Can you help with a double?

[outofmylittletree]

Hi All,
I will have a newborn and a 20 month old, and not really sure what to do as a double. I went to an independent store and they had pretty much every double I had thought of (donkey, peach, oyster max, mountain buggy, bjcm, P&T's...you get the picture!)
We have hills, curbs, and in the village small doorways, and I need something practical. Toddler is pretty independent, so I think a side by side double may become a bit redundant in a few months.
The lady in the shop recommended a Phil and Teds navigator v2, which I had a look at and quite liked although not a massive fan of baby in a basket type thing!
Anyone have any suggestions, or have a navigator v2...I was thinking of the navigator v2 or the verve, although haven't seen one in real life.
The one thing I wasn't sure of was the autostop brake which I thought may get in the way of hanging a changing bag and what with limited storage I didn't think this would be great?
Any help appreciated. :)

I've had a look in store, I hated the autostop break but I think you can tie it down somehow can't you?

Unless you have a need for something more off road suitable I wouldn't choose a p&t personally, although they certainly do the job fairly well. I would be looking in the oyster max/jane twone/peach/apple2pear sort of direction.

Also I actually really like the look of the new kids kargo duellette with the drop down carrycot. The baby can face you on top in that, with the toddler in the lower seat for hopping in and out. I had a smyths dimples duo a while ago and it shares a lot of components, they're pretty good for the money as long as your expectations on quality are in line iyswim.

I am facing the same dilemma and tbh there seems to be a big compromise with all of them. My DS will be 2.6 when the baby is born and as we do a lot of walking (and it will be the cold of winter) I don't think he is just ready for a buggy board (although we are getting one of those too). I am veering toward the Navigator too at the moment as the best of the bunch in terms of compromise. The others just seem too long. I can get over the break thing, we walk up and down a lot of hills (city living not country) and I think it might be handy. Also not too long for jumping on and off buses. But it's not perfect and the thing is we will probably only need one for a few months!

I am in the same position too. DD2 is 21 months old (and is tiny and not ready for a buggy board) and am due dc3 in Jan. Although I don't need to go on hilly bumpy terrain I do need to do the school run for DD1.

I think I've decided on the baby jogger city select. Initially I thought I'd get the double city mini as I have the single at the moment and love it. But I'm not sure about getting a side by side as I hope to not have to use it as a double for too long and think the city select will last me longer. Having said that I haven't actually seen it in the flesh so to speak. Going to test it next week so I will watch this thread with interest.

I never realised what a mine field choosing a double buggy would be!

My DS's are 16 months apart. I have a mountain buggy duet which I have found absolutely brilliant. Can get through all doors with no problems. Easy to push over rough and smooth ground. Seats are comfy for the boys. Decent sizes basket underneath. The only negative is that it's quite heavy when loading it in and out the car.

I don't like the baby-underneath buggies either which is why I went for a side-by-side.

DS1 is now nearly 3 and I still use the double buggy when I'm out and about on my own as I can't guarantee he'll walk/buggy board the whole distance.

Thats the thing I have....I'm after practical, not fussed on pretty (well, I like pretty, but talked myself into the fact I need to be practical more than look for prettiness!)
It will be mid winter when the baby is born, I will have a c section, although anticipate not being out and about that much for the first 6 weeks anyway. We generally walk on pavements and go a little off road, and by that I mean woods, parks etc, but walk a lot, but I do also drive quite a bit too.
I looked at the select but it does feel long to me, the woman suggested the P&t's as the weight would be evenly distributed over the wheels and my little ones are heavy!
The autostop you can clip down and either unclip to put the brake on or pull on the strap thing your hand goes in.....but it did seem weird, and I just don't know where I would put a bag!

I've got a Phil & Ted. It's great for getting on/off buses, bouncing up and down stairs, and only marginally wider than a single so I have no trouble with doorways.

My advice is to choose what type you want, then buy it on eBay. You can get good deals on used ones and with that age gap, you probably won't be using it for years and years. There are quite a few that have only been used for a year or two and you get the full thing with all the extras included.

I've got a DS aged 23 months and a DD aged 11 months - we have icandy peach3 in the jet all black colour and I can't fault it at all - it's really easy to push so the children stay settled and it's small enough to fit through both doors, even in the tandem mode. And it looks great!

Donkey! It's the business. Had one for 23 month old DD and newborn DS. Utterly fab. Easy to use in every single way. Plus the option of turning it into a single stroller at the flick of two buttons was great.

You can also push it with one hand and it off roads really well (rocky Whitstable Beach, local parks and forests in kent/Sussex too). And still practical for shopping/shops as in double mode it's exactly the same width as a wheelchair which means all shops/restaurants/services can get it through the door or into lifts in museums or shopping centres.

Very light too considering what it does. Even with two DC on board plus shopping nappy bags and a coffee in hand

Plus I sold it for £900 on eBay once I was done with it so it holds it's value amazingly well.

Massive thumbs up all around.

