Expecting the first little one in a few months, so am now entering a new world of pain. It seems you can spend as much on a buggy as a car, if you are so inclined.
So what is actually
a) Essential
b) Useful
c) Nice
and
d) Pointless
in a buggy? I suppose we are looking for a good 'bang for buck' here. I like the idea of being able to unclip the chair from buggy and stick it in the car without disturbing him/her, but not sure what else is worthwhile...
Thank you all in advance...
Whilst the kid is small - sling is better hands down. http://www.closeparent.com is easily best imo.
Then get something that folds up small. You will regret it if you don't 
Don't be fooled into spending 5, 6, 7, 800 quid - it's not worth it, the stuff is NOT better.
I like the idea of being able to unclip the chair from buggy and stick it in the car without disturbing him/her
Those things are bulky crap imo and you end up lugging your kid around like luggage, which I hate.. encouraging the ignoring of your baby. Slings are again good here because you can take your babes out of the car seat - doesn't matter if you wake him/her or not, s/he'll just curl up against your body heat in the sling and snooze in a warm fuzzy love sort of way.. maybe look up into your eyes for a few minutes first
Lovely bonding imo, esp for the Dad Would not want to miss out on that. Luggage is no substitute imo.
Always got on well with the Quinny/Maxi Cosi stuff. The car seat was great quality, Quinny Zapp nice to push on long walks and Quinny Buzz great for smallness when you've got a boot full of stuff (all the time). MAxi Cosi make a cot too which tits on both buggies (new borns shouldn't be in the car chair for too long, lying flat is better for their spines)
new borns shouldn't be in the car chair for too long, lying flat is better for their spines
And windpipes. However we found a (borrowed) cot useless on the pushchair because we live on a hill. D'oh!
But in general +1 for Quinny/Maxi Cosi.
Do the rest of the world a favour and get a baby sling.
Useful already, thanks! There seems to be an awful lot of marketing regarding baby products and without prior experience it is difficult to know what works.
Our 2nd is now 4 months and we are still using our Baby Jogger City since no1. We liked it because it was noticably lighter than most very easy to collapse single handed while holding baby and put it in the boot.
It goes off road on forest trails with no issues despite the 'city' name. It is robust and functional. You will need attachments for the car seat which we are using now.
It is a few years old so things have moved on but if I was buying again I would look at a baby jogger as well as the usual suspects.
Car seat which plugs into the travel system is great for first few months when keeping them asleep is a high priority.
Ease of putting up & collapsing varies enormously. Easier the better for me.
Size of travel system after folding varies alot too, depends on the size of your boot but can be important.
Swap from rear to fwd facing can be nice when they're tiny, so he/she can see you when out walking.
If you have any steep steps up to your house or have to go up & down stairs to a flat etc then a lightweight system makes a big difference.
I prefer a 3 wheel system, much more manoeuvrable and much better on grass, forest paths etc.
Remember, you only need the hulking great travel system for a few months. As soon as they're able to sit up properly you can go for a nice light stroller. Consider 2nd hand, I did and then sold it on for the same price I paid..
Chose whatever makes YOUR life easiest - consider the type of use it will mainly get (ie, don't get a heavy 3-wheeler off-roader if all the use it gets is around town).
Whatever you choose, make sure it'll fit in your car - it's amazing how many need dis-assembling to their component parts to fit in all but the largest cars.
Got a city jogger double buggy. used to have a Mamas and Papas single buggy and travel system. The main reason for the city jogger was that it was the most comfortable, narrowest double buggy. But pleased with it for lost of other reasons.
Always got on well with the Quinny/Maxi Cosi stuff. The car seat was great quality, Quinny Zapp nice to push on long walks and Quinny Buzz great for smallness when you've got a boot full of stuff (all the time).
So do I but the longevity isn't all that - the welds have gone on our Buzz in two places, and Quinny want £50 plus courier cost to even look at it - no guarantee of a repair at that either. Warranty is only 2 years which may not be enough if you're considering more than 1 child.
