Double Stroller Research!

onaed · November 2016

I know I may be getting ahead of myself (but Black Friday is just around the corner)!

Curious if anyone has begun researching double strollers (kids would be 2 years apart). I get so many mixed opinions on a tandem vs. side by side strollers. I plan to test them out, but would love to know what you ladies are thinking!

jesselayne8 · November 2016

I have the baby jogger city select, the double BOB and the kinderwagon hop. What do you use a stroller for the most? Mall? Walks? Zoo? Travel?

ellie111227 · November 2016

Mine will be 20 months apart, so we are in a similar boat. I am thinking tandem. I have enough experience navigating stores with my brother, who uses a wheelchair, that I can't imagine having something wider than that. Sidewalks, stores, etc are NOT set up to make things easy. I have a Chico brand infant car seat I want to reuse, so I want to test out their double stroller. I think they only make one, based on a thirty second internet search. If my kids were further apart in age, I think I would get one of those "sit and stand" ones. They look shorter and therefore to steer. Anybody have experience with those?

Xath · November 2016

We had a Britax B-Ready and it was very nice.

Wino0920 · November 2016

I used the Chicco double, tandem. I used the Chicco key fit 30 with the single as well.

i personally like the tandem but that's personal. Definitely try them out and actually walk around the store. To me getting around in a side by side just seemed harder.

onaed · November 2016

Hi @jesselayne8, mainly walking in town / to the park. We live on a hill so the lighter the better, however our sidewalks are not all even, so the bigger wheels are definitely appealing. I was looking at the Valco Double Stroller, I'm not familiar with the brand but it seems like a reasonable match. The only thing is I kind of like the idea of having a bassinet type seat in the beginning months, rather than both facing forward (similar to the Bugaboo Donkey - which is ridiculously expensive). Also my son is 98% in height and weight, so I want to make sure I find something that he doesn't grow out of immediately. I swear every time I find one that sparks my interest, the height or the weight doesn't work. Luckily I have several months to figure this out!

jesselayne8 · November 2016

@onaed one of my friends has a Valco with the Joey seat for her 3yr old twins and her 1yr old. They are 20 months apart. Her 3yr olds still fit comfortably. You can use the seat in the reclined position after about 8wks. The double BOB Is great for walks and you can get the car seat adaptor for tiny babies. Unless you have a maxi cosi seat like I have. Ugh

onaed · November 2016

Super helpful, thank you @jesselayne8 . I have the Aton Q for my carseat, haven't even factored that in UGH.

heath313 · November 2016

Bob double jogger all the way

tyro328 · November 2016

Mine will be 18 months apart and going for a side by side as I always feel sorry for the poor child on the bottom on the other version. I'm looking a mountain buggy duet , as it's same width as a single pram an great price. so hard shopping for strollers

emichelle86 · November 2016

Anyone looking into the Joovy ultralight sit and stand caboose? My DD is not crazy about sitting in a stroller or long and will be 2.5 when this babe is born so I'm thinking a sit and stand will be better. There is also a seat you can add on if needed.

michaela0704 · November 2016

Some stores have a lot of the strollers out so you can 'test drive'... I strongly suggest you do that, if you can.

We went with tandem stroller b/c no matter how much people said the side-by-side of many double strollers fit through doorways (e.g., daycare, doctor's office)... they just don't fit all doorways and the tandem was a guarentee in that department.

Now the hard part is how close the seats are if you have 2 kids that aren't twins. The leg room starts to get tight for the kid in the back so they upset the one in front with kicking, grabbing the shade screen, etc. of the seat in front of them. If you get a tandem stroller, I would suggest placing the older/larger child up front (farthest from the person pushing).

We have the Baby Jogger City Select with extra seat. It has stadium style seating and the seating can face forwards and backwards, so an infant can be in back facking backwards towards the caregiver and the other child can face out to watch what is happening around... it was fun to mix up the configuration, with twins and in public, I didn't like people touching my boys when they were toddlers/2's so I flipped the seats inward to face one another making it harder for strangers to come up to them.

Edit: need coffee... too early and making no sense.

mombod · November 2016

Does anyone have experience with the Countours Options tandem? I like that both seats can go forward and backwards and the chicco key fit 30 fits with an adaptor. They will be 2 years apart.

brij2006 · November 2016

@heath313 and @jesselayne8 Can I rack your brains on the BOB?
Is it insanely heavy comparatively to other double strollers?
Does it take up a ton of room in the trunk when folded up, and is it easy to fold up?
Would it be okay to use as a main stroller 90% of the time?

