Ladies, I come to you asking for advice. All of you mom's of two or three or more, or even mom's of one that have spent some time around a double stroller. I am trying to figure out which double strollers to go look at or just order?
Here are my requests from most important to least important....
1. Safety for my children, I don't want something that is going to be recalled and is made cheaply
2. Price, I can't go buying some 4-600$ stroller. That's just crazy talk. I don't go outside that much. I just need something we can take on walks (which to be honest Cooper will want to ride his new tricycle so we can just use our single stroller for those). But mall trips, zoo trips and things like this we will need the double. So I'm looking for nice and inexpensive (is there such a thing?)
3. Light and easy to use. I don't want some huge bulky and heavy stroller. I'm no body builder here.
4. Preferably fits in malls and places like malls easily and comfortably. I realize that a double stroller will not be as compact and that's fine but something that isn't to huge would be nice.
I don't mind side by side's as long as they are somewhat compact.
I'll stop here with my wish list. HELP!
I hate going blindly into a decision like this. We have a wonderful nice Expensive Chico stroller for Cooper and its safe and smooth, however the thing weighs like 800 lbs.
I just want that stroller that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside and I don't complain about it. But of course at a discounted price :)
A women can dream can't she?
Thursday, January 13, 2011
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22 comments:
I love Amazon for looking up stuff like this. LOTS of reviews.
I have a friend that has this one and it's actually really nice:
http://www.amazon.com/Jeep-Wrangler-All-Weather-Umbrella-Stroller/dp/B001CSO1FO/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
And I've heard good things about this brand:
http://www.amazon.com/Joovy-Caboose-Tandem-Stroller-Appletree/dp/B001QFYPM2/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1294953127&sr=8-6
Hey Melissa! This is my first time commenting but I've been reading your blog for a while! :) I'm going through the same struggle right now with the double stroller and have finally decided on one! I too had the Chicco Cortina which weighs about 1000 pounds, but LOVED it and LOVED the convenience of being able to just click the carseat in and go! Sooo... after much to do, I went with the Chicco Together Stroller. I live in MI and since it's cold here until about May or June, and I'm due in March, it's important to me to be able to click the carseat in without having to take the baby out in the cold temps! I was going to go with the Double City Mini by Baby Jogger and test drove it around the store a TON! I loved it, but it's just not worth the 400, plus another 100 to add the carseat adaptor. The Together Stroller cost me about 240 after a coupon so not too bad. Yes, it's huge, (really, all doubles are) but it pushes just as well as the Cortina!
It is hard to give advice to another mom on a stroller. It all depends on what you want and what you do with your stroller. With Peanut we got a great baby trend travel system and used it quite a bit. The stroller was a little heavy, but it worked. With #2 we though we would use it again, because Peanut was walking and stuff, but we really did need a double.
I wanted a Phil & Ted becuse they are amazing, really. But they are expensive. I found one on craigslist that was a great deal and we used it a little. But the even better stroller we found was actually a bike trailer that converts to a stroller. It was crazy expensive, but so worth it for us. We bike a lot and it is great for trips into the farmers market where we unhitch it from the bike and throw on the stroller wheel. I use it at the mall, though it is a little wide in some stores. It is LIGHT, too. Post here: http://thelungos.blogspot.com/2010/07/seriously-great-investment.html
Good luck with the search!
I don't have two kids (I do have one on the way though so I have been doing a TON of research) but I know someone who has this stroller and LOVES it. However, I just realized it is $399 at Babies R Us. Perhaps you can find it cheaper elsewhere?
Anyway, it is the City Mini Double Stroller. It says it is a jogging stroller, but really it is an all purpose stroller. I am getting the single one for my baby because they are light weight, maneuver easily, fold and unfold easily, and aren't as bulky as the travel systems.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3811158
I bought a double stroller by Valco but it was expensive - $800 plus BUT I go out a lot as in I try to make it somewhere every day with the twins (mall, grocery store, library). So, portability was key for me and it had to be light. My stroller is an all terrain kind with huge air filled wheels that go through slush and snow (for real - have been out walking several times in the Canadian winter ). Main motivation was that this stroller is super light given that it's a double - just 32lbs. As a comparison, the Baby Jogger City Mini Elite is 55lbs. If I went with a slightly smaller Valco model, the price would have been about $650 and the weight dropped to an amazing 23lbs. I can heft that and I am pretty small - 5'3" 125lbs and I wouldn't call myself overly strong. Valco is an Australian company and the only reason I mention this to you is sometimes you can pick a stroller up used and if you see one of these, they are well designed and sturdy. They're so light because the frame is made of aluminum.
The other big feature I like is that they have these super large sun hoods that you can make even larger by unzipping an expansion. They are the only ones that I have seen that go low enough to block out the sun from my girls' eyes when the sun's position is anything less than high noon.
Good luck with your decision!
P.S. If you're wanting to take a peek at the Valco strollers, City Moose Kids has good deals on them and you can read up on the specs.
Check out www.albeebaby.com
They have closeout deals and we found a citymicro for about $100 cheaper than anywhere else!
Hello dearie, congrats on being 1/2 way through your pregnancy! You're still looking fab, btw!
I have two strollers. One is a front to back one. It's 49lbs which is crazy-heavy, but it's awesome with a lot of storage.
