Good For Long Walks (Mountain Buggy All Terrain)

Member Name: NotQuiteCockney

Product:	Mountain Buggy All Terrain
Date:	31/10/02 (1890 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to push, Looks nice

Disadvantages: Expensive

We bought a Mountain Terrain (fixed wheel) push chair before our baby was born. We looked at the prams available at John Lewis, and were pushed to choose between fixed wheel prams (heavy, larger) and swivel wheel prams (lighter, harder to push), and didn't like either choice.

A specialised baby shop showed us the Mountain Terrain. It was lighter, and easy to push. They warned us of its shortcomings: it doesn't fold up very small. It takes a lot of room. And they were right. This isn't a pram to take on the bus, or on an airplane. It's only really worthwhile if you walk long distances.

We like to walk, and will often walk for an hour or so per day. With a solid-wheel pram, this would be very hard on our backs, shoulders and arms. The Mountain Terrain is very easy to push.

The size of the pram doesn't cause me any problems in shops, but I do avoid taking it over to other people's houses, or on buses. I find it excellent on the tube, as long as it's not rush hour, as the inflated wheels and long handle make bumping it down stairs a doddle.

We bought all sorts of accessories, as well, some of which have been useful, others less so. The bassinet, at about £150, was essentially useless. Magnus didn't like lying down to travel, when he was tiny, he preferred the sling. In the bassinet, he could only see upwards, and that wasn't a very interesting view. Given that the pram is fine from birth, at least for reasonably short periods of time, this accessory is worth skipping.

The handle extender, at about £30, has been very useful. A higher handle is always easier to push, and I'd say this was necessary for anyone over 6'.

I think the raincover came free. It's not a great raincover, but it does the job. The Land Rover one seems a lot nicer.

If you're considering a three-wheeler, it's worth thinking seriously about your reasons for getting it, and what you'r
e looking for. If you don't walk long distances, it's probably not worth bothering. If you need a pram to take on buses, or in the car, you'll end up with two prams (as we have). Look at the models available, as well - Mountain Terrain comes in fixed-wheel and swivel-wheel versions, each of which has its plus and minus points. At this sort of price, it's not a decision to take lightly.

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