Babystyle Oyster

brockleybelle · 2009-09-25T10:27:48+00:00

This is a new pram out and it looks fab. As it's so new i've found only one parent review on the net! have you got one or seen on demo'd in a shop? i'd love to hear what you think about it.

sleepysox · 25/09/2009 22:38

I tried it in the shop a while back.

It was very well made and looked good quality- wasn't tinny and clonky like some brands. The hood was a good size and the seat was comfy, except in the ridge where it folded in half. The basket was a good size and the built in sun shade was good. It was very easy to steer on smooth ground. The big downside was the fact that the chassis had no spring in it, so you couldn't push down on the handle bar to bump it up a kerb or bounce it along an uneven surface. In my opinion, it would be great for large shopping malls, but isn't any good for cities which have uneven pavemnts, cobbles or kerbs with no ramps.

For that reason i ended up buying a Britax Vigour 4+ instead.

HTH

BertieBotts · 25/09/2009 22:48

Ooh it looks very nice, for the price especially. I like the big shopping basket. Would be worried by the lack of suspension sleepysox pointed out though.

Whereabouts are you? Anywhere near a big baby goods warehouse? They usually have the rarer brands to try out.

Original poster

brockleybelle · 26/09/2009 10:42

Sleepysox, thanks so much for your detailed feedback. I live in London and don't have a car so do lots of city walking. The lack of spring will definitely be an issue. In your opinion would you say the seat was suitable for newborn - ie does it fully recline? I know they offer a carrycot, but if it does it could be made cosy with a cosytoes.

Bertie, I don't know of any baby warehouses in London/outskirts but hopefully I'll find a stockist here.

OP posts:

sleepysox · 26/09/2009 10:50

I don't really think the seat was suitable for a newborn, as the middle bit where it folds in two wasn't padded enough. I can't remember if it laid totally flat or not. I think the baby would be a bit exposed laying on the seat.

Good luck on your pram search

naomi83 · 26/09/2009 19:39

i'd say a second hand britax vigour and a new maclaren quest would be perfect for you

StrictlyAvadaKedavra · 27/09/2009 17:01

I played with one in a shop and LOVED it Have been looking out for a second hand one ever since - I'd have bought it in an instant if I had the cash for brand new.

Loved that you can fold it in one piece with the seat rearfacing.

experiencedmum · 05/10/2009 21:04

hi i have just bought the oyster pushchair carrycot car seat footmuff and changing bag i thought it looked very stylish and i love it although the pushchair is not for newborns you need the carrycot but ididnt mund buying it all so if anybody is thinking of buying i would recomend it

Original poster

brockleybelle · 05/10/2009 22:07

Hi there, thanks for replying. I'd love to hear a detailed review once you've used it for a while.

OP posts:

Sammia · 07/10/2009 09:14

Never too sure how much faith to place in the online reviews on the parenting sites, so probably wise to take on board some of the comments on here.

But the Made for mums review is as below.

www.madeformums.com/reviews/pushchairs-and-travel-systems/travel-systems/babystyle- oyster/review/590.html

review seems pretty fair?

HonorOak287 · 13/10/2009 16:29

BrockleyBelle - do you live in Brockley, SE4? I live in Honor Oak Park, just down the road in SE23. We looked at the Oyster pushchair on holiday in Bridport. There's a really good shop there called Babygear - they have a website if you google 'Babygear Bridport'. They demonstrated the buggie to us and were so helpful we've asked them to mail order one to us - they said they would do it for free.

We're still waiting as apparently they are like gold dust - but as soon as it's in at the shop, they will send it to us.

Original poster

brockleybelle · 13/10/2009 19:08

HonorOaK, Your initials aren't KP are they??? hahahahahaha I was about to write that coincidentally i have a friend who saw the oyster in a baby store in dorset and she was seriously thinking of ordering it.

