phil and teds lovers come and talk to me

[Rhubarb78]

Hi, I have had to get a phil and teds dot for ds (1) and dd (due in july). it wasn't my first choice but its the only double that fits in my car. please tell me what is great about it, I like it but don't love it, I am hoping you all can change my mind :)
Also, what can I treat the tyres with so they are less likely to puncture?
Thanks in advance

Ho.. tandem love is hard to find, much harder than a single, more compromises.

I like the look of the dot a whole lot, the smallness mainly. With your elder child being relatively young for a non reclining seat I suppose I might be tempted to look for a nice liner with padded sides by the head for comfort when he needs to sleep. Lack of recline for the older child in toddler/newborn mode is a downside with p&ts but i think they probably do have their benefits too... the dot is one i would have tried if it had arrived earlier when i was in full time tandem using time. A pramo of long standing that I know just got a navigator and is really liking it.

I'm sure an actual p&t user will be along shortly with something more concrete and less waffly

I bought one recently and it was the first BN buggy I had bought for a very long time so was very excited.

I have to admit to being a bit disappointed with it but it is growing on me not enough to stop me buying a 2ndhand vibe two days ago .

This is not my first P&T so I can see where improvements have been made but it has also shown up some areas where costs have been cut by p&t, unfortunately.

The things I do like are:

The hood on the main seat - lovely and big and can be moved up and down the frame depending on the height of the child in the front.

The plastic foot rest - so much better when dealing with wet/muddy feet

The recline on the rear seat - this was the main reason for buying this buggy (and the small wheels) and I have not been disappointed by this feature. It's a vast improvement on previous models of P&T.

The smaller wheels - I do like this feature, very much and was the joint-main reason for buying this model although it doesn't seem to take up much less space in my boot than the dash did.

I'm sure there are more but the negatives are still bugging me at the moment so I'll start on them now :

The folding mechanism - mine's a bit stiff sometimes and it usually results in the handle bar dropping to the floor before I can catch it. I've now put a cover on the handlebar because without it the foam would be shredded already. The fold on other models was just as easy but easier to protect the handlebar by resting it on my foot.

The main seat is so shallow - I can fit my super-slim 4yr old mindee in it but she had so much more space in the dash and sport. Also, when I tested her in the vibe yesterday she looked tiny and had so much space around her. The liners seem to take up so much space in the dot but the seats underneath aren't padded so you have to use the liners.

The hood on the doubles seat is a total waste of time.

I'm sorry to be so negative about it but I do regret my rather expensive purchase and if it wasn't for the fact that I'd lose so much money, I'd have stuck it on eBay by now.

I read your post this morning and so used it as an excuse for some buggy porn research this afternoon.

I was impressed at how small it was (it felt smaller than my bjcm). But the downside of that is that my dinky 18 month old filled the doubles seat and didn't look like she had much growing space at all.

I can see why you like it for the small fold/size - and its lovely and narrow. I do wonder if any larger ones would feel a bit barge-like for you now?

Does this help?

Thanks for your replies. I suppose my problem is not the dot as such but I didn't really want a phil and teds in the first place. I love the oyster max but it wont go in my car and that means its a non starter. I need to fit the pram in the boot of my tiny car in order for us to be able to go out together as a family. I suppose I do like that the newborn can lie flat in the cocoon without being harnessed in and ds seemed to like sitting on the top (like a king). It does feel compact and it folds all together and fits easily in the boot.

Maybe I need to just start using it and see how I get on with it. I feel like I got a good deal (£460 for the pram, second seat, raincover and cocoon) and this has come up a lot cheaper than the max + carrycot.

Are phil and teds good off road?

I reckon it will be better off road than the Max would have been but not amazing, they don't pitch it as an off road one, it's supposedly their city one. I kind of suspect that in reality you would have ended up with the same toddler on top/baby below set up on the Max too. If it fits easily in the car then for actual day to day usage that will make a big difference :-)

Well, if I am honest, when I say off road I mean walking paths/ beach so not exactly climbing everest with it. Main use will be city so I do think it will be good for round the shops etc as it is so small. I just hope I get on with it when it arrives, I think I am going to use it as a single for ds at first. As you say, day to day, the fact that it fits easily in the boot is the main thing

I just know if I see anyone with an oyster max I will be mega jealous though!

I'm well out of the loop on buggies as my DDs are 8 and 10. I had the P+T e3 many years ago, which looks quite similar to the dot. I loved it. Great off road, and round town. Didn't have a problem with size of seats but I have quite petite DDs. Worst thing was lack of storage but I it up with that as it was basically the same size as a single buggy and south easier around town. The best thing was selling it on for lots of money on eBay! We had a good 3 years use of it (very lazy DD2) and got at least half put money back when selling it on.

I have an elderly p & t and love it. Have no idea what the dot is am afraid.

I have found it to be very hard wearing, goes well off-road (so to speak) and has gone through all 3 of ours.

Would put slime into the innertubes to reduce your chances of a puncture but have some innertubes ready in case. The tyres can be a pain but make it easy to push, give a smooth ride and makes it easier on rough ground.

I didnt have the dot. I had one of the older phil and teds, as i tried loads of doubles in the showroom and the p&t was the ONLY one that steered easily and went up kerbs easily with a heavy one in front.

I loved that pushchair, it was a godsend.

I liked the fact that the back seat was so easy to remove, but even with it, it wasnt much bulkier and made an awesome shopping basket when necessary

ahh, thanks ladies. I want to be excited to use it (sad, I know) Practically it did seem to be the best option.

I will definitely use the slime and get some spare inner tubes in case of emergencies