What is the best double buggy?

[Socci]

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I have thwe kiwi explorer. The tipping is a problem, so if family need a double I sendd them off with the tandem, but I love mu kiwi. Never have problems with doorways, easy to manoever etc. I always put baby in front, so toddler can climb in & out at will without worrying about it tipping . I have in the past put a bum belt full of stones on the footplate & this stops it tipping. the inconvenience of the tipping is a trade off for all the other advantages. I have tried a side by side double but it felt very uncomfortable to push with arms so wide & quite diff. to steer. I have a tandem, great big shopping basket but very heavy. like keziah says, I also find a buggy board very uncomfortable to push & really bad for my back, so for me, the Kiwi explorer is great. there is no such thing as the perfect pushchair

jenifersofia,

thanks for the pram weights recommendation!

This is an interesting thread! Have any of you tried the Hauck Tandem pushchair? (www.hauckuk.com) It looks really sturdy and is suitable for heavier children, up to 18 kilos each. My 15-month old daughter already weighs close to 14 kilos so she won't fit in many of the double pushchairs I've seen when No. 2 arrives (she'll be 22 months old then). Most of them are only suitable for children up to 15 kilos. I don't want to spend more than £150, so if anyone has any recommendations for me I would be very grateful. I've seen the Graco Tandem for £85 on Kiddicare but have only read BAD reviews of this one, am I right to give the Graco a miss?
Marijke

I agree with Ernest, I don't think there is 'a' perfect double buggy - you have to weigh up what's most important...size when folded, comfort for kids, shopping tray space, urban/rural design,size for shop doorways etc....In my experience you will need a doubler of some kind rather than just a buggy board for the reasons already given,hth

i'm with coddy have 2yrs and then 22 mo between my 3 and used sling and pushchair/pushchair and b/board with great success. DD is now 3.5 nearly and hasn't been on the buggyboard for, oooh, must be a couple of months now tho might still use it for a long walk to the park (half an hour away).
I see yr point tho re yr toddler socci; is it worth borrowing someone's pushchair/b/board combo (or even double pushchair) to see how you go on? Depending on the weight of yr 3yo you might find a double hard work.
I know some people do struggle with a buggyboard but i found it no problem. Also foudn that because your arms are sort of caging them they don't run off (i mean mine didn't) but your child's communicatin difficulties may mean she would, i guess.
How are you managing at the moment?
Certainly i would suggest a 2nd-hand double, see them in our local paper all the time (suggesting that they outlive their useful lifespan pretty quickly!)

Mothercare urban detour three wheeler has been fantastic for us - we bought it second hand and it is light - very easy to handle and gets through lots of gaps apart from the odd narrow lift! Highly recommended and wont break the bank - We love it so much that ds2 goes it it alone now that ds1 is too big!

I've got the mamas and papas double buggy, can't think of the name but they only have one. Oh is it called pliko or something like that? I love it to death, I think its fantastic. Really solid (as I have a 4 month old) and sturdy enough to keep 2.5 year old in. Its got a cup holder (this is what sold it to me!!!!) and is not bad to push. I fit through everything, lifts, doors etc the only time I struggle is trying to get out of starbucks, but I do with my single mclaren so no difference.

I love this thread!! I am a buggy nerd and need a twelve step program, however..... has anyone got experience of the Jane Powertrack 360 Twin..? I saw it at Two Left Feet showroom and it looked great. It is a three wheeler tandem. You can combine it in lots of ways ie.two car seats/1 car seat 1 chair/ 2 chairs. It is the only one I have seen that has two proper seats for twins but would seem to be ideal for those of us with 2 toddlers or older baby and toddler. Not cheap £399 but neither is Phil and Teds. Anyone tried it?

Ernest, re: the explorer, am I right in thinking that a toddler would go in the back seat? I would have thought that the toddler would scream until s/he could go in the front seat.
BTW I have mothercare side by side - impossible to get through some doorways and you do have to hold your arms far apart for turning corners.
I also have the Martinelli tandem - sold in NY - and it is heavy at the front as that is where the toddler sits. But goes through doorways. Baby at back protests at his position! AM thinking of the Explorer Phil & Ted. Looked at them in Daisy & Tom last week. Might buy one second hand. And if all okay, sell the others.
Where are the Explorer weights sold out of interest and where do they go?