OP posts:

clarea1 · 14/10/2009 07:10

I saw a friends little boy in hers yesterday, he's 18months and not especially big but he looked rather squiged in i thought and his head almost touched the top inside the hood.

She has only had it a couple of months and already had a new chassis because it developed a fault. I think there are better pushchairs out there for the same money or less.

HonorOak287 · 15/10/2009 11:30

BrockleyBelle - not KP, but JP! I really shouldn't be on mumsnet should I???

Original poster

brockleybelle · 15/10/2009 19:30

Perhaps 'mums'net is a little exclusive?

OP posts:

sunshinejanuary · 02/11/2009 09:29

I have just bought the black and green Oyster - waiting for delivery.

There is a fantastic shop called 'Baby Nest',

www.baby-nest.co.uk/

They are based in Croydon and have loads of different makes, DH and I played with a lot and felt that for price alone the Oyster seemed like a good buy.

The carry cot seemed a lot sturdier than many and the whole thing was all really easy to esemble and fold. It is also compatible with the Britax car seat we have gone for.

I will report back!

Original poster

brockleybelle · 06/11/2009 13:10

Thank you, Sunshine - please do report back! Am keen to know what you think.

OP posts:

OrangeAnge · 07/11/2009 17:50

I have just placed an order (Kiddicare) for the green/black Oyster and hope to recieve it on the 21 November. It seems everywhere is sold out at the moment. It is available for pre-order on Bambinodirect too.

I live in Gipsy Hill and we went to play with one today at Tommy's 160 Rye Lane, Peckham. We really like the style, the folding mechanism with the seat still in place, the dual facing seat and the small width frame. The adjustable height handle was also a major selling point for us.

We have heard that the suspension is not all that but it did seem to have some bounce in it. It's not a spring but the spokes holding th ewheels move up and down. You can see it working on the promo video on the babystyle website. Not the best for country roads but ok for pavements (I hope!)

The seat doesn't lie totally flat so you do need the carry cot for newborns. There is a matching footmuff to make everything snug. The black material on the pushchair didn't seem that soft but the foot muff/liner will solve this. The green material on the harness, the apron and the hood was very soft indeed though.

The shopping basket is very easy to access and quite big.

I have no idea about the size of babies so I hope that the Oyster isn't on the small side as we were hoping this would see us through for a couple of years.

Baby isn't due until the beginning of january so I won't be able to report back for a while. Fingers crossed it's as good as we hope though!

Original poster

brockleybelle · 09/11/2009 20:09

Thanks Orange! Appreciate the detailed feedback.

I'd seen on the internet that Tommy's stock the Oyster, and have been meaning to get down there with dh. Nothing like seeing a pram in the flesh before buying! (as i've learnt to my cost ). Looking forward to playing around with it.

If we do purchase the Oyster, I'm planning to carry baby in a sling for the first few months so wouldn't need the carrycot.

Sleepysox above mentioned the lack of suspension, but being London gals I'm not sure that would present too much of a problem for us?

Look forward to hearing how you get on with it once baby is here! Congratulations by the way!

OP posts:

jester68 · 10/11/2009 10:07

I am getting one of these for when my baby is due in May.

My local baby shop has them in stock and has agreed to do pushchair, carrycot ,raincovers, footmuff and change bag for total of £365 which is great

Going to put a deposit on the weekend as she offers baby plans so we can spread the cost!!!!!

OrangeAnge · 10/11/2009 10:19

That is an amazing price, Jester! The cheapest package we saw was on Bambino Direct but they didn't have an actual date for delivery yet.

We went for all of that plus the matching car seat and it came to just under £500. However, the buggy on it's own is just £250 which I think is reasonable.

