Phil & Ted's Promenade vs Baby Jogger City Select (double buggy)

[eversomuch]

I'm just starting to look into double buggies. DD and DS will have a 19-month gap, so I'm pretty sure we'll need one for a while. Also, there's a very good chance I'll have to have a c-section, which means slings/carriers will be off limits for at least 6 weeks, so I won't have the option of wearing DS and using the single buggy for DD.

I'm quite smitten with what I've seen online of the P&T Promenade and the BJ City Select, but I haven't yet had a chance to see and test them out in person. Does anyone have experience or thoughts on the two?

From what I've read about the Promenade, everyone loves it, but I have two concerns:

1. The second seat seems to take up pretty much all of the shopping basket. Is this indeed the case? I don't have a car and do lots of shopping by foot, so I definitely need good access to the basket.

2. Not sure how important this is, but it looks to me like the view from the back seat is blocked by the front seat, so whichever kid is back there is just staring at a seat back. This seems farily typical of inline doubles, but would the kid get bored and fidgety not being able to see where we're going?

As for the City Select, I've watched a few videos online and nothing has struck me as particularly concerning, and the two points above don't seem to be issues with that model.

I'll be using the buggy on public transport (buses and Tube), so ease of use in those settings is crucial.

I'm also curious about general maneuverability.

Finally, I'm looking at these two buggies because I'll be using it with a newborn, so I definitely want a carry cot. I don't think other P&T models have them, but if I've missed something, please enlighten me. I do like that the seat on the Promenade converts into a carry cot. Very clever.

Thank you so much to anyone who can offer some insight.

The BJCS is 134.5cm long- which 2bh is long compared to other pushchairs.

Any reason why you have not considered the P&T Navigator or Dot?

I bought the BJCS (will use it when DC2 is born in Oct) as I wanted an inline pram with many seating combinations.

Thanks, milk. I spoke with someone who has the BJCS and although it does seem long, she said she's able to get it onto buses ok. I've tried finding out the length of the Promenade when it's in doubles mode, but haven't been able to track it down.

I do like the Dot and Navigator, but from the P&T videos and info, it doesn't look like you can use a carry cot and second seat at the same time, which I'll def need to do with a newborn.

Have you also considered:

Britax B-Dual 2012

iCandy Peach Blossom 2 and Peach Blossom Twin 2012

Jané Twone

I honestly would get neither of your choices. The Promenade is really heavy and I actually haven't read any particularly good reviews so far of it. I have read complaints of small seats and it being heavy and the odd handle heights. The BJCS is absolutely brilliant until it becomes too heavy to push. When this happens is totally dependent on where you go, the weights of your children etc. I absolutely loved mine until it started to make my arms hurt to push and it had to go. I was gutted.

I wouldn't worry at all about the view for the lower child in a tandem. Unless they tell you otherwise, they won't know any different and may indeed as my eldest did, fight to sit underneath "in their den".

9-10 months down the line, ease of pushing will be No1 on your list as well as manoeuverability as you say for the bus. I personally would suggest the three pushchair milk suggested above. I think the Twone is potentially very exciting and its due out this week I believe.

I'm sticking with my BJCS I don't care if it will one day weigh a tonne of bricks, I love it too damn much!!!

Thanks for your input, Tiggywunkle. Is the Promenade really that heavy? According to the P&T website it's 16kg in double mode; the BJCS is around 15.4kg and the iCandy is 18kg. I have looked at the iCandy and although it's very pretty, it just doesn't seem like the right choice. You can't use a carry cot and toddler seat together, and when you do convert to two seat units, the second seat is much smaller. Also, there's the issue with the basket space being taken up by the extra seat. This looks like an issue with most doubles, though (except the BJCS, from what I can tell).

Glad to hear you love your BJCS, milk. Do you ever use it on public transport? How does it handle on kerbs and different terrain? I know it's not meant for going off-road, but does it handle cobblestones and such ok?

