What double stroller (probably jogger) should I buy?

March 31, 2009 10:33 AM

I'm seeking advice or resources regarding the purchase of a double stroller.

My husband and I have one just-turned-2-year-old and are expecting a baby in May. I am considering purchasing a double stroller, but they're very expensive, and at this point I can only get one, so I want to gather as much information as I can.

We currently have three single strollers: a Maclaren umbrella, a Phil & Ted's sport buggy, and an older-model Baby Jogger. We live near a very small city, but we use the Baby Jogger the most: there are a lot of bike paths nearby and, when it isn't winter, we take it out on them almost every weekend. Last summer I jogged a good deal with it. It doesn't fold and thus won't fit in our car, or else we might use it even more.

I use the Maclaren perhaps twice a month when I take my son into town, or when we travel to see my parents in Boston. In contrast, I've been quite disappointed in the Sport and almost never use it. It's heavy and awkward to handle when folded, making it inconvenient for trips around town, its tires are too soft for much all-terrain use, and the jogger is a much nicer ride for the bike paths. I had hoped to use it as a two-child stroller, but may just sell it.

Based on our current stroller usage, and given that I would really like to start jogging again this summer, I am most interested in buying a double jogger. I just took a look yesterday at BOB Revolutions/Duallies and was highly impressed: the BOB is everything I wish the Sport was. Meanwhile, I could wear the new baby in a wrap or Ergo, and put my son in the single umbrella stroller, for the times I need to go into town.

But the BOBs are very expensive ($550-ish) and although their folding mechanism and light weight is pretty impressive, there's no question--they're big. I'm a very slow jogger and I wonder if the weight of two children will be too much, or whether its sheer width will make me hesitant to use it much.

I am having a hard time finding much useful information out there, either. consumersearch.com seems to have the best so far, but they don't offer a ton of info on double joggers. I may check out Baby Bargains or Amazon reviews, but I feel like there must be some site somewhere with a bazillion threads on double strollers.

So, several questions for those of you with experience in this realm:

--if you bought a double jogger, was it worth it, i.e. did you get enough use out of it to justify the cost?
--am I going to miss not having a double umbrella stroller more than I realize?
--what model would you recommend?
--did you ever use the jogger for getting around town?
--anything else I should consider?
--any forums or sources that you would recommend I consult?

By the way, I have considered a bike trailer, but don't think the tradeoffs make it worthwhile for us.

Thank you!

posted by Herkimer to shopping (17 comments total)

I would highly recommend asking at some forums for multiples. Here is an active one that I frequent. (If you want me to post over there and ask for you, just MeMail me and I will, so you don't have to register.)

I have many strollers, single, double, and triple, but I don't have a double jogger. (I do have a triple jogger, though, which I got off Craigslist for under $100, so I consider that quite a good buy.)

In fact, that's my advice. Look on Craigslist to find whatever stroller you end up wanting.
posted by pyjammy at 10:47 AM on March 31

And just in case you do decide to look at regular double strollers, let me recommend the Combi Twin Sport. I have a slightly older model, (the newer ones have cupholders) but it's great. Lightweight (this is relative with a double stroller, of course), folds small (ditto), and is suitable for infants up to older children. And not terrifically expensive (I think $220 or so.)
posted by pyjammy at 10:50 AM on March 31

Might be useful to think about a rear facing stroller considering brain development's dependence on interaction with adults. Good luck!

(I'm not a parent so I don't know and didn't look up whether those 3 brands you listed are front or rear.)
posted by scazza at 10:53 AM on March 31

So, many moons ago we had a basic Graco DuoGlider. A good, basic dual stroller.

The BOB dual has one kid beneath the other, right? I couldn't find photos on their site but I think I saw one last weekend at the market. The issue with that is the lower kids gets absolutely no view. I found another photo - I guess it's side by side. My concern would be that it's no use for at least a year or more as I would be hesitant to put an infant into that stroller.

IMO, side-by-side strollers are really only good for twins or two bigger kids. While your second is an infant, they're going to need to be in an infant/car seat. This is the great part about the Graco - you get the baby in the back where you can see them and they're in a car seat and the bigger kid gets a view up front and can get in and out as necessary without disturbing the baby.

We never had a jogger stroller because if one of us wanted to go jogging we'd just abandon the other parent with the babies. Plus they're big! Maybe the BOBs fold down small, but folded size is a concern with a double stroller. We did have a bike trailer which we used for a couple years (smaller kid 2-4 yrs, bigger 4-6 yrs). That's actually better IMO because the kids get more room and are lower to the ground - a bike trailers turned stroller has a very low center of gravity. Plus we tended to go biking more than jogging. And the big wheels made bumps and curbs easier to deal with. And, oddly enough, our bike trailer (a trek) actually folds down pretty small and got into our car trunk easily.

Finally, width. Side-by strollers are wide and you may have issues getting through single doorways. The Graco we had fit through doors fine, but obviously the long wheelbase made it hard/impossible to turn in tight quarters.

So, anyway, kind of a rambling answer. Best wishes for your second child (well, and the first too!).

[After a little searching, the stroller I saw on the weekend was a Phil and Teds Sport stroller w/ Doubles Kit which is maybe an option. It's also expensive and I doubt the wheels are big enough for non-paved trail jogging but it's a lot smalelr than a side-by double]
posted by GuyZero at 10:56 AM on March 31

I have checked on Craiglist, pyjammy, but ours is relatively skimpy to begin with (low-population area) and, as far as I can tell these strollers are in high demand. Even the Boston-area one had something like four "wanted" requests for the BOB, and none for sale.

