Double stroller help

[redhead72]

I thought I might be able to get away without buying a double for my almost 3 year old and 3 month old girls, but we’ve just made the decision to take them out of daycare and get a nanny (the older one has had too many severe illnesses already this winter). We will need something for her to use to take them on walks to the park over bumpy sidewalks and some grass. Right now I use a Zooper Swing around the neighborhood for my older dd (who is very small), and put the baby in the Bjorn, but baby is growing very rapidly, so I don’t know how much longer this will be comfortable. It would be great if we could also use this stroller for travel (a lot to ask, I know). We have a couple of trips planned this year where we will likely do a lot of city walking (some driving and at least one flying). Here are the strollers I’m considering:

E3: This is my top choice, but dh has pretty much vetoed it because of the price. If I got this one, I would sell my Zooper, since the E3 could take its place as a single that is used mostly for walks around the neighborhood. The sale of the Zooper, however, wouldn’t make much of a dent in the price of the E3.

InStep Safari TT: The price is right on one would be great for walks around the neighborhood, but seems like it would take up a lot of space if we wanted to bring it anywhere else.

Maclaren Techno Twin: This could be a happy medium, as it is in between in price. I love my Volo (my mall and travel stroller for my 3 year old before the baby was born). I haven’t heard much about it though. I imagine that if my Zooper Swing is adequate, and it is similar to the single Techno, then the Techno Twin would be adequate too.

The drawback to the SBS strollers is that my 3 year old isn’t crazy about riding in the stroller, so I fear that we wouldn’t use it for long. We really only need it for longer walks and for shorter walks when only one adult is going (when there are two of us, one can carry one child, if necessary). I have thought about getting a boogie board for the back of the Swing, but I’m not sure if that would work on our sidewalks and I am concerned about kicking it when I walk.

Anyone have any advice? Are there any other strollers I should consider?

Thanks!

Alix, mom to Ellie (1/24/04) and Anna (10/11/06)

[Tondi G]

Another lighterweight option would be the Inglesina Twin Swift! Cheaper than the Macs and lots of people seem to love theirs.... it also has that center handle that many people miss on the new Mac doubles!

If it will mainly be used in the neighborhood the Instep safari is probably the way to go though. I don't think any smaller wheeled strollers do too well over grass!

I like the site joggingstroller.com to compare the all terrain doubles!

~Tondi

[jacksmomtobe]

Not to make your selection tougher but the E3 is awesome. I love it. It does so much more than any of my other strollers. Since you can also use it as a single stroller and it is narrower than your typical double you can use it in more situations. It's also really easy to manuever and I found it easier to fold than my othe stollers (a BOB and a maclaren). I got mine on the Great Beginnings website (www.greatbeginningsonline.com) using a promo code that they've had out there for a while, gbbaby which I think gave me 15%off which I used to save on the stroller, the doubles kit & another accessory.

Good Luck!