The battle of the luxury strollers: the Cybex Priam vs. the Bugaboo Cameleon!

This August we posted a blog asking the question, “Could the Cybex Priam be the next Bugaboo Cameleon?” Well,

now that this stroller has been on our floors at select Magic Beans locations, I believe we’re ready to answer that for you. These two European beauties are the top of the line when it comes to luxury, durability, and stability, but which of the two is best for you and your family?

Customers ask me all the time about the Bugaboo Cameleon Stroller. It’s been around the track and everyone is familiar with the Bugaboo name. The Cybex Priam Stroller hasn’t been around for very long, but it has a really striking look that leads a lot of customers to point at it and ask, “What’s that one?” Since it’s the newest stroller to the market, and to our floors at Magic Beans, I’ll start my comparison there.

The Priam is unique here because when you are purchasing the stroller, you are given the choice to pick between two different seat styles and three different wheel styles. Along with the seat and the frame, your stroller will include a rain shield and adapters for an infant car seat. The frame is going to look the same regardless of which seat and wheels you pick out, and has a convenient one-handed fold. The basket on the bottom looks small, but has magnets that you can open to extend the basket outward to hold more stuff than you’d think at first glance.

Here’s are your two seating options:

• The “2 in 1 Light” seat will transform from a carrycot into a stroller seat, growing with your child. (This feature is also present in the Cameleon, but we’ll talk about that later.) The carrycot is great for longer walks so that you baby can remain flat on their back, which is recommended for cozier naps and healthier muscle development. The Cybex carrycot has a memory foam mattress too, so you know your baby will be extra comfy.
• Your other seat option is the “Lux” seat which offers an adjustable foot rest, padded inlay, and the ability to lay completely flat, making it newborn ready without the need of a bassinet. (If you’re like me and would prefer having a bassinet, you can still purchase that separately and have both a bassinet and a Lux seat.)

Both seats are equipped with a one-hand recline, an extendable canopy, the ability to face either backwards or forwards, and are tall enough to reach most tables and can be used as a high chair in most places. Feel free to pick out a color that matches your Cybex car seat, or have two different colors so you don’t get bored. There are plenty of options!

Now, when it comes to the wheels, the Priam offers “City,” “Trekking,” and “All Terrain” options, all of which are made of rubber so that you never have to worry about the need to maintain air-filled tires. The tires you choose will depend on the type of strolling you’ll be doing. Will you mostly be pushing the Priam indoors or on smooth sidewalks? The “City” option would work well for you. Do you enjoy long walks on the beach, through the woods, or just downtown Boston? Maybe go for the “All-Terrain”. And of course, there’s the “Trekking” tires for a happy middle ground. And if all-terrain isn’t good enough for you and you wish to take your stroller out with your snow shoes, they have skis as an accessory to replace the front tires for you: a special treat for the rugged outdoors parents out there.

Next comes the Bugaboo Cameleon. This stroller arrives in a few different boxes, but will ultimately have the stroller frame, seat frame, seat fabric, bassinet fabric, and rain cover. Most Bugaboo strollers, with the exception of the Bee, have a seat frame that doubles as a stroller seat and a bassinet, giving you more space wherever you’re storing your stroller. One feature about Bugaboo’s bassinet that Cybex doesn’t match is the ability to use their bassinet for overnight sleeping. If you purchase Bugaboo’s bassinet stand, you can use the bassinet in your bedroom while you sleep, and leave that bulky travel crib at home when you stay over at Grandma and Grandpa’s.

There’s only one seat option with the Cameleon, but many different color options to choose from for the canopy (which is also extendable). And since they come in separate boxes, you are able to purchase multiple canopies without having to buy the same seat again if you want the freedom of changing colors. The seat has a two-handed recline, but is much easier to pop on and off of the frame itself, allowing you to swiftly change which direction the seat is facing. And while you didn’t have a choice in the appearance of the frame with the Priam, you can choose between a silver aluminum frame on the Cameleon or a black frame.

The Cameleon frame is unique in the way its handle can be swung back and forth depending which tires you want in the front. The smaller tires in front have adjustable suspension, which is great, but when it comes to snow, you’ll want to swing that handle bar around and let the big guys lead the way. Less work for you. The basket on the Cameleon is admittedly smaller, but has a draw string which allows you to keep whatever is in your basket in its place when you fold the stroller instead of taking everything out first. What it lacks in space, it makes up for in the time it will save you afterwards.

Both of these strollers are travel system compatible, but in different ways. The Cybex Priam comes with adapters to attach either of their two car seats, the Aton Q or the Cloud Q. The Bugaboo Cameleon, on the other hand, has lots of different adapters to attach a wide variety of car seats, including infant car seats by Cybex, Nuna, Chicco, and Peg Perego. With Bugaboo, however, those adapters come sold separately.

When it comes to travel, stroller weight can also be an issue. It’s one of the many concerns I often get from new parents looking to find the perfect stroller for them. The Cameleon weighs in at 21 pounds for the frame, seat, and wheels. The Priam is going to weigh a bit more with the seat attached, coming between 24.7 pounds and 26.7 pounds. But don’t let that number scare you off. If you purchase the Priam with the Lux seat, you are able to fold the stroller with the seat attached and wheel it behind you like a piece of luggage, which will cut down on the time you spend actually carrying it.

Without the Lux seat, you’ll be folding your Priam much like your Cameleon: in two pieces. This isn’t as daunting as it sounds though, so bear with me. A two-part fold means that when lifting the stroller, the weight is split so that it’s easier to handle. It may be an extra step, but once parenthood hits you’ll find that you become a pro at multitasking, and it won’t bother you at all.

Another neat feature both of these strollers have in common is their two-wheeled mode. If you ever have to push your stroller through sand or deep snow, you’ll quickly find how difficult it is, and maybe you just completed arm day yesterday so your biceps really aren’t up for the task. Putting your Cybex Priam or Bugaboo Cameleon into a two-wheeled mode allows you to pull the stroller behind you instead, much like a wagon. There, that’s a lot better.

One other thing many customers have concerns about is the stroller’s ability to adapt for a second child. Rest easy, because both the Cybex Priam and the Bugaboo Cameleon have ride-on boards available for purchase, so that your older child can stand along with you while you push the youngest addition to your family in the seat/bassinet/car seat.

One thing I’ve found is that stroller shopping is a lot like shoe shopping: we go into the stores (or open up a new tab for Google) and we see all these options right in front of us. Looks and functionality are both super important when it comes to either purchase, but more than that, what we really need is one that will fit us better than all the others. So which of these two strollers do you think will fit you and your family best?

Choose the Bugaboo Cameleon if:

• You want to use your bassinet overnight
• You want a car seat other than the Cybex Aton Q or Cloud Q
• You really need a lighter-weight stroller
• You can’t decide which color to get and want more than one

Choose the Cybex Priam if:

• You want the flexibility to customize your stroller seat and wheels
• You are planning on purchasing the Cybex Aton Q or Cloud Q
• One-hand folding is important to you
• You like the one-part fold with the Lux seat
• You want your car seat to match your stroller seat

And if this comparison hasn’t helped you choose your perfect stroller just yet, if you’re still torn between the two, stop by any one of our stores and take them out for a walk. Just like trying on shoes, you have to be able to walk comfortably with them before taking that final step.

*Pun sort of intended.*

The post The battle of the luxury strollers: the Cybex Priam vs. the Bugaboo Cameleon! appeared first on Spilling the Beans - Magic Beans.