Which Pram?

[Urban Sports]

Evening,

I can't find a pram section on here so apologies if it should be in GG ? Also I have no doubt that this is the wrong time to ask but I have no idea where to start.

My wife who is due in October with a Boy has given me the task of finding a pram for Junior, mainly because as she put it... "it has wheels, can't you ask the car nerds?".

I was looking at this one...

http://www.mothercare.com/Mothercare-Spin-Pram-Pus...

...mainly because it does some kind of swivel thing and seems practical.

Any ideas?

[Le Mans Visitor]

I would recomend the iCandy range, particularly the Apple, mainly because it is futureproof as you can adapt it (Apple to Pear upgrade) if another little one comes along.


http://www.icandyuk.com/products.php

[joe_90]

We used a micralite for both ours.. its excellent, fold up small, and is very light.

http://www.micralite.com/view_video.asp?id=2

It can take an isofix car seat, and a 'classic' pram top, then can be used as a buggy when they are older.

http://www.micralite.com/toro_newborn.asp
http://www.micralite.com/toro_travel.asp
http://www.micralite.com/toro.asp

Edited by joe_90 on Saturday 18th June 22:54

[Kentish]

Congratulations!

I went through the same thing recently and we looked at loads!

I found a lot of the Mother Care range clunky in use; having to pull and push several different levers and buttons to close and open the frame (in a precise sequence of 5 steps on one model) for putting it in the boot - I could see me getting seriously piddle'd off trying to do that in a shower of rain!

We looked at Mamas & Pappas and I was put off by the build quality and the fact that some car seats required adaptors and one set locked into the frame and could not be removed but ironically, the seat itself would not lock into the adaptors - not very safe at all as it could easily topple off!

We then stumbled upon the Teutonia models and found the quality superb. They are German and it shows!
Folding the one we have is simplicity itself!
We have been using it for 10 weeks now and haven't found any features that we dislike.

You can also spec the wheels you want and the upholstery

It has a large storage area for shopping too; the travel system takes the excellent Maxi Cosi car seats (don't buy anything else)!

You can get a carry cot for while little one is a baby; a push chair for when they are a bit older and of course the car seat also locks directly in if you wish to keep things simple and travel light. It has reflectors built into different places; the front wheels lock for cross country pushing; the wheels are large enough to make rough terrain easy to negotiate; the frame has front and rear suspension (really important on our rough & bumpy pavements). Ours even has a brake lever and rear wheel braking (in addition to a footbrake) which makes descending steep hills a lot easier (a £30 option).

Everything fits so precisely and everything releases properly without having to wrestle with it in car parks.

After all the ones we ruled out, I'd highly recommend these (we went for the FUN model). Not too bad on price either.

http://www.teutonia.com/en/products/fun-system/var...

The iCandy is also very popular but it's a bit "iPod" if you know what I mean - quite trendy, more style than substance (polished alloy etc), not so easy to use, quality also a bit under par for such an expensive system (about £800 plus the extras)!

Edited by Kentish on Saturday 18th June 23:04

[sneijder]

We have a four wheel Brio job, great. Have a 3 wheel Mountain Buggy now as well, not so great.

Just ask her what she wants and get your wallet out.

[BoRED S2upid]

One with 3 wheels the reliant of prams if you wish. Im not a parent, have never bought a pram but have pushed many the ones with 4 wheels are ste and get worst as the child gets bigger handling gets worse you need 2 wheels for the traction one wheel to do the steering.

[Baldy881]

We've got M&P Sola pram with the M&P Atom car seat. The pram side of it is great, back facing/front facing etc. The car seat clips into the Sola frame with simple adaptors which can be invaluable for quick trips out. Doesn't cost a fortune, packs down quite small and looks good

Our only complaint is that the car seat is supposed to last til he's 12 months or so... he's not even 8 months and he's hanging out of it already!!

Congrats by the way

[ofcorsa]

We have the 4 wheel spin, its great but takes up boot space if u take the whole system.

Its not cheap and I did prefer some other models but, IF i had my way. she would moan about it being my fault till the end of time if anything went wrong

[Kentish]

BoRED S2upid said:

One with 3 wheels the reliant of prams if you wish. Im not a parent, have never bought a pram but have pushed many the ones with 4 wheels are ste and get worst as the child gets bigger handling gets worse you need 2 wheels for the traction one wheel to do the steering.

Not really - they are quite unstable for going up kerbs when you raise the front up 1st then the rear as the pram is balancing on the one front wheel until you get the rear ones up on the pavement.

This happens all the time of course whenever you cross a road.

We tried out these things whilst we were looking.

A 4 wheel one is fine and can be turned around on a sixpence IF the front wheels can swivel 360 degrees.

If the front 2 wheels are fixed in the straight ahead position then yes I agree, it would be hard to steer!

[Zwoelf]

Not sure if it's helpful at all, but going through that phase of life where all one's friends become breeders, I think I'm reliably informed that the correct answer is in fact, a "Quinny" of some sort. Shortly before we stop associating with them, they swear by the things.

[toxgobbler]

We've just started looking as well and it's a minefield, let us know of your progress.

[Puggit]

If you think you're going to have a 2nd before long, then consider a double pram/buggy - otherwise you'll end up buying two.

Phil + Teds do a useful, flexible one.

[theboss]

Kentish said:

The iCandy is also very popular but it's a bit "iPod" if you know what I mean - quite trendy, more style than substance (polished alloy etc), not so easy to use, quality also a bit under par for such an expensive system (about £800 plus the extras)!

Edited by Kentish on Saturday 18th June 23:04

Interesting - are they that popular now? I bought a complete Apple set 2.5 years ago for our last child and if anything, then, my perception of the brand was the exact opposite. They were virtually unheard of, and stocked only by a very small number of resellers who tended to be independent specialist shops rather than big retailers. We travelled about 70 miles to go to one such shop just because they were able to offer such a broad selection of products that we could compare first hand, and both the wife and I thought the iCandy was the best all-round. Maybe things have changed but ours has certainly fared very well over the last 2.5 years.

How did the cost of that German system compare?

[miniman]

If you want a used Quinny Buzz, drop me a line.

[Leithen]

We ended up with a Bugaboo Cameleon - the best advice though is to head into John Lewis and get them to demonstrate them all. Great service.

[Chrisgr31]

We had the Jane system which worked really well. However if going for a three wheeler (and I dont know if the prblem afflicts the four wheelers to) you'll find that if you are pushing the pram quickly the front wheel rises slightly and therefore shakes and wobbles as it is not in proper contact with the ground.

This problem is solved by locking the front wheel into the straight ahead poaition so a locking frony wheel is essential

[anonymous-user]

Perhaps sir would like to consider something with a little more style and heritage?

[sal 965]

Stokke Xplory.

Done.

[Famous Graham]

joe_90 said:

We used a micralite for both ours

Bloody hell, that's adventurous.

But on topic, were some deluded female actually consent to sire my progeny, I think I'd prefer the classic look of the traditional perambulator, eg the Kensington posted above. Very...British

[anonymous-user]

Famous Graham said:

joe_90 said:

We used a micralite for both ours

Bloody hell, that's adventurous.

Famous Graham said:

But on topic, were some deluded female actually consent to sire my progeny, I think I'd prefer the classic look of the traditional perambulator, eg the Kensington posted above. Very...British

Yup, and in years to come, you can make your money back by renting it out to Revivalists each September.