[Closed] Prams vs Travel systems

Get a sling. When the baby's small even a tiny woman can use one*, and you'll have no bother. Much better than a pushchair in almost every respect.

* provided it's a good one. Some are very uncomfortable, this one is ace and Mrs Grips reckoned it was just like carrying the baby in your belly. The shoulder 'straps' are in fact big wide pieces of fabric that can go all around your shoulder and back so spread the load superbly - not quite like in this pic:

[img] [/img]

More like this:

[img] [/img]

http://www.closeparent.com/

It's also unbeatable for warm loving baby contact - nice for both you and the little one.

We have used Graco Travel systems over the years and our new current choice again is Graco, you get an excellent from birth car seat which doubles as a carrier. Some great lightweight designs, comfortable to push by me and mrs , really good value in end of season sales due to colour changes etc, convert into pram like system also.

The Graco Quattro Deluxe systems are good value.

Beware brand/badge snobbery it WILL cost you.

We picked one up a few months back for £169 reduced from £299.

Cheers.

Mrs Q always fancied the Korean style carrier sling for the back, but I don't see her working on a farm with Little Q.......or driving a car like my mental co-worker used to with baby strapped to back and carseat down.

Will go and examine the Graco ones.

Spotted a silvercross deal at MotherCare today, with free car seat, but I suspect from walking around the shop it will be too small.

travel systems are best if you use a car a lot as you can lift baby, in car seat , from pram to car and viceversa without having to wake baby.
if you dont use a car often then a parent facing pram/carrycot is ok.
once baby is about 4-5mths and sitting more upright in the pram you may want to get a buggy. they are really lightweight and maclaren have height adjustable handles and also lie flat for when baby sleeps, but the downside is they are not facing you.
i had a bebe confort Loola as my pram and my partner at the time was fine pushing it and he was 6ft3. they are quite heavy though so i got the maclaren techno xt buggy too.

MUMSNET Jeezus.

+1 for the sling. Ours is a kari-me which is very easy to use and very comfortable in use. Croozer Kid for pushing round forests and towing behind the bike and something else light weight for mummy during the week. Probably still cheaper than the more expensive 'systems' which always seem to be a compromise anyway

mrs gnusmas here just worked out i have had 27 prams over 3 children, i have yet to find a pram you could take round the forest but could still get on and of the bus. have you thought ov getting a stroller for the wife that she can get on and off the bus and a bigger pram for when you are home

the best strollers i owned were the maclaren and they come in lots of price ranges. lie flat for newborn ect

the best larger prams in my opinion have to be the 3 wheel zooper has adjustable handle, seat can face you or the world greatest pram in my opinion

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1526517.stm

there are warning for keeping a newborn in a car seat while shopping or in town ie in a travel system (link above)

+1 for Slings. For our first born we had an expensive travel system. We have just had our 3rd, and we bought the cheapest, lightest buggy we could get. IMHO the fancy stuff is just a pain in the ass, it's too heavy too big in town an too expensive to leave hanging around.

Thankfully our mega all-encompassing, nuclear powered travel systems were bought by the in-laws and were used regularly until each child was big enough to go into a lightweight stroller and then they were almost exclusively taken around in them.

My wife does not drive either and she has to use the bus or train and you just can't get those great big prams onto them without spending ages folding them down which bugs the hell out of the driver and the other passengers.

We still have the latest travel system out in the garage, it is gathering dust and taking up valuable space.

Sling then stroller would be the easiest and cheapest way.

We have 4 pushchairs - the one we use most cost us £35 off ebay ('all terrain' job)
For travel on public transport my wife usually used the Quinny Zapp for the first year...The car seat / carrier which clicks out easily from the frame and then (the frame) folds down really small leaving baby in seat so can be carried to seat with you without disturbing baby. Downside is very small wheels = not good on anything slightly rough and little room for carrying extras (not stable if you add bags on handles).

I'd buy (multiple) second hand prams...(p.s. one 2nd hand but good condition Quinny zapp with seat carrier for sale !)

We got a Britax B-Smart 3 with a "Babysafe sleeper". Really good. Not the cheapest but far from most expensive and car sleeper well worth it IMO. Pretty tough, not too heavy and folds down OK. Was fine for the missus too.

