When I was pregnant with my first little guy I absolutely OBSESSED about getting the right buggy. I wanted it all… One for walking, shopping, easy to put together, small, tidy, light weight, could turn into a double down the road, stylish, you name it, I wanted it!! I soon realised after reading multiple reviews there was no such buggy on the market. What I needed to do was find one that ticked as many of my boxes as possible which leads me to my first buggy purchase… (it spiralled from there!!)
The Babystyle Egg
I loved everything about this buggy. It looked good (number 1!!!!), was neat and tidy, easy to collapse, handled very well and could turn into a tandem if needed. The Egg belongs to the luxury buggy market and to be fair I think Babystyle have managed to get a lot of things right with this buggy.
I bought a package which came with the pram (0-6 months), the stroller seat (6 months+), the adapters for the car seat, the rain cover and the footmuff.
2 years on and I still love the Egg. That said we’ve had our ups and downs. The handle broke 3 times, which was an absolute pain as I couldn’t collapse the chasis so if I had a few passengers I would not have gotten it into my car. The nursery store I purchased it from had closed down so I ended up going back to Babystyle directly. They arranged with a repair shop to have it fixed. On the third occasion they realised that there was unusual damage to the internal barrel of the handle (possibly incurred during shipping originally) which meant the problem kept reoccurring. To be fair since they identified and fixed the source of the problem it hasn’t happened since. It was fixed as good as new, however given that I had to be without my buggy for a week on each occasion and the face it kept happening I had thought Babystyle would just replace the chassis. I know other Egg owners and nothing like this has happened theirs so I think I was just unfortunate. Given this trouble it didn’t turn me off the actual buggy.
What I love
The egg is really neat, I can get into very tight spaces and it manoeuvres so well making shopping an absolute pleasure.
Most of the fabric zips off which makes washing it easy. There is a lovely big canopy over the pram attachment. The basket is small but I found it sufficient. It collapses so easy and is easy to transport as it doesn’t take up huge amount of space.
Both the pram and seat are very comfy, our first little guy was always happy out in either. I have a footmuff on the seat and he was snug as a bug when he fitted into it (he has since outgrown the muff).
I also have the two adapters to pop the car seat onto the chassis. I find this very handy when you just want to pop in somewhere quickly. The adapters are slightly awkward but once you get the hang of them they are grand. The same set were suitable for both my Maxi Cosi seat (I had on baby number 1) and the BeSafe seat (I have for baby number 2).
Using the egg as a tandem
One of my reasons for purchasing the egg was the ability to turn it into a double if we had a second child. Now we have I’ve only used it a handful of times for a couple of reasons. The frame is narrow so there is a lot of weight concentrated in the centre to push forward. Also one child is under the other (which is fine when one is a baby and doesn’t care but I imagine this could lead to problems if they both want to see out! And finally there is a little putting together when you have to take off the pram, the seat, the adapters and collapse the frame (in addition to loading 2 children into the car!!!!!). I won’t be purchasing the second seat (I had intended to) because of all of the above but what I might do is get a buggy board and let the toddler stand on the back.
What could be better
The umbrella sunshade is a little flimsy, we didn’t get much use out of it but equally the really sunny weather is short lived!
The wheels are small and made of plastic which is great as you don’t incur punctures. However living on a country road I always felt it was too rocky and que my next buggy purchase… The Bob!
Overall
I would have no hesitation in recommending the egg as a run about, so neat and handles really well in tight spaces. I would hesitate in recommending it as a tadem. I have no regrets in the choice of luxury buggy I made, I love it overall but certainly it has a little room for improvement.
The Bob Revolution
The second buggy I purchased was the Bob Revolution. It’s a three wheel off roader and jogging buggy.
What I love
The suspension meant my little one was so comfy on our bumpy country roads making walking a pleasure. It just glides along with minimum effort pushing it and is easy to jog with. It also comes with a rain cover which protects the little one in the case of an unexpected shower!! While it is bulky when collapsed it does collapse as one piece.
