Help me make a decision- should I keep the duet?

[Mumswang]

My mountain buggy duet has finally arrived

In the meantime I bought a bjcm double, which didn't fit through the door, not down the narrow pavement outside my house, nor around the congested little old shops in my hometown

Today I went and looked at the p&t explorer. I've always had an irrational dislike for p&ts but this one folded pretty small, and ad DS is 2.2 and preferes to walk may suit us better, in that he can hop in and out and I'm not left pushing a half empty behemoth of a pushchair most of the time. Also once he really is walking everywhere I can take off the doubles bit and won't have to go back to a single. Which in tur means I can get rid of my bugaboo gecko and just have one pushchair forever more

Now the duet.... I like mountain buggies. I definitely prefer it to the bjcm, but it's expensive, not very well made, doesn't fit in my boot without a squeeze, and has all the issues with a double I mentioned earlier. But it seems nice and light and it isn't a p&t (see earlier comment on irrational dislike)

Can someone help me see

The wood from the trees? I've got a brand new baby, haven't slept for more than 2 hrs at a stretch for 2 weeks and decision making is beyond me

i really like p&t have had them all [apart from the hammerhead] i now have a verve and love it, more stable than the others as have 4 wheel, but saying that the others have been very good apart from the vibe which i hated and if you do alot of shopping keep the back seat on it hold loads of shopping. alot of people hate them but with panniers they are great, no storage with 2 dc in with out

Can you return the Duet for a full refund? I think I'd do that and buy a Verve instead to be honest. I think the Duet has disappointed a lot of people but the Verve sounds great. Or get a Peach Blossom with the new second seat if it hurries up into shops. That might be pushing the budget too much though unless you bought a secong hand single and a new second seat, using a sling in the meantime.

Yes I can get a refund on the duet. Such a shame it's a bit crap. I want to like it

Hadn't heard of the verve. Off to look it up....

i got mine from kiddicare.com

The P&Ts are all pretty similar when folded apart from the Verve and Vibe that fold differently. How old your youngest? Are you past the newborn bit and into second seat mode? I would definitely recommend a Hammerhead reclining seat if you get an Explorer if baby is young. My problem with the P&Ts is the lack of good shopping storage ie for groceries. Yes you can fill the lower seat but the child is most likely to want a sit down at the end of a days shopping, not the start, and bags just banged annoying on the lower seats of the P&Ts I tried. But I think the quality of the Duet isn't good and popper keep unpopping, I have frayed edges, bunched up fabric and more. If I didn't already have another side by side and the Duet had it's uses ie it fits through my shop doors and CAN carry both children and shopping home, then it would have gone. But as soon as the +one comes it will go. I have it here in front of me next to the Elite and Twinner Twist Duo and it looks like a dolls pram. The Duet review is on Baby Gizmo and if she says skinny ie child / seat size once, I bet she says it or a variant ten times! My question would be do you need basket space. If yes, keep the Duet or consider an alternative. If not then get the Explorer!

You sound like me...I desperately want to like the Duet but everyday I find something more niggly. Today it's been sagging fabric and my son is too heavy for the car seat adaptor even though he still uses his Cabriofix! He was too small months ago too! I am disappointed :(

Gah, I already had the Duet picked out for 7 months time. Really disappointed to read this - and sorry for you that you don't like it.

I'm going to have to do some proper pram research now

Oh he'll. It's so hard. It's sat there looking at me, do I pack it back up?

I think it's got to go. It's too expensive to not be sure

Tiggywunkle what is this hammerhead seat you mention? Dd is 2 weeks old so will need a little baby facility for sometime

this is it
shop.philandteds.com/adapt/doubles-kits/hammerhead-phil-and-teds
the verve back seat is very good and lays back, but would only fit the verve and the verve folds with doubles kit still on and is so easy to do

you would be using any p&t with baby in main seat laid flat and doubles seat on the front and it would be like this for at least 5 months, then the seat goes on the back and this is when you would want a recline on the doubles seat, although alot of people put the oldest in the back and youngest in the front which you can do with the verve with out any worry it will tip, although i have done this with them all and it only tipped when front seat was empty,

A lot of people complain that their baby outgrows the newborn space ie under the doubles kit which sits on the front (for supposedly the first six months.) So have to move the baby into the doubles kit pre six months (not recommended) but the Explorer doubles kit has no recline. The Hammerhead one does. So it's common for people to put the Hammerhead one onto the Explorer to get a reclining doubles kit.

Ah I see. Thanks for that

This is a minefield and I'm fast turning into an obsessive.

So far I've bought, and rejected 2 pushchairs. That averages one a week!

Hmm that verve is expensive (And ugly!)

I didn't like the Verve either :(
Ok - be honest what do you need? Something small for shops / narrow pavements? Do you like the look of the iCandy Peach or Pear? How about the Baby Jogger City Select or O'Baby Zoom? How about the B-Dual? What about an ABC Adventure Buggy with toddler seat? Have you seen www.bestbuggy.co.uk? What else is important?

Size is most important. I livein a higgeldy piggeldy narrow alleys and steps town

I am conscious that it's unlikely i'll be using a double for long, DS being a keen walker who needs persuasion to go in a pushchair
So I'm reluctant to spend a fortune. The b-dual seems a bit tall and spindly, the baby jogger select is big and expensive

I hadn't beard of the other two so will have a look

I had been looking at vestbiggy but can't access it today for some reason

Vestbiggie?????? Sorry Bestbuggy!

The B-Dual isn't spindly in real life in my opinion-I love ours! But I also like the look of the Verve so we obviously have different tastes! IThe B-Dual's fairly bulky when open though so probably not great for your area. The BJCS would be a pain going up and down steps. I'd have a look at the Peach and Pear as well as a P&T Explorer with Hammerhead second seat.

Thanks aswellasyou

I just wish the duet hadn't turned out to be crap then I wouldn't be havinving to try and make decisions when all I want to do is sleep

And now I've boxed it back up I'm having doubts about whether it really is crap. It is isn't it?

I don't think it's crap - but it's a lot of money IMHO for poor quality and niggles galore. If it fulfils a need then keep it. I would prefer the Duet to a Phil&Teds but equally if width wasn't an issue you get far more for similar money with an Elite, Easywalker, Twinner Twist Duo or even the Nipper. Side by sides are very similar in size and features. Tandems are a whole different ball game and finding a tandem to suit is harder than finding a good double. I think again it depends what you don't like about the Duet. I do worry that with your baby here, you may struggle to find a tandem to suit given narrow pavements etc are an issue. We are working on BB at present. Thanks for letting us know.

BB is back up :) Happy hunting!