I second Hughsie. I love my Mothercare Twin Urban Detour. Extremely easy to push, even one handed with heavy toddlers in. Not so good for shop doorways, but lovely out and about! Swivel front wheel makes SO MUCH differnce.

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haven't read responses, but when I used to CM, I had the Mothercare double 3wheeler. It is big but the kids were really comfy and was so so easy to push!! big shopping basket too

Emmaljunga and Bertini do ones which are normal single buggies with a toddler seat that fits on the front and can be rmoved. Wish I had got one of those as my double too big to get in some shops.

Lockets thanks for the heads up on the Jane. On another parenting site (no names)it is all the rage. Maybe they are all on the Jane payroll!? The buggys at this site in NZ really blew me away (do not get out much!)www.abcbuggy.co.nz. Apparently they are made by P&T's. Not disimilar to the toddler seat for the Emmaljunga but for a three wheeler. What do you think? Looks a bit perilous on that toddler seat!

Chicpea,

The heavier child is meant to go in the front in the Explorer....

Handlemecarefully, that's what I thought but got confused by a previous posting. I have two children, DD 10kg and DS 9kg so I presume DD will go in the front. But if she gets out, is 9kg too heavy to stay in without DD at the front?

chickpea the instructions say that the toddler should be in the front seat 7 baby rear, but i have always done it the other way round. that way the toddler can walk when he wants & climb in when tired without having to constantly desturb baby/risk tipping with baby in back seat.

Maybe mine are odd, but they fight over who goes in the back seat & have never complained about it. Ds 2 as a baby was in front seat. Now ds3 is here, he is in front & ds2 moved to back. he doesn't moan & is quite happy about it. suits us.

rushing and shouldn't even be on here but mine love the new E3 and no2 child (who is 2.5) loves being in the back seat and the fact that he can hop in and out if he wants to. No3 (5.5 months) sleeps really well in the front, so is obviously comfy enough in his sleeping bag cosytoes thing. Folding it is a bit of a pain but that's the only complaint I have about the E3 - I love it!

HI,
I have had a Mamas and Papas double side-by-side buggy for 31/2 years. Initially it was for twins, but ended up being for one new baby and an 18 month old. I bought it because it fitted through ordinary doors, even though it was a side-by-side buggy. I tried the front to back style, but as I am 5' 2", I was unable to manoevre it very well, especially with the 18 month old at the front. It lies right down so is suitable from birth, it is light, and designed to stand upright on its own.

I have thin children which have not been cramped up in it, but I can imagine larger children, especially as they got older would find it a tight squeeze. I have definately had my money's worth out of it, but it wouldn't be for everybody.

Thank you Ernest and Skara. My only problems are which colour and how quick can I get one?!

If I was buying it again, I think I'd go for red (but I have a blue one). I ordered mine from practical pushchairs and it was here in days -(they are here... . Mind you our local baby shop has a red one in stock complete with everything under the sun available (cocoon, raincover, panniers...). Happy shopping - I love mine .

Re: toddler seats - I had an Emmaljunga with a toddler seat attachment and thought it was wonderful! It could attach to the bassinet so the baby could lie completely flat and later to the pushchair type seat. It was quite stable because of the 4 wheels, I could chat to the toddler, and was amazingly easy to push (good engineering - weight distribution was well thought out) and get through doorways, up and down curbs, etc. The ABC ones from NZ are intriguing, but I wonder a bit about stability as well. Other draw backs were that the toddler was not protected from the weather so a good macintosh was needed, and the Emmaljunga is not terribly car friendly because it is a big traditional type pram - but this didn't matter to us as we don't have a car. The toddler seat didn't recline if she wanted to doze off, but my eldest has never fallen asleep in a pram, so that was okay. Generally I found with two children 19 mths apart we only went out for 2-3 hrs at a time anyway.
If I had to do it all over again, I would go for the E3.

Thank you Skara for that. I do like the red option.
JenniferSofia, I have the Emmaljunga with the toddler seat but the baby at the back cannot sit up comfortably with the toddler in the seat. Okay if baby wants to lie down - all the time! Maybe I should have bought the Classic Pushchair but instead I bought the Panashe about a year ago and with the rain cover over it with the toddler seat attached, it's high and cumbersome. Your suggestion of the toddler being dressed for the rain, even so, the baby cannot have the apron on as the toddler seat is attached to the bars. Its complicated. Will look at the E3 again tomorrow.
Thanks to you all. I wonder what Socci is planning to do now?!