to fit on the pushchair wheels but we'll also use a baby Bjorn type carrier.

I originally had my heart set on the Yoyo2 w/lite cot as it's very compact and easy to fold at cafes but I worry the wheels will get stuck on twigs or mud in the park. The Fox2 is my current favourite but I read it's an awful fold. The Cybex is the dark horse but it reads like it's solid and has the best car seat.

What do you all think? I have the feeling we'd know within 15mins that one is better quality than the other 2 if we could try all 3 in a shop so maybe someone has experience with all?

Hi!
Take a look The Stroller Workshop on youtube. He reviews pushchairs from quite a mechanical point of view and is good at summing which ones are suitable for different lifestyles. I'm sure he has reviewed all of the pushchairs you have mentioned.

Swivel 0+ car seat is unnecessary IME, because it doesn't make any difference to you - you generally get the baby into the 0+ car seat in the house, and then just click the seat on and off the base. The ability to swivel it doesn't really add any functionality, much as it's impressive in-store. I would double check the person who's told you this is essential has experience of both swivel and non-swivel - I'd be surprised to hear the swivel is a huge amount better than non, at this stage (different in the toddler stage where the car seat stays put).

The Cloud Z is a lovely car seat, the recline is great, it's long lasting, excellent safety and brilliant inserts, but the swivel (for this stage) is a bit of a gimmick. It is useful to be able to swivel the next-stage seat on the same base, but, for the price difference between Cloud Z and a different infant seat + base combo plus the Sirona Z, you might as well just get a standalone rotating seat, like Britax Dualfix for example or Joie 360 Spin. Which also then leaves you the infant base free for a second child, if you want one. Or you may find you have a high centile child in which case a toddler seat up to 105cm (like Sirona) is no use to you anyway as they will outgrow it really early, you'll end up wanting one up to 25kg/125cm instead (or not discovering this until later and buying twice!)

It does not lie flat enough to use as a carrycot and you absolutely cannot use it for overnight sleeping, it's not safe. You need a proper flat carrycot with mattress for this purpose (or a travel cot is fine).

You can use the Cybex car seats with Maxi Cosi adapters so anything that takes a Maxi Cosi (which is mostly everything) can take Cybex, no problem.

I don't have much experience with the Cybex Mios, but I wasn't keen on the Bugaboo Fox - it just didn't seem as good as the other Bugaboo models. Agree with Stroller Workshop as they are really good. They have an explanation about Cybex on their website (as a pram manufacturer) - as a car seat manufacturer they are great, prams? Maybe stick to their cheaper models. Have you looked at Balios S or Talos S?

Leaves/twigs in a park is no huge problem for a small wheel stroller. If you're regularly going into woods, across fields etc - you need a bigger wheel one, which means no to a compact fold - it's one or the other, so you might in fact want two separate pushchairs, one for everyday, one for travel. If it has to be one of the three, I'd lean towards the Yoyo, with the only caveat being the seat is very small and I probably wouldn't personally rate it for everyday use, but that might be my personal preference. The carrycot isn't standalone so you can't use that for overnight sleeping either, it's purely to adapt the seat for a newborn.

Babyjogger City Mini or City Elite might be a good one for you to look at? Or Phil & Ted's sport (just the single but you can add a doubles pack if you have a second child later). Or Bugaboo Bee 6. All can take a carrycot and Maxi Cosi (or compatible e.g. Cybex) car seat.

@YogiBearcub

I'm going mad trying to decide on a pushchair in lockdown with baby due the first days of March. Really hoping some kind people who have the above systems can help (or suggest alternatives)?

A quick description of us: we're an active couple in a family oriented part of SW London where there are shops, cafes and parks. We're not crazy tall, I'm 170cm, hubby 180cm. I love running and may try to get back into that - if possible with the pushchair, it would be a bonus. I love the tube, but with COVID and me WFH since March, we have bought a small SUV which I'll use locally with baby rather than regularly get public transport. Compactness is right now less of a priority than it was 12 months ago, but we plan to go to Spain 3-4 weeks during the parental leave May-June, COVID permitting, as well as more regularly in future when life returns to normal. C.10kg weight would be good. We have limited storage space under a staircase (won't need to fold) so need one system for everything and I would like it to last until baby is out of the pushchair. We're c.40 so not sure if we'll have more children, but if we do it'll be soon I guess so need to have a way to attach another child and reuse the pushchair (I hate waste!).

