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Bugaboo Cameleon 3 Review

Bugaboo Cameleon 3
0
Overall Score
Weight
Folded Size
Quality
Ease of Use
Maneuverability
Price

Bottom Line

The Bugaboo Cameleon 3 is a full-equipped stroller meant for people who need to move through different fields and grounds; its independent buffers even help you go across rough terrain! Its adjustable handle makes it easy to drive with one hand. The design and the fabric used for the baby’s chair, the height of the canopy, and the harness are built to make the stroller very comfortable for the baby. The Cameleon 3 may be heavy for the number of elements it features, but this is a contribution to the stability and safety of the stroller, making it very safe for your baby and smooth to drive.

What We Like

  • The design is very aesthetically pleasing, and versatile
  • It has a high-quality 5 point harness that is easy to set and take off while remaining durable and comfy for the baby
  • This stroller is adaptable to many models of car seat adapters from several brands
  • Its excellent quality wheels have independent buffers facilitate the use on rough terrain

What We Don't Like

  • It is a little heavy for a full-equipped stroller
  • Its storage basket is under the average full-sized strollers
  • The instruction manual can be confusing because of its design and order

The Bugaboo is a company of baby gear that has been known in Europe for over 20 years; their product lines not only focus on the safety and comfort of our babies, they also have an exquisite design for your stroller to be practical and used as another accessory for parents who want to look good on the daily basis while carrying their baby. Their exchangeable canopies have a wide selection of colors to choose from, and you can get them on their webpage for your stroller to look good at any place you go. During the Bugaboo Cameleon review, our team could check all the features and functions that they offer to make our lives more comfortable, and we bring the results to you to ensure you have a clear knowledge of your purchase.

Overview of the Bugaboo Cameleon 3

The versatility of the Cameleon 3 is what makes it stand out from other strollers of Bugaboo. It is adaptable to many brands of car seats, as well as other useful accessories. Its small foot-print front wheels are very good to handle close turns. The frame is made with extra-resistant aluminum and plastic, which reduces the weight’s effect and helps with its durability. The wheels are foam-filled rubber, which provides smooth driving even one-handed. Also, even if the Cameleon 3 is a large size stroller, it is small enough to take with you in public transportation easily and sturdy enough to make it very stable.

Things to consider before buying a Bugaboo Cameleon 3:

This stroller is simple to use, perfect for new parents, and the high quality of the material promises you a long-lasting investment for you and your child’s comfort. The combination of aluminum and high-quality plastic makes this stroller able to carry up to 37.5 lbs. Its fabric helps that’s directly in contact with the passenger is very soft to touch and washable (a plus for parents!).

The Bugaboo Cameleon 3 is a stroller made for new parents looking for the quality seal of a long-lasting product like Bugaboo offers. Being a company that’s been on the market for 20 years, they have a considerable client list loyal to the brand. So, perhaps if you are looking just for the quality, we can offer you some options that may fit your budget better.

Its price might not be the cheapest, but reasons such as the material of the wheels, the sturdy frame, its security system, its ease of use, and its adaptability to be used for newborns to toddlers, make this stroller a good option for new parents with a dynamic and fast-paced lifestyle that want to keep their baby safe on their daily basis.

Key features: Many good features to talk about

Set-Up Process: Easy and confusing at the same time

During this review, our team could notice that this is one disadvantage of the Bugaboo Cameleon 3, but unlike other strollers, it’s not because of tiny pieces or the number of features that you have to set up to use. Most of the difficulty lies in the way that the manual of instructions is written; at first, you can see a list of flags that guides you where your preferred language will be the instructions, but this part only states the warnings, the part list, and the warranty information, after that, you finally find the assembly instructions which can be confusing because there are only pictures of how to build the stroller.

The instructions to change from car seat for babies or toddler to the bassinet for the newborn are very easy to follow and set, as you only have to push a few buttons removing the seat and putting in the bassinet, you can even do it without checking the instructions because it’s very user-friendly.

However, a great feature of the manual that is translated into 16 languages is as follows: Dutch, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Greek, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Czech, Polish, Slovenian and Turkish. This makes the instructions to understand and reach many people as the language barrier won’t be an obstacle. Another good thing we found in the manual is that it brings instructions on how to perform maintenance on the different parts of the stroller and how to properly clean the fabric to ensure its longevity.

Age range: From birth to toddler

As we tend to say, the age range is just approximate. It is very important to be aware of the height and the weight of your passenger when deciding to change the bassinet to a toddler seat or adjust it for the child to be comfortable.