First bambino? Expecting another one to come along within 2 years? To avoid travel quadries later go ofr a phil and ted Outlay initially is frankly enormous but has been fantastic for our fairly urban existence

major pluses

It take two - from newborn + todder Up to two toddlers (or v tired older child up to about 5
It a three wheeler (pneumatic tyres not plastic wheels) with independent movement of the front wheel (marvelous for supermarkets) BUt this can be locked for offraoding

It is quite big - definitely not a fold up on a bus But like others have said you'll not get a do it all in one purchase combined ours with a basic Maclaren and never wanted more - although we did get a "babybjorn" carrier when we had just the one which is very nice for keeping baby close

Pushchairs also very useful pseudo shopping trolleys

MC

Never saw a travel system that wasn't too expensive, over complicated and unwieldy. I wonder if those singing their praises have used anything else?

We didn't buy a pushchair at first, we waited to see what we would actually end up doing and then buy for that. We waited what, three months, using a borrowed travel system and then ended up getting a Maxi Cosi Mura on sale. Not long after we got a Quinny Zapp and that's all we used until 18mo or so. Now we hardly use that either 🙂

Beware tho. Almost all baby stuff is a massive rip off, especially Phil and Ted and Bugaboo etc.

Beware tho. Almost all baby stuff is a massive rip off, especially Phil and Ted and Bugaboo etc.

I am starting to get the feeling that pram snobbery is more so than bike snobbery.

..slinks off to look for carbon fiber pram with titanium hand bits.

Yeah except that the expensive stuff isn't made of carbon fibre or practically better in any way. It's just got more cachet that's all.

Look at the p*ss poor attempt at suspension on the front wheels of those bugaboo things that go for £800!

Quinny/Maxi Cosi is all you need.

^ Glad people are talking sense. It has certainly helped clear up some of my urges to have an all signing and dancing pram.

I may wrap it in a carbon fiber plastic coating but that is just for looks.

Do it, and post pics please.

And get some ti bolts sorted out.

we had numerous systems but the best is Phil and ted .

easy to push , fold very small .

First bambino? Expecting another one to come along within 2 years? To avoid travel quadries later go ofr a phil and ted Outlay initially is frankly enormous but has been fantastic for our fairly urban existence

Is phil and ted that double decker thing? I hate those. Little babies staring at no-one or a bit of red canvas - looks miserable to me.

If you have £700 burning a hole in your pocket then get a Chariot bike trailer. If/when we have another kid we'll use that as a pushchair. It's properly engineered, glides like no other pushchair and is also a bike trailer. Sorted 🙂

I've only skim read the above, so apologies if its already been covered.

We have a Micralight Toro with some add on handle extensions (sort of like curvy bar-ends). The extensions are fully adjustable which works well for me at 6'2" and my missus at 5' something or other.

Worth a look.

+1 for the micralite, not the cheapest but far from being the most expensive as well. Folds and unfolds with one hand, can be steered really easily with one hand, pneumatic rear (10 inch rolling diameter)tyres are good over rough ground and ours has been through three kids and is just beginning to look a bit tatty after seven years use.

If we were to need to buy one again, we'd still buy exactly the same.

For our eldest we got the whole travel system thing a Jane' Slalom I liked it as it had a disc brake up front, it was bloody massive and filled the car. the layback carseat was brilliant for trips to outlaws in Scotland as the daughter could lie flat to avoid the above issues.

For out second child we had adopted the isofix format and bought a Quinney Zapp, isofix base for car and Maxi Cosi seat and was brilliantly simple to use - if we ever have another baby we will probably use the same set up. the zapp coped with most things, if we were going walking/off road rather than drag a pram we used a rucksack style child carrier easier in crowds and your little one gets a birds eye view etc

haven't read much of the above but being through the whole baby thing (ours now 18months) it is a nightmare, the advertising and marketing is all designed to make u part your cash. we were not in the "everything must be new camp" we got a 2nd hand maxi carry carseat/base off ebay, then got a 100quid chicco pram. sold the maxi on ebay and lost very little. there is nothing a 500quid pram can do that a 100quid cant in my eyes , each to their own though! good luck! + make sure whatever u buy fits in your boot!

Am I the only person despairing for the future of the human race?

We've compeltely avoided the whole pram thing - they're just such a pain to take anywhere. We'd have had to strap it to the roof or something when going on holiday. Just went through a selection of slings - first on the front, now on the back.

I can out parent you all