I walk miles a week with a pushchair (I'm talking serious miles - 30 to 50) for exercise and relaxation at a fairly brisk pace and very occasional light brief jogging (e.g. if I'm late to pick up my oldest from school!!)
I recently moved to a much more rural area from London, and am having to come to terms with crappy pavements and kerbs but by far my toughest issue is the footpaths riddled with stones, mud and tree roots, and stiles. Plus the odd set of unavoidable steps especially at our local station when I want to travel further afield. And other such country obstacles!
I have a Phil & Teds Sport double right now, but it's bulky and prone to punctures and the front wheel keeps sticking (twists 90 degrees) on tree roots and rocks and so on. I'm not easily able to lift it either partly due to the shape rather than lack of strength although that is a factor too.
The intended passenger is my almost two year old son. Yes, he's old enough to walk, but he isn't going to be doing 12 miles at a brisk pace any time soon in the next few years!
I have been out of the pushchair market for YEARS. I know nothing these days. No particular budget in mind as I know you have to pay for decent quality.
Must haves:
- Really good at off-road, and I mean really good. Better than Phil & Ted's.
- Lightweight enough for me to carry it over stiles etc if necessary
- Robust and reliable
I've probably already ruled out every pushchair on the market with those three requirements but just in case, here's my "nice to haves":
- Tyres that don't puncture
- Facility to turn it into a double/twin P&T style
- Suitable for jogging with
- Not too wide
- Reasonable sized basket for carrying my clutter
- Foldable in one piece
If anyone thinks there might be something out there that would be a noticeable improvement on my (several years old, somewhat battered, a few thousand miles on the clock) Phil and Teds I'd love to hear about it!
Similarly if I may as well stick with the P&T, just say so too. I do have a Maclaren XT which is great for pavements etc but hopeless of course off-road. If only there was an off-road version of that at the same weight!
Thank you very much for your thoughts 