Which stroller would you bring for a trip to the city?

[miscelster]

We'll be taking our 2 yr and 5 mo old DCs into the city by train. WE can't decide which stroller would be better - the Phil and Ted's or our single Maclaren Techno. The pros of PT - both kids can ride, but it's so bulky going up and down stairs for public transportation. THe Maclaren is nice and portable, but then we'll always have to carry one of our kids (our 2 yr likes to walk, but I think he'll be a bit intimidated by the crowds in the city and will want to be held a lot) and we'll probably need to constantly switch between who we hold and who rides - since our 2 yr old will probably sometimes want to sit, sometimes want to walk, depending on where we are and what we see and do. I could possibly wear our 5 mo old, but this will be for hours with lots of walking and I don't think my back is up for it.
What do you guys think?

[ellies mom]

If I was just taking public transportation to get in and out of the city and walking the rest of the time, I would take the P&T. Yes, the public transport time will be a bit of a hassle but it will be worth having it while walking the rest of the time.

If I was going to be getting on and off buses and trains the entire time, then I'd consider the Techno for the ease of handling buses.

We brought our Valco Tri-mode to Victoria and Vancouver BC this summer and it was great for walking all over both cities. I'm not saying it was fun but we did carry the stroller up a few flights of stairs while DD (almost 3) was sleeping in it. We took our Zippy to Las Vegas a few weeks later and while it was great in the airport, it wasn't nearly as fun for walking around the city.

[kijip]

I would take the Phil and Ted's. I think a 2 year old is going to need a seat a lot of the time on a big trip.

[Momof3Labs]

I'd buy another umbrella, like the Volo, and bring that and your current Mac. I think that you'll want a seat for both kids the whole time (I didn't allow my DS1 to walk at that age in the city), and it sounds like you'll have two adults. You'll probably find many more uses for two singles since you have a lot of stroller time ahead of you with both kids!

[catfeet]

Ditto on what Lori said. You can get a $30 Combi clone from The Right Start to try out this principle if you don't want to spend the $100 on another Mac. Definately worth it to have 2 umbrellas with little kids. We've only just started to let our 5 yo walk in city situations. It's just not worth it to have a kid who'll get tired and need to be carried or not listen every time you talk about being safe in that sort of a situation. I'd rather have them ride.

My .02
Ann

[C99]

That is sound advice! I live in the city and take PT fairly frequently and I keep telling DH that I want a second Volo for this reason.

[miscelster]

Thanks, everyone -
I ended up taking the P&T and it worked out really well for us - there were a handful of times we had to collapse it and I'd take the two kids while DH took the stroller - going up and down the train and then once for the subway. We did quite a bit of walking, and with 5 mo DS lying down, he was able to sleep, 2 yr old DS did a little walking and then conked out as well. It was well worth the hassle of the stairs.