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Help ladies!! My dh and I have been searching for a good double stroller and wondered what those of you thought of the ones you had. We live in Wyoming and so will probably have to order online. I have searched high and low--Target, Walmart, Kmart, and Babiesrus. We would like to have a side by side rather than a front to back. We had the latter style with our first two but found that it was very difficult to push and so are opting for the side by side one. Could you give some tips--what you like, what you don't, and what kind you all would recommend?? We don't have a lot of money to spend so a fairly inexpensive referral would be great!!! Thanks in advance!!
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I have used both side-by-side and stadium seating doubles and I tend to prefer the stadium seating. The side-by-side was very difficult to push in the aisles in any store. The racks are too close together. The stroller I fell in love with was the Sit-N-Stand. It runs under $200 and has a regular stroller seat in the front and a bench jump seat in the back. Medium-sized basked underneath. The only thing I don't love about the stroller is that the older child has to move off the bench seat in order for you to get to anything in the basket. But my son jumps on and off all the time; that's what it's made for. Perfect to take to museums or fairs. He's too big to keep lifting in and out of a stroller seat, but he's 5.
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We have the Graco DuoGlider with the stadium seating (we got it for $170 online although it retails for $200)...it's a step up from the one at most stores that retails for $150. It's not a side by side of course, but we felt that a front to back double would be a better fit for our family as they are easier to navigate through a store and we didn't trust my then two year old to leave his baby brother alone if he were sitting right next to him.
The side by side we were looking at then (and for the most part loved) was the Peg Perego Aria. Ultimately, we decided the drawbacks to the side by side (for us) didn't justify the $300+ price tag on the Aria.
Yes, the DuoGlider is big and bulky, but it's actually not that much heavier than the single stroller we had been using and actually fits in the trunk of our Camry BETTER than the single. Steering is not quite as easy now that I'm pushing a 35 pound 3 1/2 year old and a 24 pound 16 month old, but it's a double stroller - what do you expect?
The Sit'n'Stand stroller is actually what I had wanted to get but I couldn't find one in store that I could try out ANYWHERE and I just wasn't comfortable buying one online without testing it first as some of the reviews I read were kind of shaky. Target currently carries a Sit'n'Stand (they didn't at the time I was looking) that I considered getting for my boys now that they are a bit older but I am hesitant because it looks like it's very cheaply made. A friend of mine just got it for her girls, so I'll have to see how she likes it. I love the concept of the Sit'n'Stand and may still go that route one day assuming that I can find one I like and test it out in store first.
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I started with the tandem when ds was born and liked it ok but it was very front heavy to push.
I did my research and looked at many side-by-side strollers and ultimately bought the jeep doupble umbrella storller. It was only about $75. It has padded seats and for the summer the pad rolls up to expose a mesh backing to keep the kids cool. I love this feature. The cup holder is useless, I didn't even put it on and I'm not fond of the canopy (it normally stays off also). It is the same width as a wheechair so logic would make you think it would be easy to manuver around stores. Wrong! I can get it through any single door I have tried, but it does get tough when I try to go through some clothes aisles.
For the price, I would buy this stroller again. I have seen ot online on many different sites but I bought mine in store at Toys-R-Us.
If money were no option, I would still buy an umbrella stroller, but I would buy the Chicco instead. I love my Chicco single and think that I would really like the double, but it cost more and had to be ordered so the shipping jacked the price up even more.
I have condidered a Sit-N-Stand now that dd is 3 and wants to walk. The only thing I worry about is how warm the seat will be for Ds in the summer. Our temps stay in the 90's and creep up to 100 some days. That is why I like umbrella strollers so much, they keep the kids cooler!
HTH
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Does the sit and stand stroller allow you to strap the older child in at all?? I have heard of them but never actually looked. I hated my tandom one because it was so front heavy. I don't use a stroller when shopping most generally. We use it at the fair, zoo, for walks and occasionally in a mall. We don't do much shopping out here where there are not shopping carts!! Thanks for the advice so far.
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The sit n stand has a belt for the child sitting as well as a belt accross the back to help keep them in if they're standing.
We have a jeep umbrella stroller for ds#1 - when ds#2 is old enough we're going to buy one of the plastic things that hooks strollers together and get ds #2 a jeep stroller. Then we can take the strollers apart if dh & I are together - or I can put them together if I'm alone!
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I bought the sit & stand after it was recommended to me on here. I love it!!
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I used the DuoGlider for about a year. It was a little difficult to steer but otherwise quite useful.