Which travel system?

[CLS83]

Omg help. Pregnant with my first, and looking at some great sales on travel systems but it’s so overwhelming, the choice available, the price difference, the mixed reviews online…..help. I am after one that can be used to regularly walk my dog with, off terrain too, but still looks good, easy to get in and out the car regularly, with a cup holder, and a 360 car seat, Parent and world facing options……hoping you can advise. I’ve looked at M&P, venicci, icandy, silver cross…..but very open to suggestion.

The only way you will know for sure is to go into a shop and start trying them out.

John Lewis offer a free personal shopping service for baby things which was invaluable to us. You can book an appointment through their website and when you arrive they talk you through all the different options for the things you want to know about (we did pram, car seat, cot and carrier) and you can try it all out. There was no pressure to buy anything there and then and they give you a discount code for 10% if you spend over £1000 and 15% for over £1500 within 3 months of the appointment (which is easy to spend for first time baby if buying everything brand new). It was a really great service.

You don’t have to buy from John Lewis and can look online after once you know what you want.

We ended up with the icandy peach - we have a dog so wanted something all terrain. We were willing to get a pram that was heavier/sturdier as we barely use the car so didn't have to factor in having to heave the pram in and out of the car very often.

Surprisingly, I went to the appointment convinced I wanted a car seat that was compatible with a pram but after talking through our lifestyle we settled on a fixed car seat that lasts until baby is 4 rather than a clip in/clip out car seat that would have to replaced after a year (as we walk places and don't use the car much).

I have a Vennici which is great for getting in and out the car. However it is not an all terrain one. Great for pavements etc but I wouldn't take it on a country walk or even across a play field with ease.

Great advice from PP about JL. Since you know some of the features you want, the next step is to try the actual buggies. Some are easier to collapse than others.
I found that as DD1 grew, our needs changed and it was good not to be tied to a single system.
We started with a rear-facing car seat + pram which could be folded up to be a pushchair. We found it really helpful to be able to put the car seat on the pram since we often parked a little way from our house. This was own brand from Mothercare and about £300? but had actually been made by GrayCo.
When DD1 was about 20mos - 2yrs, we took several trips to the US. We bought a maclaren for that because they are small and tough. By then she was in a 5pt car seat when stayed in the car.
When DD2 was born, we used the car seat + pram but from very early days, I also used the maclaren for walking around the village, e.g. taking DD1 to playgroup.
Congratulations!

I've never come across a 360 car seat which is compatible with a travel system. IME, it's only first stage infant carrier car seats which can be used with travel systems. I found this an invaluable feature, not having the faff of having to remove DC from the car seat to pop them in and out of the car and into the pram. SO EASY to use an infant carrier with a base that stays in the car.

We have an iCandy Peach and it was great on rough ground. The only time it struggled was really deep mud and tbh, we were a bit daft even trying. No buggy would have made it!

When we had our second child, we bought a second had Out n About Nipper double and I've often seen it posted on here how good it (and the single version are) on rough ground. I would completely agree with that, it's so easy to push, BUT, it's doesn't have a storage basket of any decent size underneath and even though it comes with a newborn cocoon, it's not a travel system so not car seat compatible. Sorry that's not entirely relevant, but my point is you didn't need an Out n About for rough ground and a decent travel system will be perfectly fine plus have other benefits.

DC1 has now really outgrown the Nipper so we've bought a buggy board for the iCandy and it's FAB to have the huge shopping basket back again.

Cybex cloud is a rotating infant car seat. Doesn't go 360 as it can't be front facing but turns to door to make it easy to get baby in and out. We love it. It is compatible with our Venicci with adapters but as I said I don't think the vennici would suit your lifestyle. However I'm sure it's compatible with others too

Our Uppababy Vista is still going strong 4.5 years and 2 DC on. Just heading to the park now and bringing it for the 2.5 year old.