Shopping for a Good Double Stroller

We have the Joovey Sit and Stand stroller. It fits an infant carrier and the older kids have the option of sitting on the back end or standing for the ride. Once the infant is out of the carrier, the adapter is removed to be a standard stroller. I can fit both my 4yr old and 2yr old in the stand area and my 15 month old in the front. There is a basket for goodies. Only downside is its size. It is a bit heavy and does not have cup holders. Otherwise its great. All my kids love it! Happy shopping!!

A.,
I have two children three years apart and the Phil & Ted's has served us well. It offers a whole range of options, is easy to maneuver and I can run with it..even through gravel and mud. Good luck.
N.

Hi A.,
I understand what you are going through. I have a 18 month old and a 4 month old. I just recently bought the Graco Duo Quattro. I love it. It took me a long time to come to a decision. The infant car seat fits in the back or front. When I first got it. I put my 5yr old and, my then, 17 month old in it. Even over uneven ground. It pushed great. My son doesn't mind riding in the back. The back sits a little higher. It is bulky when folded. But what double stroller isn't. I have a minivan. It fits fine in the back. It is very easy to fold. The front holds a child upto 50lbs. The back holds a child upto 40lbs. Some of the factors I used to make my decision was use. If you use it a lot like in malls or on sidewalks. Then you can get one with smaller wheels. If you use it outside on more uneven ground, like I do. Larger wheels are required. The other thing to consider would be how much would your older child would ride in it. Especially as the 2yr old gets older.
Two other options for a older child are the Joovy Caboose or the Baby trend Sit-n-Stand. Some models of the Sit-n-Stand have a regular seat in the back, that comes out so a toddler can stand in the back. I decided against that one for 2 reasons. The stoller would not hold the Graco safe seat,due to weight. Also I could not find that model in the store to check it out. Which I highly recommend. I decided against the Joovy. Because my older child was smaller than yours. I felt he would need a place to sleep on a day trip.
I highly recommend looking online once youv'e made your decision. I got a great deal online.
I found that while searching, what works for one person doesn't work for another. I hope this helps you find one that fits for you. Goodluck!

My two childrend are about the same distance apart. First you have to ask yourself what you want out of the stroller and that'll help you narrown down your search. I bought the Combi side by side stroller because it folds up quite compact for a double stroller. It's easier to get in and out of doorways than a tandum, but harder to maneuver through tiny aisles. I bought it because I wanted to have something light and compact, which this is both of. I'm able to take my son out of the car and keep him in the car seat because it snaps right in. My daughter walks a lot now so there are plenty of times I have more carriage than I need, but I just use the other side to put the bags in. A., I'll tell you right now, there's no such thing as the perfect double stroller...I've looked! My friend bought and returned 4 or 5 looking for the perfect stroller and never found it. You'll just find one that's good enough. If you want to maneuver through tiny aisles easily, the Combi tandem is light and easily maneuvers. If you don't think you'll be going for long excersions, the sit and stand strollers are a good choice. Best luck with your new child!

Phil and Teds has a single sport that you can buy a double attachment for. It's great cuz it can be single or double!

I have two children- a three year old and a seven month old. They are exactly 2 1/2 years apart. I got the Valco Twin Runabout Tri Mode and I love it. It is classified as a jogging stroller, but I use it all the time- in the mall, on walks, etc. It fits through a standard size doorway even though it's a side by side. It handles like a dream and you can get an adaptor to put the infant car seat right in the one side. It was one of the only doubles that had that feature. I really love it- it has so many good things going for it. There's plenty of storage space in it, it has shocks for bumpy terrain, it has separate sun shades, each side reclines separately, and you can get many extras like snack trays, and rain and sun shades that cover the entire stroller, etc. The major drawback is the cost. I decided to splurge because it was the only major purchase that we were making with the birth of our second child. But even with the high price tag, I have not regretted my decision once. If you get on joggingstroller.com, you will see many reviews on this and other strollers and almost all of them are favorable for this stroller. Good luck, I know I researched many of them endlessly before I bought this one. It's a big decision, hope this helps.

