Stroller Research: Double Strollers

We recently took a trip down to Lullaby Lane - the land of babies & pregnant women - where you can literally test drive the latest & greatest in baby gear.

I went with my husband, my toddler, my 10 yr old & a list like all the other impregnated, baby gear obsessed women. Today we were to tackle Strollers - double strollers to be specific. My list included the following options due to recommendations & budget:

• Baby Jogger City Mini Double
  
• Phil&Ted Sport with Doubles Kit
  
• Valco Latitude Twin
  
• Baby Jogger City Select
  
• Uppa Baby Vista with Rumble Seat

We have the Baby Jogger City Mini and love it! Its so easy to push, to collapse, to store - has made my errands so much easier and less complicated. So we thought that the Baby Jogger City Mini Double was the answer to our prayers. Until we saw it in person, then we realized that pushing something around that wide gave us both heart palpitations. It folds flat & easy just like the single, pushes like a breeze and was great for the price. 

Next we saw the Valco Latitude Twin which was a really nice stroller too! Closes fairly easy (not near as easy as the city mini though) and looks great. Both of these strollers made us realize something though - there was no way we wanted to go the side by side route. With a very independent 14 month old chances are one seat will remain vacant much of the time anyhow. 

So we moved on to the tandem options:

The Uppa Baby Vista with Rumble Seat was much bigger in person than I had imagined. I loved it because of its sleek design and the idea that it could hold a baby seat easily and my toddler. The basket was huge and I really liked the looks of it. My husband quickly snubbed his nose at the price AND the fact that our newborn would never sleep thru Brooklyn repeatedly kicking the seat. This was true - I could see it now: my newborn with a fat lip because Mom wanted the pretty stroller. My toddler is way too wild for this setup.

Unfortunately they didnt have the Baby Jogger City Select in yet but I think it will be pretty much the same issue as the Uppa Baby Vista. Wild Toddler + Easy access to baby with feet = very bad idea.

Lastly we checked out the Phil&Ted Sport with Doubles Kit. This one was a winner for the following reasons:

• Tandem - making navigation easy & trips to the mall still possible even if I can never get out of the house to begin with.
  
• Can convert back to a single stroller as Brooklyn gets older which means I can have only ONE stroller!! ahhhhh - Simplify. 
  
• Price effective: Ive seen them on Craigslist from time to time and deals well under $500 online.
  
• Pushes with ease - Great for walks around the neighborhood.
  
• Still folds up relatively compactly.
  

Click HERE for a great review of the stroller complete with pictures.

This is the Phil&Ted Stroller:

This is the Phil&Ted Stroller Collapsed:

This is the Phil&Ted Stroller in Toddler/Newborn Mode:

(The Toddler goes in the stop seat, newborn lies flat in main seat.)

This is the Phil&Ted Stroller in Toddler/Newborn Mode:

(The is the view from the back - you can see where the newborn will be.)

This is the Phil&Ted Stroller in Toddler/Newborn Mode:

(The Toddler goes in the top seat, Baby 6 mos+ goes in the back.)