DOUBLE BUGGY REVIEW

I have now had 4 different double buggies and am considering a fifth and final one. The double buggy (double stroller for our American friends) has become like a new pair of shoes to me. I don’t need the fancy shoes anymore as I don’t go out much. So I have transferred that love to twin strollers – loser alert!!!

I am constantly on the quest for the best double buggy and so am prone to an upgrade!

I also love a double buggy review, but have found that most of them are by stores rather than mothers or the mother has only had one type. As I have had first hand experience of the joy (*insert annoyance) that is pushing a twin buggy around the place and have had so many… I thought I would share what I have learnt.

POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS

Phil and Ted’s Explorer

This was the first double buggy that I had and I wasn’t convinced about it from the start to be honest. I didn’t want an inline double as I was concerned about the child in the back seat. I thought it was a bit mean that they couldn’t see where they were going, but I was persuaded by the sales person and my husband and so off we went.

After getting the buggy I was pleasantly surprised and the sales person was correct the littlest one didn’t care. He was a new-born!! The best thing about this buggy, in my opinion was the cocoon for a newborn. This is an extra, but is worth every penny. It is great! Not only do-little babies look so cosy and protected in this mini carrycot, but also it just lifts out and so the baby isn’t disturbed. We used it all the time and it lasted until our little man was around 6 months. My babies are always giants though.

City Living

It was really easy to push at the beginning and totally workable for city living except if you need to get onto a bus and it needs to be collapsed. Forget about it as this is not a quick process! Honestly, I could never get to grips with collapsing this buggy it was such a palaver so it stayed up in my hallway and I ended up buying another single and a buggy board (once my eldest was old enough) for times we needed to go by bus or in the car.

I think in a city where you are walking everywhere this works well and is a comfortable ride for little people, but if you need to use a car a lot this would be a hassle.

Arguments

Once my youngest got to around 15 months old the arguments started!! He no longer wanted to be in the back. This is what I had feared from the start. He didn’t like not being able to see where he was going. He wanted to see what was going on and so they fought all the time about who got to go in the front. It was painful! This was ultimately the reason we sold this buggy on and switched to a side by side.

Pushing two toddlers

The other thing I found difficult with this inline double buggy was as they got bigger it became hard work to get up kerbs as there was so much weight right over the wheels. I was having to lift the weight of both of them and it was a killer. Once it actually tipped backwards with them both in it. I think the bigger boy was messing about, but still it fell over as I was locking the front door. Our second born is a tall child who grew quickly and so was not much smaller than his brother two years older than him and it could be this that caused the issue.

In my experience though this type of buggy works best when there is a good size differential between the two children. So I think that an inline is a good option as a double buggy for baby and toddler, but not so good for two toddlers unless you are pretty strong.

Tyres

This for me is the worst thing about this type of double buggy. The inflatable tyres are a totally mare if one gets a hole. This happened to me at London Bridge station. We had obviously rolled over glass or something and we got a puncture. The buggy was virtually immobile. I couldn’t push it.

So, there I was with a baby and a 2-year-old and a buggy that I was trying to push which wouldn’t move and all in the centre of a very busy city. It was hideous and I ended up crying in a bike repair shop. Not my finest hour!

This made me nervous of using the buggy and I never left the house without a spare inner tube, a puncture repair kit and a tyre pump. Just what you need when you are the mummy of two littles – extra stuff to carry!

This type of buggy is not for me, but I know that this model is now fairly old and looking at the Phil and Teds website they seem to have much lighter options now available. The buggy was certainly made to last so I would definitely consider them if I was into the inline double buggy, but I just prefer a side by side.

City Mini Jogger Double

This is one of my favourites in my buggy collection. The city mini jogger double is narrow enough to fit through every door I have ever tried to go through and is easy to push and does the bounce up the kerb thing so that you don’t have to keep lifting it.

Newborns

I loved the city mini double buggy when my twins were tiny as the deep seats created a really safe and dark space for them to be safe and cocooned from the world. I felt like they were well protected. We didn’t use it when they were really newborn as you needed the carrycots and I already had a single buggy with a carrycot which they both fit in together.

The girls went into this buggy when they were a few months old and as the seats lay flat and the cosy toes are very cosy I think it was perfect for them. Having the seats operate separately makes it brilliant as a n as they don’t have to lie down together or both have their sun canopy up.

Sun canopy

The sun canopy or hoods are fantastic on this buggy. The best I have seen. They come down so far that they create a great environment for on the go naps and also mean that I rarely used the rain cover. It just wasn’t necessary unless it was really pelting down. These sun hoods were so good that even after I decided this buggy was too heavy for me to use we kept it for our summer holiday.