We live in a rural area where going for a walk means being on rough pavement and no sidewalks. I also run half marathons so I'd be looking for something I can push the kids in while running. Right now I have both an Instep single (stationary wheel) and a Jeep jogger. The Jeep is a bear to push while running and HEAVY. The Instep I can just have a finger on and it glides smoothly. That's a huge plus for me. We use the Jeep when just going for walks, but I use the Instep when running. Then we also have a Chico lightweight Trio stroller I keep in the car for out and about.
So yeah, I most definitely don't want to have 3 strollers to meet our needs, but not sure if the Bob will meet most/all of those needs. I'd prefer to just buy 1 nice double I can use for multiple things, but they're so expensive!
Also, would you recommend buying one used? I was reading reviews for the 2016 model and it sounds like they worked out some kinks and it's a bit slimmer than prior models. Just trying to see if it's worth saving a couple hundred bucks to get an older model.

Elyse1384 · November 2016

We love our Graco double stroller. It is the click connect so we can use it with 1 or 2 infant bucket seats which is a great option. I also love it because it is tandem. How on earth women navigate the side-by-side double strollers through doorways and store aisles is beyond me. I have a genuine hatred for those.

sarahannexvi · November 2016

Has anyone tried the Graco Modes Duo Double Stroller? I have Graco car seats and single stroller and love them. This one allows you to click the infant car seat onto the double stroller just like the single.

staceymwiggins · November 2016

Am I ridic for thinking (to contain the almost 5yo who likes to "ride") that I want a sit and stand? I mean, she can just about push the stroller alone if we go grocery shopping so I can push a cart... Opinions??

BelhurstBride · November 2016

We have two side-by-sides. We had some friends who had tandems and absolutely hated them. In addition to being uncomfortable and annoying to maneuver, they said the back seat offers very little leg room and it wasn't long before the kids were fighting over who gets to sit where.

We bought both of our strollers off of CL. Seemed wasteful to purchase brand new and people dump them for so unbelievably cheap.

We have a MacClaren Twin Triumph. We bought it for traveling because it folds up nice and small. Outside of needing something that folds up small it hangs from a nail in the garage. We rarely use it.

Our main use stroller is a Baby Trend Expedition. It's more comfortable for the girls to ride in, more comfortable for me to push and has more storage. We've used it so much we've literally worn the tires bald and had to replace them.

A few years ago we did two weeks in FL. Rather than spend a fortune renting a stroller I purchased one off of CL, then turned around and resold it. We ended up with a Baby Jogger Summit. That thing was the biggest piece of crap ever. It retails for like 5x the price of the BTE, but it wasn't worth a penny more.

Out of the three side-by-sides we've used I haven't ever had a problem getting through a door. The BJS ran a bit more wide than the BTE, so I had to line the thing up perfectly in order to get through a door- but it fit. I've never struggled getting through a door with the BTE or MTT.

keniialise · November 2016

We have the graco ready2grow. We bought it because we wanted tandem and the 12 different seating options. Believe it or not we actually fit three of our kids on this at a time, my youngest sits in the front and my middle sits on the bench seat that is there once you remove the back seat and my oldest stands on the surf board. We actually paid less than $100 for ours because of all the promotions babies r us was having. It's not heavy and my only complaint is we have to take off one of the sun shades every time we put it in our car but it's not the end of the world.

bornmommy · November 2016

LOVED my city mini double GE. Got it on sale because it was floor model and discontinued color. It was perfect for our needs. (We do a lot of hiking and I walk everyday with the dogs.) Now my dudes are both on scooters/bikes so maybe its time to sell it... and now I'm sad. HA

Elyse1384 · November 2016

BelhurstBride said:

We have two side-by-sides. We had some friends who had tandems and absolutely hated them. In addition to being uncomfortable and annoying to maneuver, they said the back seat offers very little leg room and it wasn't long before the kids were fighting over who gets to sit where.
...
Out of the three side-by-sides we've used I haven't ever had a problem getting through a door. The BJS ran a bit more wide than the BTE, so I had to line the thing up perfectly in order to get through a door- but it fit. I've never struggled getting through a door with the BTE or MTT.

What in the world brand did your friends purchase. I feel like they must have fashioned together two umbrella strollers and called it a day. My kids have tons of leg room in the tandem (DS is in the 90th percentile for height) and it is night and day easier to maneuver than a side-by-side. My SIL had a side-by-side (I think it was Britax) that i used watching my nephews once and I was carrying them by the end of the day. I couldn't take it anymore. The damn thing didn't fit anywhere and I am way too small to be wrestling with one of those.

I've seen plenty of moms get stuck trying to get a side-by-side through a door (NOTE: If I have to help one more mom at Starbucks yank her giant side-by-side through the doorway I'm going to lose my ish). I've been hit in the side more times than I care to count by moms insisting on pushing their side-by-side strollers throughout stores, crowded amusement parks and on the T. Oh yes.... I've seen moms try to cram their side-by-side onto a packed subway!

I'm with you @michaela0704... so many side-by-sides just aren't making it through or you're going to take out others in the process.
@keniialise that's the stroller I have! We LOVE it. Heavier than I would care for, but easy to navigate and so many seating options.

