Phil & Teds - are they really the be-all-and-end-all? And what are the differences?

[Ceolas]

DC5 due in August. DD3 will be 23 months. Having deliberated for months and looked at possibly every double pushchair on the market, I just want to make a decision!

I've had both side by side and tandem before and hated them. Tandems too heavy and side by side awkward for shopping. P&T seems very well engineered and all, but my reservations are:

1. DD3 seems pretty tall for the second seat on top. She hates a hood anyway let alone one that's brushing her head. Vibe seems to have more headroom but very £££.

2. I'm not convinced on the low position for a newborn and also the double seat on the back. Plus I think it looks a bit weird

3. I've heard about babies being frustrated being in the newborn position before they're big enough for the doubles seat.

Am I just being picky? Will this pushchair change my life?!

And apart from the price tag, what are the major differences between the Sport/Dash/Vibe?

The maclaren techno was far better spent money in my experience but then I drove everywhere with three children, I guess you probably do too ?
The P & T is a big faff setting up in and out of the boot, where as the twin techno was one clip with my foot.

I hated the look of them for ages and after trying about 10 doubles, i decided to get one. My ds was 4months when i got mine and dd was 18months. Ds went straight into the lower seat and never had any probs. I swap over sometimes and have dd in the lower one and she loves it. Its so easy to push, easy to fold and unfold. It fits in our rover with ease but the wheels easily come off anyway. Id say this is the best of a bad bunch and i quite like it after 3months of use.

I love mine and would recommend a P&T to anyone!

The wheels are great, and it is very good for offroad use (I use mine mainly on country paths when dog walking).

Downsides, from my experience, are:

1. Build quality is poor - lots of fraying bits.
2. Raincover is a PITA - can't use it really when the baby is in the newborn position; the older child's head is too high up (and my older ds is tiny).
3. PITA to fold and unfold (but haven't tried any other doubles to compare it to).
4. I find it near impossible to push one-handed. This is a real problem for me at the monent - ds1 walks and I need to hold his hand by roads but can't push the puschair as well.

Sorry to gatecrash, Could I use a P&T for twins? How old would they have to be to comfortably go in the doubles seat? Is there a better recline on the vibe than the sport, would that be a better option?
Thanks in advance.

4-6 months to go in the doubles seat, imo. Depends how well they sit and support themselves.

Not ideal for twins, imo.

I hated my e3 but sold it and bought a shiny new sport and love it so much i have sold my MB! there is 13 months between dd3 & dd4 and now dd4 can recline a bit in the double seat she is much happier I walk everywhere with it as i cant drive.

We do drive a fair bit, but I tend to walk more with a newborn. It will probably have to go in and out of the car a few times a week.

I have a stupidly small boot but could fit it in the passenger seat. I won't need a double if DH is with us.

My front door is about 5cm narrower than the narrowest side by side so I'd rather not have something I can't get in the house without unloading.

I currently use a Vibe in my nanny job, I have also used the E3 and Sport Version.

The Vibe is a heavy buggy in comparison to the other P&T but not really any heavier compared to other doubles.

I push a 3 year old and 8 month old around in one and they live on the top of HUGE hill and I have a bit of a dodge shoulder and still manage and it's comfortable to steer.

The difference I find I like the most is that the under seat seems more padded and stable. The 3 year old sits in the seat on top (other wise he likes to kick the baby on the bum) and baby under, they are both very long for their ages and are top the the scale yet still have plenty of room. I like the fact that the top seat is deeper too.

The seat under has plenty of space and I've always found children love sitting under there as it's a different view of the world.

There mum finds it easy enough to get in and out of the car.

Balomorybaby I used a P&T sport it for twins once they got to 6 months (they were very small babies) and they really seemed to like it, but not suitable from birth due to the baby having no head support on the bottom seat and it doesn't recline.

The great thing about a P & T is that it's fairly slim line. You can get it in and out of shops fairly easily, or just as you would a normal pram.

I know what you mean -- there's something wrong about having a toddler sitting above your newborn, but it works. The double seat goes on top if you have a toddler/newborn.

DS wasn't keen on the newborn position after 4-5 months, so it was a difficult period until he could hold his head up and go into the rear seat.

Oh, and the doubles seat does recline a bit -- you unzip the seat.

Yes the top seat does but not the bottom. Maybe it does and I just haven't noticed.

I guess it's just looking at the 'problems' from a different perspective. Why shouldn't the baby be down there?

Part of me is thinking when I walk down the street or into the playground and everyone wants to look at my new baby, I'll be saying "Down there, underneath my toddler!", and I'll be .

From what I have seen, the doubles seats on all models (apart from the Classic and old e3) recline, but I did hear the Dash seat has a deeper recline than the others (think it was a video review on youtube).

I love mine. Not too much hassle to load and unload from car. I thought about it for ages too, but decided in the end I didn't want a side by side taking up the pavement. My baby is not yet 1 so am wondering how it will fare when she is taller and filling up the double seat a bit more. I found she was happy in the lying down position until about 7 months though.

The biggest problem I have with mine is the basket does not hold much as the baby's feet dangle into in and the double chair is almost in the basket, but that is a small price to pay for not having an enormous buggy.

Round here they are v popular, though you still get some people v surprised to see a baby peeping out from underneath.

I have the sport and apart from the annoying brake, slightly small shopping basket + bulky raincover I like it. We got out in the heavy snow in the winter [smug] and today I took the dc's out in the sun and the baby was nicely shaded from the sun in the lower seat. I would have got the Vibe (brake is better) but it was a bit too wide for my front door. You can't seem to get a buggy with every feature you need, but my p+t is a good compromise.

I agree with the benefit being that you can get a p+t through your front door to unload, I considered a side by side pushchair but didn't fancy unloading outside in the pee-ing rain and cold.

Incidentally knickersonmahead, which 10 did you try?!

I think the P@T seats are small and have found a couple of alternatives with bigger seats - cheaper too
here
and here

oops here