Choosing a Double Stroller

One Step Ahead has a Sit and Stand that converts to one from a traditional tandem stroller. Looks good to me!! Probably the one I will get when we have #2.

http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...

I have a 4 yr old and a 7 month old and wondered about the same thing. Why clutter the garage with yet another buggy if I don't like, or don't use it. The fancy one I was looking at was going to be about 700.00! I ended up getting a used /Baby Trend/ side by side seater off of Craig's list and it is perfect for my needs. My husband can take both the boys jogging, etc. And, it comes in handy when my older boy wants to be in a stroller because the baby is (and he is jealous)...It folds up but is still pretty bulky. So I don't take it in the car unless I really think I'll need it...

Good Luck,

S.

I have a Peg Perego double stroller. It is the side by side one. I did have a tandum one, but it was VERY heavy and the front seat did not recline, only the rear. I think it was a Graco. With the Peg Perego, they both recline. I bought based on the weight.
This one only weighs 10 pounds... much lighter than the other one I had, which was about 20 pounds, without the kids in it. Try going to the Zoo, up and down hills, in that one! I LOVE my stroller. Well worth the money. It's light-weight and manuevers easily and both kids can recline.

Phil & Ted's!
Phil & Ted's!
Phil & Ted's!
http://www.philandteds.com/nz/index.htm

My husband and I have actually done a ton of research re: a double stroller b/c we have twins...

The absolute best and incomparable stroller is the BOB (REI is the best retailer in SD; go to bobgear.com to see your options). Both seats face forward, side by side so that, when old enough to both face forward, you won't have to listen to arguments about who gets to go in front. There's an infant car seat adapter so your baby can face you at first. It has a ton of safety features, is super lightweight, easy to manuever, and fits into doorways (it's the width of a wheelchair).

I've seen the BOB vs. other "comparable" double strollers on the Carlsbad boardwalk, and the BOB is definitely superior. The kids in the other strollers are always bouncing around. The BOB offers an incredibly smooth ride.

Now, to get all of these great features, you have to pay for it. So, consider this: REI offers a lifetime co-op membership for $20. With this, you get 10% off of every purchase (a $60 savings on the BOB alone) and a lifetime guarantee on all purchases. This means that even if your little ones puke in the stroller and you can't get it out, they will automatically order you a new one. Cool, right?

Also, look into any credit card rewards points. AMEX will deposit cash onto your card in exchange for points. So, if you have enough, you can even cover the whole cost of the stroller!

Have fun shopping!

I posted the same question a few months ago! :) I ended up buying the Baby Trend Sit and Stand Deluxe. It has all of the great features of the traditional sit and stand, but has an extra seat back. Therefore he can fall asleep. Right now, my oldest son which is also 2, doesn't even know that the seat comes off of it and that he can stand. We will do that in a few months! For the snack tray issue, he just puts the cup and snack on his side. He hasn't had a problem with it yet. (only had the stroller for 2 months now.) I felt that this stroller will grow with both of my boys. Where some of the more pricier ones are nice, I just don't forseeing my oldest wanting to ride all of the time within 6 months to a year. Hope this helps. S.

I have 6 month old twin girls and LOVE LOVE LOVE my Kolcraft Contours Duo Stroller. I use it everyday and couldn't be happpier with it

Hello. I really love my BOB Revolution Duallie Double Stroller. They are pricy but to me worth every penny. The prices seem to be all the same on the internet but we purchased ours at REI with a 20% off coupon and was around $440. Periodically if you are a member they will send you a coupon in the mail. If that is to expensive for you I also used to have the Graco Quattro Tour Double Stroller which was really nice and was easy to push compaired to a lot of other inline doubles. Good Luck.

I bought the Combi double stroller when my second was born this past year (not the wide one, but the long one - can't remember the model name.) I bought it because I already had the infant seat to attach and it is compact and light. I am not that happy with the stroller. The lock used to keep it collapsed broke on the 4th or 5th use and the storage underneath is not deep enough to even get my diaper bag under it, which is not a very big bag.

So I can't really give you a suggestion as to which stroller to get, I can suggest to really think through what you need in a stroller. Is storage important? Are the parts on the stroller cheap feeling? etc.

Hello, I have a Graco Duo Glider that I love. It is easy to fold and unfold, (I had a sit n stand for about 2 weeks and I found that they are very heavy.) The Duo Glider is lighter than the sit n stand, It has a big basket underneath, a compartment on top for items and a cup holder, and there is a cup holder in the front tray. The sun shades come on and off fairly easily, as do the trays. My infant seat is so easy to put in but fits securely in the stroller(I do have a matching Graco infant seat though, I am not sure about a different model fit in this stroller) Hope this helps.

