May 11, 2005

"The expectant dad tries to envisage pushing this snazzy thing around town with a baby inside."

caliban_cameleon.jpgThat's the caption on the final picture, where DT reader and dad-to-be Ian poses with their newly assembled Bugaboo Cameleon. It just arrived, apparently, and with about a week to spare.

His yet-to-be-field-tested assessment: "The improvements with respect to the Frog are definitely appreciated. The extensible push-bar is nice for parents of varying heights, and the adjustable suspension on the caster wheels should make for a comfy riding experience for both baby and parent on all sorts of terrain."

Ian documented the arrival on his weblog, but here are a couple of important details:

  • They got their Cameleon surface-shipped from the Netherlands, which took a couple of months. [The window where this makes still sense is closing soon; the Cameleon is expected to go on sale in the US by the late summer/early fall.]
  • They bought a fairly non-risky color combo (blue/orange), which worked out well.
  • They got Maxi-cosi car seat adaptors, but no Maxi-Cosi carseat. Looks like they're going Graco until they get back to Europe; turns out the Frog adaptors apparently still work on the Cameleon.

    See more in Ian's post and Cameleon gallery at Caliban.org.

  • 17 Comments

    I like the extendable handle as well but you have to be careful with it if you don't slide the sides out correctly or tighten them down equally you can bend the entire push-bar.

    Other than that love the Cameleon and so does my son :D

    Wonderful looking.. I may have to have another kid to warrant expense of second Bugaboo.

    Does it really go on sale in the US at the end of the autumn? Bugaboo in The Netherlands couldn't give me a date. American shops told us that it would be at the end of the year.

    In any case, it didn't cost too much extra. Postage was only EU50, as we had it shipped surface mail. It's obviously still more hassle and less fun than simply going to a shop or ordering one on-line, though.

    I love the improvements of the cameleon over the frog, but have concerns with the fact that the upper half is made out of a fleece material. Can someone please tell how they feel about this change? Is it an improvement over the frog material? The frog material seemed so weather-proofed and durable. The fleece seems like it might be flimsy. Is the hood made out of the fleece material too? Do you think it is an effective hood? thanks...

    I saw yet another Bugaboo in our neighborhood last night. Okay, perhaps it was the same Bugaboo, different driver.

    My wife said, "ooo! Looks nice!," so I am making progress :) then she said, "I'm opening the window, so stop shouting BUGABOO, or they'll hear"

    *sigh* Women just don't understand ;)

    Tropha**

    The fleece material is quite nice. Recently we had some heavy winds here in Munich and while my wife and I were dealing with walking against the wind William was nice and warm with no wind under the fleece canopy, and this without having the rain cover on.

    I wasn't really impressed with the frog canopy as much as I am with the cameleon.

    Jason...thanks so much for your feedback/info!

    Ian...congrats on the arrival of your wee one! That cameleon arrived in the nick of time!!

    Hi guys, just to sidetrack a bit... anyone knows about Micralite? How does it compare to Bugaboo?

    http://www.micralite.com/main.html

    Thanks...

    Hi Tropha,

    I don't know how durable the fleece material will turn out to be, but it's certainly very nice when new.

    Yes, the hood is also made of fleece, but it at least looks as if it will be quite effective.

    I've read a few threads on Dutch and Belgian baby sites that say that the fleece will get dirty and less weatherproof over time, but those comments generally seemed to be coming from Frog owners, not Cameleon owners. Only time will tell, I guess.

    Even if the fleece wears out, at least it can be replaced without needing to reupholster the entire pram. Of course, I'd be disappointed if it didn't last at least a couple of years, as this is an expensive purchase.

    In my original comment here, I forgot to mention that you can subtract 18% from the Dutch Euro prices, as having one sent outside the EU absolves one of the need to pay BTW (Dutch VAT or sales tax). It's therefore not quite as expensive as one might think. The only bummer is the sad state of the $ against the €.

    I was quoted a euro price of 790.00 for an cameleon + 50 shipped to the UK. Seemed high. Does this price include the 18%. I'd be having the item shipped to the US from the UK. How would I get the 18% VAT refunded?

    Thanks

    J

    You should specifically ask your retailer about it. They bake the 18% into their primary published price, and if they're the ones shipping it out of the EU, they're the ones who should deduct it.

    I too just received a Cameleon which a Dutch retailer shipped to me. Because we ordered a color the retailer didn't have in stock, he had to order it from Bugaboo and the wait was 8 weeks. Once he received the stroller from Bugaboo he shipped it via UPS expedited (at considerably greater expense than US$50) and I received it in about a week. The retailer was very helpful and the transaction had no glitches at all but one definitely has to plan ahead.

    Ian...thanks so much for your help! I feel much better about the fleece material now...plus I like the fact that the fleece can be removed from the seat and not used at all if one so chooses...

    SV and others who have Cameleons in hand...what color combo did you go with? (Just curious how the different combos are working out)...thanks!

    We got all sand, as opposed to a two-color combo. I suspect most would go for stronger colors. I just assembled it last night and the babe still isn't due for a few weeks, so for now all I can say is that it looks very smart sitting in the corner waiting to be used! Also, we got the euro diaper bag (which is very different from the US bag) in the same color. The color options for the US bag are very limited.

    Is the Red color same on the Cameleon as on the Frog?

    The soon to be discontinued Frog, still at $729 retail, is a huge splurge for me, a first-time expectant mom. But I really want one. Looking for your thoughts on buying a used Bugaboo Frog online- has most everyone here bought them new directly from a retail store?

    Is saving $100 or so is worth the risk... some resellers are adding in some extras (foot muff, adapters) with the sale as well.

    We received our Cameleon last night (sand base/red top). It was ordered 3 weeks ago from http://babycare.nl . I had to wait because they were waiting for the Sand base to arrive. I live in SoCal and shipping via UPS was 130 Euros and I also had to pay another $44 for US Customs fee.

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