Basically it is very long which is fine on an emptyish bus/train but impossible if I had to travel during rush hour... I got around this by putting the carrycot nearest the handles (where the baby will be), and I put the seat at the front, then when I took the pram on the bus I took the seat off and put it in the basket (making the pram the length of a single stroller), then I'd put DS on a seat next to me.

Thanks, Milk. I actually got to see/test the BJCS at John Lewis today. I really, really liked it, but I also realised that with the carry cot in place, it would be impossible to get help going up and down the stairs in the Underground (seemed to me that the front bar underneath was unreachable because of the way the front seat extends over the chassis). I definitely need something that will work on the Tube more important even than shopping basket access! so I'm afraid this one's probably not going to work out for me after all. :( I may drag DH over to JL to take a look and see if he agrees, but my gut feeling is that it won't work for us. But do correct me if I'm wrong. :)

Also saw the Promenade at Mamas & Papas. Also really liked it, so may end up going for that one. However, if I'm willing to give up some basket space to the second seat, I think it's probably worth trying to hunt down the Britax and Jane Twone that Tiggywunkle recommended, to get a feel for whether either of them may work. Not sure who in London sells them, though, so looks like more research ahead of me.

I only go to tube stations with lifts... I can see how stairs could be a big problem :(

Also, have you seen the Mountain Buggy Duet

Open pushchair width cms:
Jane Twone: 62cm
Phil and Teds Promenade: 64cm
Britax B-Dual 2012: 69cm
Moutain Buggy Duet: 63cm

There are just so few stations that are step-free in London, I think I'd feel really limited if I could only travel to those.

Thanks for the tip on the Mountain Buggy Duet. Might be a really good option. Looks like I need to make another visit to John Lewis!

With the mountain buggy you may be able to get up and down stairs on your own. I have an older version, and it is great at steps.

That's good to know, Valium. Thanks. Do you take yours on buses and trains? Someone today mentioned to me that some bus drivers refuse side-by-side buggies to board. Ugh, another thing to worry about!

That I would not do. The newer mountain buggy, the duet, is much narrower though, so may be possible. Not much wider that a single, but Tiggy is the expert.

Mine is 75 wide I think, so a bit of a beast.

Lol I don't do buses very often and I certainly wouldn't try a side by side but I know braver people than me do all the time. Perceptionally the Duet is a side by side so is seen as wide even when it isn't though and that in itself may be an issue with bus drivers. It's up to you to persuade them otherwise.
I had a Duet and for many reasons it didn't work mainly because the children are too close (21 month gap) so the eldest kept poking / trying to cuddle the sleeping baby and her feet kept kicking him and I got fed up of removing and putting on shoes to stop him getting scratched. It's huge folded and a chunk to lift. The recline leaves bunched up fabric under the children's heads, the rainier window is too low, the handle is low (even though it doesn't look it but look around the shop at other handles) and the pushchair always pulled to the side my eldest was on. It all drove me nutty along with poor quality.

PnT did Mountain Buggy no favors. The older ones are way better.

Yes, I suspect some drivers might see a side-by-side and assume it's huge, even if it is the same width as many singles. Not sure I'm going to want to have to argue with bus drivers (or other passengers?) whenever I need to take a bus. This may call for a new thread directed at public transport users. :)

Interesting point about why the Duet didn't work for you, Tiggy. My DC will be 19 months apart. Hard to predict, of course, how DD will react to sharing a buggy or how she'll want to interact with DS when we're out and about and I'm hoping desperately that he (and she) will sleep.

Not sure the handle height would be an issue for me (I'm only 5'2" and DH is not much bigger), but will keep this in mind too when I go to check it out.

Thanks again to all of you for your input on this!

A friend regularly uses the mountain buggy duet on the buses fine. I never use a tube alone with 2 little ones ( now just over 1 and 2 will become possible soon as both walking). But with newborn and 14 month I didn't. We travel all over London but just on buses. Just used a bugaboo cameleon though with buggy board so no problem on buses really as board folds up.

Can you get to most places via bus? It's actually easier I find.
Personally I would go for something like a mb duet but if you need to travel via tube use a small buggy and sling combo