Dear S.,

My stroller days are LONG over - there weren't many choices way back then - I had a Graco, and it was fine for our needs - I had no complaints. The only thing I really have to say is that I would recommend a "front/back" style, as opposed to a side by side - my cousin had a double umbrella style that was side by side, and she said it was awful as far as trying to maneuver it through store aisles. I used mine for YEARS!!! btw. I started when my second was born, used it through my third, and continued using it when I only had her in it, sing the extra seat to carry bags when I went shopping.

Good luck!
B.

S.,
I just had to respond to this one. It's been a long time since I've had to use a stroller (although my 12 and 9 year olds would still, at times, LIKE to ride in one - with me pushing), I went through the torment about what stroller to use before my little one was born...so, here is how I picked it. I had many friends who bought the strollers with one seat behind the other - the majority of them complained that, while it was perfect when the new baby was tiny, as the kids got older, each one wanted the "front" seat. Fighting ensued and there were often tears. The child in the back often got "smushed" and when the first child fell asleep and the seat is reclined, the child in the back has no room (think airplane seats). I bought the Graco Duo Glider, as well. I was a bit of a snob back then, and looked into spending more money (what was I thinking), but fortunately, couldn't find anything that compared. Both seat reclined, both children got the same view, the covers came off completely for cleaning and the basket on the bottom of the stroller was HUGE. I used that thing forever. The downsides: it is wide and getting through some doors many be a challenge. I didn't love the restraints - they were a bit flimsy (perhaps this has changed since then) - and it was a bit awkward to close and took up a lot of room in the car. Other than that, I was a happy, thrifty camper.

I have two boys also, 15 months apart, and I had quite an experience looking for a double stroller. I bought 3 duds and finally hit the jackpot with the fourth. I really wanted a side-by-side that I could use for shopping as well as walking. The first one I tried was a no-name cheapy that I found at a second-hand store. It had "small" wheels (not the jogger wheels) and was incredibly difficult to push and maneuver. It was too wide to get through some doors and I wanted a stroller I could use for shopping. Plus the foot brake was right were my leading foot stepped, so I had to take short steps to avoid it. I ended up giving it to a friend who didn't have a double stroller, so she gladly accepted it. But I'm surprised she remained my friend after using it! It really was awful to push.

The next stroller I got was a Schwinn double jogger which was much easier to maneuver but was still too wide and the seats were not clearly separated with any divider so my boys got smooshed together and my younger son really did not like that (he needs his space). Other than being too wide and the "mono-seat," it was a great stroller. Easy to push one-handed, easy to fold and put in the car, just couldn't always fit through doorways into stores. I got it at Costco and they are great with returns (I had it about 8 months before giving up on it).

Next I tried the Kolcraft Countours Options tandem. It's an impressive stroller but it did not work for me. It is extremely heavy, which I don't mind necessarily, but it was terribly difficult to get the right leverage to lift it into my SUV (I am of average strength), and going uphill with my boys in it was an incredible workout (which is a good thing, unless you're not looking to sweat all the time) - my boys were about 50 pounds combined at the time I used it. It was also very long, which I suppose is to be expected with a tandem, but I felt like my little one in the front was so far away from me, I just didn't like it. I felt like he was more vulnerable way out there in front (I'm sure that was silly of me). But the thing that made this stroller unbearable was that my boys hated the stroller. They fussed and complained almost constantly when they were in it. I don't know if it was uncomfortable (the seats are pretty shallow and don't seem comfortable) but whatever the reason, no matter which seat facing I used, they fussed. It made going for walks and shopping rather unpleasant. I had found this one at WalMart.com and promptly returned it.

I thought about the sit and stand, but I didn't think my oldest (2 years old at the time I was in the market) was ready for that. I considered several different tandems, but I didn't know how either one of my boys would feel about sitting in the back, plus I didn't like the length of the one tandem I did try. I thought about the Graco DuoGlider, but didn't try it. It have heard some other moms have been very happy with it.