The instructions are very clear of the limitations, the bassinet weight and the seat without the chassis have a maximum capacity of 20lbs. For a fully built Bugaboo Cameleon 3, the height and weight limit is 40 in 37.5 lbs and respectively.

Design: Fancy and minimalistic

The design of the stroller Bugaboo Cameleon 3 is one of its pros, it is very aesthetically pleasing, as usual, the Bugaboo brand has always been known to have very fancy and minimalistic designs, their selection of colors for the models are very gentle to look at, and it can fit any environment. You can take it to your workplace or the park; it will always look nice. One of the cons of this stroller is that even if the canopy is very spacious and has a proper amount of UV protection, it doesn’t have a peek-a-boo window or ventilation, which can make it a little uncomfortable for the passenger during a hot day.

The frames of all of the Bugaboo products are made with reinforced aluminum to be durable and as light as a sturdy metal frame can be. The design of the mobility system is also very helpful as each one of the wheels has an independent buffer and is made with foam-filled rubber, the adjustment of the height of the handlebar is effortless to set, these features are meant for the stroller to be very smooth to drive even on rough terrain.

One of the cons of this stroller is the limited storage basket; other products of the market for fully-sized strollers have even doubled this much capacity. However, it can be accessed from any side, and it can be used as an independent bag.

Portability: Compatible with several brand car seats

One of the most remarkable features of this stroller is the portability, the design of the frame allows you to use many different brands of car seat adapters, most of the Bugaboo strollers work with the Bugaboo Nuna car seat adapter, but the Cameleon 3 also works with Britax, Chicco, Cybex, Maxi-Cosi, and Peg Perego, which helps a lot if someone gives you another brand car adapter as a gift or if you would rather buy a cheaper option, you may be able to use it with your stroller as well.

As this is a sturdy stroller, the folded size may not be the smallest or the most compact. Still, it’s not so bad. And as you can take off the car seat and the wheels, it can easily fit in the trunk of your car or take on public transportation without much trouble.

Safety: Safe and stable

Like most full-equipped strollers, the weight of the Bugaboo Cameleon 3 provides a lot of stability, and the wheels are made with foam-filled rubber, so they have great grappling and independent buffers that give you drive that’s both safe and smooth. It also comes with a 5 point harness that has shoulder adjustment for your baby to use comfortably, and even if it is easy to put on or take off, it remains really strong for the baby to be safe at all times.

The brake consists of a single lever, so it is barefoot and sandal friendly, it’s easy to put in place, but it may be a little stiff because it is a very high-quality brake that helps to keep the stroller in place regardless of how much it’s pushed.

Price: On the higher-end

As Bugaboo is a high-end baby gear brand, not everyone can afford its products. However, they still have a great combination between safety and elegant design that assures their client portfolio to be loyal no matter the price of their products. The quality of the material of their products is one of the principal features that raises its price, but this ensures a long-lasting product that, with the correct maintenance, will be an excellent investment for you and your life as a parent.

The original price on their webpage was around 1120-1150 USD, but as they already upgraded this product to a new version, you can find it in other retail stores for 720-800 USD.

Specs:

  • Product Name: Cameleon 3
  • Product Brand: Bugaboo Baby Gear
  • Dimensions: H: 39.3 / W:23.6 / L: 33.4 in
  • Weight: 25.1 lbs
  • Colors: Soft Pink/ Misty Grey/ Birds/ Waves/Stellar Reflective/Grey Mélange/Black/ Red/Fresh White/Grey Malin/ Vapor Blue/ Steel Blue/
  • Material: Frame: Aluminum and plastic /Car seat: Fabric and plastic/ Storage bag: Fabric and plastic/ Canopy: 50+ UV resistant Fabric.
  • The set includes A sun canopy, car seat adapters, glider board for children, the transport bag, and the rain cover.
  • Dimensions Folded: H:17.2 / W:23 / L:40.5 in
  • Warranty: The warranty covers any manufacturing defect that the product could have on the frame, the harness, the discoloring of the canopy, the zippers, the brakes, the handle, or the wheels. It doesn’t cover any damage done by the user or any not authorized accessories. The warranty lasts for 24 months from the moment the receipt was emitted. Any change request must have videotape and pictures attached as proof of the defects. However, if your stroller is registered, you can always use customer service that works 24/7, for any issue you encounter while setting up the stroller

See our guide: How to clean a stroller

Competition of the Bugaboo Cameleon 3:

UppaBaby Vista: 

As one of the top products in the market of strollers, during 2020, the UppaBaby Vista has been cataloged as one of the best strollers in the market, it may be a high-end product, but the price is worth it. To start, the setup process is incredibly easy because even if it has a remarkable number of features, the team of UppaBaby has managed to make the instructions very specific and clear for the user. Unlike the Bugaboo Stroller, the Vista can be also be adapted to be a double stroller, and as it also has a sturdy frame, it is very stable even when carrying two passengers.