Definitely the sit & stand stroller. My kids are 2.5 years apart & it has been great. You can use it with the infant carseat (like a snap & go) & then your toddler can have a place to sit or stand. When the baby is a little older you can take a piece off so it'll be like a regular seat for the big baby year & your toddler is still sitting or standing. One Step Ahead & target both have one. There will be lots of times that you can use the umbrella or jogging stroller with the baby in a sling/baby bjorn or other carrier. Now that my daughter is almost 4 the sit & stand is STILL great for her...she doesn't want to be in a "regular baby stroller". Good luck...2.5 years apart is hard! The first year but now even harder since my 1.5 year old is running around!

I have three boys and between the first two I had the Jeep tandum stroller and for my middle and youngest we have the Graco Quattro Tour Duo. I think the Jeep would work better since your oldest is younger. It holds up to a great weight as my oldest turn 3 soon after his brother was born. He also LOVED the tray with the steering wheel! It wasn't that expensive either...I think about $130 through Walmart or Target online.

Hugs,
L.

I have the Graco duo glider. Love it.

A.

I have 9 month old twins. We have a MacClaren Duo Techno stroller. It is very nice- an umbrella style, lightweight and easy to fold and open. (But it may not work for an infant). Have you seen the stroller in the catalog (or online) from One Step Ahead? It's the Sit 'n Stand Elite Double Stroller / Item #: 13130E- It holds an infant carrier and has a seat for the older child- later it can be 2 seats and then a seat and a standing option-- my girlfriend is in your same situation and is looking closely at this one-- I think it's around 180-- good luck

Hi! I have 2 girls 17 months apart. I LOVE my Babytrend sit-n-stand LX. It can be a tandem, or my older toddler can sit or stand. One Step Ahead has a similiar version. They are the only 2 company's who offer the sit-n-stand that has the tandem removeable seat. The basket on the Babytrend is a nice size and easily accessible. There is also a parent tray and a child tray for the front seat. It is a little heavy but not too bad considering it is a double stroller. Opening and closing is very easy.

Hope this helps! Good Luck!
Jen

We have a Mountain Buggy Urban Double that we use for our twins, and it's pretty great. Very easy to push and maneuver. Turns on a dime. Caveats are: it's heavy and doesn't fold up very small (does not fit in the trunk of my Corolla), and it's expensive. Also, like any double stroller, it's big. But it fits through standard doorways. I can't emphasize enough how well it handles. We love it for strolling around and would choose it again.

I have the Mountain Buggy Urban Double for my twin girls and love it! It's easy to maneuver and push, fits through standard doorways, each seat can be individually adjusted (which is important with an infant), and has good storage beneath. It is heavy and not compact so it's definitely not a good choice if you're traveling a lot with it or live where you can't have it by the door ready to go. Periodically you also have to put air in the tires. And yes, it's not the most inexpensive stroller out there ... we also have the Maclaren (singles) for travel, which are perfect for this but not sturdy enough for daily use.

Hi A.,
Your question is timely for me too--I'm 37 weeks pregnant, and have a 21 month old and have also been in the market for a double stroller and have appreciated reading the 13 previous replies.

I have the Phil & Teds E3 stroller and have loved it for my son--it's very maneuverable, comfortable for him, and folds pretty easily. We bought the second seat attachment and had planned on having this stroller straight through out second child--but I have second thoughts about it, which is why I'm looking for a different double stroller. Here's our problem(s):
(1) You can't use a car seat when you have 2 children in it, and I really like not having to wake up the baby or do unnecessary moving, so I want a double stroller that can accommodate an infant car seat.
(2) When using the stroller for 2 kiddies, th infant seat is a fully reclined "bed" that is situated under the toddler seat. So the baby gets a view of the back of the seat above him or her, instead of the view of the clear blue sky like my firstborn had. This didn't bother me when I first bought it, but it does now. And once both kiddies are sitting upright, the one in the back has to look to the left or right to see out into the world. Looking ahead again yields a view of the back of brother or sister.