Weight

I used this buggy for my singleton boys so as a double buggy for baby and toddler. I then used it again for my twin girls and I found that it worked better with the boys. As one was older I could ask him to jump out if it got hard to push and he was always looking to walk as well. It was great as a double buggy for twins when they were little, but once they got to around 18 months old it was hard work for me to push this up hill.

We also had to have a buggy board on the back for our younger boy. I know that this would not be a requirement for most people, but for us it made this twin buggy no longer work. It was also too heavy for me to lift in and out of the car. It did fold down really easily though which is a huge plus and makes it way easier to store and fit into a boot. We could fit this in the back of our Ford S Max with all seven seats up.

Joie Aire Twin Double Buggy

The Joie Aire Twin double buggy weighs only 12kg and when we bought it was the lightest double on the market. It folds in the same way as the city mini and can stand up independently when folded which makes it great for storage. Size wise it is great for city living as it fits through all shop door ways and on narrow pavements.

The basket underneath the Joie double buggy is also huge so no need to hang anything on the back. I really like this buggy and at only around £150 it is a bargain option, but it does have negatives.

The negatives

I couldn’t do a Joie Aire twin stroller review without also mentioning the things that bugged me. The wheels on this buggy are very small and you have to lift it up and down kerbs. This is countered by the fact that it is light to start with, but with my girls being over 2yrs old now that is becoming harder and harder. It does feel a bit rickety if I am honest and doesn’t manoeuvre as easily as some of the other double strollers.

The other issue I have had is with the break. The first one of these I had the break broke completely. I had to get a replacement buggy within a few weeks of purchase. On the replacement the break has not broken, but doesn’t always work. For me this is not really an issue as there is no time that I am not holding the buggy. If you did need to rely on it though I am not sure I would want to… It seems you have to make sure the mechanism is properly lined up for the break to work which is not ideal!

There is no division between the two seats and this allows twin wars about whose space is whose. Very annoying for mummy!

The positives

It folds very easily and is very compact. It fits in the boot and there is still some space for a few other bits.

There are viewing windows on the sun canopy which are great if you are trying to get them off to sleep

The price point is great and the buggy performs really well considering the price

The frame is lightweight and the buggy is easy to push as a result

It looks nice and comes with reversible seat liners which are great for any spillages. Also good for differentiating one twin from another 😉

Read my full review here…

Maclaren Twin Triumph

I should say at the start that I bought this double buggy side by side second hand. It has now broken. Since I didn’t buy it new I can’t say whether this is due to overuse or mishandling by the other party. So I write about it as I am about to send it off to buggy heaven!

The Fold

Before its demise this double stroller was essentially our holiday and in car buggy. It was also the one carted with us when we visit parents and so the folding mechanism was important. It is not tricky to fold or open, but it is a multi step process. This cannot be completed in ugg boots or flip flops without some difficulty. A major downside to me.

You have to use your foot to release the catch
Press down on two further levers to extend the two seats
In my experience a bit of jiggling of the handles to help open it out a little is also necessary.

I think the fold and open could be better, but it probably takes less than 30 seconds so hardly a deal breaker.

Tough Steering

I would not want to be using it everyday as for me it is too hard to push and steer. The two handles seem to make steering harder than one bar that goes all the way across the buggy. I have to say though the girls liked it. They liked the way that the seats move when they lean forward. It seems to give them a feeling of freedom.

I found the umbrella fold a good feature. This works well for going on holiday and travelling on buses. It could be a good option for city living where space is at a premium. It would work well if you had a smaller car too.

I think that this type of double buggy is more suitable for toddlers. The seats looked aren’t that padded so don’t seem very comfortable for little ones. For me it is certainly better for little people who want to get in and out.

So that’s it onto undoubtedly my final double buggy. I am hankering after the Mountain Buggy Nano Duo and I think it is true love…. I hope that this double buggy review has been useful. Do let me know what you think the best double strollers are…

You might also like to read: The lament of a double buggy user

Final verdict

If you are looking to buy a double buggy would recommend a side by side one with tyres that cannot burst. In my opinion you need a one handed fold if at all possible as when you are trying to wrangle two small children of double buggy age you don’t want to be spending lots of time trying to fold it up and down. Also you are very unlikely to have spare hands!

The main things to consider are the width if you need to be able to go in and out of shops or live somewhere with narrow pavements and the weight. It can be as fancy as you like, but if you can’t manoeuvre it or lift it in and out of the car (if you need to) then it won’t work for you.

Finally watch out for style over substance and try out the buggy before you buy if at all possible. Just because your friend’s double buggy looks super swish does not mean that you will enjoy pushing in.