anyone got a bebeconfort loola oxygen (that might be just the colour, not sure!), if so, are they any good?

[freakypenguin]

i absolutely want a rear-facing pram/pushchair. since the recent and untimely demise of my "new" ebay-bought pram (see here if you're interested in my tale of woe DH and I have been brooking the idea of biting the bullet and buying new.

have been looking at these on kiddicare. seems to fit the bill. but i read on a mothercare feedback thing that these sometimes have ridiculously short straps - is that the case? it is difficult to buy without seeing it 'in the flesh'. might look in mothercare, but buy from kiddicare. but thought i'd sound out MN before!

cheers!

no one at all?!

DH has managed to mend the old ebay pram for the moment, but I really don't think it's going to last the course....

so are the loola pushchairs worth the money do we think? DH is not totally convinced.

How many prams/pushchairs is it reasonable to have got through with two children? I have always bought second hand before, but have consequently always got a pushchair that is less than perfect and usually with some annoying features with I have to struggle with on a daily basis and DH doesn't realise quite how tiring/annoying that is!

I would really love a shiny new pushchair, but need some ammo to convince DH!

My DD's puschair is a Loola, bought 3 yrs ago now. I love it, but it does have its disadvantages.

Good points are: the rear facing seat, very sturdy, very pretty and fold up small enough to get in the back of a Clio (there weren't many around that did at the time), easy to put up/fold down.

Negative points: very heavy (not good if you're having to get up and down stairs are stuff) and quite wide (couldn't fit in some lifts/doorways). Shopping basket is a bit crappy too as there's this big cross bar thing so you can't get much in there.

I've never really worried about the straps. I've had mine since DD's birth and tbh have never used the shoulder straps, just the waist ones. The shoulder ones don't seem very short though, although on my Mclaren they are longer.

I saw your story about the Bugaboo, am very .

Thanks brangelina!

The big thing is that the current pushchair (which DH has managed to mend for the time being) is it's really big to fit in our boot even though we have a mahoosive Zafira.

Does the loola collapse pretty small? It looks small on the pictures...

Also does it recline fully flat?

sorry you already said it folds small. was interrupted by DS while responding and lost my place.

I had one until a few months ago, sold it and bought a cheap stroller as ds walks most places now.

Would agree with Brangelina - heavy but compact, pretty, sturdy, quite wide although I didnt have problems getting through doors. Comes with a lovely footmuff that is like a sleeping bag. Crap shopping basket but TBH it never bothered me, I never tend to use the basket anyways.

No, it doesn't recline fully flat, although it does get quite low down. When DD was tiny I used the créatis car seat for that (it has a little booster cushion thing so tiny babies are flat). There are two positions only for the seat - flat and upright.

It is one of the shortest puschairs around when folded. I tried collapsing a lot of them in shops and measuring them and iirc the Loola was the only one of the big ones (ie not light buggy) that did the job. It has a telescopic side bit, unlike many others.

Can you not pop into John Lewis or somewhere and see one in the flesh?

Ah yes, the footmuff thingy is gorgeous, very snuggly and covers everything. There is even a hood for it.

I bought one of these for my friend from ebay(who still has not paid me!!) as I had the money in my paypal account. One of the handles broke and so one wheel is stuck on swivel and one stuck on fixed so she never used it (we did not realise you could dispute as was ebay virgin). I keep meaning to collect it and try to sell it as parts but every time I ask to come and get it, it is 'being washed'

Folds super small, lovely to fold it when in rear facing and car seat clips on but very very heavy, my friend is tiny and struggled with it when she used it. The footmuff is fab though, just like a little sleeping bag!

yes, agree think i need to see one in the flesh.

although it's heavy, is it easily manourevred about would you say?

It is pretty easily manoeuvered, but the swivel wheels can be a bit of a pain on kerbs and uneven cobbles, though I imagine that's the case with all swivel pushchairs.