But I'll keep looking! That's where I got my single jogger and boy, we got our $75 back and then some.
posted by Herkimer at 10:58 AM on March 31

GuyZero, yep, the BOB is a side-by-side; I tested it on the door at the place that sells it and it just baaarely goes through. However, the seats on the jogger do recline for a baby, and one can also purchase an adapter that lets it hold a carseat. I think you're not supposed to jog with a child in it until 6 months, though. The Sport is the one we have, but as I mentioned, I don't like it.

The DuoGlider was a fave of the consumersearch people, IIRC.
posted by Herkimer at 11:01 AM on March 31

IMO you will get the longest amount of usage out of a DuoGlider - our second used it from birth to probably 4 or 5. And it was still in fairly good mechanical shape when we passed it on - nothing broke or fell off. We would use it with one kid too, filling the back seat with shopping and such even after #1 was getting too big for it. I liked it a lot, but it's definitely not a jogger. More like a 18-wheeler of the stroller world. It should have beeped when I backed it up.
posted by GuyZero at 11:07 AM on March 31

Yeah, tandem doubles are dangerous. I have a tandem triple, and I've run into way too many people with it. Ha ha!

Anyway, good luck. I just feel the compulsion to answer questions about things like this. Heh.
posted by pyjammy at 11:13 AM on March 31

The fold-up is crucial for the airport and the bus. Otherwise, if I could have only one it would definitely be the jogger.

We have a jogger and a fold-up stroller, both side-by-side. I've -- conservatively -- walked 1,000 miles with the jogger, but have NEVER used it for jogging. We have it because, unless the sidewalks are perfect and you're not walking very fast, the fold-up isn't very good for getting around outdoors. The jogger, however, can take a real beating.

Even on a two-phase trip (car / subway) I'd rather take the jogger strapped to the top of the car. At the grocery store, you can (hopefully) get a double cart and leave the stroller outside.

I'm sorry, but I don't know the brands offhand.

As far as side-by-side vs. inline, consider the fact that the kids *will* mess with each other in a side-by-side stroller. Good luck.
posted by originalname37 at 11:20 AM on March 31

As a nanny, I've experienced lots of strollers. I loved loved loved the Bumbleride Indie Twin. There's a picture of it folded on that site; might fit in your car.

It's expensive, but if you see it on Craigslist, definitely something to consider. Bonus: their customer service is great. On my very first day working for the family that had it, I managed to break the sun canopy (I thought it adjusted down way further than it does). I called their customer service, and they overnighted the replacement part, for free!
posted by charmcityblues at 11:30 AM on March 31

I really like my Baby Jogger City Mini - not only is it lightweight enough and small folding enough that I can store it in the trunk of my small sedan (and heft it in and out easily), but it is narrow enough to fit through all doors, which makes trips like doctor's offices, etc, very easy. It holds 100lbs, max, 50lbs on each side, but what really makes it is the incredible steering - one hand, light touch. We road tested a lot of twin strollers before this one, and while it isn't perfect, it has been wonderful. Also, we are tall-ish people, and it is a great proportion for us, handle-wise.

I wanted a jogging stroller, and never found one stable enough for two kids, so this was our compromise.
posted by kristin at 12:52 PM on March 31

scazza, if you (or anyone else) can find a rear-facing double stroller (other than the contour, which is awful), I would love to hear about it. I've been looking for one for ever.
posted by LittleMissCranky at 4:30 PM on March 31

The kids I nanny for have this double stroller, which is also a jogger, and I have taken them all over Boston in it. It's rugged, it's comfortable for both kids, it's easy to wield, and about as compact as a double stroller can be. I would highly recommend it.

It's also compatible for newborn & toddler, whereas a lot of side by side doubles are best with two toddlers.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 5:04 PM on March 31

How much benefit will the kids get from going jogging with you? Wouldn't they be better with grandparents, or playing at a friend's house (trading favors)? You will have to do something like that eventually as you can't hope to keep pushing them until they are old enough to jog fast enough to keep up!

And get a buggyboard to hitch on the back of the single McLaren. If you want the 2-year-old to grow up athletic, he might as well start walking now, with an easy ride available.
posted by Idcoytco at 6:03 PM on March 31

We found the double strollers too heavy to be much use, and assuming you might not begin jogging immediately on the birth of your next child your bigger kid will be 2 1/2 before it gets much use. My three year old is pretty resistant to the stroller at all now, so just a single for the 5mo is all we use.
I don't want to dissuade you, but it does seem a lot of money for something that will only get used for a year or less, and only really when jogging.
If we are out on an all day excursion, my 3yro will perch on the front of the single jogger for a rest/ride every now and again.
posted by bystander at 6:31 PM on March 31

We LOVE the BOB. We used it with the infant car seat attachment and now as a regular stroller. No jogging til 6 months, but whatevs. It is rugged and worth the money, IMHO.
posted by k8t at 8:25 PM on March 31

LittleMissCranky - the Peg Perego Duette (we have the Triplette) has seats that can turn any which way. And it will take the PP infant seats too. But it's v v v pricey. Ridiculously so, in fact. (Ours was a gift.)
posted by pyjammy at 9:10 AM on April 1