Mountain buggy 3 wheelers - opinioins?

Mrs_T_13

Hi wonderful people,

We are expecting our first child in December. We think we want a 3 wheeler pushchair as we live in a rural area and are outdoorsy type people who do a lot of walking.

Having spoken to lots of Mums with the the Jane Powertrack and done lots of online research that one seemed a pretty good option for us and we thought we'd made the decision. Then someone showed us the Mountain Buggy Urban (which is 100 quid dearer) and now we're confused about which to buy.

Does anyone have a Mountain Buggy? What did you think? Is it worth the extra money?

On the subject of baby stuff - to what extent have people found the car seat being compatible with the pushchair useful?

Confused of Cumbria,

Mrs T

lin473

I have a fair amount of experience as a buggy-pusher after 24 years of parenting,childminding and fostering.As far as 3-wheelers are concerned,we had the cheaper type for a while,but although it looked great,we didn't really like it.Next I bought an 'easylife sport' buggy,(imported from New Zealand)>It was brilliant!Very well balanced,easy to push and manouverable.It is by far the best buggy I have ever owned.Coped with any terrain,including quite rutted country walking routes.The only downside to it was that although compact when folded ,it was a heavy buggy to lift in and out of the boot.Now I have a dodgy back,we bought a Mountain buggy,which is much easier to lift as it is wonderfully lightweight.I like it as it copes with most rough ground,although not as stable as the easylife.However,I have the model which is fixed wheel,so it is not as manouverable either,but the urban one you are thinking of may be different.You may sacrifice some of it's ability to cope with rough terrain though.
It is definately worth paying a bit more for one of these superior models.Not all 3-wheelers are the same.
Hope that helps you decide.

Jay-Jay_4

I have a Baby Jogger with 16" wheels. I've had it for 5 years, it's been halfway up Langdale, on beaches throughout England and Wales, been dragged through rivers, over bog and has covered hundreds and hundreds of road miles. It's light, fast and well balanced but it's no good in shops as it's too long and has a fixed front wheel which means that you need to keep putting pressure on the handle to turn.

I have a posh 4 wheel travel system which doesn't get much use since she grew out of the carseat. It's too big, bulky and faffy. I've had two travel systems and really like them but it seems such a shame that they grow out of the carseat bit by 9 months. I still use the pram if we're having a LONG days shopping, as it's comfy for her and there's plenty of room for the shopping.

My best buy was a Mothercare fold up £30 odd quid buggy which weighs nowt and can be chucked in the boot in 2 seconds.

I much prefer to have seperate prams. My Jogger stays up in the shed with a liberal coating of mud on it. The Mothercare buggy lives in the boot for quick shopping trips and the big posh pram stays in hubby's car for long days out.

Maybe go with the three wheeler with fixed front wheel for outdoorsy stuff and buy a cheap buggy for quick trips to the shops.

Counting_Pennies_2

I can't comment on three wheelers, but can on the car seat option.

I found it very useful for the first 6 months of my baby's life. It meant if I am popping out somewhere and baby falls asleep in car, you can just clip it on the chassis and baby kept sleeping. Ideal for transferring the other end too!

Yoga_Girl

I bought a Mountain Buggy 4 years ago and its still going strong with baby no. 2 (now a toddler). Its been absolutely fantastic for all the outdoors stuff, it can handle beaches,rocks, woods, fields, mud, bumpy ground etc etc. Its got a fixed front wheel which means its really stable for all the outdoor stuff but not so easy to manoever round shops.

For the shops I have a cheap Mothercare light-weight buggy which lives in the back of the car. We keep the Mountain Buggy in the garage as it tends to get coated in mud - you can buy a cover for it though that you zip the whole buggy into so that if you needed to keep it indoors all the mud would be contained.

The Mountain Buggy is definately my favourite out of all the buggies I've had (I've also had tandem and double buggies), I also used to use it just to pop to the local shops as it handles kerbs etc better than my other one.

Mine is the Mountain Buggy Terrain, I think the Urban one has a swivel front wheel so that would make it easier for shops as well. Its a great solid buggy!

speedyjoe

We have twins so we needed a double buggy. I got an XTS Boogy Twin, brand new but secondhand, of Ebay.

I think it's one of the best things I have ever bought off Ebay. It handles beautifully and you can seem to go anywhere (except through narrow shop doorways and kissing gates) The only things that I can fault it for is it's a little bulky to get in and out of the car boot and the opening of the cargo carrier at the bottom is rather narrow so you have to get lots of carrier bags in the supermarket instead of just a couple. Otherwise we love it.

Joe

Mrs_T_13

Lots of very useful information there.

Many thanks to all who have replied so far!

Mrs T

Bibendum

Congratulations MrsT! (lots of tea parties ahead?)

Yeah... another for Mountain buggy.
Had one for last baby. Easiest thing to wheel around a real pleasure.

I had the Terrain model (fixed front wheel). Excellent maniability.

Sold mine on e-bay recently (didn't sell as well as other people's... still dispointed with that), so you can sometimes grab yourself a bargain. And frankly they are so sturdy that they don't really wear out that much.

Mrs_T_13

Thanks Bibendum,

I had a quick look on e-bay and couldn't find any for much cheaper than new! Guess I'll keep my eyes posted.

Perhaps yours didn't sell as well as others if they were the Urban version, with a swivel and lockable front wheel?

Mrs T

Yoga_Girl

Try https://www.kidsense.co.uk as they sometimes have sale items, looks like they've got a 2nd hand mountain buggy terrain at the moment, think they sometimes sell nearly new or older models.

Mrs_T_13

Ooh good website YG. Thanks!