I wanted something that would be easy to maneuver on different types of terrain so I could go for long walks, but not too big so I could also use it for shopping. I decided to spend the big bucks and I got a Valco Baby Tri-Mode twin. It was quite a stretch for us financially but it is the best money I have ever spent. It is worth every hard-earned penny. I have had it for 10 months now, and I wish I had bought it when my second was born. But, at that time I just couldn't see spending that much money for a stroller, nor did I have that kind of money laying around. It is a dream to push; I can easily push it one-handed on any terrain. It is only 29" wide so it fits through any doorway (even the small side door of my garage). You can get an attachment for it so you can use the infant car seat with it, and you can buy snack trays now for the kids' seats (wasn't available when I bought mine, but I'm thinking about getting them now). My husband can take it jogging. It has great sunshades. And the best part is that my boys are happy in it!! I can take them for a 45 minute walk and usually have no complaining or fussing (they didn't last 5 minutes in the others). I got mine from www.babystrollershop.com. He throws in several free accessories (and free shipping).

I would suggest trying some different strollers you are interested in and see how you like them. At least push it around the store (preferrably with both seats occupied, if possible). The high-end strollers (like Valco) are hard to find in stores, but if you're interested, I saw another mom respond on this website with info for a store she has in Orange County. You can rent their strollers for a day (that would give you a real good idea). The website is www.octraveltykes.com.

Good luck to you and congratulation on baby boy #2!

I LOVE our Bob Revolution Duallie! I got ours at REI.com as well during one of their sales (reg price 525, we got ours with tax included for $455 including the accessory key/cupholder bar thing).

We also have the single revolution.

Downfall of it, it is wide so I can't get through the small aisles in the mall stores (but I guess that is a good thing as it stops me from spending so much money).

Other than that, I love it. I use it everyday. And I love that this thing rolls over everything! It rolls over sand at the beach, branches on the hiking trail, etc. And you can take off the wheels with ease. And I can literally steer it with my index finger, no joke. And it fits through all the doors that I have gone through with no problems.

My advice on what to look for in a stroller would be to look at your lifestyle. If you are an outdoorsy family like we are (hike, beach, camping, jogging, etc.) then you should get something like the Bob that has larger more sturdy wheels. If you are not such an active family and prefers malls to the outdoors, than something like the Combi with smaller wheels would be best.

Another thing to consider would be the grandparents pushing the stroller. My parents always complained about the Graco strollers that I had. Their backs would hurt from having to bend down when pushing the stroller (and my parents are shorter Asians). Plus they hated the extra muscle strength it took to push the Graco's. My Dad loves the Bob strollers we have because his back doesn't hurt afterward.

I would also suggest going to a place like USA BABY to test drive a bunch of different strollers before buying. I went to the one in San Diego. They have Bob, Combi, Phil and Teds, etc.

S.,

I have the best stroller on the planet!!!! I also have two boys. I have the Kolcraft Contours Duo Stroller. It has two seats that ca be configured many different ways and it also comes with an infant seat attachment. So when the new one come you can use the stroller right away. I have a small car and I can fit it into my car. The seats come off to make it fit. The stroller is $200.00 at Babies R Us and just about anywhere else you can find it. That was the only place other than the internet that I could find it. The only draw back of the stroller is that there is no tray in it. So far I have not found an after market tray to attach. Anther good thing about the stroller is that the storage basket goes the entire length of the stroller. For being a double stroller it is very light weight. The seat can be configured all different ways too. If you go on Kolcraft.com you can see a video mo of the stroller. The demo doesn't show it very well but with the infant seat attachment you place the car seat in the attachment and you strap it in and it is in there very tight. It only comes in one color and that is red, but it is an awesome stroller!! This is a front back stroller. The older child sits in the front for weight reasons. Since you said for son like to sleep it would be good because you can recline the seats and the sun shades work really well. I took my boys to Disneyland and they had no problems staying in the shade. The other good thing about this stroller is there are no recall notices about and there haven't been. That was a big thing for me. I have friends who have other double strollers. Evenflo and Graco have had recalls on their strollers. Graco more than Evenflo. Sometime the stroller clollapse whe they hit a curb. Hope this helps and good luck!!

S.

I'm in the same boat. I had the same exact question you have. I have looked around and found one at Target. It's by Baby Trend (Deluxe Sit N' Stand). It costs about $160.00 and it fits a carseat and it allows the 2 year old to sleep or stand. The stroller functions as a double stroller, then converts to a single stroller with a place where an older sibling can stand when tired. Convenient one hand fold system. It is very compact and easy to maneuver. I hope this helps.

If you go to onestepahead.com they have a sit and stand stroller that also has a seat. I don't know how good it is but it might be worht looking into.

Options Tandem Stroller - By Contour..baby depot inside burlington coat factory
I have a son who is turning 2yrs on saturday and a new son who is turning 4 months on friday and this is the one I bought. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!! You have 2 seperate seats that swivel in all directions. you can have them facing each other, both facing forward or backward, the seats recline, so one can sit up while the other one is laying down. I get sooo many stares, comments, questions, etc when I am out and about with this. It is perfect for the new baby, and will be good for many years to come for both of them!!

