Oyster stroller - anyone used this?

[supergolden88]

I thought I had heard of most strollers on the market and currently leaning towards the Bugaboo Bee but I just came accross this

Oyster stroller

it seems to have a lot of the features that I am after (which the Bee has as well) seat facing both ways, compact when folded etc but at a fraction of the Bee price.

Has anyonse got this stroller? Would really appreciate feedback

[born&brED]

HI there,

Sorry, only just seen this. Yes I have one and have used it for 10 months now and it is FAB! In December 2009 last year it was rated really highly on the 'Which reviews', even higher than the Bugaboos (well, 1% higher than the Bee and loads higher than the Chameleon!). I see that they have now brought out loads more colour options, the lack of which was a common complaint previously.

I used it for a good 5 months with the carry cot, which was so easy to click on and off, then swapped to the seat, which also clicks on and off effortlessly, in either direction. I have also used it loads of times with the maxi-cosi adapters. When I first had it delivered, it took me all of about 2 minutes to open the boxes and put the whole thing together, including wheels on. The basket it really big underneath, and the handlebar adjustably instantly.

I must say I took a slight risk ordering it last Autumn as it only came out in Aug 2009, but thankfully it's been great, and I won't be changing buggy any time soon. It's pretty much a copy of the iCandy Apple, just loads cheaper and loads lighter too.

Hope that helps!

[The Nappy Lady]

It looks great SuperGolden - excellent value for money with all the extras, and clever the way the sun shade comes out of the hood.

I can't resist looking, even if I'm not in the market any more!

[supergolden88]

I wonder why it's so little known... I certainly had not heard of it or seen it before. Odd

I will try to find some more reviews - even with many extras it's still loads cheaper than the Bee. If anyone has access to the Which review I would love to see it!

[snss75]

supergolden, here's the Which? review text, it got a Which score 80%. (Sorry, couldn't figure out a way to get the test results etc. here but can e-mail them to you if you want to pm me your e-mail address.)

The Oyster travel system from Babystyle has a reversible seat and is a Which? Best Buy.

It gives a smooth ride on a wide range of surfaces, and benefits from a large shopping basket that is easy to access ? even when the seat is fully reclined. It?s heavy and bulky when folded, however, so you might have trouble fitting it in the boot of a very small car.

The seat reclines to three different positions, with a maximum angle of 143 degrees. Though this is suitable from birth according to British law, it?s not the recline of 150 degrees or more that is best for newborn babies. If you?re keen to use the Oyster with a newborn, it might be worth buying the optional carry cot, which costs around ?90 and will allow your baby to lie completely flat.

The Oyster is sold with a rain cover, foot muff and hood, which has a viewing window. If you want to use the pushchair as a travel system you?ll need to buy a compatible car seat such as the Oyster LB321, or Which? Best Buys the Maxi-Cosi Cabrio Fix or the Britax Baby Safe.

The Oyster manoeuvres well and scored high marks in our public transport assessment as it?s narrow enough to push down a bus gangway and turns corners with ease. The pushchair can be easily folded or unfolded no matter which direction the chair is facing.

If you use escalators a lot you should bear in mind that this pushchair is front heavy, so it pulls forward when you?re balancing it on the rear wheels. It requires some force to keep it in place when travelling up an escalator.

You?ll need to assemble this pushchair yourself ? it took our lab experts four minutes to assemble the Oyster using the instructions provided ? and you won?t need to use any tools. The only slight problem we encountered when assembling this pushchair were that the instructions for unfolding it were folded inside the seat, which made them difficult to find.

This pushchair complies with the relevant British Standards for safety, strength and stability. The fabric is very easy to clean, though it took a while to dry once it was wet.

The Oyster weighs a heavy 11.3kg and there?s no carry handle. It measures 62x55x85cm (290 litres) when folded, which is quite large. However, it does fit into the boot of a Ford Fiesta when the seat unit and main chassis are separated.

Pros: Reversible seat, smooth and comfortable ride, three-position recline, great on public transport

Cons: Heavy, no carry handle

[snowboarder]

Have seen at least one around in ED - looked nice and neat - but just thought seat unit might not last a sturdy toddler v long? Looked quite small, and no foot rest? (might have that wrong). Where sells them?

[supergolden88]

many thanks for posting Which review

I think they are introducing a newest model - Black pearl one - soon but it's not available for order yet. I must say I am torn because clearly the Bee has had overwhelmingly positive reviews from everyone on the forum

[Belle]

Two of my friends have bought this - one has just had her baby, the other due any day, so I'll post back if I get any reviews from them! They'd both done tonnes of research and found lots of favourable feedback.

[EDKiwi]

We have just got a Babystyle Oyster after doing quite a bit of research, and although our wee one is still a few months off and haven't been able to test it out much we really like it. Initally we were tempted by a Bugaboo Bee but though they were a bit too low down for our liking after having a play with one in a shop.

Our impressions so far are all good, seems quite sturdy and well made and is very easy to swap the direction of the seat or click in the carry cot or car seat.

We brought ours from Baby Nest who quite a good deal on them (and a ?40 store voucher if you pay in full which we used to pay for the car seat adapters and a blue colour pack). They have one on the shop floor to have a play with anyway.

Feel free to PM me if you would like to have a look at ours.

[born&brED]

Glad to hear others have had good experiences! Sometimes I feel like the only one in the world with one, which makes me feel nervous!

I love this new colours out of both chassis and seat units / 'fabrics'. When I chose, there was only 3 available (grey, black/pink and black/green, all implanted with a big 'e' on them) but now you can get loads of different combinations, minus the 'e', so you can completely change the look without touching the chassis or seat/carrycot unit itself.

snowboarder - I'm wondering that it's suitability for toddlers, but then I have always wondered that about the bee which looks smaller, and everyone says it's fine! Yes, it does have a footrest, and the seat adjusts in all sorts of positions.

2 particular instances I've been really impressed with it - fitting through tiny spaces such as station ticket gates and tiny shopping aisles, and also how it barely moved at all when turning a very sharp corner on the bus, which caused a Quinny Buzz next to it to almost topple right over. Oops!

[cupatea]

We have an Oyster and have been using it for 8 months. For us it has been great as we live in a first floor flat and both the seat and carrycot come off the chassis completely, or it can be folded all together although this is a bit bulky and 'flappy' - when I flew and checked it in I had to tie a bungy around it so it didn't fall open. It also fits into our very small car boot in 2 parts and, as an added bonus, all 4 of the wheels unclip very easily on and off. The carrycot was very comfy and our baby loved sleeping in it until she was 5 months. I was a little worried before she went into it that the 6 month + seat didn't recline flat, but she seems to be very comfy in it at its maximum recline and sleeps peacefully. Her cousin, aged 2 and half also loves sitting in the seat so it's big enough for a toddler too. The seat can also face forwards or backwards and has 3 positions. The sunshade is fantastic (it zips in and out of the hood) and the hood also has an extra zip which extends it creating more shade / protection from weather. The raincover is fine and easy to attach, but has ripped quite easily - I have seen other buggies which seem to have better quality raincovers. The suspension isn't amazing but not too bad for general pavement use. Also, one of the front wheels (smaller than the back wheels) occasionally buckles when you push it off a pavement which results in it sticking on the road until you pick the whole pram up. Not ideal when you are crossing a road. We have also had a problem with the brake on the back right tyre which stopped working altogether. When we phoned Oyster we were told it only had a 6 month guarantee. They kindly sent us the parts to fix ourselves (straightfowrard) but I feel this is quite a short guarantee bearing in mind most people tend to buy their buggy a month or two before the baby is born.

All in all I am very happy with it. Very good value for money.