Featured Review: Bugaboo Bee: Busy as a Bee
Bugaboo rocked the stroller world with their Frog stroller. Itturned the everyday necessity of a stroller into a status symbol. Thenwith the addition of the Cameleon we got a taste of a stylish statussymbol. So it’s no surprise that their venture into the land ofumbrella (AKA lightweight) strollers would be of the same caliber.
The Bugaboo Bee is one of the best lightweight strollers I’veever had the opportunity to push — It’s nimble and quick and ofcourse, attractive! Celebrities like, Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, Tobey Maguire and Jennifer Meyer, Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck and Milla Jovovich and Paul Anderson are all proud owners of this compact ride.
Click here to see detailed photos and to read the entire Bugaboo Bee review.
- Posted on Mar 25, 08 at 10:49AM
- Permalink
- 4 Comments
March 25th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Is it possible to attach a skateboard(?) to the Bee as with the Cameleon?
March 25th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
We bought the Bee after using and loving the Frog for two years, and we couldn’t be happier. Bugaboo also now makes a wheeled travel bag to make transporting this and the other strollers easier, and since our main concern was always checking the stroller at the airport, that has made it easier. We try not to think about the price and just enjoy the stroller
March 28th, 2008 at 10:35 am
We recently sold our Bee and bought a new Quinny Zapp. We loved the Bee but it’s fold wasn’t compact enough for us since it’s considered a umbrella stroller. Also, the side panels really restricted our daughter’s movement & she’s only 25 pounds! We hated the side panels enough to get rid of it and have heard that it’s a common complaint. Too bad because we loved it otherwise! We love our new Zapp…folds much smaller & much cheaper.
May 27th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
I’ve had the Bugaboo Bee for a few weeks now. It is £359 in the shops, so fairly pricey for a stroller but at the lower end of the Bugaboo price range. That’s of course before you buy all the expensive accessories, but none of them are essential.
I love the Bee, as not many people have it yet it attracts a lot of compliments and jealous glances from other mums. I would say it looks better in real life than in the pictures, it is a real eye catcher and a must-have for a trend follower! And the good thing about it, unlike the Cameleon etc, is that there isn’t any cheap copycat models from other brands (yet!).
I got it in yellow (I thought I would stick to the Bee theme!) which I wouldn’t recommend for one simple fact – FLIES! They are attracted to the colour like anything, and the hood now has lots of little black smears where I’ve tried to flick them off and squished them by accident. More worrying is that the flies get attracted to the inside of the hood and I find them sitting on my baby – sure they are only little summer flies but still, not that nice. I love the look of yellow but I’m considering getting a different coloured hood.
The pushchair itself is an absolute dream to push. It is my third pushchair in 5 months and finally I’m happy. My first two were heavier pushchairs and I was used to having to tilt up the front when going up small curb edges, but the Bee just glides over them without a bump. It is so easy to turn corners and manoevre around people too, and wiggle your way through thin aisles in shops and cafes.
It has a very roomy shopping basket without looking ugly, which is good.
I’ve read in some places that the Bee has a one-hand collapse – this isn’t true, you do need both hands on it at a time (which I found disappointing as I often have to collapse and open the pram when on a bus holding my baby) – however once you have the hang of it, despite it being two-handed, it is very easy to fold down, and folds quite compactly. Opening it up is simple but requires strength – you need to give it a BIG kick to make sure it opens up evenly – they say you can do this one handed too but I’m a fairly petite girl and I’ve never managed it one handed yet.
As I already mentioned, I am a public transport user. This pushchair is absolutely wonderful on both trains and busses. Slides in small gaps and doesn’t run over peoples feet. Also it is so light that if I have a step or two to get up I can lift it up by myself with the baby inside (and as I already said, I am not the strongest of people!).
I think the main downside of this pushchair is the size. My son is five months old at the moment and it’s perfect right now, but I can’t see him being in it much past the age of one. A couple of people have even commented already that he’s a bit of a snug fit in it. There is no possible way an older toddler will be able to fit in it with the hood on, because his or her head would be too high. Since buying it I have read many people commenting that their toddler doesn’t fit in it and they’ve had to send it back. It claims to be suitable up to 4 years – I think this claim should be removed as there is not a chance an average sized 4 year old would fit in it size wise.
Otherwise, I think it is an absolutely fabulous pushchair. And the big benefit of all Bugaboos is that they fetch a fair bit second hand on Ebay, unlike the cheaper copy brands, so when my son does grow out of it it won’t be the end of the world!
If you have the money, I would definitely recommend it as a worthwhile purchase.