The Rolls-Royce of strollers has arrived!

Intro
I'm a brand new father of a beautiful baby girl. Having said that, I felt that one of my duties as a responsible parent was to research and buy a stroller that was safe, would last, and was easy to use. Months before my daughter arrived, I began the hunt. Little did I know what I would be getting myself into, and after much trial and research, finally decided upon the Bugaboo Cameleon. Let me tell you why...

The Specifics
When looking for a stroller, what do you consider the most important factors when making your decision? For my wife and I, safety was the primary concern. Durability, ease of use, and mobility were secondary, but still of utmost importance. If you're a parent, I'm sure you're very familiar with those weekends spent browsing, going to stores, and trying just about every stroller you could get your hands on. The problem I encountered though, was every stroller I tried was either poorly designed, unsafe, or just plain ugly.

Take for example, that most strollers sold are not infant suitable. Either the backrest doesn't recline to a full 180 degrees, or the push handle isn't reversible. Sometimes 80% of the stroller is made of cheap plastic, or the aluminum used is brittle or soft. Wheels are important too, and I had to laugh at some of the hard plastic wheels used in baby strollers. Ergonomics played an important role in the decision making as well. If the handle was too low, your back would start to strain. Not good.

Some strollers also have warning labels three or four paragraphs long. If the stroller has to have so many warnings, wouldn't you think twice about putting your child in it? Some of these warnings are laughable, while others are downright disturbing. Take for example this one that I happened to see on an expensive name-brand stroller: "Do not leave child unattended in stroller, as the child might suffocate on the seat fabric." I really had to read that twice to believe it.

Mobility apart from safety is also paramount. What good is a stroller if it's difficult to maneuver in tight confines, or is heavy and cumbersome? I took a pram with 4 fixed wheels for a test drive once, and balked at its weight (30+ pounds) and difficult maneuverability. You would literaly have to push down on the handle bar to lift the front wheels of the ground, pivot to the new direction, and lower the front wheels again. We live in Manhattan, and rely on public transportation. If we had purchased that particular pram, using the bus or subway would have become a nightmare. This also elliminated many of the fixed three-wheel jogging strollers. Even though the joggers are typically well-built and lighter in weight, the non-pivoting front wheel made turning in tight areas problematic. Some joggers had a front wheel that could pivot or lock in place, but then such things like the inability to have the baby face you, or the seat not recline all the way was a deal-killer.

After searching and wracking my brains trying to find a stroller that would fit our requirements, my wife and I finally discovered THE stroller...

Enter the Bugaboo
I've never heard of the Bugaboo line of strollers before, nor seen one until three weeks ago. I saw a lady walking down the street with this unusual looking stroller and stopped to talk to her. Now this was something. The stroller at first glance appeared to be well built, easy to turn, and light weight. She also demonstrated how easy it was to reverse the handle, or the seat. The two large wheels were also air-filled, and the two smaller wheels were independantly sprung. This was my first encounter with a Bugaboo product, and it happened to be the Frog.

I decided to read up more on the Frog, and found out that Bugaboo had just released two new strollers. They were called the Cameleon and Gecko. I will focus just on the Cameleon as that's the one we purchased. Thinking back on the day I saw the frog, I began to compare the differences. The frame appeared to be the same, albeit slightly larger. The Cameleon also had inflatable wheels and independantly sprung suspension, although the Cameleon now has coil-over front shocks that can be adjusted for tension. The stroller came with the material to convert it into a pram, or standard seating stroller. The handlebar was also reversible. The Cameleon also gave the buyer the option to choose different colored fabric.

I thought that this was fantastic... until I saw the price. I was in shock. Almost $900 for a stroller - you've got to be out of your mind. Then I started remembering the cheesy, flimsy, ugly strollers I had researched a month ago, and started thinking that 900 bucks isn't bad - especially since it was for our child.

Well, we decided to take the plunge and set off one Saturday morning to a store in Manhattan. They had the Camelon there, but only in sand color. I was hoping for a dark grey base and orange top, but heck.. can't have everything. We paid for the stroller and went back home where I was anxious to put it together.

Assembly
The stroller comes in a big box. The top fabric comes in a seperate package. Unpacking the large box, I was pleasantly surprised to find a thick, well illustrated manual, a bag with some tools including an air pump, warranty card, and DVD. The DVD didn't play in my home theater though as it was PAL. It did however play back fine on my computer.

The first step was to remove the frame, straighten it per the instructions and attach the wheels. All four wheels clicked on easily without problem. The next step was to assemble the bassinet or seat. Since our baby is a newborn, the bassinet was an obvious choice. This was pretty easy, and consisted of a fabric "bucket" with velcro straps. The straps attached to a foam covered aluminum frame that resembled a rectangle. The next step was to assemble the bonnet or sun shade. This was a little tricky though, as the plastic retainer pieces were backwards. It took me a moment to figure that out, but once done, assembled easily. The final step in assembly called for attaching the storage bag underneath. This is my only area of complaint. With the bassinet on top, access to the bag below is difficult.

The only other thing left to do was to pump up the large wheels and take it for a spin. I was amazed at how easily this maneuvered - even in my living room! Turning the stroller was incredibly easy, and could be done with one hand. The stroller itself was also light in weight, and could easily be picked up and put on the subway or bus. The quality of material and workmanship is top notch. The fabric that comprises the bonnet, seat, and bassinet are made of a heavy duty fleece fabric. The mattress pad is also firm but comfortable. A zippered wind boot also comes included, and is zippered onto the bassinet frame. All in all, assembly took less than 20 minutes.

Next we took it outside with our baby and decided to test it out on the grass, cobblestone pavement, and dirt. The Cameleon handled extremely well over everything except the largest of obstacles. The front sprung wheels did a fantastic job of soaking up the bumps. The bonnet was of sufficient size to keep my daughter in the shade the entire time, and the mattress comfortable enough that she fell asleep after 10 minutes. The handlebar can be extended for your comfort as well by loosening two plastic wingnuts on either side. The handlebar can also be reversed easily by depressing two sliding levers also on each side. Turning the Cameleon as I said before is incredibly easy, even with one hand. This is true even over grass and dirt.

Conclusion
I know this is an expensive stroller, and most people probably wouldn't want to pay or can't pay this much. However if you consider all the other mobile baby devices you would have to buy in order to match the abilities of the Cameleon, you'd probably end up paying the same or more. This stroller takes the place of a pram or regular stroller. It can go off-road as well as to the mall. It's well built, and I'm sure would last for at least two or three kids. Quality of the material is top-notch, and best of all it's safe. The brake system alone is definitely one of the best I've seen on a stroller. All in all, if you can afford this and care about what you push your child in, then the Bugaboo line of strollers is definitely worth considering.

Update
I forgot to mention earlier that the Bugaboo Cameleon does come with a rain and snow cover. According to the instruction manual, it is intended to cover the entire bassinet, including the sun canopy. It's usage with the regular child seat is unknown though, but if it doesn't work, Bugaboo sells a small umbrella which clips to the side of the stroller.

Also, the maximum weight capacity of the stroller using the seat is 17kg or 40lbs. The bassinet can carry an infant up to 9kg or 19.8lbs. I apologize for not having included this information earlier.