Stroller suitable for taking on the Tube

Northern78

Hi all.

My hubby will be working in North London for the next 2 years and I plan on taking advantage of free lodgings and visiting regularly. We were regular uses of the tube last time he was there, this time though we have our baby with us. I'm looking for a stroller that we can take on the tube, so easy to fold, compact etc and also easy to steer round the London crowds. We currently have a Quinn Buzz 3, love it but way to heavy and bulky. I was looking at the Quinn Zapp Xtra, could anyone advise if this would be suitable or suggest an alternative?

Thank you!

milliebear00001

I used to have a MacLaren Volo - have taken it on the Tube. Is the lightest one they do, but still reasonably sturdy.

HRV

depending how old your baby is Quinny now do an even smaller stroller- cant remember the name but folds tiny and has a shoulder strap- think the zapp extra would be a pain as you have to take the seat unit off- id buy the original zapp if u go for that

SqueekyMouse

I have a quinny zapp xtra and I love it! We didn't have much choice when it came to buggies - it was the only one that would fit in our tiny car's boot!

But being objective it has good points and bad points so it really depends on what your looking for:
Good points:

• You can have it parent or outward facing
• It's very light weight
• Very easy to maneuver around objects - it can turn on a sixpence!
• It folds so small you could fit it in the footwell of a car
• It has a reasonably small footprint, so it doesn't take up too much space when you leave it up and travel on public transport
• Can make it into a travel system with a maxi cosi car seat (need adapters which are detachable)
• Easy to recline the seat

Bad points:

• The frame is so light weight that when you hang bags from the handle bars you really do risk it tipping over - I only ever hang a light changing bag from it
• It has a shopping basket, but it's only big enough for the raincover and one carrier bag to fit in
• It folds up in 2 pieces - You have to remove the seat from the frame to collapse the frame, It's very easy to do this but it's a 2 hand job. So I don't know how you'd manage if you were on your own with a baby, so it'd be fine so long as you don't intend to collapse it every time you use the tube!
• It's a 3 wheeler, so it can be difficult to get the right balance going up and down drops. For this reason I would never take it up or down an escalator - might be a problem for the tube since only so many stations have lifts
• The handle bars don't adjust in height, which might be a problem if you or your DH are tall or short (I'm 5'6" and my DH is 5'9" and the handles are the perfect height for us)
• Although it says it lies flat and it's suitable from birth, it really isn't, since the shape of the seat doesn't actually produce a flat surface for a newborn to lie on. (But it's perfect from about 3 months)

That's about all I can think of right now, if I can think of anything else I'll come back!

Emmzi

thank you so much for asking! I am fed up of being run over by parents who will not collapse buggies, or have giant victorian style stollers that block the doorways! So genuinely, thank you for being considerate

SqueekyMouse

Emmzi wrote: »

thank you so much for asking! I am fed up of being run over by parents who will not collapse buggies, or have giant victorian style stollers that block the doorways! So genuinely, thank you for being considerate

Do you realise how difficult it is to collapse a buggy when you are on your own with a baby that you cannot put down?

Do you also realise how long it takes to unstrap a baby, collapse buggy, reassemble buggy then strap baby back in. If I did that when I travelled by public transport I'd miss my stop and so would you

I feel very embarrassed when my buggy blocks someone's way and do my best to move it out of the way, but there is so little space in buses and trains, I think consideration and understanding from all passengers is important here

Emmzi

But when there are two of you and one child, and you have bought a buggy that there is no chance of ever collapsing and you don't even blink when running over my foot, like today...

Buying something smaller than a tank to transport your kid is thoughtful in my book!

Northern78

Thanks for the replies.

LO is 4 months, will be about 5 months when we first go down. That other Quinny I think is the Yezz. Folds up so you can wear it on your back. That really is ideal but with LO being so young I wanted one which would recline.

I think the Quinny Zapp is crossed off the list then if you have to take the seat off. That's the only downside of the Quinny Buzz too.

SqueekyMouse

Oh dear, your poor foot

I know some people can be buggy maniacs- driving them through people not around them and worse IMO are those that use their buggy (and consequently their child) as some sort of traffic calming measure. They walk out into the road without a care, assuming the cars will all stop for their little ones!

Can I suggest that next time you travel on public transport you wear steel toe cap boots and carry a supply of L plates to hang on offending buggies

Nicki

If there is room on a bus or tube I tend not to collapse my pushchair either, for the reasons squeaky mouse mentions. Also, if the tube is so crowded that you need to collapse the pushchair, you are very unlikely to get a seat, and trying to straphang with a baby on one arm and the pushchair on the other is well nigh impossible, so until they are toddlers and can stand independently, I'd wait for the next train with enough space to come along rather than collapse a buggy down.

Running over another commuter's feet isn't good, but nor is it nice when other commuters refuse to step aside slightly to let you on and off public transport. My buggy isn't like Harry Potter's nightbus. It can't suddenly become less wide to squeeze through the tiny gap left by one commuter standing in front and centre of the door, as happens a fair deal, and I don't deserve to be scowled at if I politely ask them to let me through.

The worst offenders in my experience though for running over toes are those seven stone weaklings who aren't able to carry a briefcase like normal people and put their routine documentation in wheeled cabin cases which they pull along behind them with no apparent recognition that they will run over strangers toes every time they turn left or right...

Back to OP though, as I said it is hard to collapse a pushchair and juggle it and a baby on a crowded train. My prerequisites for a pushchair for the tube are that it is light enough to carry up and downstairs without needing help, even with older baby still inside, and that it is stable enough to bump upper downstairs if you are juggling it with some shopping or luggage and can't lift it. So I wouldn't look at a three wheeler. An umbrella fold light stroller is probably the best bet.

That being said, I live in London and hardly ever take a pushchair on the tube because it is far too much hassle. When baby was small, I used the tube with baby in a sling. Now he is older and heavier, I tend to use the buses or DLR as there are no stairs to contend with and they are often less busy so there is no pressure to take baby out and fold the buggy up unless you want to.

SqueekyMouse

Northern78 wrote: »

I think the Quinny Zapp is crossed off the list then if you have to take the seat off. That's the only downside of the Quinny Buzz too.

As far as I know the original quinny zapp folds up without removing the seat. It's just the zapp xtra which has this issue.

If your baby is sitting unsupported then might not be so important to have a reclining seat - as soon as mine LO could sit she hated being reclined and wanted to be upright to see the world. It would be a shame to discount a buggy that would be ideal in only a few weeks time for one that's not quite right but is able to be reclined in the short term - just a thought...