Double Stroller Recomendations (Thoughts on Phil and Ted)

I really love my Baby Jogger City Series double stroller. I spent months researching and finally settled on this for a few reasons. 1) It had the largest capacity for kids. I have a very tall daughter, and this model was the only one that her head could fit under the canopy. 2) It is constructed to fit through all doors, and has let me in and out of stores, hotel rooms, etc. with no issue. 3) It has independent canopies that completely rotate to protect the kids in the sun. 4) The folding mechanism is so superbly easy! One pull on strap in the middle of the seats, and it folds in half. 5) It has a dual swivel wheel in front that can be locked with the flip of a switch, which makes it the only stroller I need, in town or off road. 6) A big last thing...the seats have a separator in between them so there's no grabby/pinchy action happening between the siblings.

I also should mention that it has a very smooth ride, and my kids love it! Good luck with whatever you choose!

Hi H. -

I have a 21 month old and a 4 month old and I absolutely love the Phil and Teds. We have the Sport Package or whatever it is they call it. It eliminates the side to side or the huge long double strollers too. My daughter doesn't mind being in the back at all and my son loves that she's there with him. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!
D.

Hi H.!

I didn't hike, but I did a lot of walking on the canal trails. I imagine many people will give you feedback on the back to back models. I had the side by side given to me at my shower. I liked that my girls always had each other's company. One was more outgoing than the other, and I believe she felt more secure next to her sister. I would cover them with one of my down jackets or other coat when it got cold. When we stopped to picnic, etc., we were all together. Their stroller always fit through doors, and it had lots of storage space in the back.

All the best,
G.

Hi there,
First of all, i would not suggest the Phil and Ted's sport or VIBE for trail or running. It is not made for that function.
If you want something that can go off road,go running with, and havean easy push, i would suggest either the Bob Duallie(although very big), the Baby Jogger City Elite Double or the Valco trimode Double.

Unfortunate, these are all side by sides. The Phil&Ted's is the only good quality Front and back stroller, But not good for running!!!

As for choosing between the Sport or the VIBE, I WOULD GO THE SPORT. YES THE VIBE IS PRETTY AND HAS LOTS OF EXTRA CUSHION but it is very hard to fold, has a terrible front footplate and is much harder to attach the toddler seat...I think!

If you want to see/test drive all these strollers before buying one, i know of this great place...www.letsgostrolling.com. They have a show room in downtown Oakland.

Good luck with the stroller hunt
jen

I am a mother of twins, and I was given a tandem stroller that I used a couple of times.....the problem is the child in the back seat kept kicking the child in the front seat and could not see really well. I went back to the drawing board, and got the Combi twin savvy lx and absolutely LOVE it. Lightweigh, and easy to maneuver. Wish it was the only stroller I had!

We love our Phil & Ted's E3. We have had it for two years now and it has been great. No issues with the setup. My son especially liked the setup when his sister was a newborn (he liked sitting up so high). Never been a problem with one sitting in back, although the smaller one is supposed to sit back there, my older one prefers that seat so the younger one usually sits up front. Just have to be careful not to take out the one in front with the heavier one in back, or it can tip. Only complaint is no cupholders, we bought our own to attach, but would have been nice if they were on there. Also, with ours, with the doubles kit there isn't a basket so one parent usually ends up with a backpack, which is fine by us. My older child now likes to walk a lot, so that hasn't even been much of an issue as of late. Love how easily and quickly it folds up and that the extra seat can go on and off really quickly.

I've had the e3 explorer from Phil and Ted for over 3 years now. My 4/12 and 3 year old son still ride in it. It has been a God send. My oldest is nearly 50 lbs and my youngest is 35lbs and still ride comfortably in it. I used to jog with them in it all the time and when you have an infant and toddler, it's great to use the extra seat in front and baby can nap laying down. I can't say enough about it. My husband and I both agree it's the best baby purchase we ever made. I also know (by seeing the latest models) that they have upgraded it since I bought mine. Hope this helps! Good luck.

We have the Jane Powertwin. It is a tandem stroller, three wheels nd very compact for the space. It is conveinent and easy. Very durable and navigates small areas surprisingly well. Draw back would be that my son kicks the seat in front of him. It is worth comparing in the store. Many stores are begining to carry them locally.

