NOW CLOSED: Talk to Central YMCA about the best buggies for exercising with....you could win a £100 John Lewis voucher.

[AnnMumsnet]

We've been asked by the team at Central YMCA to find out your best buggy for exercising with.

So if you are you a regular buggy exerciser please share on this thread the buggy you would recommend for mums looking to power walk, jog or generally push themselves fit while out and about with their baby?

Please say why you'd recommend it - what makes it good and why you chose it over others.

Please also state what age your baby/ child was in the buggy, any bad points and your overall opinion of the value for money you've had from the buggy.

Please post your responses below - the responses on this thread will be used by CYMCA in an exciting new free digital product for mums from Central YMCA. If they want to use your direct quote we may well be in touch with you to find out your name and location so this can be attributed to you - eg "xxx" said Jane from Bolton.

Everyone who adds their recommendation to this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one winner would get a £100 John Lewis voucher.

Thanks, MNHQ

the bob revolution is a fab buggy for running with, it has a lockable swivel wheel so you can lock it to fixed. excellent on all terrains and is very light to push. I used this regularly when my child was younger to go running with or a power walk with the dogs.
Large seat that lies flat so suitbale from birth until they are too big for a buggy. huge hood, so good sun coverage and rain for those occassions you forgot the rain cover.

i've just bought a nipper outnabout and it's great for long hikes. suspension is very good and my one year old is very comfortable in it.

only minor tweak would be that it has more storage space on the buggy, as the shopping basket can't be left on if going on uneven surfaces as it hangs quite low.

otherwise, a very good buggy and good value for money at about £200. I think it will last well and also would have been suitable from newborn.

Our trusty old Mothercare Urban Detour 3 wheeler

I do a fair bit of countryside walking and it is virtually indestructible, can cope with any terrain, can take the weight of a 7 year old without groaning and still push like a dream.

It was £30 off Ebay years ago and has never given us a minutes trouble. I've pushed it up hills, round woods, along shonky paths round reservoirs, hoicked it over stiles. And then I could sit on the footrest to BF before carrying on walking.

I regularly run around with my Loola by Bebe Confort. It's like being on a treadmill, only much more fun, you've got the wind in your hair ( and no gym fees ! )

I didn't buy the buggy for running with, but it does the job pretty well, much better than our little stroller type buggy. It's sturdy and the wheels can be switched to front facing only so that they won't go wiggly over the bumps. When ds was tiny he was facing me so I knew he was fine and now he's bigger he really enjoys facing forward and seeing the world speed by.

You do get some funny looks tho!

Queen i had one of those and blurry loved it! only thing i hated was the weight of the thing and how much boot space it takes up.

We borrowed my SIL's 9 year old Urban Detour to take to the Lake District. It was brilliant for pushing up hills and making my DH break a sweat without killing him .

We have a modern by comparison BabyJogger Classic now which is also very good for off road exercise - easy to push, great suspension and comfy seat for the Boy.

I'm afraid I have no modern recommendations for you because we are cheap and buy tried and trusted stuff second hand.

Mountainbuggy terrain. With off-road tyres and various anti-puncture upgrades.

It's not light. But it is indestructible and goes over/through pretty much everything. I have dragged it over fallen trees before now. It appears to have originally been designed for trench warfare.

I have recently purchased a (second hand) Kiddy Crusier adventurer. It is a proper jogging pram. 16 inch rear tires and lockable front wheel.

What I love about it
Has a big basket underneath so can drop into Sainbo on the way home.
On the handle has a little lidded cover bit to keep a fiver and my ear phones in all the time
Quick fold
Tray in front of DS so I can give him snacks
It's fast
It copes with mud and grass

Things I wish it had
A bigger sunshade. The one it has is tiny and seeing it is for outdoor exersizing that is a real shame
A sturdier rain cover
A brake on the handle
A fully padded handle.

We have only had it for a bout a month but it's been a huge benefit to us. We have even started doing a weekend jog as a family!

Oh and DS is 15 months.

Can't fault the Nipper for buggyfit - but please please please make sure you get hold of a wrist strap whatever buggy you have, I've seen the aftermath of an accident and it wasn't pretty very easily avoided by buying a wrist strap if your buggy doesn't come with one as standard (imo all buggies that are of the kind likely to be used should have one as standard)

Fooffighter - what do you mean? A strap that links from buggy to wrist? In case you fall over? (sorry for Qs - I am someone who has never exercised with a pushchair!) Am sure CYMCA will be interested in this tip

It's just a short strap from the buggy handle to your wrist. Imagine letting go accidentally on a hill...

I purchased several buggies when I had my little one as I wanted to find a buggy that was suitable for the countryside and would support me when I ran with the baby.

The best one I found and stuck with was a Mountainbuggy terrain - I also had a buggy strap which you attach to the buggy and to your wrist. If for instance you trip or fall when you are running then it stops the buggy shooting off in the wrong direction. Very handy when you are running along in the countryside or up a hill.