I have a 20 month old son and just had a daughter. We looked a few double strollers a chose the BOB and we LOVE it. We looked at the Sit and Stands, but felt he was too young. My husband was very against it because he thought it wouldn't fit through doorways. He was surprised to find that it does. The one drawback is the price, but it is worth every penny. Congratulations!

The double BOB with the swivel front wheel is awesome!!!! I have a 2 1/2 year old and a brand new infant. I use that for walking, running, strolling along the beach, and going to places like Disney or the park or anywhere that may take longer than a few hours. Then I also bought a sit and stand used off of Craigslist for the mall and the grocery store (quick trips).

I have a phil and teds stroller with doubles kit. This things is a breeze to set up and can be reclined. They also have a way for you to use your infant carrier with it. One child sits on bottom and one on top, so they are stacked. The stroller is normal width and fits anywhere. It maneuvers easily and is quite comfortable. My 21mo old and my 12mo old love this stroller. My 4 yr old even tries to fight to get in it. THe max weight on this stroller is about 88lbs, so I can put any combo of kids in this stroller even the 4 yr old and the 21mo old. This should last a long time and I can use on all 3 children if necessary. In many reviews, the kids actually fought over sitting on the bottom seat. The view doesn't seem to be restrictive and we've been known to hook some toys underneath the top seat so my 12mo old has something to play with during shopping trips.
Here's the company's website.
http://www.philandteds.com/nz/index.htm

Good luck!
M.

Hi S.. We have 2 girls who are 3 yrs and 17 month old. When my 2nd baby was born, we researched for double strollers extensively. We found one we just love. It's the Phil & Ted's. It's narrow enough to go through shopping aisles, restaurant aisles, normal doorways, etc. We put the younger one in the back but my 3 yr old can fit back there too, when she feels like it. We still use it everywhere we go. The baby in the back still has a good amount of view, surprisingly. Both babies can recline and sleep. We can also take out the seat in the back for when we only have one child with us. It's so maneuverable that I go running with it. It's great!

S.,
I have a 3.5 year old and a newborn and we purchased a "Phil & Teds" stroller with the optional doubles kit. This stroller does not allow the use of my infant carrier but i believe P & T offer a kit. The great thing about this stroller is that when your toddler grows out of the stroller you can remove the double seat and you have a single stroller.

I don't have any stoller suggestions for you, but I really don't recommend getting a sit and stand. If your child likes to go to sleep, there's nowhere for them to sleep, and if your child is active like mine was, it is much to easy for them to get out of!

I LOVE my sit n stand plus from right start. It is a reasonable price, it has a removable back seat so you can choose to keep it in or take it out. I took mine out for the beginning when my youngest was born and I really don't use it, but it's nice to know it's there. It has the bar to snap in the infant carrier in the front, but I never used that either b/c the carrier actually snaps into the snack tray in the front. But the best thing I discovered is that the carrier fits in the back sideways (it doesn't lock but it's totally secure). This gives you the option of putting your older one in the front to sit and eat snack. The front reclines too, but not that much. It also has a huge basket in the bottom for all of your stuff!!! Good luck:)

I would definitely go with a front-back model. It is what I had with my 3 kids. Aisles in the stores are so small. A double really wouldn't fit between racks. We had a Graco. It took up about the same amount of room as one of their single travel systems. We just left the front canopy off unless we needed it. That saved a good amount of space.

Hi S.,
Sit n stands are hard to push. I would go with a Valco Baby Tri Mode or a BOB Duallie. Both have swivel wheels,fit thru standard doorways, a great recline and an available car seat adapter. Most stroller companies only make adapters for Graco and Peg Perego infant seats. Hope this helps.
____@____.com

Hi there.
I am not sure what you will be using the stroller for but here is my experience.
I have a sit and stand and absolutely hate it.
My older son can barely sit on the back bench and if he is back there the seat in the front has to be straight up. So neither one of them are comfortable.
I have the phil & ted jogger that has the double attachment that hooks on to the back and I love this stroller. It is perfect for walks to the park but I would not reccomend it for travel or if you want to be able to bring it in the car with you. I have seen the Contours brand of double stroller that I believe are made by Playtex. I have the single one, which is great. The double looks really nice. You can face the seats in either direction. So the kids can also face eachother. I know that the single was not very expensive either. The only issue that I have with mine is that it has to be "just right" in order to break it down for the car, but the benefits outweigh that issue for me.
Good Luck!

M.

