Bugaboo Fox 3

Fox 3 – After much deliberation I chose the Bugaboo Fox 3 pram for my little new boy. Easy to put together and change over from bassinet to seat. My LO transitioned to the seat around 12-14 weeks as he didn’t like laying completely flat. The seat however reclined back enough I felt my baby was safe and secure. The fact the hood extends and can over right… Read more ·  1

over is great for a sunny or windy day, knowing there is enough ventilation with multiple netted openings. Highly recommend this pram. A few minor things could be improved upon, which I think Bugaboo have sorted with their new Fox 5

To bulky – The prams is bulky even when collapsed.. The bassinet is huge.. Barely fits in my car and the frame of the pram. Very nice to push and steer.. Super easy and soft.. However just too bulky and heavy. The capsule by bugaboo is also an absolute tank to carry Show details

Outdated pram – I do like my bugaboo fox. However, I think it’s not up to date compared to other prams in the market. My sons is 18months and tall for his age. He no longer fits in the pram and his head hits the visor. The legs also just hang there. Other prams have the option of the legs to come up (like a recliner)

Where pram meets a cruise liner – Okay. Strap in for what will be a very long review from a household on their third bugaboo. We are very happy to be given the chance to review the Fox 3, with a 13 month old and a 2 year old. The four year old climbed in too but we'll leave her opinions out as it was largely reserved for the colour. We have owned the generation 1 Cameleon, a… Read more ·  1

Bee3 and now the Fox 3 – so you could say we have a very strong familiarity with both the bassinet/upright off-road full-featured ranges and the compact line of bugaboos.

First Impressions & positives - - The bassinet is significantly improved, firstly in the closure system. It’s considerably quicker and easier to open up, close and secure the little ones. While I could only get to wrangle a 14 mth old to get a sense (we don’t have little bebbies anymore ☹) it was considerably easier than our cameleon where we sort of had to wrangle the infant through the top opening and down into the bassinet if that makes sense, or tilt the bassinet to feed them in. .

- Bassinet life altering improvements It is far easier to remove. I do not know the health guidelines on the use of pram bassinets for travel sleeping when on vacation. However – for naps on the go I often preferred not bother using the removable car pod when out an about, favouring our bugaboo bassinet for somewhere safe and quiet to sleep removed from the pram. The problem with the cameleon was that the clips for fastening to the frame could rotate, but the bassinet sides were not stiff enough to keep it upright.

The bassinet is now much easier place on flat ground to provide a quiet, cool place for the littlest ones to snooze – and after you pivot the connection points the sides are stiff enough to support both the cover and the hood and even further supported by a little plastic support on the rear near the vent. I have not had a chance to test in summer but the mattress is significantly thicker but likely still cool enough for a shadey nap. This - plus the closeable open-mesh area at the back to the cooling ability which from what I can tell is not something I’ve ever seen in a bassinet. I live in hope that Bugaboo can make a toddler sized version. I’m also told there is a bassinet stand for multiple models – I would think this would make the system a solution for travel in the wee-years of kids.

So - in closing the bassinet is a GAME CHANGER in my opinion and i imagine if you're considering a bassinet-equipped pram system then this should factor heavily into your consideration.

- The systems folds down smaller and easier. Compared to the Bee, the frame (minus bassinet + seat) takes up a similar room in our vehicle when flat, due largely to a better nesting frame design making a flatter package overall. It is not as compact as our Bee3 but then it’s not fair to compare an ultraportable with the full-feature. It is still a large pram and you need to place the bassinet component on-top of the flattened base when in that configuration but I would say it takes less room now than a beach-wagon, and significantly less room than the cameleon in seated mode used to take up due to the very cleaver seat mechanism.

- Trolley-mode – where have you been my parenting life?! We use to flip the handle backward to go large-wheel forward for hiking and beaches – trolley mode makes this far easier by pivoting the back wheels towards the front - making it easier to pull along uneven paths.

