The buggy brands that fit my criteria were either Phil and Teds, or Mountain Buggy. Both are New Zealand made. Good on you New Zealand, you've got lots of great baby products! Phil and Teds make heaps of well thought-through stuff, like a travel cot that's only 2 kilos, and baby back-packs. Mountain Buggy specialise in prams.
The Phil&Teds Sport Buggy is 10.5 kilos. It is slimline but long, has swivel front wheel, and can be used from birth. It's most marketable feature is that the parcel tray can be converted into a toddler seat, if you were thinking of having a second kid under 3.
The Mountain Buggy Breeze is Mountain Buggy's minimalist pusher. It is 8.5 kilos, very, very strong, and suitable from birth. It's small enough to be easy to travel with. The reviews online written by mums highly praised both the Mountain Buggy strollers in general and the Sport. Which one mums purchased was mostly a matter of personal preference.
Eventually, the only way to decide was to take a friend and try them out. We stuck her heavy purse in the seat, and pretended it was a baby, and pushed them around the Brisbane Bubs store in Fortitude Valley. They both were really easy to push. Even though the Breeze has a static front wheel, its lightweight and compact design made it just as fun to scoot around with.
How to decide? We settled on trying to lift and fold both. The Mountain Buggy won hands down. Those two missing kilos make a huge difference when you are 8 months pregnant (and who knows, you may be again before your babe is kindergarten age).
We actually had to ask the shopping assistant how to fold the Phil&Teds Sport Buggy. It's a three step process, and even she seemed a bit confused. On the other hand, with the Mountain Buggy Breeze was a straightforward clip and fold.
If you haven't seen a these three wheel buggies in the flesh, I hope this has helped inform you a bit. Just because the Breeze worked for us, doesn't mean it's for you. The Breeze is limited to one baby, as you can't fit a toddler stand or seat to it like you can with other Mountain Buggy models.
Also, for $500 the Sport Buggy gives you a whole lot of extras like Bumper Bar, Storm Cover, Travel Bag, and Insect/Sun Cover. It's really good value. It was $600 for the Breeze and Mountain Buggy expect you to purchase these extras separately for about $70 each! I don't think so!
If you don't have stairs, have a low car or a willing husband on hand, are on a tight budget, and are hoping for a second child before you've even lost your jelly belly, the Sport Buggy is for you. I'm short, mostly out and about with bubby on my own using public transport, and am crossing my fingers that I don't fall pregnant for at least five years, maybe even twenty!
As a word of warning, try your buggy out as soon as you get it home. We didn't take ours out of the box until after the bundle of joy exploded into our lives. The wheels turn out to be a bit wobbly and don't track straight. I am sure Mountain Buggy would fix this for us if we took it back to the store, but I couldn't live without the pram long enough for them to fix it and send it back to me.
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