We paid around £500 for the system (cotbed, car seat, stroller) - I expected perhaps naively it to last all 3 children.
The Zapp also does fold small but after a years regular use is quite an effort to fold up now.
Resale is quite good though, assuming you don't break it.
Just watched the demo for the newer baby joggers. They're way better than the one we have.
Test it to see if it will actually fit in your car boot. Also think where it will mostly be used - this big off road ones look great but are a pain in the arse to get round shops etc. Most people I know that bought one of those soon bought a smaller one to take out and just use the big one from home.
What I found really useful was going to the massive kiddicare store and blasting round their test track with various different models. Ones that are 'cool' handled surprisingly badly- some scarily so down steps.
Oh, and remember that your partner will likely use it much more than you so make sure she can lift it/ handle it ccomfortably too.
Essentials in our experience...
3 x 10" wheels with pnuematic tires.
Good handling.
Good rain cover.
Room under for change bag and a bit of shopping.
Ours is nearly 4 years old and has survived two kids. The 2011 version is half price at the moment too.
http://www.mothercare.com/dp/B004EYGUT8?extid=hp_product_row1_tab1_product1
Poppa - a suitable name !
Think about your intended use first and pick on that basis. Be wary of who's marketing is the most convincing - the best known aren't necessarily the best.
My experience has been that babies get very,very warm in car seats (loads of padding!) and we had a sweaty unhappy baby if we left them in there too long. My preference was for a proper flat pram body giving the air a chance to circulate. The transferring to the car/waking them up thing was only an issue for us on a handful of occassions. If you use the car a lot (we didn't/don't) then it might be a different case for you...
We have friends with Quinny prams and their feedback has been 1. The tiny wheels at the front are a pain and get stuck, even on kerbs. 2. Pneumatic tyres are really worth it (some babies are intolerant of too much vibration) and means you'll be able to venture away from the smoothest pavements.
If you plan to any off road walking at all then Mountain Buggy's products have lots of fans on here. Ours (Second hand) is fantastic. I have done some ridiculous off-road/off-camber/steep/narrow things with ours and its mega-stable (extremeness depends how tolerant of silliness your child is - lol!)
HTH
TM
Travel system for us to start, then on to decent buggy with option to lie flat. The whole trendy/extortionate thing hadn't kicked in fourteen years ago when our first arrived. The click in travel system really is handy when you are not to disturb sleep, and this does matter when you are on the edge without sleep yourself. Slings are good too, but none of these things need to be expensive versions. We were regulars on transatlantic trips when ours were young and usually just sopped off at Walmart on the way from the airport for a $19.99 collapsible stroller which we regarded as disposable. If you're tall/stride out forwards when walking don't buy without trying.
We've got a Quinny Zapp and Buzz + a maxicosi car seat/base with all the bits the pram unit is very useful as it fits the moses basket stand too and saves waking titch at bedtime.
If you don't mind 2nd hand you can find bargains on places like Gumtree/Craigslist I wouldn't bother with ebay as full set ups seem to go for £££££.
We had the Zapp already but got the Buzz +car seat for £120 when they are fetching £200+ on ebay.
If you want an off-roader, look at the Out n About 360 - light, pneumatic tyres, metal rims and very easy to control. One big issue is that it doesn't take car seats nor lie completely flat. I would have chosen that from birth but my wife wanted to be able to see the twins, let them lay flat etc.
We got one when they turned one (the 360 double of course) and it is fantastic - even as a double it weighs much less than lots of singles.
Chose whatever makes YOUR life easiest
I think that's what he's trying to do 
If you plan to any off road walking at all
Then you need a back/front pack imo. Even the best off road buggies struggle with a few roots/rocks or a bit of an incline. Not worth it for the narrow range of trails that are too rough for an urban pushchair but not enough to demand a carrier.
We have friends with Quinny prams and their feedback has been 1. The tiny wheels at the front are a pain and get stuck, even on kerbs
Quinny come with big ish wheels up front no?
