Bugaboo Cameleon is great for us! Baby products have truly advanced in the past seven years since I had my last baby! I thought I had the dream stroller back then with my "Baby Jogger", but when I started to investigate today's offerings of baby prams, my eyes were opened! My search led me to Bugaboo products and from there, I was hooked. I love the huge array of options and endless choices, plus the flexibility in use is amazing.
Bugaboo has other wonderful strollers, but I chose the Cameleon for one reason and one reason only. I am six feet tall and the handle bars are adjustable. Over the years, the one problem I have had with all of my strollers is the fact that I can't really take big steps because my feet would hit the wheels. Surprisingly, this even happened with the Baby Jogger! Cameleon has a ton of extras over the Bugaboo Frog stroller and the Bugaboo Gecko Stroller, but my main reason for choosing this beauty is based on the adjustable handles. Cameleon has amazing features and the adjustable handle bar is only the beginning…..
So why do I like it?? - Obviously, I love the adjustable bars. This is the first stroller I don't trip over!
- Suspension on front wheels is great for bumpy spots (front wheels are smaller than rear wheels and pivot while rear wheels do not turn).
- Fairly lightweight at around twenty pounds.
- Adjustable uses for different needs - This stroller is flexible!!! With a few clicks and adjustments, it can go from bassinet pram to stroller to beach cart to car seat wheeler (with an appropriate car seat and coordinating adapter bars sold separately).
- There are also accessories you can buy to improve function further. I have no need for it, but the little toddler attachment is pretty cute and ingenious (it is essentially a trailer that snaps on to the back of the stroller for your toddler to stand on and hold the handle bars like they are pushing their baby brother or sister). There are matching diaper bags which are incredibly light and very well designed. You can also purchase snow wheels to replace the front two wheels - these are not only great for snow, but also sand!
- Large under stroller compartment with pull string closing top
What is not so great - - This stroller is not easy to fold away! It takes some time and practice – most of the time I just put it in the back of my SUV half folded down so I don't have to deal with it (I keep my patience for other activities and prefer quick draw procedures). In order to fully collapse the stroller, it is required to remove and collapse the seat or bassinet and then collapse the frame separately in three more steps. You can then collapse the stroller to a flatter more long term storage size by removing the larger wheels. It is possible to partially collapse the stroller without removing the seat and this is how I do it on a regular basis, but it is not very flat. When using just the frame and the car seat adapter, the frame will not fold flat until the adapters are removed. I prefer to keep the adapters on and fold it down half way if I have the room in the back of the car. This also truly makes it a one or two step process to get him out of the car and onto the stroller frame.
- There are many options for how to use the stroller and it can get tricky on which way to fold it to get to certain uses (keep your manual).
- No cup holders!!! *** I know that Bugaboo used to make cup holders for at least the Frog - they were the clip on type that clipped on to stroller frame. I have read that these do not work for the Cameleon and I also have not been able to find any new ones to work with my stroller. ****March 2007 Update: Bugaboo now offers cup holders for the Cameleon!!!! They are about $25 and sold seperately. Here is some moe info on them:
http://www.epinions.com/content_337800957572 - There is only one frame that is shared between the stroller seat and the bassinet. I like the idea of using the bassinet separately, but if you want to use the stroller seat on the stroller, then you can't use the bassinet at the same time (independently as a free standing bassinet) -For nine hundred dollars I think each one should have had a frame.
Other features… - For babies from newborn to 40 pounds
- Fabric is washable – I did spill on it and can attest that washing is easy with no shrinking and when I had to put the fabric back on, it went on easily.
- This stroller has a nice parking brake that is easy to set and release.
- Both bassinet and seat tilt and are adjustable. There are three positions. It is recommended to only use the bassinet in the flat horizontal position. The seat can be used in flat (lying down) position, tilted back to reclining, or sitting up fully. I like the reclining position best so my baby can still see things around him, but is also able to fall asleep.
- Bassinet can be used independently and has an upscale air bed mattress in it.
