Double (tandem) pushchair recommendations?

[MrsCreosote]

Hope I'm posting this in the right place. If anyone can help I'd be grateful. Have been dong a lot of research into double pushchairs but it seems nobody is that happy with any of them. I'm sure you ladies have tonnes of experience if double pushchairs!

My preference is for a tandem as I do all my shoppig on foot and need to be able to get around the market and local pound shops etc with narrow aisles so side by side not really an option.

Particular needs are for something which folds quite compact and can be folded and unfolded easily and stored on the stairs. We live in a first floor flat with narrow tiny passageway so I will have to open it outside then put the kids in - i have to do this already with the single pushchair.

We also have a skoda fabia with a smallish boot - hard to get even a single pushchair in. So the more compact the better. (Getting 3 kids in will be another story. I may not be using the car much!)

On the other hand I could do with a big shopping basket underneath which the umbrella fold pushchairs probably don't have - I have previously gone for umbrella fold with smallish basket but you can hang shopping on the handles, can't do that with the long bar handles.

I'm not bothered about fancy looks, I just want something practical that's not too heavy to push, can be folded and unfolded and can carry the shopping. I'll be using it for a 20 month old and newborn from birth onwards.

Any advice gratefully received - thank you.

[SleighGirl]

Not my thing because it's quite heavy to push but the Graco studio one?? My CM always did really well with. Huge basket and the latest style does fold relatively compactly for a double.

Other than that phil & ted with pannier bags.

[accessorizequeen]

You might get more answers in the pushchairs section (not for sale, under products). BTW, you can hang shopping on long bar handles if you have something like buggy buddy (look on ebay).
p&t doesn't have a decent shopping basket once you have baby in there! tis heavy to push imo but lots of people think better than a normal tandem. Have you looked at reviews section? I've got two side by sides as I have dts so don't know much about tandems.

[bronze]

Could you use a sling for the baby til your older one walks more?

[twolittlemonkeys]

I second the sling idea. I have a Phil & Teds which is great and doesn't take up any more space folded than our single buggy but if you want storage space under the buggy you may be better sticking with a sling and single buggy.

[MrsCreosote]

thanks for the replies. I will find the products section and try there too. I am more in favour of using a single puschair plus sling but assuming with a gap of 20 months i will need A double at some point. maybe the thing to do is manage without until we really need one. Perhaps the 20 month old will be a keen walker before he's tool old.
But with a gap of 3 ys 4 months between the first two I found there were still times when the eldest wanted to go in the puschair and I had to use the sling as well.
My impression is that nobody really likes using a double it's something you do because youhave to!
My mum thinks Phil and ted's not good fo the little'un as they are so low down and close to traffic fumes etc.
Than ks again

[QueenFee]

I personally love my powertwin and its not much bigger folded than my single especially if you take the wheels off. Its very easy to push. It does have a small shopping basket but I mostly used the velcro attaced hooks on thehandle bars. I had the graco tandem last time and although it was fine and had the biggest shopping basket in the world I found it very hard to push especially when they got bigger.

[tanmu82]

I know you said you don't fancy a side by side, but my DC's were 15 months apart and I bought a maclaren twin stroller (I think it was a city version which I can't seem to find anymore, but the triumph looks pretty similar) THis was a great pushchair - easy to fold, and slim enough to fit through shop doors and the front door too...I also managed to carry quite a lot of shopping between the baskets and the bars