LilLee11 · November 2016

TANDEM! Side by side are only useful I think if you're a runner. We have an Uppababy Vista and it looks almost new, but is 6.5 years old. I LOVE it.

doodleoodle · November 2016

I'd love to have a double stroller that always the babies to face one another, but I'm having trouble finding one. Does anyone know of one?

bornmommy · November 2016

@Elyse1384 - my side by side fit through every door I needed it to fit through. I hate malls and wouldn't attempt tiny aisle places and such though. There I would just wear the little one a lot and use my single stroller for the bigger one but I never had an issue fitting through doors with my side by side at libraries, coffee houses, restaurants, strip malls, etc. I did see many moms have trouble steering/navigating there tandem strollers though.

LilLee11 · November 2016

doodleoodle said:

I'd love to have a double stroller that always the babies to face one another, but I'm having trouble finding one. Does anyone know of one?

I believe both the Uppababy Vista and City Select have options to turn the seat this way. My kids fight when they face each other though so that's not how I like my seats haha

Elyse1384 · November 2016

doodleoodle said:

I'd love to have a double stroller that always the babies to face one another, but I'm having trouble finding one. Does anyone know of one?

OK so entirely unhelpful response here, but now I have that JLo movie stuck in my head. The Back Up plan I think. Didn't her BF have some custom designed stroller made that flips around (so the twins could face each other) because the side-by-side wasn't getting through their door????

michaela0704 · November 2016

@doodleoodle the one I have does this...

https://www.babyjogger.com/uploads/City-Select-Buyers-Guide.pdf

doodleoodle · November 2016

Thanks, ladies!... well, everyone except @Elyse1384

haha now I have to watch that movie!

JessyKV · November 2016

My first two are 21 months apart. I didn't know what I would use so I bought second hand. I got a lightly used joovy sit and stand and a double jogger side by side (I can't remember the brand now). In the beginning I mostly baby wore and only pushed one but as they got bigger I would use the sit and stand for shopping. It is a tad long and heavy and hard to turn and my now almost 4 year old prefers walking so most of the time I end up just bringing my single umbrella for my youngest. I love the double jogger for neighborhood walks and the zoo. I would never take my double jogger shopping.

Neither of my kids are stroller kids and they end up walking or I carry or wear them.

bel194 · November 2016

@staceymwiggins I'm in kind of the same boat! DD will be 4 when LO is here and I can't imagine not being able to put her in a stroller if she gets wild. Plus she still gets tired after long distances. I've heard that the sit and stand is really bulky and not worth it if it's just once in a while. I think I'm going to get a travel system for baby and invest in a wrap/carrier so I can wear the baby and put her in the stroller if needed.

BelhurstBride · November 2016

@Elyse1384, I have no idea what brands they had. We didn't look into it since they advised against them.

I make a point of walking pretty much everywhere we can. I don't take it into the grocery store, I park it with the bikes and use a cart, but I have literally no problems getting in or out of any of the shops downtown, the library, the post office, city hall, ect.

heath313 · November 2016

@brij2006 it was the only stroller I had for my two, who are 22 months apart. I run, too, and it is so smooth! I don't find it to be heavy at all when pushing/jogging. It does take up most of the trunk of my highlander, which stinks. It barely fits in my husband's Camry trunk, but we can squeeze it to make it work.

It met all my needs for my only stroller. I have the newer model with the adjustable handle bar and that's nice.

mrt · November 2016

I have a sit and stand style, I think the brand is baby trend. My kids are 27 months apart. I didn't use it right away because the front doesn't recline very much and I didn't quite feel like my 2yo was ready for the bench seat, but that was fine because I used a baby carrier and single stroller. You also could attach an infant car seat(in front or back), but I didn't have one of those. I like it because my 4 yo can get in and out easily on walks. It didn't used to be hard to steer, but it's getting to be a pain. I can't tell if something broke or it is just because I have 85 pounds of kid in it. My 2 yo and 4yo weigh about the same amount... The "baby" is a big boy.

My sister has the contours options. I've never seen her use any of the options other than forward forward, but it is really nice to steer. The straps are a pain to adjust(like I've never figured it out) so it's hard to put my larger children in there.

silliegirlie143 · November 2016

We also have an Uppababy Vista (hand me down) that we are buying accessories for to make it work for us. It's about the same price to buy the pieces vs a new double stroller.

We decided this would make more sense since DD will either want to walk or ride a kickboard before too long. Then, we won't have spend a ton of $$ on a new bigger stroller that will have a limited life in our house.

That being said, we also have a single Bob. We are contemplating selling that to get a double Bob since that would have a much longer life for us.
Anyone near Vegas want to buy one in great condition??

We love the Bob. It folds down pretty flat but it's loooong unless you remove the front wheel. We do love the travel case for it which is awesome when we travel to see our back country family. All-Terrain-Will-Travel

The tires are designed like bike tires so it's really light and easy to push over lots of terrain styles. I can always tell the tires need to air because it starts to feel heavy

mamaelle27 · November 2016

Heads up for anyone looking for a Graco double stroller, there's one on sale today at BRU online for $140, plus they have a $10 off code and free shipping.

I tried it out in store and it's nice. It's super heavy but I think they all are.

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