Embarrassingly I’ve been told this was a feature since day-one on cameleon – so let this be a large compliment to Bugaboo for a one-of-a-kind feature from what I can tell, and something I really like about the Fox 3. I also like the locking front wheels. I took the pram to Toowoomba showgrounds with a notorious large-gauge gravel area that was impossible to navigate with pram front wheels historically. Locking the wheels in place allowed the front AND rear suspension to push the bumpy ride and keep the pram moving.

- Changing from rearward to forward facing handles is far easier. I am willing to concede our first system was second hand, so I could never be sure if the difficulty flipping the direction while in-bassinet mode was normal or not or associated with wear and tear. But this is smooth as butter and easy to click the button.

- Weight – it is significantly lighter than the cameleon (feels 1-3 kgs lighter, but I am willing to concede our cameleon has the accumulated detritus of two infants embedded in its fabric soul), maybe slightly lighter than the Bee. No surprises there – it’s almost 12 years newer but still, it rivals some of our parent friends travel prams for weight. Easily carried by one hand too – even when in seated-mode and still attached.

- The ride is silky smooth and the suspension is just something else. Makes me resent the suspension in my car.

- Storage is better than both of our earlier bugaboos, and maybe not in volume but usability – i.e. easier to feed things in and out in both the upright and bassinet.

Cons / Challenges

- Assembly was tricky – maybe moreso than the Bee but on-par with the Cameleon. But as always – the internet and the Bugaboo support team were angels. And as always – I hadn’t read the instructions correctly. The bassinet is pre-assembled though – which in my experience was the more challenging of the set-ups with our Cameleon.

- It’s large. Very large. But that’s known going in. This is not a travel stroller by any sense and consumes a third of the bootspace in my CX-5 when folded in seated-mode. Removing the wheels makes a big difference in getting the frame as flat as possible too and this is easy now the front has buttons for toggling them in and out adjacent the lock mechanisms.

- I’m 6’5 – the handstrap doesn’t quite comfortably accommodate the angle of my hand on the frame when pushing the pram and it’s a little squeezy to get my mitts in the loop.

Overall / afterthoughts Bravo team Bugaboo! As a bit of a bugaboo tragic it’s amazing to see the product-line continuously improve and evolve and these prams deserve every bit of good reputation they hold. If i had my time again from baby #1 the bugaboo line would remain my primary choice hands down and the Fox 3 is definitely the unit i'd go for.

I’m going to reserve this space to add further information as I use the pram more. Every few days we discover something new or realise a different way to do something. I’d also like to post some comparison videos as soon as I figure out how to obscure my littlies faces!

LOVE this pram...It's a dream to push and use!! – This is my second Bugaboo. I owned a Bugaboo Cameleon with my 1st daughter 9 years ago and I loved that pram. The only thing is it felt quite flimsy, especially considering the price tag. However the Fox is a whole new ball game. It feels so solid and secure, whilst still being light and an absolute breeze to push. Turning is so simple and going… Read more ·  1

in and around tight spaces in shopping centres was no problem.

My son is 18 months so we didn't need to use the bassinet. The seat is roomy and seems comfortable and he is quite a big boy. I can't see him getting much past about 3 years of age but as I said he is very tall, and my first 3 kids by age 3 wanted to walk themselves so I can't see him being any different :P

It is very easy to fold and unfold although is quite large so takes up a lot of boot space.

When walking on an outside footpath the suspension is AMAZING. We live in a bushy area with no footpaths, just the road which can be pretty rough and bumpy. But the Fox took it like a pro. Bub hardly seemed to feel any bumps at all.

Other things I really liked were the foot brake (My old bugaboo had a hand brake which was a pain!), the adjustable handle bar, and that you can have the seat facing the world or parents. I would only ever choose a pram that can do this as I love having the option of seeing bub.