What could be better
The wheels are air which makes for much smoother journeys, however air tyres also lead to a lot of punctures!!!! I replaced the tyres with a thicker tyre from Halfords, this reduced my punctures significantly.
It doesn’t automatically come with a bar across the front which I think should be standard, it would help protect the little one if the buggy did capsize.
It’s quite bulky when up and even when collapsed which makes getting around trickier and also fills a lot of space in the car. It’s fantastic off road but not really a buggy for around the shops!
The actual seat part is very standard so I pimped it with a nice cosy blanket!
Overall
I really like the Bob and would highly recommend for jogging and off roading or even if you’re like me and walk a lot on country roads. It’s not really necessary if you’re only going to use it for taking out and about on smooth surfaces. Note it is only suitable from 6months+ as the seat does not go completely flat.
City Mini GT Double
Given the Egg buggy wasn’t ideal as a tandem and the double Bob isn’t suitable until 6 months I went back to the drawing board and read more reviews. I came across the City Mini GT Twin and was lucky to find a reasonably priced second hand one on Adverts. It was practically new and in great condition. This has been my ‘go to’ buggy for the last 4 months since baby Jack was born.
What I love
The little ones are side by side and can both see out. The canopies are separate so you have flexibility to pull down either one. Also the canopy extends down a reasonable amount over the child and have two windows for looking in from behind. The seat reclines fully so it’s suitable from birth. The basket underneath is sufficient. It’s bulky but I imagine neat on the double buggy scale. It collapses as one piece so there isn’t a million parts to load into the car!
It’s narrow enough to fit through a standard doorway which is a big bonus and I love a neat and tidy buggy so this is a big plus in my book!
The tyres are rubber so no risk of punctures and also it’s also smoother on rougher surfaces
What could be better
The folding mechanism is underneath the blankets (I like adding buggy blankets for comfort). It’s tricky getting at the part you pull with the blanket in place. When folded the blanket is on the outside making it easy to get dirty! While the buggy folds as one piece (which I think is great as you don’t have multiple parts to load into the car) there is slight knack to collapsing it. The two handles have to be pulled straight up, if you pull them towards you it won’t collapse. It’s also on the heavy side for loading but not unliftable (might get in some extra arm exercise!!)
Overall
For two children this is ideal, I would highly recommend this buggy without hesitation! Its neat for getting about the shops and doesn’t perform too badly on my country road for a walk!
Double Bob
So I loved my single Bob so much I wanted the double version so I could bring both kids out off roading! All I know about this buggy is that it got some great reviews. I have it stored in the garage at the mo as similar to the single Bob it’s not suitable until baby is 6months and Jack is only 4 months! Review to follow!
Buggy addict Summary
I realise I may seem a little mad with 4 buggies for 2 little ones. I never intended on buying more than one but as my needs changed I was adjusting as I went and it spiralled a little!! I haven’t sold any off yet as I can totally justify each one at the moment. I bought them all through either Done deal or Adverts.ie (the Egg was new but the nursery had it on Donedeal to sell it off, the others are all second hand). I am lucky to have the space to store them and totally plan to flip them again when I’m done!
Here is my logic for each
- The Egg is my ‘go to’ buggy for day trips and out and about to the shops or restaurants particularly if for the days I only have one little one with me!
- The Bob is my walking buggy for the country roads I live on! This was ideal when I had only one little one. I’m keeping it for the days I only have one with me
- The City Mini Double GT is really my top buggy if you have two children. It’s ticking the majority of boxes for me and is definitely the one we use most days since having our second baby. For two little ones this is the one I would recommend hands down. I could sell the other three in the morning and the CityMini Double GT would be more than sufficient.
- The Double Bob is in storage until baby reaches 6 months, I hope to use this to get back into a little jogging!
The way I see it is having the right equipment makes minding the little ones so much easier. Having the right buggy makes everyday getting out and about easier so it is a consideration but don’t get too worried, it’s easy to sell on if the buggy isn’t doing what you need it to do.
Happy Buggy Shopping,
Love T x
Just Two Cailíní 