Product Spotlight: Double & Sit/Stand Strollers

meggyme

What products are you looking at? What are you thinking about while you shop? Any personal recommendations?

brookepdavis

My sister has the Baby Jogger City Mini (side by side) and I've liked it when I've used it. We love our City Mini single so I'm naturally drawn to that one, but I'm wondering if side by side or in-line is better. Is it just a personal preference? Anyone have experience? 

shrub

I used the Joovy Caboose with my 2yo and newborn up until now with my 3yo and 5yo. I find turning isn't so smooth but holds a lot and i loved that my oldest could get on and off easily. I found mine for $40 on a swap site so I was happy with it 

3rdtime_charmed

Thanks for posting!! We live in the country so I’m thinking one of the all-terrain ones would be nice.
some of the doubles don’t fit through doorways though and I’m trying to figure out if that will be a problem.

meggyme

@3rdtime_charmed doorways and shopping aisles will definitely be an issue for doubles. My regular stroller doesn't really fit through a lot of shopping aisles. I don't understand why they set up baby stores like Carters to have the racks so close you can't get a stroller through. I have a friend that had twins that opted for a tandem stroller, so at least it wasn't as wide. I'd definitely suggest you check out the Lucie's List for twins. I just finished reading the one for sit&stands.

@shrub did you have the one with the rear seat, or just the sit and stand? That's the one I'm looking at. My DD will be 3 months shy of 3yo when this one is born.

shrub

@meggyme ours was the stand one but my DD sat on it facing me as well. It has both options and you can slide the seat back and forth and had buckles if I wanted to ensure she would stay sitting. 

mamakate1616

I am super drawn to the Uppababy Vista. I wanted it last time but just couldnt bring myself to spend the money. Any STM reviews?? 

meggyme

@mamakate1616 maybe try to find one second hand. Those might hold their value really well though.

3rdtime_charmed

@meggyme thank you for the Lucy’s List recommendation!  It’s great!
We are so rural that trips to stores aren’t very frequent, thank goodness for amazon prime!

meggyme

@3rdtime_charmed I love Lucie’s list. Another one that’s more consumer report-ish is baby gear labs.

peacebubblebaby

I spent hours driving double strollers around Buy Buy Baby, the City Mini Double is in a league of its own. I ended up buying a used one for a lot cheaper and it was worth every penny. 

BuckeyeNut05

Future twin mamas: I strongly recommend the double snap n go for when the babies are little. It's light, folds right up and you can just pop the car seats in there when they're little. 

If you're doing daycare, after they're out of the infant seats, I recommend the double Maclaren for transport from the car to their room.  It is lightweight, folds up pretty small (and easily) and fits through doorways. 

For outings, we had a double Ironman BOB and it was magical. Super lightweight, glides when you push it, has a hand brake and storage underneath. It actually folds up pretty well and the wheels are easily removable for travel. I was so sad to get rid of ours when the girls outgrew it, but I traded it in for the single.

chocolatelemons

@peacebubblebaby We have the citi mini single and I love it. Do you use the double for twins or for a toddler and baby? I’m thinking of that one for my will be 2 year old and newborn.

Edited to say I’m actually looking at the Baby Jogger City Select because it’s tandem.

brookepdavis

@chocolatelemons That's my dilemma too. I love my city mini single so do I want the double or the City Select? I'm 99% sure I'm sticking with a Baby Jogger because I've had so much success with them in the past.

peacebubblebaby

@chocolatelemons it was for my oldest, who was 3-4 at the time, and youngest around age 1ish. I used it up until oldest was 6ish and youngest was 3. Last year I used it for my youngest and cousins/friends who came who were under 5. But I actually just sold it because I babywear for the first year and my youngest will probably be too big for it by the time it’s ready for both of them. I have a Maclaren umbrella (I can’t remember which model, it’s big and has a nice basket), I picked it out by stalking the most popular stroller at the zoo, lol. 

I do recommend getting a cup holder (the have a hammock type one that stretches the length), it’s the only thing that it really needs. Same with the maclaren.

chocolatelemons

@brookepdavis I’d like to stick with Baby Jogger too. It’s so tough with two! The strollers are more expensive and right no, I also have a jogging stroller. I don’t know if I can handle a double jogger though...

dtspmama

@mamakate1616 we have the Vista and LOVE IT.  The basket on the bottom is HUGE and it handles really well.  Plus the insurance on it is great (we gate-checked it on a vacation to Hawaii, the seat broke, and they replaced the entire frame for free).  I have the ride-along board for when #3 makes his or her debut, so I definitely feel like we've gotten our money's worth!

meggyme

@dtspmama have you used the stroller board yet? I'm torn between getting one for our current bob motion or getting the joovy caboose and would love to hear someone's experience.

dtspmama

@meggyme Not yet.  Right now DD1 is still pretty content to sit in the toddler seat of the stroller, and I don't want to let on that she'll have more freedom to hop on and off.  LOL.  When we do whip it out (which will probably be soon) I'll report back!

momofmanyinthemitten

We love our double Bob. We live in a historic town with narrow doorways and we’ve only encountered one that we couldn’t fit through. It’s super easy to maneuver. I also add on an extra riding chair on the back axle when needed.

hummingbird35

Thought I'd share this while I'm browsing. I like the idea of the tandem...https://www.babybargains.com/best-double-strollers/ The Kolcraft looks pretty awesome!!

sejica

I was on the fence about side by side vs inline until I scored an inline double for $12.50 at a consignment sale. I figure, worst case scenario, we use it for a month and then donate it because it turns out we need something different (sit-n-stand, side-by-side).

