Silver Cross prams

[yummy-mummy]

I know I'm only just creeping towards Tri 2 but I want to have as much time as possible to get things sorted out. I've been eyeing up the Silver Cross Combination sets but would like some feedback. I really like the 3D system and the Freeway Linear but after mum found this out and did some Googleing she found some bad reviews about the Silver Cross stuff. Mum also asked in an independant shop about pram systems and was told not to bother and just buy a pram for now and we already have a buggy from DHs first child. I don't like the buggy but at the same time I don't want to waste money if I can help it.

Does anyone on here have any experience of the Silver Cross prams or any other similar looking prams at a good price?

 

[poppy160]

We have a Silvercross....3D? I think? It has the two handles instead of the one bar across. I have had no problems with it, I love it. It looks very trendy and my LO is very comfy in it. The carrycot was nice, maybe she grew out of it a bit too early? The only thing I don't like is that she faces away rather than towards me since being in the pushchair position but there are other Silvercross prams which do that.

The carseat isn't great though, I found it to be too small.

ETA: This is the one I have http://www.johnlewis.com/230424631/Product.aspx

 

[hennaly]

we tried the one yoiu are talking about but found it a bit on the small side and also with the 2 handles it made it a bit flimsy and unstable for my liking

 

[yummy-mummy]

I hadn't even noticed that the 3D had 2 handles. Ok scrap that idea. Any feedback on the Freeway Linear?

Thanks for the posts girls.

 

[debecca]

We had the Silver Cross 3D and found it a great pram, really sturdy and comfortable to use. Also it wasn't too bad to get up and down once you were used to the procedure (although I did ring Bloom from a supermarket car park to ask her how to do it the first time I was out on my own )... the downsides we found were that Connie grew out of the pram bit fairly early on but still seemed too small for the buggy. We used the buggy anyway though - but she prefers facing away from us as she used to like cooing at trees from an early age. We then used the buggy mode til she was 7 months, when we swapped to a stroller.

It depends on the buggy you've been offered to be honest, like, what age is it suitable from?

If you don't want to use the travel system aspect (ie clipping on the car seat etc) I'd say don't bother with the 3D and do what your mum suggests maybe? xx

 

[debecca]

I hadn't even noticed that the 3D had 2 handles. Ok scrap that idea. Any feedback on the Freeway Linear?

Thanks for the posts girls.

Oh. Ignore my post I'm clearly a slow typist

 

[yummy-mummy]

He he your opinions are appreciated anyway!

I'm not sure what to do. As we're planning on Ikea bedroom furniture I'm sure my out-laws will try and waste lots of money on something expensive for the sake of it so I'm trying to get the most sensible option from those already using prams. My out-laws spend a fortune on step-daughter every year but I'm adamant that I don't want my kids spoilt or to have choices made for me hence asking for info on here.

Maybe a system isn't the way to go but Silver Cross seem to do the best looking prams albeit the babies seem to grow out of the pram too quick (that was a common comment about them).

Any other suggestions?

 

[valleygirl24]

I have just bought the Graco Quattro Tour Deluxe and love it, admittedly I havent put a baby in there and used it but I have read a number of good reviews. If you have a Smyths toy shop near you they are on offer in there for £159 until the 25th Jan (i think) instead of the usual £259, for this reason I went with the chocolate lime colour instead of my personal favourite butterscotch.

 

[lisa-marie]

We have got the silver cross linear freeway in pistachio after seeing it in John Lewis. the reason we went for it rather than the 3d is it feels more sturdy and the handle bends up as both me & DH are tall it will be easier for us to use. Very easy to put together/take apart & looks so comfy for baby.

The best thing is we brought ours second hand via the preloved website for £150 we got pram, changing bag, rain cover, parasol & car seat. Was only used for a month so is in imaculate condition. If we had brought it brand new it would have cost over £500.

I am looking forward to using it very soon!

 

[Batie]

We've got the Silver Cross - Linear Sleepover - the one with one bar and where the carry cot comes off to fix onto a wooden stand at night so it's the moses basket too.

It's pretty good - solid, sturdy - although because of that it's not exactly 'light weight'. Our little one still fits in the carry cot at 3 months OK (although she is possibly smaller than most other babies I see at the same age).

It is useful not to have a separate moses basket knocking around the house too - although the downside is that you have to lug it up and down the stairs....

It fits into our Focus boot - although there's little space for much else.....we haven't used it as a push chair yet - but it is able to face either way which I think will be great when the time comes.

We bought ours on ebay - new - but we saved £80 than if we had bought it at John Lewis and we got a better selection of colours! I think almost every time I take it out I get compliments on it - because its a fawn/cream colour and not black like every other pram is at the mo - all the grannies love it!

Good Luck choosing - it's tough!

 

[Bekie]

We have brought a Slivercorss Linear Freeway.. i love the way it faces both me and outwards, it really is lovely. We have it as the travel system in Jet. It was on offer when we brought it so instead of the usual £500+ it was around £300.