I have one of these too - would agree that it's a good pushchair. It's very easy to unclip the seat and swap it round to face you/ face away. Also although it's heavy that means that it's very stable. If you have the seat facing you then you have to take the seat off to fold it but this means that the chassis goes down to almost nothing. I believe the Loola Up has solved some of the niggles e.g. the problem with the cross bar over the basket - but would agree with others that you really have to try it out in a shop before you can know if it's the one for you.

I was put off buying one of these as was told 'heavy' but they do look lovely, and still would like to 'try' one.

i have just seen a loola up in the shop, and it seemed fine to me. the main difference was the single bar handle rather than two handles apparently. i did look at the shopping basket - seemed ok to me. they are a bit more than the loola standard.

it also didn't seem that heavy to me, but then i have been used to seriously heavy-duty old fashioned second hand prams!

thanks for all the tips. i still need to convince DH. i noticed today that there is a serious case of pinched fingers waiting to happen on my totally bad e-bay buy as there is a moving part right by where DS2 likes to put his hands. eek. hasn't happened yet but is BOUND to.

how can i convince DH that after wasting £40 on what seemed like a good pram but is actually terrible, i now need a £200 new pram?!

this is what i saw in the shop, actually.

I loved mine, a friend now has it and she loves it too!

right - i am probably getting really annoying now () but i forgot to ask the woman in the shop if you have to have specific sun-umbrellas for loolas?

i have just bought a new 'universal' (ho ho) sun umbrella but guess what, it doesn't fit on the bad-buy ebay one. just another nail in it's coffin. i know we probably won't need a sun-umbrella for much longer, but even so...

hopefully this will probably be my last question...

ITS

god, i am purportedly an english graduate too

How about the other new Loola one called the streety? Basically it is a rip off of a bugaboo bee (but think it looks better, I hated mine!) bound to be lighter in weight and will fold smaller. No the universal parasol will not fit as you need a special clip for the Loola, they are not daft are they so you have to buy only their own make stuff!!!

ooh, was not aware of the streety

looks pretty good. but will have to try to find one in the flesh. can't risk buying a pram blind any more!

thanks carrielou!

weirdly the streety is cheaper with the carseat on kiddicare than it is on thegroovystyle which doesnt include the car seat!

Ooh, the new single handlebar Loola looks good, I always found it a pain steering mine with one hand. They seem to have changed all the dodgy bits. This year's choice of colours looks pretty good too.

I can't help you about the parasol, only ever used the hood on mine (it pulls down quite far). I had the hood that came with the raincover, mind, there are a few different styles I think.

The single bar one might be better, my old loola was just horrible to steer and really heavy (once I'd got over the new parent, I love my shiny pushchair thing).

in the end i have gone for an icoo pocco becuause my concern with the loola streety was that whilst it is very competetively priced, that price includes a baby car seat which i didn't need.

i decided to find a chair for about the same money, but where all the money had gone on the chair, rather than split on additional parts i didn't actually need.

i am dead chuffed with it. sorry to have harped on about loolas and then got an icoo , but there it is. you pays your money and takes your choice!

thanks ladies!

We had a loola with DS. It is heavy but it's a good pushchair and folds down very small. The single handle on the Up will make a big difference I think as it was always difficult to steer with one hand. The shopping basket is rubbish but I was never too worried about that, and I think on the Up they've improved that.

The best bit of it was the carry cot attachment - the Windoo. DS basically slept in this and nothing else for the first couple of months, as it's cosy and completely flat, so he could nap anywhere and we didn't have to take a travel cot with us when we went away. Also, I had a CS so we kept it on its wheels in the flat and it meant I didn't have to bend to lift him in and out of a moses basket.

Please don't buy from kiddicare though - their aftersales service is rubbish so if anything goes wrong you'll tear your hair out trying to get replacements or repairs. Mothercare or John Lewis all the way.

ooops have just seen you've bought already!