is the b-dual ok with a large heavy toddler?

[mamaesi]

I am considering the b dual for my toddler/baby double but my older child is on the 98th percentile, tall and very heavy..

experienced buggy experts will I be happy with the britax b dual?
or do I have to get something else...

what about the maclaren xt double or the baby jogger city mini double?

It was fine for my over 15kg 90 oddth centile daughter. Otherwise I would get the BJCM Double.

BTW have you seen the Kidz Kargo Duellette? I have one here at present and it's surprisingly very good. There's some interesting seating combinations and from January it will take a Britax car seat so will then be suitable from birth for short periods of time.

yes someone just mentioned the kids cargo.. is it ok with a heavy toddler?

what about its width and handling?

twinkle...do you think the maclaren is a definite 'no'? have you tried this one?

i have had a maclaren double, it was really hard work to push with the weight in it and all my dc's are tiny.

I haven't had a Maclaren for years and those I know who ave had them, got rid pretty quickly because they were heavy. The Duellette was easy to push with my heavy children on board. I don't know what the Duellette width s without looking it up. I am sure you can find that out? Handling was very good. I wished I had had the Duellette when my two were smaller because I love the option to have both parent facing. It's so good that I am debating buying one (I borrowed one to try). The parent facing on top with the older child facing their sibling works better than the City Select. There's more room between the children.

thanks for the input ladies.

ok now considering b-dual or kids cargo...

i won't be purchasing till februrary...is there anything coming out that i should wait for? but i do think 300 is my max spend...

I can't think of anything that will be under £300 although the revised Hauck Duett should be back out again. Just bear in mind the bargain B-Duals are most likely to be around now as the new B-Duals are likely to be back at full price once they arrive in the new year.

hit the sale quick, check now and straight after xmas, things are only going to go up next year

Yes, most main brands are putting prices up by 6-10%.

good point about the prices going up...

one more question...both the kids cargo and the britax b duel only go up to 15 kgs..

but i remember another discussion where someone said it was ok to go a little beyond that. my 20 month old is already nearly 14kgs..

is this a problem?

Ok, all UK pushchairs have to be tested to 15kgs to pass UK safety tests in order to go on sale. This does not mean a pushchair will fall apart at 15kgs, but equally if it did fall apart with a child over 15kgs in then you probably wouldn't be covered! Equally I am not recommending you put your child in pushchair over the recommended weight limit. You need to use your common sense, and any additional information you can find on weight capacities and make an informed decision re whether to put your child in any given pushchair or not. I was speaking to one big pushchair company a couple of days ago who said they were actually pleased that I had shown their product had longevity beyond 15kgs which really surprised me because I didn't think they would be too happy! My DD is well over 16kgs and she was in the Duellette this week. It costs something like £4500 for a pushchair to be safety tested in the UK and that is per colour! It costs extra to safety test to higher weights which is why only a few companies pay the extra. It's one reason some companies do liners or coloured hoods instead of lots of coloured seats, as the hoods don't need testing.

hmmm..

are there any doubles out there that go beyond the 15kgs?

Yes, officially UK tested beyond 15kgs are the Phil&Teds Verve and Promenade and the Mima Kobi.

i have read other posts in the past that say the American's test to a higher weight so you could try looking on USA sites rather than UK

Most P&Ts main seats take up to 20kgs too.

mamaesi, I honestly feel your pain about trying to find the perfect double at a low price, but it doesn't really exist. The B-Dual and Duelette are as close to perfect as you're going to get in that price range. Unfortunately, pushchairs are expensive these days and I can't imagine a pushchair being released that's as good as those without being twice the price or more. The B-Dual's main seat has been tested to 20kg in Australia, so that's probably the one to go for in your case. But then if you wait until February, you may find that all the current ones are out of stock in preperation for the 2012 version. But you'll probably find them on eBay for £2-300 at that point.

yes this is like the quest for the holy grail...

i just can't justify 1,000 for a buggy, even though I do want the best option...

yes i will look at the usa sites.

thanks

twinkle--

why is there so little info on the kids cargo duellette? where is this company from and is it safe to buy from that ebay dealer...

I mean what if a part breaks?

I like that the duellette is smaller than the b dual... but am not sure about the weight limit. Whats the story with kids cargo?

Ok, i had seen the Duellette for sale, and thought the seating configurations looked great. But Kidz Kargo don't have a great reputation - they have been around for a while though. I was loathe to buy one based on the reputation. So I asked to borrow one. And I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised how good the Duellette was. There was a little bit of sideways movement in the frame, but it pushed fantastically with two larger children on board and having tried one, i would have bought one if I were six months back. I don't have the need of one now. My children are over 3 and 17 months now and are almost 17kgs and approx 13kgs - so not small children!
The designer has chosen to limit sales apparently because he wants to build a premium brand. So just he and another company are selling them. So, you could always message him direct and ask him any questions. He seemed very good, knowledgable and honest on the phone. But I had the pushchair for a few weeks, not months, so I cant speak for the longevity. There's a 6 month warranty.
For the price, what I saw, was very good. I have certainly seen worse. I would certainly buy a Duellette having now seen one. I thought it was fab. Good seating arrangements and large basket.

warning re. phil and teds: although the main seat goes up to 25kg, the secondary seat (which larger DC will use for the first few months until baby can sit up in it) only goes up to 15kg. DS (21kg) is currently in it and it is just coping, but it is straining at the seams and may well be too broken in another month or two for DD to sit in it.
But DS is exceptionally big.

duellette- from birth or not? it says different things..

No, six months definitely. A) the seats don't lie flat b) they are bucket seats c) it's says 6 months on the label. But from January you should be able to buy a model that takes a Britax car seat.

Which then means you have a from birth option.

ok thanks. on the ebay dealers site it said from birth..

but anyway I am trying to do the single buggy with baby in the sling for a few more months anyway.

twinkle-- duellette better than the b-dual? your thoughts..