I really want to buy a double stroller, but every time I see one that I think might be good, I end up finding a lot of negative reviews on it. Can anyone recommend a good one? Here are a few things that are important to me:
Must fit my son who is 4 years old, 42" tall and 43 lbs (as well as my 7 month old)
Must be side by side
Needs to have an easily accessible storage basket that will fit a good-sized diaper bag (planning to use it for trips to Disneyland) - this is really, really important to me
Prefer one bar handle vs two separate handles but not necessarily required
After struggling with my Graco Duoglider for 2 years, I just recently got a new side by side double jogging stroller from One Step Ahead. I am in complete love with it! Check out the reviews on the OneStepAhead.com website.
I would Highly recommend the baby jogger double city mini elite. I have a 4 year old about the same size and a large 2 year old and both fit comfortably. It has tons of attachments you can purchase to add things you want. We took it to Disneyland and it was perfect. It glides so smoothly and is light weight and folds up small for a double.
My double Bob Revolution stroller is the love of my life.... Its great for doing things outdoors! Roomy for kids, stores tons of stuff, drink holders. Its very well constructed and worth every penny. We use it for long outings and always bring it when one of us is racing somewhere. The kids can nap in there when they get tired of running around. It glides like a dream and is awesoe for walking and running.
Your standard AT doubles will fit that bill (BOB Duallie, Mountain Buggy double, Baby Jogger City series, Valco, Bumbleride Indie Twin, etc). The downside to these strollers are that they are very heavy - so if you're going to be doing a lot of lifting in and out of the car it gets to be a total pain.
As someone else said, I love the Baby Jogger City mini double is my disneyworld stroller. It's much lighter weight and easy steering. THe storage basket is adequate, but I use stroller clips to attach my diaper bag to the handlebar of the stroller.
I have enjoyed and lovedmy double BOB more than any other baby gear! We have a 5 year old and a 2.5 year old, and it rocks! Both kids still fit well and we use it a lot for music festivals and beach trips. The 5 year old walks, but after really long days when he's tired and at festivals when we're staying late and the want to sleep, they can both fully recline, pull the hood over them and sleep! Love it! I walk and jog a lot with it too, and it's great!
BOB Revolution Dualie. Super easy to manuever, glides smoothly. One bar handle, two canopies (in case one wants shade the other doesn't). My go to stroller for Disneyland, and we go at least twice a month. Also use it at the mall (fits through all doors straight on), for walks and exercising. If 7 month old still in infant car seat, buy the adapter for east transition to stroller. I am 5' 5" and weigh 112, I have no problem getting it in and out of my car. LOVE THIS STROLLER.
Whatever you decide think one step ahead to decide how long you will need a double. My kids were both done with strollers in general by 3 1/2. I do not see a 4 yo in a stroller much longer (and yes we do Disney all the time). The best doubles are really expensive so if you think you may not use it long think about buying second hand maybe.
Bob Dualie Double Stroller! You can get a car seat adaptor, It's the best double I've ever owned! Coming from a person that has purchased 9 double strollers in the last 5 years :)
Update: To see for your self, REI is the best place to see for yourself. The quality out beats any other stroller and the manuvering is amazing. It even fits throught every door, stalls, etc. My 5 year old and 3 1/2 year old fit still great stroller to keep even longer, besides the resale value is great. If you sell it the demand is hight Bob Strollers are like the hottest things around.
My kids are younger than yours so the Sit N Stand XL fits them perfect. But my friend has the Bumbleride Indie Twin and it's awesome! I'm so jealous. It's super expensive - but totally worth the money. Good luck on your search.
Do not get the maclearen double stroller. Very sturdy but too heavy ESP with kids in it. My sister just got a double jogging stroller and says it's the best thing ever. Not sure what brand but she loves the steering and says it's very very manageable compared to her inglesina and peg perego. (she's got a stroller fetish) haha
That's a great question! I reseached far and low and had a very hard time settling on a side by side that had a 50 lb capacity/seat (I have a very tall 3 yr old who is 40 lbs, looks more like a 4-5 yr old) and which had a car seat adaptor I could use with my Chicco cortina infant car seat,for my now almost 3 month old, AND didn't cost more than $500 including the adaptor and other accesories like parent console and kid trays, since unfortunately on top of it all, all these strollers nowadays come with NOTHING. Guess we were spoiled because our Chicco travel system had it all, and we wanted something conparable. We limited it down to the City Mini Double and the BOB duallie, but my husband, who is a big guy, for some weird reason hated the BOB, and so, City Mini it was. We registered for it on Amazon's baby registry, so got 10% off of it, plus we got the 2011 black one, which at the time was for some reason cheaper even than all the other 2010 ones!! with the adapter, the belly bar for when we get rid of the adapter, as well as 2 parent consoles from sunshine Kids, I think they are called, all under $500. On top of it all, I'd registered for Amazon Mom and got 3 free months of Amazon Prime with free shipping, and with our purchase got the max amount of months allowed with their promotion to extend the free shipping for an added extra year (it's been awesome, we've bought several other nonbaby items and gotten free 2 day shipping).
Only bummer, which makes my stroller not the one you need, is that the storage basket SUCKS, it is very small and divided downt he middle, and very hard to get to. But it was the best we could find under the circumstances. I got a sturdy mommmy hook but haven't yet used it to latch the huge diaper bag I carry around. And just last week at Babies R Us I saw a black large diaper bag, don't remember the brand, with an extra long strap that is supposed to be used with the handle bars of double strollers, for $50, so we might go that route...other than that, even though we've only used it a few times at the park, it handles great and is easy to open and close, though it does take an insane amount of space in the back of my Honda Odyssey, especially because of the car seat adaptor, but in a few months we won't be using that part, so it willl be less bulky. Waiting to hear what you finally decide on, and see what other recommendations people had...