We have the Phil & Ted e3 that we bought used for baby #4. We have had several double stollers and all have had thier pros and cons. We live in a little town on the Coast so the larger wheels are great for our uneven pavement and gravel. The extra seat is wonderful and compact. We use our stoller daily for walks to the market and the library or jsut heading out to explore. We have used it on fire road type trails but I don't suggest it for anything really rough as the wheels aren't large enough. The only thing I didn't like was that when the younger one is an infant and lays down under the toddler it is hard to get the infant in and out without removing the toddler. The babies are 9 months and 2 1/2 and still love it. My older two ages 5 & 6 sometimes ride if they can kick the 2 year old out. We had had a side by side double jogger that we had used prior to this but it didn't fit through the doorways of local stores. We have a Maclaren side by side that we use when we drive somewhere, which we have never had any trouble getting in and out of stores its wheels just aren't big enough for the rough roads in the neighborhood we live in.

I have been using the Phil & Ted Sport model. My toddler loves sitting in the lower position, for some reason. I was worried he wouldn't want to, but it hasn't been a problem. I mainly use it for jogging around my neighborhood, and for bigger trips when I know I may need to have both of the boys contained (2.5 yrs & 5 months). It was great having it in Ikea so I could corral my older boy when he got a little tired or rambunctious. I think it's slightly a bigger pain to fold, so I don't keep it as my default in my car (still using my single stroller and having the older boy walk, or use an infant carrier for the baby and putting my older boy in the stroller). Plus, I have enough overhead to get us all out the door for jogging, then I like having the stroller already set up and ready to go. I have several friends who use it for their second, and they all really like it. One of my friends bought several different double strollers before this one, and she has been really happy (returned the others). Hope this helps!

We love our Valco TriMode Twin. It's a side-by-side but fits easily through all doors. It moves like a dream even one-handed and I love the fact that the sunshades go all the way down to the bar to shade each kiddo. It's pricey but we've found it invaluable... we do a lot of neighborhood walking and both my 19mo old and my 4.5yr old are happy in this stroller. I did a ton of research on strollers and although the PnT's was tempting because of it's price and size it was obviously not practical to have a toddler putting his feet in the only storage area... especially when you're carting around sand toys/lunches/diapers for two... plus groceries etc. etc.. I've even had two more kids sitting on the footplate in front for short walks with no problem... this is a fantastic stroller and if you're considering a 3rd child you can even get a jump seat for the third child up front!

my kids love the phil n ted, though I got it for the now 1 year old and the on the way, but my 4 year old likes it.. no issues with the set up.
my hubby and I LOVE it..

as for trail running? I am not sure, because it does have a swivel wheel you can lock but I am not sure how steady it is locked, we only walk so I haven't had to lock it..

I have a BOB and it is great for running on the road. Not sure how it would be for trail running. I do know someone who has the Phil and Teds with the 2nd seat. She said that it is not good for running because the tires are too small. I did all my research for my double on the internet. You can get some really good feedback. However, sometimes it just confuses you a little more then you already were :)

I have the Phil and Ted Sport, and love it! My older child, now 2.5 years loves to sit in the backseat behind her 13month old brother. I wish I had got this stroller from the beginning.

My sister really wanted to P&T because of the tandem ability, but couldn't afford it. Then we found her this one: KidzKargo.
She loves it! It rolls great, the back seat is a little higher than the front so the back child can see above, and not crane their neck around. I have a single jogger, and this stroller was only a couple inches longer, if that. I think it is great, and plan to get one for my self when our second baby arrives in January. The price is a lot better than P&T, I think around $275. The only thing is, the wheels are about 12 inches and most jogger/runners would say that is not big enough to jog with. My sister lives on rough roads and hill country and needed the bigger wheels (compared to a typical tandem stroller). They love it!

We've had the P&T for 2 years for our 3 yo and 1.5 yo. We all love it but with one big complaint that might have changed my mind if I knew of it in advance: Our youngest always sits in the back (as its supposed to be) and she can't keep her hands off the tires. Sometimes, by the time we notice, she's got black smudges all over her self - AND she's a thumb sucker, which makes it even worse. So far, she hasn't gotten her fingers caught, but I see it only being a matter of time. We have to be super careful.

As a side note, ours specifically states that it's not intended for unpaved trails or jogging.

Hi H.,
I have the Phil & Ted's Sport. I have only used it with my daughter so far, but bought it for the add on function so we can use it with our next baby too. I really like it. I have used it for walking and jogging and it is very smooth and sturdy and easy to steer. My daughter really likes it too; it is very roomy and durable. It has a nice sized storage basket and collapes down pretty well, although not totally flat. We have not used the add on funtion yet, but I am sure it will work great. I hope this helps; good luck!

S.

I love the Phil and Ted for my 2 kids that are 23 months apart. They are both happy in either the front or back position, although the smaller kid is generally in the back. However I don't think this model is intended for jogging. We use it around the neighborhod for walks but I think the tires are supposed to be larger for a jogger stroller. The only actual double joggers I've seen are the side by side ones. SO it depends on what your intention is withthe double stroller,but I do like ours.