The only downsides (if you can call them that) are that it's quite big when folded, and I can't see kids older than 3 very comfy in it unless they are on the short side. But I have previously owned iCandy, Baby Jogger and Steelcraft prams and they have all been pretty much the same so I don't think it is an issue.

I will add pictures shortly :)

The Rolls Royce of prams, in features and size – This really is the deluxe edition of any pram I've ever used. It is so smooth and nice to push, handles any surface with ease and my child was pretty comfortable in it, but all these features come in a larger than expected package. This pram is big, and doesn't fold down much at all. Firstly, it wasn't too difficult to put together out of the… Read more ·  1

box. Bugaboo in general is fairly intuitive in its design and construction, but the ambiguous instructions can be frustrating when you get stumped by something.

It came with the bassinet set up and we had to deconstruct the bassinet and construct the seat as our child is a toddler. But there were only instructions on how to construct the bassinet, which seems weird if it comes with that already setup? But we just looked at them in reverse and figured it out pretty quick.

Other than that it was a quick setup, and then we were left with a fairly large box full of plastic and spare parts. If you're short on storage space you may want to consider a different pram!

Next we tackled the fold / unfold mechanism, which we looked to YouTube for and nailed in 2 minutes. But wow, this pram still takes up a lot of space when folded. It wouldn't fit in any cupboard space we had available, and even after shuffling stuff around we just gave up and put it at the end of our bed... which then blocked the view to the TV. It also took up most of the boot space in our Subaru WRX wagon, leaving little room for much else.

I know I've said it already... but this pram is BIG!

We took it out for it's maiden voyage, and again I struggled with it's size as it's wider than our previous pram. We live in an old house that's got 2 steps up to the front door in a little alcove, and then a downhill path with a right angle in it. I struggled to get it out the door & down the step with walls either side, and then when manoeuvring around the corner I ended up in the garden. I think I need some practice!

But once we were out on the open path it was a dream. No other pram I've ever used steers or rides like the Bugaboo Fox 3. Just for fun I aimed it at every bump, hole, dip or rise I could find and it took it like a pro. Dirt, grass, uneven ground, even sand. This thing will easily get you through the apocalypse with a peaceful sleeping baby! Up a full flight of stairs backwards? No problems! Off the narrow path to let cyclists pass? Easy! My toddler had no complaints and quite promptly fell asleep so I smoothly tilted her back and continued on.

When she woke I did notice that she didn't have a really comfortable foot rest though. She's an average sized almost-three-year-old and for her to put her feet on the foot rest she had to bend her knees, which she didn't seem to phased by. If she straightened her legs out though there was nothing below the seat foot rest for her to place her feet on. The pram is recommended for 0 to 4 years, and she's well below that, but I can't see her using this pram for much longer.

My husband has normal sized man-hands and noted that the safety strap wasn't long enough. He can get his hand through it, but cannot then hold onto the handle as there is not length left. He also noted leather grip on the pram handle was not wide enough for him, and his hands sat off the sides of it which was uncomfortable. He did love the adjustable height of the handle bar though, and the amazing suspension and ride!

I have small hands and usually struggle with clips and buckles, but everything on the Fox is smooth and easy to click in and out. The mechanism to add or remove the seat glides on and off with easy to press clips, the handle bar glides up and down to different heights, and I also loved how the straps are more solid and sit forward off the seat so you don't have to dig around behind your kid to find them.

The foot brake is great and easy to use, locking both wheels together and feeling firm and trustworthy. Although I did find that the bottom basket always got in the way of my foot when I wanted to use the brake. The bottom basket is also huge! My gosh, you can fit everything in here, and when it's full the pram still glides along with the extra weight.

Overall it's got amazing features and rides like a dream on any surface, but it's a lot larger than I expected and in my opinion wouldn't work well in a smaller house, apartment or for someone with a compact car. If you've got the space for it though, it's a wonderful pram that will easily last you from newborn to 2.5 years.