Oh just a small point on I candy. Tried DD (22 months at the time) in one before DS was born and we were shopping for the stroller.
DD wasn't that tall for her age but she couldn't fit into the
I candy seat.
She did fit into P&Ts but seemed wobbly long and impractical next to the Donkey. Although cheaper to buy.

As I said in pp, I sold the Donkey for £900 and I spent circa £1250 on it with all the stuff at the time (this is 3 years ago so prices may differ) so for less than £400 I had an amazing stroller.

My DS is 4 and still fits in his Peach. You need to set a Peach up correctly to get the most out of it.

The Verve space for the lower child is tiny. Storage is such an issue on any tandem, so anything with basket space is always a bonus. I liked the Peach Blossom for the best of everything. The Oyster Max is pretty good too.

Play with them all and see which suits YOUR needs best, not what everyone else thinks you need.

I need a good independent shop near me....I went to one near my parents and that is 90 miles away.
I just don't know what I need that's the problem, and not even sure where to start

Which ones have a recline on the second seat too, as I would need a recline on both seats?

This is what I need if this helps:
Suitable for 20 month old and newborn (usually heavy ones!)
Both seats recline
Baby to be able to lie flat
Seeing baby would be a bonus, but I may be able to get over it of I can't.
Somewhere to /hang put a changing bag either on the handles or basket. (Bottles etc for feeding)
Probably best to convert to a single with a buggy board, or a hop in/out seat due to toddler being pretty independant already so likely to want to walk a lot.
Can do hills, a lot of curbs, not used on public transport, but will be in and out the car, and walks in the woods/park.

How does that sound?!

We are currently shopping as well, with a similar age gap. None of the options are perfect, but I think we're going with the Navigator as we live in a little village and most of the shops have normal doors, rather than wide or double doors like shops in big towns. I think I'm going to get pannier bags to go with it.

Can you just clip the pannier bags off when you need them or do they have to come off fully?

Okay Phil and teds, the navigator has a recline on both seats but you can't use it in newborn and toddler mode, the toddler seat goes on top in a fixed upright position whilst the baby lies flat in the main seat unit below. I assume this is still the set up unless something has changed since I last looked.

Grrrrr. Ok, which ones cover the above do you think?

I don't know, apart from the toddler not having the recline for the first few months the navigator fits the bill. I haven't used one so not sure how it is to push and handle, I know they can be awkward in newborn/toddler mode and better once in toddler/toddler set up.

When I needed a tandem I had a jane twone mainly but dd2 was 5m when I got it so didn't need to lie flat, there is no basket space so I needed add ons for storage. I have a friend who is using the twone for a newborn and a toddler at the moment by using a wedge in the main seat so her newborn can face her and her toddler can hop in and out of the lower seat.

Before that we had a peach 1 which worked really nicely too shiny for me and obviously the improvements on the 2 and 3 are better again. Basket is useable in tandem mode which is great,

I used an pre production oyster max for a short time, again it worked well but not much basket space.

All 3 of these were light enough to push and tip while holding 4yo ds's hand too. I quite fancied a mountain buggy +one and did try a duet but despite it being narrow it was just too big overall, it didn't fit in the car etc.

Nothing will be perfect, that just seems to be the way tandems go, sort out your main priorities and compromise somewhere else!

No I agree, it's about the priorities and going with it.
I liked the look of the mountain buggy but the double is too big, and the +one looked ok, but not seen it in the flesh.

The navigator seemed ok to push, but it was only in the shop, but the new brake seems a real PITA to be honest, and I don't know if it would annoy me as I do hang things off the handle bar.

I like the thought of the push and tip being easy as I also have a 4 year old too, so would like to be able to keep hold of her when necessary. I like the peach, but not the cost as much (and it is pretty shiny but probably not by the time I've finished with it!)

Typically we had a kiddicare nearby which had all of the above in stock, but alas no more, so I think the best place is John Lewis who have Baby Jogger, iCandy, Oyster Max, but not the Jane as far as I know.

I sort of wish I could say if I was getting a tandem now I would definitely get X but in reality I have no idea.

How important is an easy fold? One up side of the navigator is you only have to take one seat off to fold. Actually you might not even have to remove it, I haven't checked. If you drive a lot a one piece fold could be much more use to you than it ever was for me.

Not too fussed, used a britax with first one, took the seat off then folded the chassis. Have the bjcmgt now, which is obviously easy to go, but not too worried about more effort to fold as long as it doesn't take an age to put back together, a frame and a couple of seats is fine.

I think you can now leave both seats on the navigator to fold, but the lady said taking off the lower seat is easier as its bulky with it on.

I have a 5 weeks old and a 20 month old and have a mountain he duet with a carrycot. I bought it secondhand for £250 and bought the carrycot new.

Pros - brilliant side by side.
Goes through pretty much any doorway.
Massive basket underneath.
Feels stable.
Good on public transport as it isn't much bigger than a normal single.

Cons
Heavy to put in and out of the car.
Carrycot and seats are narrow (mind you my son is a chunk and he fits fine!)

Mountain Buggy Duet even.