Mountain Buggy/BOB vs. Bugaboo

[maddie80]

I am having a horrible time deciding on what stroller to get, so I
thought I would check in here for advice.

We are having our first baby in January, and we are looking for a
stroller that will take us through longer walks in our older
neighborhood with bumpy sidewalks, walks to the park, and also inside shopping, etc. There will definitely be some bad weather and ice/snow here in the beginning of the year. We live in the city and my husband and I share a car, so we are willing to spend a fair amount on a single stroller if it will suit all of our needs.

I like strollers that have bassinet options, and seat reversibility
(although I wouldn't say it's a must have). Maneuverability and a
smooth ride on all kinds of terrain are probably the most important
features to me.

We think we have narrowed our choice down to the Bugaboo Frog/Cameleon and the Mountain Buggy Urban. I like the Bugaboos, but I have read mixed reviews on how they perform on bumpy sidewalks, and I am also concerned about how quickly a tall child could outgrow the seat. That being said, I love how easy it is to reverse the seat/handles, etc., and to click in the seat or bassinet and it seems very easy to push indoors.

The Mountain Buggy had a great feel for a 3-wheeled stroller, as did the BOB Revolution. I am
concerned that their size might make it difficult for indoor use, but
after test driving it, it didn't seem hard to maneuver.

I would love advice on which of the two might better suit our needs, and if there are any other models that I should be considering as
well. Thanks!

[kimogilvie]

I would probably go with the Cameleon. First off you are comparing very different type strollers. But the Cameleon has excellent suspension and great maneuverability. I love that the seat and handle reverse for parent facing and the bassinet comes with it for new borns. AS far as seat height goes - you still get a lot of use out of the Bugaboos (probably 3 to 3.5 years). If you're child is still a rider after that point, I'd probably sell the Cam (great resale value) and then get a mountain buggy or baby jogger or something that takes higher weight kids because at that point most toddlers want to face out at the world anyway.

[jazzpurr88]

I LOVE my BOB Revolution! I have a 8 week old and a 4 year old and they both fit in it well. Easy to push and get around in stores. works great on our rough sidewalks.

I wanted a Valco Tri Mode but my father in law bought me the BOB. The Valco would meet all your needs though.

[BABYGIRLLYNDSEY]

As a parent of four children ages 15.5 to 2.5 yrs in age I have tried a zillion strollers. Ask my hubby, we still have a bunch in our garage and shed. I would totally not buy a Bugaboo. In my opinion they are a waste of money. I have a red Bugaboo Frog that is hanging on the ceiling of my shed right now, as well as a Pliko P3 and Inglesina Trip, Bertini Bidwell and Perego Culla and a Silver Cross English Pram sitting in there too. The Bugaboo is nice but not all that great for say bumpy sidewalks and such. It works great for a mall stroller. I can't tell you about the Mountain buggy. I know Lovinwaves and Arly1983 on this board have them. I can tell you that I have a Bob Revolution and love that stroller. I wish I had purchased that to begin with. I would look at the Bob Revolution and get the car seat adapter or a Baby Jogger City stroller with the car seat adapter too. I know I could have saved myself a ton of $ if I had just done that to begin with. We use our Bob for the mall as well as trekking downtown on the bumpy sidewalks and have also used it over rough terrain too. I do have a Maclaren Techno that I use for travel. If you can try them out first I'd do that. Then you know if you'll like it or not. Sometimes they look great until you push them and try out the mechanics of it and then its like yuck. Good luck.

[QuassEE]

I've owned at least 60 strollers over the last 5 years, three of which were Bugaboos. I've come to the conclusion that I would much rather have a Mountain Buggy Urban with all the bells and whistles, plus a few extra fabric sets for swapping out as I desire...and still come in at well below the price of the Cameleon or the Frog. I actually sold my MBUS in order to buy a Bugaboo Frog, thinking they were somewhat redundant for my needs. Within months i was selling the Frog and buying another MBUS.

The reasons I prefer the MBUS are:
The Bugaboo is harder to fold, the MBUS easier
The Bugaboo bumps around more on uneven surfaces
The Bugaboo is more tippy
The MBUS holds more weight
The MBUS steers about the same as the Bugaboo (but for 1/2 the price)
The MBUS fits nicely standing upright behind the back row of seats in my Sienna
The MBUS handle adjusts easier than the Cameleon handle
The MBUS handle feels more solid
The MBUS fabrics swap out easily, and are inexpensive
The MBUS recline has more positions

I did like the "wow" factor of the Cameleon though, especially since we don't have a lot of Bugs around here. I thing I hated most about my Cameleon was that, at the time, you could only get fleece fabric sets and I hate fleece and the fleece pills. That's no longer an issue with the deniers, which I would highly recommend over the fleece if you do buy a Bug.

My "perfect combo" of strollers, if I could only have two, are the MBUS and a Maclaren (which one depends on how old a child it's for..) And you can easily buy both an MBUS and any model of Maclaren for as much as a Cameleon.

-Nicole.

[lovinwaves]

If I were to tell you which of those to buy..I would suggest the BOB or MBUS. The Bugaboos are just too $$$ in my opinion, when there are other great strollers for much less.

Is this the only 3 you are interested in? There are many other types of strollers out there in that price range.

First off I would definitely make sure you get a stroller with air tires. If you are wanting this stroller to take you well into 3-5 year old range then I would skip the MBUS (low seat backs).

The Baby Jogger Elite (coming in for 2008) would be another great choice. This stroller will take you well into the toddler years without worrying about the child outgrowing it. Baby Joggers have one of the highest seatbacks and weight limits of any strollers. They also fold very small and very easily (one hand).

[Lex]

This is an old thread, so my advice may be too late, but I would definitely get the MBUS over the bugaboo. I have both and find that I hardly ever used my bugaboo. I am selling it. I LOVE the MBUS. It is much easier to push that the bugaboo, and feels sturdier in general. My nearly five-year-olds can still fit in the MBUS, so I don't think you need to worry about it being outgrown quickly. We also have the double version, and it is the best double stroller EVER.

I also love that you can buy extra fabric sets for the MBUS. You can mix up the shade and the seat colors for a funkier look.

Hope this helps!

Lex