Being one of the best strollers in the current market, the UppaBaby Vista has one of the best storage baskets; its capacity is up to 30lbs. That is almost 3 times more than the Bugaboo Cameleon, which, as we said before, only handles up to 8.8lbs, and both can be accessed from all sides of the stroller.

Now, talking about security, both strollers have a strong qualification because both work with a 5 point harness and the bumper bar for extra security, but we always see the handbrake as an advantage, which the Cameleon Bugaboo has but the UppaBaby Vista doesn’t. The Vista works with a system of independent brakes for each back wheel, and even if it is sandal friendly, it may be a little too complicated to use if you need a fast reaction of the brakes.

The UppaBaby Vista is one of the best strollers in the market. It is very easy to assemble, has a long catalog of car seat adapters, and can be used as a double stroller and is easy to maneuver in most types of ground.

See on Amazon

Cybex Balios S:

Cybex is a mid-end baby gear company that offers above-average products at reasonable prices. It is just fair that the Balios S, even if is a full-sized stroller, is very limited when it comes to features. The size of the storage basket is very short on capacity as it only carries up to 5 lbs, which is half of the average for full-equipped strollers, and the access to it is very limited, unlike the storage basket of the Bugaboo Cameleon 3, that has access from all sides.

A great feature that the Balios S has is its canopy that, unlike the Cameleon 3, it has a peek-a-boo window that also works as ventilation. The variety of colors that Cybex offers with the Balios S is also very limited, as they only come in three options.

The security system of the Balios S is very questionable because even if it has a 5 point harness (as we all know is the most used kind of harness for small children), the brake is not sandal or barefoot-friendly, it works with a central pedal between the back wheels, and you may want to check now and then for the brake to be on when you use it constantly.

As we said, Balios S is recommended only for the price that could fit better with your budget, but it might not be a long-lasting investment, it depends a lot on the use and maintenance that you give the stroller.

See on Amazon 

Thule Sleek:

Thule is a Swedish company that’s been in the market since 1942, making outdoor gear for people who want to enjoy nature. This company started making fisherman gear, and until now, they still have an extended line of products. The Thule Sleek is a full-equipped stroller, very complete on its features. As the company works with outdoor gears, they have focused on the importance of carrying things while you go out with your baby, so one of its most impressive features is the capacity of the storage basket, it can carry up to 20 lbs, which is double the average for full-sized stroller and almost three times the storage of the Bugaboo Cameleon.

The safety of the passenger is one of the most important features to note, and the Thule Sleek accomplishes that goal. The five-point harness with an adjustable strap for the child’s shoulders is comfortable to put on or take off and is made with high-quality fabric that will keep our baby safe and comfy. The brake system of the Sleek is solid; it works with one pedal between the back wheels and is made to be easy use and reliable.

Even if the Bugaboo Cameleon 3 has the advantage of the exchangeable canopies, they lack a peek-a-boo window and ventilation, which is very common on full-size strollers to help the baby be fresh during hot weather. The canopy of the Thule Sleek is spacious and has a peek a boo window, and a ventilation window and both can be covered when you don’t want to use it.

See on Amazon 

Final verdict: Bugaboo Cameleon 3 Review

During this review, we could check that this stroller is high-end not only for its high-grade materials, but the quality of the manufacturing, and the seal of Bugaboo, that thanks to their +20 years on the market, made their reputation of creating high quality and fashionable products that will work as good as they look.

Because of the design of the Bugaboo Cameleon, even if it’s heavy, the material of its wheels, the independent set of buffers, and the adjustable handlebar make this stroller very smooth to drive with or without the passenger. And as the capacity of its storage basket is just 8.8 lbs, it will never be too heavy to push or handle.

In the end, the Bugaboo Cameleon 3 could be everything you need if you are a person who has a very dynamic lifestyle that always looks for the fancy option to not only have a useful product that solves your needs but look good on a daily basis. This stroller is a comfortable option for your baby to be safe and sound while you go for walks or even on public transportation.

Didn’t find what you were looking for? See more: The 10 Best All-Terrain Strollers 

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