Pram recommendations and unpopular opinions

[Aglassaday]

Hi all, currently looking for a travel system and wanted to know all your recommendations and unpopular opinions on all prams. I recently tried the icandy peach 7 in mamas and papas however wasn’t impressed with the manoeuvrability and thought it could’ve been smoother, especially given the hype.
however I did find the cybex gazelle incredibly smooth which was weird because I’ve heard mixed reviews about it. I tried a joolz travel pushchair and really liked it but wonder also if the travel systems are the same in terms of manoeuvrability

please leave your opinions and recommendations and experience on all prams you’ve encountered.

thanks x

Joie chrome:
Pros: super easy to fold down, affordable, huge basket, good suspension, came with adaptors for the car seat (which it also came with)
Cons: got a bit rickety after a year or so, terrible resale value, hood not that big, bassinet seperate from seat unit so was a bit of a pain to store

Bugaboo lynx:
Pros: feels quite sleek and stylish, basket decent size, huge hood, seat unit transformed into bassinet so not as much stuff lying about
Cons: little bit of a faff to dismantle and fold down, adapters for car seat had to buy separately (also we had to buy the car seat seperately, but it can come in a bundle with one)

Babyzen yoyo:
Pros: folds down incredibly small, folds really easily, SO GOOD for quick supermarket trips with baby
Cons: switching 6+ seat unit over to baby nest was a bit of a faff, bit rickety, not good at all on unpaved surfaces

I wish I'd given more thought to my needs, rather than brands.

My main recommendation would be to get a wheeled suitcase (or trolley, or even borrow a pram), and push it round where you want to walk, to see what the pavements are like. I really regret just trying out in the shop on a beautifully smooth floor, then discovering that the pram was useless on the terrible pavements near me, and I should have got far bigger wheels. No point having a coffee holder if it's so bumpy it spills everywhere! It meant we were trapped in the house, and I couldn't afford to replace the pram. It was very awkward to get in and out of the boot as well - when you're exhausted with a crying baby, it was just too much.

The other thing was storage - check your nappy bag can fit underneath/hang from handles. Consider if you generally walk to and from shops, as you'll need more storage than if you get there by car.

All in all, that's what I'd look at first and foremost.

Uppababy travel system. Love ours.

Mamas & Papas Ocarro 🤗

I’m a childcare provider so I use whatever people have! But my last family had the Uppababy Vista system and I loved it. It was so easy to change the seat around (forward or rear facing, or move to lower section), it can double if you end up having a second child, it has a bassinet (although I didn’t use) and also a car seat. It’s so easy to recline the seat forward or backward. Also a decent storage section underneath.

I put hundreds of miles on that thing! Baby seemed to be quite happy and it coped with bumpy footpaths and also more wooded walking paths. It was very lightweight and maneuverable. It did almost blow over one day when it was very windy, so that wasn’t fun!

We have had two Uppababy Cruz travel systems. We absolutely loved our first one and I raved about it but had to replace it after mice got to it in my parents’ attic. We got the same again and I have been less impressed. The wheels seem to get stuck if you try to start moving when they’re not facing forward and it’s really hard to get going.

We have a compact pushchair now for DD2(3) which we mostly use when out and about as it’s more compact for the boot and easier to push. DC3 will be using the same travel system when he arrives because I’m not buying a new one for our last baby. He’ll then move to the compact pushchair when he’s big enough.

I wish I'd given more thought to my needs, rather than brands.

Me too. I went for what looked nice/what was a trendy brand (Bugaboo Donkey) over what would've actually been best for me (mountain buggy duet)

Ended up selling at a big loss and getting the practical option.

I really recommend the Mamas and Papas Ocarro for a travel system. I've used about 7 prams (I kept being really fussy about them) and it's the best pram I've used, it has so many brilliant features that the other prams I've used didn't that made day to day life much easier

We loved our Joolz, but I wasn't so impressed with the Icandy Orange.