I also found that the mountainbuggy kept the baby from (about 9 months on) very safely and snuggly in the buggy allowing you to run some distance. It was a little heavy to push up hill but so sturdy that you feel safe running and keeping the baby in it. However, my friend swears by the babyjogger which had the larger wheels on it and is a serious runner.

I kept my little one in mountainbuggy from 9months until 3yrs. (I found that I couldn't get the energy after a c-section until 9 months to start exercise. Plus it took me a few months to find the right buggy to run with - so initially started out with quick walking and progressed onto running up to 30mins.

As I purchased a few buggies that didn't suit me - I opted for a second hand buggy from Mountainbuggy - purchased off ebay and it cost me £100.00 - it was 3 years old and it was a little tatty but it didn't matter for me in the countryside anyway.

Mountain buggy. Mountain buggy. Mountain buggy.

Once you've pushed one of those anything else feel like it's furrowing the land.

(with a wriststrap for those hilly moments)

O yes Mountain Buggy. I had an Urban with ds and managed to shift the best part of 5 stone of cake baby weight by walking by the river with it while ds was asleep. Great suspension meant he was always comfy, nice big hood and totally flat lie also meant he was more likely to sleep. Agree with the need for a wrist strap, we have a Phil and Teds now after selling the mountain buggy (big mistake but needs must) and that thing rolls away as soon as you let go of the handle, so it's always attatched to my wrist. I have been speed walking a lot with ds2 in it, who's now 10 weeks old but it's just not as good as the old MB. It feels flimsier and heavier. I do think anything with 4 wheels and not air filled tyres isn't going to be the best bet. Despite the MB feeling light as air to push, it still meant I got fit. With the Phil and Teds all I feel is the strain in my shoulders when I push it which means I actually tend to walk less far.

Ooo sorry, age of ds when we used it was about a year old til 3.

I used to take DS to buggy bootcamp classes using my Graco Symbio - I did this from about 3-11 months. It was fine for park exercise. However when DS was about 18 months old we got a Baby City Mini Jogger, which I have used since then (he is now 23 months) and I have quite often been running with him in it, as well as for woodland walks. It is great for running with - the ride is smooth, the single handle makes it very easy to steer, and the three-wheeler design handles very well. I don't find it so great on rough terrain as I can't seem to make the front wheel lock.

I likes the Baby Jogger City Mini, not that I ever went very fast. However, the front wheel has since come off... apparently a comment fault.

I have a Britax Vigour 3 wheeler. Probably not the "best" as such but for walking it has been fantastic. It's been good for walks in the forest, parks, beach etc and is sturdy enough to cope. Compared to a very basic pushchair it has been good as it makes walking so much more enjoyable as you don't feel you are lugging a heavy pushchair that is difficult to move. With a decent pushchair you hardly notice you are pushing which makes it easier to walk for long periods.

I adore my Phil and Ted's Sport. Three babies in, and it's steel frame means it's still going strong. It's a three wheel design with big, bouncy tyres and the swinging motion of the part where the baby lies keeps babies very comfortable, with no jarring as I run/walk over kerbs, bumps in the path or grass etc. (Though tyres are a bit prone to punctures).

It's heavier than many prams, which makes it very satisfying to exercise with - no fear of it breaking and a decent weight to push. And it's strong enough to carry my baby (4 weeks), and his two siblings (3.5 years and 2 years) on the nursery run, which is exercise in itself!

The handle is full width of the pram, and coated in the same type of stuff as gym equipment, nice to grip.

The baby goes in a cocoon within the pram, which means I can lift him out and have him next to me for mat work without disturbing him.

Love my Baby Jogger City Mini. Stable, easy to push on roughish terrain (not sure how it would cope with really rough ground). Fab sunshade, good basket underneath. Full recline for naps and comfy ride for DS3 now 2.6 but has been in it since 1.2 years. Smooth ride and good suspension on roads/parks.

I love my Phil and Ted's buggy. Three wheels, sturdy handle, easy to make into a double buggy and still narrow to get through gaps especially cross country. Sturdy, really easy to push - even with two children in it.

(Super easy to convert from a single to double and back)

Great from birth as baby can lie flat and get rocked in the bottom, then sit up as gets older. The cocoon carry case is especially great for this.

So easy to steer you can jog easily with it (though not so easily with two in) and turn with one hand.
Great on rough ground, bumps up kerbs and over stones and bumps without jarring the children.

Had a really handy wrist strap to alleviate stressy-worry of tripping over and the buggy rolling downhill / under a car / insert neurosis here.

Folds quite flat to go in the back of the car but quite heavy to lift in and out.

Pneumatic tyres so good for easing out the bumps, bad for punctures.

My buggy was about £100 second hand and worth absolutely every penny as both a single and double.

I've got an out'n'about nipper. Its fab, we can go just about anywhere! I'm really going to miss being able to go for really long walks when my daughter outgrows it.

My Phil and Teds is great. When pushing across various terrains, the suspension on the wheels is like riding a bicycle. It gives a smooth push and comfortable ride over bumpy ground. Used it since dc2 came along for a newborn and a toddler. It's quite heavy but very comfortable to walk/ jog with. I would recommend it, nice sturdy feel to it.