Thank you, BrockleyBelle When are you due?

lornylorns · 16/11/2009 21:54

Hi, I have an Oyster and have to say have been a bit disappointed with it, one of the front wheels jams as the threads aren't quite aligned, the chassis feels very wobbly & flimsy and has developed a very annoying squeak, and worst of all, the brake jams periodically meaning it can't be applied which is obviously dangerous. We have tried getting a refund but the shop we bought it from wont do this, so we asked for a new chassis, again they wont do this, the best they can do is send it off for repair, leaving us without a pram for several days which is no good. So we tried contacting Babystyle direct, they weren't interested and suggested that the faults were probably down to misuse, and that it wasn't their problem, that we should deal with the retailer .
We have only been using the oyster for 5 weeks, and only on pavements so are very disappointed in the pram, and even more disappointed in Babystyle's (lack of) customer service. Although the stroller seems like good value for money, i would say now its actually false economy, and i wish had bought the iCandy Apple, the Quinny Buzz or the Brio Sing, all equally stylish just a bit more money. But i'm guessing they would all last longer than 5 weeks!

clarea1 would you be able to tell me what fault your friend's Oyster developed, and how she got a new chassis?? Thanks

Hope this helps!!

kellyatbabyguds · 18/11/2009 11:21

Lornylorns have you tried taking the front wheels off and lubricating them. They need lubricating regularly and this may help with them sticking? Can't really advise on the other issues as not seen the pushchair.

Babysyle won't be able to repair or replace your chassis without them having a look at it first so you would need to go back to the retailer for them to return it direct. In my experience with Babystyle they have been very quick at coming back to me. Can you ask your retailer if they will provide a loan pushchair while they send yours away?

jester68 · 21/11/2009 14:31

Have now put a deposit on the oyster! YEAH!!!!!

WeeSnowbaby · 28/11/2009 21:28

Hi ladies! Through a Google search, I arrived here.... I searched for reviews of the babystyle oyster as I have had it for 2 months now and wondered how "common" the known front wheels fault is. Apparently Babystyle are very aware that there is an issue with the pin in the front wheels not aligning properly, which makes them become stiff to unlock and lock. I've just had to take mine back to the store I bought it to have the wheels checked. The manager of the store couldn't be more helpful and is ordering new wheels, failing that, a new chassis.

So, onto my personal review of the oyster. I have the pushchair, footmuff and changing bag, and wheels aside, I cannot fault anything with this buggy. I absolutely adore it. My little girl is 9 months old.

The rain cover is very easy to attach and remove, the insect/UV net is built into the hood -- FAB, the hood extends right down to act as a sun canopy, the seat unit can face mummy/daddy or face forward. The seat has 3 recline positions and almost lays flat.

I have a citreon saxo car and this buggy fits neatly into the boot, with the seat unit attached, still leaving me half of my boot space... my previous buggy, the Silvercross 3D, filled my boot.

The comment about the suspension... I do Pushy Mothers once a week, which incase anyone doesn't know, is a mum's workout where you take baby along in their buggy. Our class runs at the local park and we push the buggies across a football pitch... I've not had any issues with the buggy pushing on grass. Ok, it's not as cushioned as a big pram with full suspension, but it's less bumpy than the silvercross was! It is lightweight, easy to push and is very pushable one-handed!

I've raved enough but willing to answer any questions... all in all... I would recommend this buggy to anyone, and have done!! The only downfall it has it the front wheels, but seemingly this has been corrected for future production?!

shalo2 · 07/12/2009 14:06

Pram nightmare! I just ordered the M&P Herbie after trying it out in the shop last week and liking it. Then .... I read a whole lot of negative reviews over the weekend mainly to do with the chassis collapsing and the wheels falling off and I panicked!! I have now spotted the Babystyle Oyster and all the reviews so far seem good. Has anyone had theirs yet and if so how does it seem. I will be unable to try one out before I buy (quite a risk!) but it looks great and seems to do everything I want. I was originally interested in the Babystyle 3-1 Lux but was then told that the Babystyle car seat was not a good purchase as there seemed to be issues with fitting in a car! Any ideas anyone as I am really frustrated now and did not think it would be this difficult.