- Handle bar is reversible so that you can push baby facing forward or backwards. This is also supposed to be an extra feature of being able to navigate over sand and snow. I have had the opportunity to try both of these out and while the adjusting the handle so that the big wheels are in front is good for pushing over these varied terrains, it is not good for navigation. The smaller wheels swivel for turning while the larger wheels do not turn. Having the turning wheels in back doesn't really help with navigation.
- Lots of color combinations. With Cameleon, you can choose your stroller base fabric (bottom of bassinet and bottom portion of stroller seat) and then choose an accent color for the top (top of bassinet and top of stroller seat). I like the clean look of black or charcoal grey and decided to not go for any color, but the options are extensive. The green, for instance, is a wonderful dark green.
- Included extras are good – large sun shade and mosquito netting, instructional DVD, etc. There is also a maintenance kit to keep it running smoothly.
- Options – in addition to the cute toddler trailer and the adapter bars for a compatible care seat, Bugaboo offers many choices in additional accessories – you can even buy an umbrella to attach to the side for shading or a bag to store the folded down stroller in the back of your car.
My compatible car seat – and how it works… This is my favorite use for this stroller right now! Being able to have my sleeping infant in the stroller without having to take him in and out of his car seat is the only way to go as far as I am concerned. The last time I had a baby was seven years ago and I do not remember this luxury! I think the car seat stroller systems were just coming out, and I thought at the time that is seemed like a good idea. I now consider it a must for carting baby around! With the rain and cold of wintertime it is so great to not have to mess with straps and snaps. I just get the stroller frame out of the back and snap the car seat into the adapter bars which I keep attached to the frame. The car seat snaps right in and when it is time to come back out to the car, I can easily release the car seat from the stroller frame in the same way I release it from the car seat base in the car. ( You do
not have to get baby out of the seat to connect it or release it. Baby stays in seat.)
Bugaboo is compatible with two car seats according to my previous research. Each compatible car seat has a set of adapter bars you can buy to make the car seat click securely into the stroller base ( $40-50 for the set). I bought the Peg Perego Viaggio compatible seat. In the past, Bugaboo's adapters for this were only good with the 2005 models, but they have since come out with an adapter which works with the 2005 and the 2006/2007 models. I know the stroller is compatible with at least one Graco model as well – this requires different adapter bars. It is a nice system and worth the extra investigation of finding a car seat to work with your stroller! Having the Peg Perego has made things pretty convenient for us!
Final thoughts… I think this is a great stroller! I got it months in advance and assembled it myself (My husband was very surprised to find it assembled when he came home because as a choice, I never assemble anything myself, but I was pretty excited about this one!). I figured out how to get it into each of the positions I had seen in the advertisements and I practiced folding it up and then getting it out again. I wanted to be ready when baby came. I highly suggest that anyone getting this stroller does the same thing because although this is a great stroller, it is pretty complicated. I know that if I don't use it for a month at a time, I might forget how to do something. I have kept my manual in a very safe place for this reason alone.
The stroller has great options and wheeling my baby around in it is a pretty smooth event. He seems comfortable and I know he is secure in the five point harness. I also like the ease in which we can take him in and out of the car without having to deal with straps when we use the car seat adapter option. The stroller is a work of art and engineering and made with high quality materials – heavy duty, and I love that the fabric is easy to clean. Despite the flaws, I know it will last and it fits my needs so I definitely recommend it.
***new for 2007! Bugaboo just came out with their Cameleon stroller in a limited special denim edition! It is dark blue denim with orange stitching and really attractive. It can be purchased in this specialty denim edition for about a hundred dollars more than the standard Bugaboo Cameleon.
Update Update! Bugaboo is coming out with their first easy to fold quick on the go stroller - the Bugaboo Bee. My sister is pregnant and getting this one and I am so jealous! I might be looking at getting a second stroller.......The Bugaboo Bee seems pretty cool and retails at $529 - with many of the same features of this one less the bassinet!
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