I have the Baby Trend Sit and Stand Plus and I love it. It has two seats but can be converted to a regular sit and stand. The infant carrier can be attached to the front. My kids are about the same spacing as your and they are both comfortable in it!

Had my 2nd when my first was 2yrs,3months. Tried so many strollers! Ended up with the Phil and Teds. Absolutely love it! Holds infant carrier, lays flat, double decker so it isn't wide , kids can both fall asleep, can be single jogging stroller by removing bottom "jump seat". The only drawback is that it is pretty heavy (25 pounds) and a little more bulky than the sit n stand(since that one folds pretty flat). It's also on the expensive side, but if you take care of it, it has a good resale value.

I just bought the Peg Perego 60/40 Aria stroller and love it. It is a side by side stroller and you can put your car seat in the bigger area. It is light weight and easy to move around.

Hi S.:

I bought the duo glider by Graco, because even though I had a different infant car seat/stroller combo, (with my first child) the car seat snapped right into the new double stroller. Take your car seat and see which one it will snap into. Sorry to say, they are space monsters, none of them are compact, but it does fold down somewhat with one hand, and requires almost all of the back of my Honda Pilot, so it's quite large. I'm not happy with the flimsy trays, and the back seat only has 2 seat settings, sitting up almost all the way, or laying down. But it has nice storage on the bottom, but hard to get to when the kids are in it. Good luck!

I got for $200 from E-Bay w/the infant carseat the Peg Perego Duette. It's the BEST $200 I've ever spent! I don't regret it and have 3 children now. you can make it face each other, or both look at you, or both look forward, OR get this put the back all the way down the feet part up and have them LIE DOWN to sleep!! It's wonderful!!! It's easy to push w/one hand, very light, easy to put together. The sun shade goes all the way down, etc etc. Trust me you won't regret it. It's the one to get! And even though it was used it looked great...practically brand new!

I love my Bob Revolution Duallie. It fits through all doorways! My friend has a stroller website, www.joggermom.com she is a Mom of triplets so she knows a lot about strollers for more than one child.

M.

I agonized over this decision. We went to Babies r us with EVERY intention to buy the sit and stand and as we were trying it out we knew it was not the way to go. In order to use a carrier in it the seat has to be as reclined to its max (about 45 degrees) which inhibits the other child from being able to sit (their not going to stand the whole time) We ended up with the GRACO DUOGLIDER and I could not be happier. We had a graco infant seat so it works great. Which every one you have/will have bring it to the store and try it out. It can go in either seat (front or back) Plus the back seat reclines flat and turns in to a bassinet like. It folds up pretty well. It can be kind of big, but it fits fine in the back of my accord as long as we take off the trays. they pop right off.

I just got the phil and ted stroller and I love it. I have five more months to go before my second arrives, but because there is the single or double option, I can use it as a single stroller until the newborn arrives. It's compact and it looks great. I saw a parent of two toddlers with this stroller in San Diego- her two boys seemed so comfortable and happy in it and it was such a unique design that I chased her down to find out what type of stroller it was and how she liked it, she's had it for over a year and LOVES it!

My son was 2 years and 2 months when my daughter was born. I looked for a stroller that had many options. I finally landed on the Baby Trend Sit N Stand Plus. It actually has two seats, but the back one removable so my toddler can stand, if he wants. It also comes with car seat attachment so that I can take my infant from the car and put her directly into the stroller. The car seat attachment is removable so I can take it off later. It also comes with an extra tray for the front seat, and it has a great parent tray with two cup holders and a little storage compartment. You should check it out. It's been great. The only draw back is that it is pretty large and is sometimes hard to maneuver around tight corners.

I bought the Zooper for the same reason. BUT I hate it! There is no tray, and it is designed oddly. The stroller has tried to break down while my children are in it. I ended up buying a City jogger...and Love it! It moves soooo much easier. There is plenty of storage space, and holds up to 100lbs...it's been great.

Hi,

I'm in the same spot as you but due in Sept. I met a woman who raved about the greco double stroller. The one that has one seat behind the other. She said that you can take all the fabric off and wash it, it's light, it maneuvers very well, etc etc. Main this is to get the double stroller made for 2 children, not twins. The stroller made for 2 kids has a back seat that lays down all the way. The front seat lays back quite far. And it has a huge basket underneath. She had tried 3 strollers before finding this one and loving it.

I saw that a couple people recommended the bob and tom or whatever that stroller is called. I read a couple reviews online saying that it's not the safest stroller because the kid on the bottle has easy access to the wheels and can hurt their hands, arms, etc. I don't know how easy it actually is but that's what they said.