gowenc

Anyone looking at the Evenflo Pivot Xpand? Looks pretty cool and I like that it's much more reasonable than some other models. Just wondering if our britax infant seat will click into it.

bdesterhouse

My best friend has a chicco double stroller and I love it. My son is 7 so obviously he doesn’t need to be in a stroller but that added space for bags is amazing. I’ll be getting one of those for zoo and pumpkin patch trips in the summer and fall. I have Singleton strollers from my son if we need something smaller.

ashley14598

@bdesterhouse we are also looking at the chicco double! We have the infant seat and the chicco bravo stroller. I’m glad to hear a positive review. My SIL is saving her double jogger for us but I don’t think it’s compatible with an infant seat so it won’t work for us until LO is old enough to sit up on their own. 

heytherefriend

I'm a FTM looking car seats and travel systems now. I noticed that amazon sells newborn/infant cushions to put inside a car seat, but I thought you weren't supposed to add anything after market to a car seat for safety reasons. I'm confused .... help?

meggyme

@heytherefriend you are correct that you shouldn’t put anything in a car seat with baby unless it comes with the car seat. That doesn’t prevent them from being sold however.

lindseyb918

@gowenc I think that's what I'm going to get! I was looking at the City Select Double Jogger but the Evenflo has just as good reviews and half the price. I'm not sure if another brand infant seat will snap in, that always worries me with combining brands and would be an expensive mistake to make DS's old infant seat is expired now so I'll be getting a whole new travel system. 

ashley14598

@gowenc @lindseyb918 okay ladies you intrigued me to look at that one too! I just watched a YouTube video of someone using it/unboxing it and now I’m a fan! I’m curious more about it too especially because we have a chicco infant seat and already have 2 bases. 

heytherefriend

@meggyme Thanks! That's what I thought. I just didn't want to be the "unprepared mom" at the hospital without one.

chocolatelemons

Does anyone know how the wheels are on the Evenflo one? I also started looking at reviews and the price is great. That said, I love my baby jogger because of the rubber wheels. I don’t want the hard plastic and I can’t tell what the Evenflo has.

lovesclimbing

heytherefriend said:

I'm a FTM looking car seats and travel systems now. I noticed that amazon sells newborn/infant cushions to put inside a car seat, but I thought you weren't supposed to add anything after market to a car seat for safety reasons. I'm confused .... help?

Are you sure it's not intended to be a replacement infant insert in case you, say, spill something on your insert and forget to dry it and it molds, or you lose the original? I could definitely imagine legit scenarios for needing something like this. 

heytherefriend

@lovesclimbing Hmmm... not sure. Could be. This is all so confusing, lol. I'm signed up for all the classes at my local hospital, so I might just wait until then to make final purchases.

lindseyb918

@chocolatelemons Lucies List has it categorized under "all terrain" (generally the rubber tires with a smoother ride) and not "all purpose" (those hard plastic wheels). So I think rubber tires but I don't know for sure. 

https://www.lucieslist.com/gear-guides/best-double-stroller/

thedaint87

lovesclimbing said:

heytherefriend said:

I'm a FTM looking car seats and travel systems now. I noticed that amazon sells newborn/infant cushions to put inside a car seat, but I thought you weren't supposed to add anything after market to a car seat for safety reasons. I'm confused .... help?

Are you sure it's not intended to be a replacement infant insert in case you, say, spill something on your insert and forget to dry it and it molds, or you lose the original? I could definitely imagine legit scenarios for needing something like this.


Stuck in the box...
If you really want an extra infant insert I'd go straight to the manufacturer, not Amazon.  Too much third party stuff that might not be approved for your seat.  I don't know anyone who needed an extra.  Most kids grow out of it quickly and they are easy to wash if needed.

lindseyb918

Update: I saw the Evenflo Pivot single version at Target, and the wheels are made of plastic vs inflatable rubber

mamakate1616

We test drove the uppababy vista and baby jogger city select lux this weekend are definitely going with the lux. Both drive really nice and smooth but the lux will fit better with our family - what will be a 3yr 3month age gap. The bench seat and gliding board on the lux were much more comfortable and appealing than the piggy back board on the vista (which my daughter could barely stand on due to her height and where the handlebar was).
FWIW the person who helped us said the lux is a superior stroller in terms of construction and highly recommended it over the uppababy. He also said he wouldn’t recommend the baby trend/Evenflo options with the riding boards because they don’t hold up or maneuver well. 

chocolatelemons

@lindseyb918 That’s really disappointing. Plastic wheels are a dealbreaker for me, unfortunately.

Lbloom

I bought a second-hand Joovy caboose and it still worked great for us. We loved the big canopy that could give both kids some shade. Still rode nice and smooth.
A friend let me borrow a big side-by-side jogging stroller with a non-turning front wheel for an amusement park trip. It worked fine but I'm glad I didn't buy one. The thing was a bit cumbersome to fold up for tram rides and stuff. Other than the annoying way we had to turn it with that stationery front wheel we loved how smooth it was with those big bicycle wheels.

meggyme

How old are your kids @lbloom? I’m really considering the Joovy caboose and if I can find one that isn’t lime green second hand (why was that color so popular?!) I’ll probably get it.

Lbloom

When I bought the caboose, DD2 was about 7 months old and DD1 was 3.5, going on 4. She liked to get out and walk a lot but still needed a place to sit occasionally. Worked very well, even second-hand. And we used it for quite awhile, even after both kids were mobile. It turned like a single stroller.