Help - which is the best double buggy?

[Gethsemane]

Hello,

Can anyone advise me on the best sort of double buggy to get? The age gap between my 2 sons won't be that big (just over 14 months) and I have no idea what would be best.

I am thinking about getting a Phil and Teds Vibe, but am not sure whether they are really that much better than the cheaper Phil and Teds versions.

Also because of the small age gap I'm not sure whether it would be better to get one of those side-by-side buggies.

Anyone got any thoughts? I am totally stuck.

Or should I just tough it out with a single pram and buggy board (my 1 year old is walking a tiny bit now - but not sure how much walking he will be up to by the time he is 14 months old...probably not that much).

Help! All ideas gratefully received!

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Hello!

We've noticed that this thread is quite old now, and some of the product recommendations are a little out of date. We've spent weeks speaking to parents and testing the top-performing pushchairs on the market to find the best double buggy for toddler and newborn.

Hope this helps!
MNHQ

[cfc]

Have a look at the Jane Powertwin pro, perfect for me and mine (newby and a 21 month old).

[FriggFRIGG]

checkout these:

baby jogger city mini double

britax b dual

they are my favorite doubles

[not1not2]

double nipper 360

[GrumpyGirls]

I have 14.5 months between mine so was in a similar situation. I have the P&T Sport, I decided against the vibe because it didn't seem worth it for the extra cost.

Before buying though I borrowed all the double buggies I could to try them out (had some very obliging friends!).

I loved both the nipper 360 and the city mini but really struggled in town if I went into any independent shops. They were fine in Boots, or M&S type places but awful in cafes or smaller shops. They both were a dream to push but I just couldn't get through some doors width ways.

I thought the icandy pear looked stylish, but went to see it in the flesh in a shop and tried to fit it in the boot of my car and struggled (citreon c4).

Found the Mac Twin Techno hard to steer, much harder than a single mac, it seemed badly weighted with baby in one side and toddler in the other IYSWIM.

In the end I decided on a P&T Sport, it steers ok and I can do it with one hand and I can get in everywhere a single can. It fits in the boot easily and I added the car seat adapter and put the MaxiCosi seat on it sometimes.
I sometimes wish I'd gone for the vibe as they look a lot better but the Sport is a good buggy.

[CrispyTheCrisp]

Mountain Buggy, but one of the original ones.

[mamadiva]

Baby jogger Select and Britax B-dual are good and both can be used as a single too.

The older style P&T is more reliable than the vibe IMO, a friend of mine bought a vibe and ended up trading it for a Sport which is a lot easier to use apprently.

[bubblebabeuk]

I've 10 months between my two youngest, so I've been through a fair few doubles lol
First thing to remember is there just isn't one single perfect double that ticks every single box, so compramise is absolutely essential.

First double I bought was a Mountain buggy terraine (older fixed wheel design) with carrycot, absolutely fantastic when DS1 was diddy, biggest drawback was fitting it in the car! I have a Kia C'eed. I got it off ebay second hand for £350 because it was and still is, in brilliant condition.

I then bought a Phil n Teds, I found that although it fit in the car better, the baby section was quickly outgrown (and my DS was a premmie) by the time he was 4.5months (corrected) so he ended up in the doubles seat instead. once he was in the double seat I found the whole buggy so heavy, I started struggling to get it up and down curbs.

The most recent double I now use all the time is the fixed wheel version of the nipper double, cost £60 second hand, fits in my boot and yes it doesn't fit through some shop doorways but I've yet to find one I can't get through by poppin a wheel off, the wheels have quick release fittings as well so genuinly is a five min job.

Out of all my doubles I loved loved loved the MB the most, TBH if it had fit in my car I'd still be using it, as it is everything I wanted or needed from a double.

So all my doubles apart from the nipper are now languishing in the utility room for when I get round to getting rid of them :(

I don't envy you making the decision, its not an easy one. Just make a list of what is essential and where you could comprimise.

[Gethsemane]

Thanks everyone. That is really helpful. Thinking about getting a P&T explorer. Went in a shop and tried the nipper 360 and loved it (turned on a dime, really easy to manoeuvre), but think am worried about the doorway car boot issue....