Here it is:
http://www.amazon.com/Graco-Quattro-Tour-Stroller-Rittenhouse/dp/B000MXMDKU
The other one that I have is light, easy to use and super cheap. It's the combi twin. I dislike that it doesn't have cup holders and the storage underneath isn't too roomy. I do like that it's super light, folds up in a second and has a shoulder strap.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3939626
It's totally up to you to determine which you want to use. You'll probably want a stroller that will work with your baby carrier as well as being useful to Cooper at the same time. Good luck shopping!
I am trying to decide on what stroller to get too!! I think I am going to go with the Kolcraft contours tandem stroller. With the carseat adapter it is just over $200!! I am also looking into getting a jogging stroller maybe a bob but I am definitely waiting on a craigslist deal for that!! I am not paying a ridiculous amount for it!!
http://www.amazon.com/Kolcraft-Contours-Options-Tandem-Stroller/dp/B002R26LZM
We received the Kol.craft Contours Options Tandem Stroller as a shower gift and I was really happy with it. It's pretty narrow, light enough, and is tandem instead of side by side. If you are getting this to use in stores I definitely recommend a tandem because you won't be able to fit through doors or down aisles with a side by side. I like that you have the entire underneath for storage and you can change the directions for both of the seats. Our girls love to face each other and talk. It also has the hand straps so Coop could walk along side.
And they have it in a much nicer tan/orange now!!
http://www.target.com/Kolcraft-Contours-Options-Tandem-Stroller/dp/B002VPCPRS
Well, this probably won't help because while I love our stroller, it WAS crazy expensive, and it IS heavy. However, it fits through standard doorways and folds in one step (with a bit of a heave). It has HUGE sunshades, reclines all the way, and has big tires for parks, etc. Anyhow, here is a link if you are interested:
http://www.babyjogger.com/city_elite_dbl_dtl.aspx
The city mini might also be a good choice for you if you just want it for shopping and such.
We have a combi sport double stroller. side by side.
I love it, its not heavy at all and folds up to where its pretty compact.
The seats can lay all the way back, actually you can adjust the seats to whatever incline.
There is a small basket to store stuff under each seat.
I was really hesitant about getting a side by side because i was afraid that we wouldn't fit many places but honestly i haven't found a place where i couldn't fit it through.
here is a link to a picture i have of it on my blog
http://2setsoftwinsforme.blogspot.com/2009/04/we-got-double-stroller.html
one more thing, i think they are only around 200, you will have to check.
we had ours given to us
ok, so if you had $400, I would totally go with the baby jogger city mini double. However, I think they have one that is slightly different for around $300. Still expensive, but maybe worth looking in to.
Otherwise, what about the Maclaren double strollers? They are supposed to be really good as well.
Have you looked on craigs list?
Melody and Charlie are about the same age span and your two will be. We actually got a Sit-N-Stand and I LOVE it! I actually still use it. It was great because Melody really wanted to walk a lot, etc, and so if she wanted to get down and walk around she could just easily jump off. The tray in the front was removable, which I liked, and the front seat reclined which was great when Charlie was an infant and just learning to sit or needed to nap. Also, his infant carrier fit in the back part. It's lightweight and fairly easy to maneuver through malls, etc. So, that's my 2 cents. Good luck...I know its' tough since there are like 1000000 strollers out there!
So glad you did a post about this, though I don't need it quite yet! Always good to plan ahead! Let us know what you end up buying!
I was just going to post about this very same thing........there are so many & the prices are can be so high!!
Since the car seat that we have is a Graco I have been looking at getting the Quattro Tour® Duo Stroller http://www.gracobaby.com/Products/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=1759706
but have just found this one & am going to have to look into it because it does just about everything that I want it to including convert into a Sit n Stand for Brayden http://www.leapsandbounds.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=6793&parentCategoryId=85184&categoryId=85219.
Good Luck & let me know what you find & decide on.
I'm with Megan...the City Mini Double is awesome!!!!!
Love, your resident Mom of Twin Crazies
IM SO EXCITED FOR YOU! i read your blog when you first got pregnant with cooper, thing we actually talked a few times about this b/c i was going through the same thing, then i left blogging! but congrats on baby # 2 how exciting! :) god is good!
Wish i could help you! just wanted to comment to let you know i'm a new follower and you are an ADORABLE pregnant mama! i love the name cooper too :)
http://penelopeblue.blogspot.com/
did i miss this yet? did you pick one?
after all the research i did i decided on the
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=contour+kolcraft+tandem&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=226762480642081426&ei=Z_g5Taz3C8bdgQf0wJmdCA&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CD4Q8wIwBA#
I purchased the Contours Options Tandem Stroller when my 2nd daughter was born. My girls are 18 months apart and I knew that I would need something that would work with the carseat but also be comfortable for them both. After using the stroller a month or so I began to hate it. It's extremely heavy and you have to take off one of the seat and then turn the other seat the right way for it to fold up. Not fun when it's raining out. It appeared to be a great stroller because of all the room and cool features but after using it, it just didn't work like I had hoped. Most of the time I would just put the carseat in the shopping cart and then let me oldest daughter ride in the front of the cart. Cooper would be old enough by then. After we sold the Contours Options stroller on Craigslist, we got a Double Bob! We use it for walks, the zoo, etc. Only bad thing is it is side by side and wont go in most stores. But it is an awesome stroller if you are looking to walk with them both. It's strong and durable and seems very comfortable for both of them. Hope this helps.
I borrowed my step brothers this weekend in Cali and they have a Combi and I actually really liked it!! It worked really well for us at Sea world and Disney!
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