Sling = 30 quid, Quinny Zap (from 4-6mo up) = 120 quid. 500 notes not needed.
We bought a Bugaboo - the standard ones that seem very popular and sell in John Lewis etc for north of £600.
It was fantastic - used with the cot bit, the car seat (maxi-cosi) and as a sitting-up style pushchair.
We had it for about 2 1/2 years, used it pretty much every day, then sold it on ebay for about £400, so an overall cost of about £200 which I think is pretty good and compares favourably with friends who bought something half the price and then threw it away when they had finished with it!
Nick
don't spend a grand like my sister didn't (my mother foolishly paid for that)
A friend said they'e been through 5 buggies between their two kids and the most they paid for a modular (whatever that's meant to be) was 200 quid (most though cost no more than 50)
Molgrips
Agreed that a sling is best for really bumpy ground. Most folks what I know who enjoy being int' countryside with their little one(s) have a pram and a sling (and a rucksack!) and pick according to the planned degree of adventure/tiredness of parents etc etc
The Quinny's I've seen after having a quick squizz on their website all have teeny wheels. I think they do have one with pneumatic wheels, but its the diameter that I've seen cause the problems. 10-12" diameter seems to be a good compromise for a mix of urban and off road use.
TM
baby jogger city mini here its great
so easy to fold makes a massive difference after watching a shop assisntant struggle to demo a mamas and papas one we were sold on the baby jogger
got the pram attachment which doubles as a carrycot and soon be putting the wee man in the buggy
also got the maxi cosi adaptors so we can pop him in the car seat
also have one of those babybjorn lings and its very useful
Mmm, pneumatic wheels come with disadvantages tho, namely size in the car.
We ended up with two pushchairs - a Maxi Cosi Mura for longer term walking use (and the babes could face us), and a Quinny Zapp which we let in the car, for town use. Mura didn't get much use to be fair, but it did get some.
Chariot Cougar is by far and away the best thing to push, but the baby does face away from you so more suitable for slightly older babes. Very expensive, but it's a bike trailer too!
Best thing we did was to go into Mothercare & John Lewis and talk to the staff, best to go in first thing when they aren't busy. We found them both very helpful, asking things like do we use public transport, do we just want it to take into town etc. For us both shops suggested a three wheeler and showed us ones raning in price from £100 to £700. We ended up buying a new Jane off ebay with a very good discount.
Chose whatever makes YOUR life easiest
I think that's what he's trying to do
don't listen to anyone else
Well he did post on a forum asking for advice, didn't he? Be a bit silly not to listen
Mmm, pneumatic wheels come with disadvantages tho, namely size in the car.
and the obvious disadvantage of potential punctures.
A big enough pain in the arse on the bike but at least I carry the kit to fix it. Don't really want to add spare tubes & a pump to the already huge amount of baby paraphanalia you'll be lugging around!
We had a Mamas & Papas travel system - was really good quality & kept going long after various lightweight Mclaren's had been scrapped.
for others a £1k 0-18yrs system is best
Will I be wiping their bum still at that age too ?!?
and the obvious disadvantage of potential punctures
Go tubeless.
Will I be wiping their bum still at that age too ?!?
Well he did post on a forum asking for advice, didn't he?
Spray in slime can work but I guess the same caveats apply as with bikes - you'd have to go on a long walk to make sure it sealed the hole - my BIL put it in and it congealed on the bottom of the tyre after a while. Make pusing the thing a wobbly experience.
We have friends with Quinny prams and their feedback has been 1. The tiny wheels at the front are a pain and get stuck, even on kerbs. 2. Pneumatic tyres are really worth it (some babies are intolerant of too much vibration) and means you'll be able to venture away from the smoothest pavements
Point 1 I'll agree with, ours was screwed after one flat beach walk.
Point 2 is 50/50 .. buzzy pavements seemed to send ours off to sleep quicker!
Point 1 I'll agree with, ours was screwed after one flat beach walk.
Hang on - you took a pushchair on a beach and expected it to be fine?
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