[oooggs]

double nipper is fantastic goes through my front door, a dream to push, used it with 2 newborns and a newborn & 21 mth old.

Whipping the wheel off through very tight doorways is very quick & easier if you ever need to do it (very rare I did) as it is supposed to be the narrowest side by side double on the market.

[onadietcokebreak]

I have seen loads of double nippers out and about (excuse the pun!)

They do seem the choice of doubles...........

[MickyLee]

The explorer is great IMO.

You can use a car seat and the back seat at the same time, helps with the inbetween stage of lie back v back seat stage.

Hard to bump up very high curbs would be the main con but the pros out-weigh the cons TBH.

Suits me as DD goes to nursery so can remove second seat for when I only have DS with me.

They are quite expensive but they also sell for a good price if you want to sell it on when you have finished with it.

Good luck.

[Meglet]

We have a P&T sport, there is 22 months between my DC's. They are 4.5 and 2.7 now and we still use it a couple of times a week so we're getting our moneys worth.

pros - can fit through most doorways, toddlers can jump in and out of the back seat as you go along (heaviest is meant to go in the front but as long as you keep hold of the buggy it won't tip), the baby is very cosy / out of the sun when it's in the lie flat position behind the main seat, works well in snow.

cons - not as easy to push as side-by-side 3 wheeler doubles (we also had a monster Urban Detour 3 wheeler double for a while and I loved pushing it), the shopping basket is small and tends to sag and scuff along the floor, the brake is a PITA and there's a knack to flicking it up with your foot.

But it works for me and gets us from A to B when I'm in a rush and the dc's are fannying about.

[Guildfordnanny]

The new Nipper looks great. Try this link www.bestbuggy.co.uk/compare-pushchairs/ Theres not every double in there but a good many of them with more every day.

[Guildfordnanny]

BTW top of my list is the Mountain Buggy Duet, the Baby Jogger City Select and the new Phil and Teds Verve intrigues me.

[zipzap]

We got our phil and ted's not too long after the vibe came out. However the lady in the nice independent baby shop we ended up getting it from advised us not to get the vibe but the one that was out before it - sorry can't remember if it was a sport or explorer.

This was despite the fact that if we had bought it from her we would have paid her £100-£200 more as the vibe was that much more expensive.

She also noted that one of her measures of how good a new pram was, was to see how quickly and in what numbers they started turning up on eBay after their release. Apparently the vibe turned up pretty quickly.

We've had our p&t for 3 years now and love it, both boys love it too - ds1 still tries to climb in if he is tired and he's nearly 6! I also found it much easier to use than a basic maclaren lightweight pushchair that my sis was trying to persuade me would be lighter and easier when just taking ds2 out. Hardly any difference in weight and it was just so much easier to move around than the maclaren, which took me about 20 mins longer to struggle around the local shopping centre and left me a wreck!

[PetiteMum]

I like the look of the new mb +one....but not sure when it is supposed to be out?

[Guildfordnanny]

The + One is very much still being developed from what I could see when I saw it. We weren't allowed to fold it. I suspect it will be summer ie June / July at the earliest. But I had reservations about it's usefulness ie fab for an older child and newborn or two older toddlers say 12 months plus, but there wasn't much scope for say a 6-18 month who wanted to nap as there isn't any realistic recline option. Ie the back seat lies flat or straight up. The front seat reclines but it looked like it would squash the child behind. Reviews and photos are here www.bestbuggy.co.uk/category/tandem-pushchairs/mountain-buggy-one/ Personally I loved it but I wouldn't buy it as a from birth option but as a pushchair to move onto when the children are past baby age. It's very long too!

[Gethsemane]

Arrrrrr can't decide. Thanks everyone. Sounds like there is no point in spending the extra money on a vibe. So it is between the explorer and the nipper. Don't think I can wait for the mountain buggy - if I am going to get a double will need it as soon as DS2 puts in an appearance (DS1 is walking now, but never in the right direction...). BTW thanks for the link Guildfordnanny - cool website.

Saw a new bugaboo double the other day - but was beyond expensive and looked a bit gimmik-ey (sp?).