Mountain Buggy doubles - how do they go with newborn and a toddler?

[Astrophe]

I'd been thinking of a P&T, but I'm not 100% sold on the design and it looks fiddly.

The Mountain Buggy looks so sturdy, my SIL has a single and adores it...but I'm worried that the weight difference between the 2 children (DD will be 2 when baby is born) will cause it to steer badly or pull to one side.

Any experiences?

TIA :)

[shatteredmumof5]

I have had many doubles and honestly the mountain buggy is the one I return to every time!! At one point I had a 6 year old with a broken leg in one side and a 6month old in the other and it still pushed like a dream!! I would highly recommend it and dont worry at all about the weight difference. HTH :)

[Astrophe]

thanks shattered, thats really helpful. How do you go with lifting it into the car? I have a fairly heavy single 3 wheeler and have never struggled with it, but the double mountain buggy will be a good 5kg heavier I think...

[MrsJamin]

I think p&t are great buggies, not fossly at all.

[bubblebabeuk]

I've got a MB Terrain double, the older fixed wheel version, mind you they are made to last for ever. I went with a carrycot on one side for my ds1 and dd2 sat next to him. It was important to me to be able to see DS1 (premmie with aponea issues) and have him led flat, which is covered with the carrycot. It was never heavy to push, even once i loaded it up with loads of shopping and both little ones. even with fixed wheels it turns on a sixpence. If I had one complaint, it was an absolute nightmare to fit in my car (Kia C'eed) I could get it in, but had to take wheels off and they aren't quick release wheels eaither on mine.

I also own a P&T sport, great for shopping in town fits in all shops etc, however DS1 outgrew baby part quick and had to go in doubles seat underneath, no storage for anything on the buggy, got to be disassembled to fit in the car, you can't feed baby puree etc while hes sat in that bottom seat, so I had to feed one then switch them, not easy trying to juggle both, the biggest drawback is the reason I'm gonna get rid of it............ now DD2 weighs 24lbs and ds1 weighs 14lbs I can't lift the front to go up curbs, I am almost totally dependant on those slope bits, its damn heavy :(

BTW my current double, well the one I'm using at the minute is the nipper double, the fixed wheel version, after buying two quite expensive doubles I couldn't justify spending out yet more, managed to pick it up for £40, fits through all the doorways, wheels have quick release if the doorway should be too narrow, its soooooo light and it fits in my car without having to use a crowbar to get it in :)

HTH

[Astrophe]

thanks for that bubble. Those are just the reasons why I think the P&T sounds a bit of a faff.

I 'test drove' some buggies at the shop the other day - put 12kg DD in one side of the mountain buggy, with no weight in the other side, and it steered very well, I think I'm sold.

Bubble, is the nipper your favourite then (don't think I can even get one here - abroad - but interested to know).

Why did you stop using the MB? And how big is the car you mentioned? we don't have them here. We will have some sort of people mover, but they don't have massive boots....

[bubblebabeuk]

the MB folds really flat but is quite long and wide, it fitted fine in the back of my parents people carrier, without needing parts taken off :) My car is a small ish 4 door hatchback, same size as a VW golf, ford focus, ummmmmmmmm honda civic stop me when you know any of these cars lol
Where abouts are you?

I would say my all time fav will always be the mountain buggy, its what i class as a proper pram, especially with the carrycot for the newborn. The Nipper (also known as Nipper Out n About or latest model is Nipper Our n About 360 double) is great only because it fits in my car and the lightness is a huge bonus. It wouldn't be my first choice with a newborn, although it says suitable from newborn you can't see the baby that easily and it doesn't recline 100% flat and its forward facing, that said once the youngest is sitting up, its given me my freedom back. I can go out and about not worry about stupid stuff like the feeding solids thing that was one of those issues you don't think of until it comes to it, with the phil N Teds.

If you can fit the MB in your car, your getting the carrycot add on bit and its not going to break the budget, I'd go for it everytime. Just bear in mind MB just got taken over by P&T who switched the manufacturers, the latest ones have been reviewed as being not as good quality as the pre 2010 ones, so would be worth getting your hands on a pre P&T model. You should be able to find it online brand new still :)

MB are also amazingly good at holding value, so yes its a big expense but you'll be able to sell it on after for not much less than you pay for it :)they are built to last, which they seem to do very well, yet another plus

[bubblebabeuk]

Sorry missed a bit -
I only stopped using the MB because since my DD1 started senior school I haven't needed to do the school run, so most of my trips anywhere involved traveling by car, sadly in my car getting the MB to fit in the boot was a pain the the bum, I had to stand there and remove the wheels to fit the frame in, and it literally just fit, couldn't get anything else in the boot at all. Sadly it worked out cheaper to buy another double than to change my car :( That said I still have all of my doubles lurking in the spare room, as I said previously each double had something about it that made it worth having. I think the sad truth is with doubles, there is pretty much always a comprimise somewhere.

[Geepers]

I love my MB For walking with but it is colossal. It is really, really heavy to lift in and out of the car so I have a maclaren that i tend to keep in the car instead.

[Astrophe]

wow, thanks bubble and everyone else for all this useful info!

Bubble, I know those cars, thanks (in Australia - its possible we do have the one you mentioned, I may just be ignorant!).

I think we will get a MB, I'm watching several on ebay and can hopefully get one which will be pre 2010 as you recomend, for about 250 Pounds or a bit less.

I'll use it mainly for walking to school or big trips out, but I'll keep our umbrella stroller and a sling in the car I think, for little drop ins to the shop etc.

[Astrophe]

If any of you are still there, just letting you know that I got a two year old Mountain Buggy with rain and sun covers on ebay today for eqiv of about two hundred pounds :) Hopefully it will be lovely!