I have a friend who is a big pedestrian and had little use for the car seat--she loves this stroller and has no complaints about its use for 2 kids. But now I'm looking for a double that is also a jogger, because I also like to walk a lot and our town has crappy sidewalks--so a jogger is much easier to use on our streets & sidewalks. Problem is, the only ones on the market that also accommodate a car seat are tre expensive! The BOB, the Mountain Buggy, the Baby Jogger, the Valco--all over $400 new. the Phil & Teds wasn't a bank-breaker, but it was not cheap either--so I'm having trouble reconciling spending this much on a new double stroller when I've already got one in my house, just not one I really want to use now!

Good luck to you and thanks for posting this so I vicariously learned too--it sounds like that Joovey Sit N Stand or the Baby Trend Sit N Stand might be something to think about.

K.

hi A.!

my son is 2.5 and my daughter is 11 months so i know what shape you're in. this is a tough one, all the strollers have thier goods and bads.

i had the Graco Duoglide for a while and i liked it a lot; mostly i reccommend it because the carseat goes in and out very well, and it's a well balanced stroller; not hard to push at all; at first. also it has the best canopies and covereage for bad weather, and most best, both seats recline, so when the new baby is a little bigger, he can lay out fully in the back, and the big kid can at least lay back to sleep in the front seat.

also it's CHEAP! about $165 in most stores.

the only problem for me ultimately was that my kids are fairly big; my son weighed about 33 pounds at 20 months when my daughter was born, and my daughter got to be about 18 pounds by 6 months; they are now 35 lbs and 23 lbs respectively. suffice it to say by the time she was 6 months old i literally could not push the stroller up the street. so i gave it away and never found anything as good.

now i have the joovy sit-n-stand which you can use with a carseat for the new baby, or there's one that's almost identical that takes the car seat; my neighbor's kids are the same time apart as mine and she has it and loves it; however, her kids are also very small people. but overall i like the sit-n-stand now, my dahgter likes sitting upright in the front and she can lay back somewhat if she sleeps, the problem is the big kid seat in back does not allow for ssleeping at all; if you walk and use it a lot and the big kid wants to nap, forget it. when my husband and i take the kids on a long walk for exercise we have to take two single strollers. but it's very good zipping around for errands or getting quickly from here to there like the playground or whatever.

good luck!

J.

The Phil & Teds E3 double stroller is great. www.philandteds.com

We got ours from Amazon. Good luck

I like the side-by-side strollers. In these the two chidlren can interact with one another...entertain each other, hold something for the younger one, share a snack, etc. I don't like the front to back ones because the kids don't get to see one another. I try to encourage positive sibling relations from the very start.

We have five children--all within 7 years (no twins) -- and always had a double, side-by-side. They fold easily and were great.

Good luck.

I've got the baby trend lx sit n stand, and LOVE it! The only thing I would say negatively is that it's hard to get anything in and out of the basket unless you go in from the side. That's how I've solved that issue.
Even my bigger kids don't seem to heavy in it since the wheels move well.

The Graco Duo Glider is great, and only costs about $160 at Sears. Whatever you do don't buy the Kolcraft Express. You get it at Kmart for about $90, and it won't roll with a 2 yr old in it! The only problem I ever have with the Graco is sometimes the wheels won't turn right when I'm trying to fold it. However, if you do what it says and lock the front wheels before folding then you won't have a problem. Good luck!

I have 15 month old twins and I have a Maclaren double stroller which is great for the mall, but my favorite is the Baby Jogger City Slicker double jogger. Buy Buy Baby suggested it and I absolutely love it! I have some friends who have the BOB revolution and adore it as well.

Good luck!