I've been told we MUST get a swivel 0+ car seat, hence the Cybex system (with Cloud Z lie flat seat) is in the running but personally I'm not sure how necessary the swivel is as I foresee more walking locally than driving around. We'd bring the car seat on holiday to double as a carry cot, so it needs to fit on the pushchair wheels but we'll also use a baby Bjorn type carrier.

I originally had my heart set on the Yoyo2 w/lite cot as it's very compact and easy to fold at cafes but I worry the wheels will get stuck on twigs or mud in the park. The Fox2 is my current favourite but I read it's an awful fold. The Cybex is the dark horse but it reads like it's solid and has the best car seat.

What do you all think? I have the feeling we'd know within 15mins that one is better quality than the other 2 if we could try all 3 in a shop so maybe someone has experience with all?

Hello, it seems we have very similar preferences! We are in SW, WFH, are a tall, active couple with family abroad.

Which pram have you chosen if I may ask?
I just ordered Fox 2 but I am having a major buyer's remorse and now think it might be too big, hence my spamming of boards here. Wont be able to try prams before the birth, unfortunately.

@BertieBotts

Swivel 0+ car seat is unnecessary IME, because it doesn't make any difference to you - you generally get the baby into the 0+ car seat in the house, and then just click the seat on and off the base. The ability to swivel it doesn't really add any functionality, much as it's impressive in-store. I would double check the person who's told you this is essential has experience of both swivel and non-swivel - I'd be surprised to hear the swivel is a huge amount better than non, at this stage (different in the toddler stage where the car seat stays put).

The Cloud Z is a lovely car seat, the recline is great, it's long lasting, excellent safety and brilliant inserts, but the swivel (for this stage) is a bit of a gimmick. It is useful to be able to swivel the next-stage seat on the same base, but, for the price difference between Cloud Z and a different infant seat + base combo plus the Sirona Z, you might as well just get a standalone rotating seat, like Britax Dualfix for example or Joie 360 Spin. Which also then leaves you the infant base free for a second child, if you want one. Or you may find you have a high centile child in which case a toddler seat up to 105cm (like Sirona) is no use to you anyway as they will outgrow it really early, you'll end up wanting one up to 25kg/125cm instead (or not discovering this until later and buying twice!)

It does not lie flat enough to use as a carrycot and you absolutely cannot use it for overnight sleeping, it's not safe. You need a proper flat carrycot with mattress for this purpose (or a travel cot is fine).

You can use the Cybex car seats with Maxi Cosi adapters so anything that takes a Maxi Cosi (which is mostly everything) can take Cybex, no problem.

I don't have much experience with the Cybex Mios, but I wasn't keen on the Bugaboo Fox - it just didn't seem as good as the other Bugaboo models. Agree with Stroller Workshop as they are really good. They have an explanation about Cybex on their website (as a pram manufacturer) - as a car seat manufacturer they are great, prams? Maybe stick to their cheaper models. Have you looked at Balios S or Talos S?

Leaves/twigs in a park is no huge problem for a small wheel stroller. If you're regularly going into woods, across fields etc - you need a bigger wheel one, which means no to a compact fold - it's one or the other, so you might in fact want two separate pushchairs, one for everyday, one for travel. If it has to be one of the three, I'd lean towards the Yoyo, with the only caveat being the seat is very small and I probably wouldn't personally rate it for everyday use, but that might be my personal preference. The carrycot isn't standalone so you can't use that for overnight sleeping either, it's purely to adapt the seat for a newborn.

Babyjogger City Mini or City Elite might be a good one for you to look at? Or Phil & Ted's sport (just the single but you can add a doubles pack if you have a second child later). Or Bugaboo Bee 6. All can take a carrycot and Maxi Cosi (or compatible e.g. Cybex) car seat.

Thank you for your post, v helpful. "I wasn't keen on the Bugaboo Fox" Does the same apply to Fox 2? I have read some super positive reviews. Is it worse than the alternatives - ie Bee 5/6?

I have both the fox and the yoyo- honestly you're not going to be able to meet all your criteria with one pram- I'm sorry. If I had to pick one over the other though it would 100% be the yoyo. It can't manage anything other than very light mud due to the wheel size BUT it's so tiny making it a dream in comparison to the fox (and any other travel system in my opinion) in any other situation. I do really like the fox and will use it when going to the park, but the yoyo has had 100x more use and I can't see myself stopping using it for a long while yet.

Your plan for muddy walks etc could be to just use a carrier which would solve the small wheels problem! No pram is great on very muddy walks anyway.