I too have read what you've seen and the main issue seems to be if your not careful about folding it correctly (that makes it sound like its difficult, it really isnt!) a lot of people had issues with the 3D chassis buckling. But Slivercross did repair them for the people who it happened to, and i was told they have changed it ever so slightly to prevent this from happening, but dont quote me on that!

Its a lovely pram, very sturdy and feels very very good quality. The only downside is that it is a little chunky and heavy. I can fit the chassis in my Micra boot but not the pram part, that has to go on the back seat with the car seat in the front Doesnt leave a lot of room! But it is a small car, if it hadn't fit in DH's Megane then i'd have been a bit worried but thats a convertible and we can even get the car seat in the back seats (so we dont have to switch off front airbags) where as we struggled with a Graco seat. (sloping roof!)

Hope that helps a little hun!

Bekie

 

[BeckyJ]

we have the freeway linear sport and ventura carseat in flash

its a lovely pram/pushchair - i love the fact that summer can face me in both pram and pushchair mode

we are always having people stop us and saying what a nice pram it it

we paid around £300 on special offer at kiddisave but you can get them second hand off ebay etc cheaper

 

[Kittykins]

Only a little bit further on than you, but... we were thinking along similar lines. We do want a pram system, for various reasons. We also wanted a pushchair that was parent-facing, not just the pram bit.

We whittled it down to a choice of two, eventually. We spent ages looking at the Freeway Linear in John Lewis. It seems sturdy enough, but we could not figure out how to fold it or exchange the carrycot for the carseat, etc. We asked to be shown, and the assistant took forever - she obviously knew what she was doing, but the mechanism was so stiff that in the end she had to show DH and he did it. That didn't fill me with confidence. It seemed a bit clunky to us. Also, it really doesn't fold down very small at all. Having said that, when we left John Lewis to go and see the other shortlisted system, we hadn't ruled it out, we just had a couple of reservations.

We ended up going for the Mamas & Papas Ziko Herbie. It was so obvious how to fold it, add the bits, etc, that we didn't need to ask to be shown how to do it. I could do it no problem. We dumped my 4kg bag (don't ask - I had textbooks from teaching in there) into the various carseats, carrycots, etc and I could still lift them off easily by myself. The chassis folds into a relatively small space (bearing in mind it is still a travel system!) and is freestanding - this was a major plus, as we can leave it by the front door, whereas a non-freestanding one would have to be put in a cupboard. Also, the Herbie uses the same pram body to convert into the pushchair body, you just add linings and a harness (all seemed straightforward, secured with poppers). This means that you don't then have the carrycot sitting around the house. The Herbie carrycot can also be used as a travelcot, with a Moses basket stand.

I'd say that there isn't much to choose between the Silver Cross Freeway and the M&P Herbie - so if you haven't had a look at the Herbie, it might be worth doing so. They're similar prices - both at full price and the best current offers. I think the more prams/pushchairs you actually get to see and touch, the more you realise what you do and don't want. It was only by looking at loads of others that we worked out what we definitely didn't want.

Of course, we haven't actually used it yet, so that may be a whole different story!

 

[yummy-mummy]

Brilliant - thank you for the replies girls. I'm now in 2 minds as to whether to get one off eBay second hand. As someone pointed out, babies have stuff coming out every hole you can think of so god knows what could have gotten onto the pram/car seat/buggy that someone "thinks" they've cleaned.

Thinking I'll look out for a good bargain brand new. We've just gotten our first M&Ps store in Belfast so I may take a run down some day and have a look.

 

[purplepants]

I have found in my experience with all the prams i have owned (bear in mind i have 4 children so thats quite a lot of prams ) that all the material bits do come off the frame and wash realy well either in the washing machine or by hand in the bath/sink, so buying second hand is not a problem so long as you make sure thigs like the main frame,harness & brakes are all in good condition

 

[yummy-mummy]

Ok I'm now off Silver Cross and have a list of 3 I'm now looking at seriously. They are:

BeBe Loola Up
Mothercare My4
Britax Vigour 4+

My 4yo step-daughter took to wheeling the prams around which gave us an idea. We got her to try out the BeBe, Silver Cross and Mothercare ones and she could barely manage the Silver Cross one. The other two she flew around the store with which made me think - if I have stitches (pretty much guaranteed) or need a c-section, if a 4 year old can push the pram then I should be in with a chance!

So handy tip of the day: beg, borrow or steal a small child to test drive prams for you while you put your feet up!

 

[BabyMagic]

Indeed, it's great to see how easy a pram is to push. I would personally see how easily it is done by using one hand (this becomes handy if it's raining and you need to use an umbrella or if indeed you need to hold your baby whilst pushing a pram too). If your in-laws are chipping in you may want to consider Bugaboo Bee or Bugaboo Cameleon. We've got the latter and absolutely love it.

On the other hand, if your LO ends up being like our little princess you can forget about a pram for the first weeks and just invest in a good sling Our madam was bit of a crier and would have been pretty noisy had I not carried her in a sling pretty much all the time xxx