Double buggies? (AKA 'What's the fuss about Phil & Ted's?)

[franch]

DD will be 19m when no. 2 arrives in Sept. She's nowhere near walking yet so I don't suppose she'll be too much of a pro by then and I've resigned myself to a double buggy (though will probably make use of sling + stroller in the early days).

All thoughts on what's best out there at the moment gratefully received. For DD we bought a Mamas & Papas travel system just before the Bugaboo craze took off and felt very yesterday! (Not looking for the latest celeb gimmick tho, just whatever's best.)

great thing about phil and teds is u only really need one buggy. thats it. if you want to go out with just one kid u can, if u take them both, then excellant. the baby section is very cosy and gently swings when walking so baby falls asleep.

it is heavey to put in the boot of the car, but it folds up to the size of a regular single buggy, even with the 2nd seat attached at the front. its lovely to push (i have around 50lb of weight in mine, and its still easy).

Franch - I will be in the same situation as you - DS will be 18 months when baby arrives. i was wondering about a normal tandem buggy rather than a twin. I often find it hard to manover even a single buggy about in shops as the aisles are not very wide. Cant imagine how I would cope with a twin...

I am an old frumpy mum so dont care at all about style of buggy - only weight, ease of use and comfort for baby

Also not sure I feel like splashing out all those ££££££ for Phil and Ted

I had a Graco duoplus tandem and found it fine with my 2. It only cost £90 from Mothercare (with 10% discount). I bought it because I like to shop and felt a wide buggy would be impossible.

It folds easily and fits into the boot well. It is heavy though but not too difficult to push. Does have some drawbacks - front seat not really suitable for naps (didn't bother me).

The things I liked about it were the back section is perfect for a newborn I even put a matress in there and with the hood up it was secure and comfortable as it lays completely flat and the front seat is wide for a large toddler with a thick coat in winter - some of the twins are so narrow my ds couldn't fit into them at 2.

It wasn't perfect but I would recommend it.

If you want a double buggy (rather than single plus sling, or single plus buggyboard) you can either try a normal tandem - which have the heavier child at the front so are hard to get up and down kerbs and generally hard to manoevre, or a side-by-side which don't fit through most doorways and in most cases are too narrow to take a decent size toddler. Oh, and you often have handles really far apart and have to push very awkardly.

The p+t is really easy to manoevre, fits through a standard door easily, lets the newborn lie completely flat, and has a seat so big that my large 3 and three quarter year old is still comfy. Also has an adjustable handle for tall/short people. And my kids fight to get the 'back' seat so I guess the lack of a view is not a problem for them
On the downside it is not as easy to fold as the side-by-side buggys and you need to buy the panniers if you want somewhere to store your shopping once you use the add-on seat at the back.

I had a 27 month gap between my two and used sling plus single buggy for the first 6 months but then had to get a double when I found that no way would my ds stay on a buggyboard (just gets off and sits on the pavement screaming). I also walk 5 or 6 miles a day and needed something comfortable that would not hurt my back, and the p+t e3 is fantastic - very expensive, but they do hold their value well for second-hand sale.

It is heavy, but the kids are heavier and I doubt that I would be able to push them about in anything else - and I agree with Misdee about the gently swinging of the newborn 'hammock' - it's really soothing for them.

Even though the E3 is expensive, I reckon it's worth it cos you can use it as a single after the older one's too big. Meant I wouldn't have to buy another once I didn't need the double. Plus as bluebear says, they sell for a decent price second hand.

Agree with everything they've said about it, I love mine.

the only time i use my graco citisport is for my parents car which has a tiny tiny boot and cant fit the e3 in there.

Oh this is really useful. Stripey - I spoke to a mum last week about the Graco tandem coz I thought it might do - she said the front seat on hers was only suitable for an older child, not an 18 month old. Maybe that was an older model?
Bluebear - I'm encouraged that you say P&T is easy to manover. Also that it takes large 3yo - I like to keep my kids IN the buggy as long as possible ( I mean until they are 3 years old!!! not on a buggy board)

Very helpful comments everyone, thanks. Looks like P&T are still winning!

KristinaM she probably meant the front seat is not suitable for a baby. It is suitable from approx 9 months. In fact as soon as ds2 was around 9 months he would sit in the front and ds1 would sit in the back making it much easier to push. I think its not really the pram that is heavy but the weight of the children in it. The other thing I liked about the tandem is that if ds1 chose to walk it was practically as easy as pushing a single - no heavier and quite easy to manouvre. I got mine from Mothercare after spending ages trying to figure out which one to buy. You could go in and try them out. As I said earlier it was only £90 and would probably resell for £40 - in fact if you live in London I still have mine as dh wanted to keep it??

We have had them both in it at 2 and 4 years but that was heavy!

Where in London are you stripey? Kristina has first refusal of course but if she doesn't want it I might take it off your hands!

Hi franch I'm in SW (not far from Wimbledon)

ragtaggle, this should answer your questions?

Oops stripey, just realised you were talking about a Graco not a P&T. Let me do a bit more research and give Kristina a chance to answer and I'll get back to you

Thats fine

Thanks so much but I'm hundreds of miles away!