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Original poster

anybody got a mountain buggy???

26 replies

lanismum · 30/03/2006 17:19

i know there are quite a few buggy/pram experts on mumsnet,so thought id ask..thinking of getting 1 as will be taking dd (1) to a few festivals this summer and need something that can cope with the muddy fields, but will also use it generally as her maclaren is dying, any thoughts/opinions? how well do they fit in car boots? do your babies/toddlers look comfortable in them? are they easy to fold? thanks in advance for any replies i get!

OP posts:
Original poster
lanismum · 30/03/2006 17:20

oh yeah, and does anyone manage to get on buses with them or are they far too big?

OP posts:
NannyL · 30/03/2006 18:45

We have a 5 year old mountain buggy.... its GREAT.... perfect for "proper" off road stuff. (my family who i work for and have the buggy have a huge garden, then woods, then a tree that you blimb down to get to the pebble beach) copes with it all fine.... including being "thrown" down the tree that we climb

Very comfy and spacouse enough for an older child as well. We have used it with a kiddy board on the back for the past 3 years.

They are DEFINITELY durable and suitable for "mountains"!

TBH we hardly ever folded it.... had a MaClaren in the back on my car boot (a clio) cause it wouldnt get in. But i know mummy and daddy took it every where at weekends and folded it... but they had big estate cars so that wasnt a problem.

Seem easy to fold, but rather heavy to lift into car boot

In all honesty i wouldnt take it on a bus... EVER as it is rather large.... not that ive tried, but i know i wouldnt!

I think they are good value and DO last.... if they have another baby i KNOW that the buggy would last another 3+ years.

Hope that helps.... also im talking about a 5 year old model... so i dont know if that makes a difference... i know another family with 3 children udner 6.... they have the same buggy (6 years old) which is VERY well used and theres is still going strong as well, and would last at least another child easily!

NotQuiteCockney · 30/03/2006 18:47

They're too big for normal car boots. They are good with muddy fields. Ours is fine on buses, and excellent on the tube (easy to bump down stairs), but I wouldn't take it on crowded buses or tubes.

It does fold up ok, but isn't that small when folded.

Gem13 · 30/03/2006 18:50

The Mountain Buggy is fab (I have a double) but I think in single terms the Nipper would be great for your needs. I have a single one which I love and it's a lot cheaper than the MB.

Original poster
lanismum · 30/03/2006 20:47

thank you for all your help, im glad to hear they are really sturdy as im thinking of having another baby soon, and would just buy the carrycot attachment thing for the newborn, bit concerned that they wont fit in a 'normal' car boot though, we have a ford fusion, boot is quite big but would need to do some measurements before paying so much money for a buggy, getting on a bus or tube was not a huge thing for me really as iv got a quinny zapp for if we ever need to use public transport, i just wondered, but thanks again for the advice Smile

OP posts:
NotQuiteCockney · 30/03/2006 20:59

I'd check the latest measurements etc re: boot. You can take the wheels off pretty easily, which does make it smaller, but not by that much.

We use our McLaren for our (rare) car travel, but wouldn't cope without our Mountain Buggy. I'm currently debating taking it on holiday with us (but probably won't because of taxis etc).

Chuffed · 01/04/2006 05:06

Love the mountain buggy. dd was born in London and used it everywhere, on tubes agree it is great for bumping downstairs, on buses, never really had a problem. We took it travelling with us and took it around 17 countries in Eastern Europe, it is a bit cumbersome to take on and off those narrow train corridors in the European trains but we coped fine. It is very resilient and I don't think many buggies can cope with the uneven ground like it.
Car boots we have a rav4 and it is fine but does take up most of it.
How old is your dd? If you are expecting soon would you contemplate an E3?

threebob · 01/04/2006 05:59

We have a citroen xsara and it fills our boot, better if you take off the front wheel, but who can be bothered!

In NZ they have attachments on the front of the buses for them - nobody would dream of taking one on the bus.

NannyL · 01/04/2006 09:15

OK.... i could get the Mountain buggy in the boot of my clio.... if my boot wasnt filled (lieterally) with so much other "stuff"

i can only just squeeze the MaCleren in tbh!

(btw all this "stuff" is quite essential IMO!!!)

hoxtonchick · 01/04/2006 09:22

love my mountain buggy urban, & take it on the bus all the time. it fits easily in our car, but we've got an estate. yesterday i brought both children home in it (ds 4 yrs, 9 mnth dd on his knee!). kiddicare is cheapest.

