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Pushchairs

Orbit Baby G2

8 replies

FormerlyKnownAsPrincessChick · 07/03/2013 12:41

Anyone have one? What are they like? Is it worth the money? First time mum here with no previous experience of prams! Little one on their way in a few weeks! Help!

We've previously been looking at the Uppababy Vista, but we're concerned by some of the flame retardants used on it and it's huge and won't fit in our boot. I'm weighing up the G2 vs an iCandy pram at the moment. The G2 would seem to be the more "green" option, which is swaying us at the moment.

Still, I'm a stickler for practicality and don't want to be won over by marketing spiel!

DH is really sold on the G2 as he is a bit of a geek (and TBH I am always sold on gadget-y type things too!) and thinks this looks very, very well made. We've watched all of the demos. We also think it looks smaller than the iCandy's and would fit in our tiny boot better.

I was initially a bit concerned about the lack of storage underneath but notice that there is a nappy bag that comes with it (negating need for a seperate nappy bag and saving a few pennies?) and that you can buy separate panniers to hang either side. They look like they would be ok for us. We don't really do a huge amount of shopping and use Ocado for weekly groceries / top up from small local shops.

My other question is whether or not the seat is a car seat too? I'm a bit confused! Planning to go to John Lewis to check one out but won't be for a few weeks due to other plans. So itching to get as much research as I can done now!

Any help much appreciated :)

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Tiggywunkle · 07/03/2013 16:43

I think the Orbit is a marmite pushchair. You will either love it or hate it. I know three mums who have had one, and one loves it, the other two hated it. I keep looking at it, having a play, and then putting it back. I think it just looks odd and IRL I think I would feel mildly embarrassed walking into baby clinic or playgroup with it.

It certainly seems to fold small. Orbit seem to be on a bit of a campaign at present to see what small car boots they can fit the G2 into. I think to be utterly honest, you DO need to come away from the computer, get yourself to John Lewis and have a really good play say with a G2, iCandy Peach, Bugaboo Bee / Cameleon, Uppababy Vista (even if it is too big) and Baby Jogger Versa (as a good sample set). Make sure YOU get hands on with them all: fold them all, unfold them all, move the seat from FF to RF yourself. Try any possibles in your car if you can. The ONLY way to get a good feel is to be hands on....

I believe the panniers really are a MUST! Storage is limited. The seat is absolutely HUGE though!

My understanding is that the Orbit G2 takes a Maxi Cosi car seat - Cabriofix or Pebble. In the US you can get the car seat, but they aren't legal here in the UK.

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FormerlyKnownAsPrincessChick · 07/03/2013 17:08

Thanks Tiggy. I've had a play with the Bugaboos and the Uppababy. I hated the feel of the Bugaboos - particularly the Bee (not sure why as everyone seems to love them so much! Maybe put off by lots of horror stories about wheels breaking and bits of material fraying) but we adored the Uppababy. It's just too big and the use of BFRs in the material that's putting us off. I liked the way it folded and felt though - very sturdy.

I didn't really have a go with any of the iCandy's - not really sure why. They do look much more conventional and I see your point about looking a bit pretentious / weird with the Orbit. TBH though, I wouldn't really be bothered about that so much!

Right ho, back to John Lewis we go!! Such a shlep as we don't have one local to us down here on the south coast...

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Ihateparties · 07/03/2013 17:54

Definitely see a g2 in real life before making any decisions. Weird looking wouldn't bother me, pita to use very much would. It's not my thing but then again i'm clueless on fire retardants and any potential effect of those too.

Endless people buy bees because they're small, narrow and fold in one piece with the seat facing either way, almost nothing else does. The compromise is the flimsy feel, low seat, small wheels etc. Unless you really need compact then there's plenty of other choices.

I would second at least seeing and trying out a baby jogger versa too. I have a brio smile, which is a vista frame or close to but 6cm narrower across the back wheels and has 4 air tyres. As it was imported i don't know if it has been treated for fire retardancy either. Importing is easy generally incidentally (the fire retardants being a bs thing as i understand it?) but there are warranty issues.

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Tiggywunkle · 07/03/2013 18:05

I think I dont understand the fire retardancy issue (especially when you consider how many pollutants end up near your child over the years) but its clearly important to you.

I have a love hate relationship with the Bee - Its not my favourite by any stretch of imagination but its so light and does the job as good as anything else. I think you need to know a bit about pushchairs to appreciate them properly. Theres compromises with everything and if you need narrow / light / easy to fold and PF then not much else comes close.

Bear in mind, that you could well be able to import most of these pushchairs from the US or Europe without the fire retardancy, so dont let that colour your judgment :)

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suzie38 · 07/03/2013 18:40

I hated mine...I spent £1000 importing it...I used it 3 times before selling it on,

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uhohitwasntme · 07/03/2013 21:00

i have the first one G1 and love it, so i bet i would love a G2, i love the look of them, but yes, you do get looks Grin

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FormerlyKnownAsPrincessChick · 26/03/2013 18:43

Right ladies, we finally made it to a pram shop and spent ages playing with different prams. We hated the orbit baby and it seemed so huge! The iCandy strawberry was better but we couldn't get over how much we loved the city jogger mini gt! This wasn't even on my radar beforehand. So we've saved some money (well a lot of money) and ended up with something we're super happy with. Thanks for your advice - really very appreciated. :)

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Tiggywunkle · 26/03/2013 22:56

I can't let this thread go without saying that I FINALLY got to play with an Orbit Double Helix yesterday - super duper excitement - and it was soooooo much fun!! Long, yes, but fun - especially caterpillar-ing off kerbs. I loved being able to turn the seats round to put the children in. My two were just fascinated by the snack tray!

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