Kiwibump · 01/04/2006 18:30

Also love my mountain buggy (terrain) although haven't used it on buses or trains but certainly intend to and am not worried about the prospect. Excellent, simple and sturdy design. Get around town easily with it and have never once considered buying an alternative second buggy. Couldn't get it in the boot of a Ford Focus without removing the wheel, but we now have an estate anyway. I got mine from Kiddicare.

mumo75 · 01/04/2006 18:55

i also love my MB (urban) and i have had "several" pushchairs over 19 years ,i love it so much i bought a double one (urban) and i wish they had been around years ago.Go for it !!!!

bran · 01/04/2006 19:03

Really threebob? Amazing, how does the bus thing work then? Does the driver hook the buggy up for you or do you have to do it while also wrangling a baby and all the shopping? Things happen at a much more civilised pace in NZ, I can't imagine a London bus driver stopping for long enough to do anything like that.

threebob · 01/04/2006 19:47

I've never use it on the bus personally, just seen then hanging up - but I think the bus driver gets down, helps you unfold it and pops it up of the hooks for you. However NZ has one of the highest rates of car ownership per capita so they have the time to stop for the odd person who uses the bus. (Odd as is not common, not as in weird).

Squarer · 01/04/2006 21:05

Love my Mountain Buggy Urban. Did loads of research on weights of 3 wheelers (which I wanted as I walk my dog daily and go walking in general over hill, dale and rutted field so can guarantee would be perfect for festival use). Mountain Buggy is one of the 3 lightest you can buy - one of the others is a Jane one where you pay for all the bells and whistles and chrome trims instead of a good rugged construction. The mountain buggy seat and canopy is made of the same stuff that excellent quality rucksacks are made of and the whole thing can be scrubbed and hosed down in the garden without fear of ruin or rust!

As others have said, they are easy to fold but take up a lot of room - I used to have a Honda Civic - that was a nightmare. I now have a Nissan Serena and I can just wheel it unfolded into the back, which is fab! I also travel on the bus into the city with it - it is extremely manouverable - the buses where I live have 3 flap up seats at the front where buggies go - whereas other 3 wheelers take up 2 seats, I can move mine so it only takes up one thereby allowing 2 other buggies to park up.

Brill brill brill. You get what you pay for. Can't recommend it enough.

Original poster
lanismum · 01/04/2006 22:32

wow, cant believe nobody has a bad word to say about it, really glad everybody thinks its an excellent pram, will just check the measurements of the car, its quite a biggish boot, my mutsy did fit in it if it was empty and i took 2 wheels off, but the mountain buggy would be used mainly for walking anyway, have a quinny zapp for in the car, so thanks everyone, ill prob buy 1 next week, iv seen them on the glasgow pram center site, but will check out kiddicare too.

OP posts:
hoxtonchick · 02/04/2006 10:14

go for a funky colour! i have the orange/stripy one which i love.

Pollyanna · 02/04/2006 10:22

check out \link{http://www.pushchairs.co.uk/acatalog/mountain_buggy_terrain_atp.html\www.pushchairs.co.uk} too. I really rate my terrain (and I go on the bus with it).

oops · 02/04/2006 10:26

i miss my mountian buggy... second child meant i sold it to get a phila nd ted, whcih i have now booted out in favour of a jane power twin
but i waaant a mountain buggy again!
a double would be no good, can't really get into our flat!
took ds1 to a couple of festivals with the MB and it was absolutely fine, Grin

Pollyanna · 02/04/2006 10:31

oops, I have stopped using my powertwin and now use a single mountain buggy with a buggy board - I'm so pleased to be out of the double buggy phase!

oops · 02/04/2006 10:52

can't imagine ds1 on a buggy board yet, still use the pushchair for napping..
but am looking forward to when i can get anolther mb, maybe in 6-12 months

Earlybird · 02/04/2006 11:57

Well - I will be the lone voice of dissent here. I had a mountain buggy for dd, and while I liked it for many of the reasons given here, there were downsides that were problematic.

Here are my reasons for consideration - a mountain buggy is easy to fold down, but needs some foot action, and both hands - so what do you do with the baby? You can't hold a child and collapse the thing at the same time. I finally ended up collapsing it with dd still strapped in. Second - it is a very sturdy buggy, which means heavy. That's fine if you're simply lifting it into the boot of a car, but not so good if you actually need to carry it around for more than a few steps. Lastly, the single handle means there's really no place to hang shopping bags, nappy bags etc., and the basket underneath isn't big enough to hold much. Again, that's fine if you have another method of carrying stuff - car, backpack etc.

All in all, I think the main question is - will you be using it in a big city? If so, spring for one of the topline Maclarens. They're sturdy, easy to collapse with one hand, easy to carry around as they're lightweight, easy to maneuver, and have handles that stuff can be hung on. If you're main use is country/village/small town, then go for a Mountain Buggy. All very much, IMO of course! Wink Oh, and also should say that I got my Mountain Buggy 5 years ago, so there may be improvements in the new models that render some of my comments above obsolete.

bran · 02/04/2006 12:22

I prefer single-handled pushchairs as I can push them one-handed. I use hooks to carry things and my handbag has a long strap so I just hook it over the entire handle.

dazedandconfusedmum · 02/04/2006 13:48

Pollyanna, are you selling your powertwin as I am after one??!! By the way, I had a double MB and it was great!!!

Chuffed · 04/04/2006 05:09

Earlybird the mountain buggy is one of the lightest 3wheelers on the market at 7.8kg only 1kg more than a mclaren at 6.5, not a lot of difference in weight I'd have thought just awkwardness of carrying.