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View Full Version : Lightweight stroller for 18 mo old twins



dowlinal
11-02-2010, 10:46 PM
I need a lightweight stroller for my boys that is easy to manuver and allows them to sit up straight. I have a city jogger double that is a dream to push, but it's huge and bulky and lately, one of my boys has also become annoyed by the fact that he can't sit upright in it.

We're going to WDW in a few weeks and I need something comfortable for my boys that is easy enough for my mom to push around. She doesn't do thrill rides so she'll watch the boys while we take the older kids on the big rides. Easy, compact folding would also be nice since we'll be taking it on and off the disney buses, plus I'm sick of my whole trunk being taken up by my double.

Momof3Labs
11-02-2010, 11:41 PM
Do you have the City Mini Double? We really, really like our City Mini and rarely use our bigger BJ double (Elite, I think)?

The other one we use regularly is the Combi Twin Savvy. It is an older one but it folds down so small and is so lightweight. But I think that when we go to Disney (in a few weeks, too), we'll take the City Mini Double.

dowlinal
11-03-2010, 10:22 AM
Do you have the City Mini Double? We really, really like our City Mini and rarely use our bigger BJ double (Elite, I think)?

The other one we use regularly is the Combi Twin Savvy. It is an older one but it folds down so small and is so lightweight. But I think that when we go to Disney (in a few weeks, too), we'll take the City Mini Double.


I have the huge BJ double from years ago. It might be an Elite. I bought it when I was pregnant with S so it's 5 years old. I didn't realize the City Mini Double was smaller. I'll have to check it out when I head to BuyBuyBaby.

How is the Combi Twin to push? I love the weight and the convenience of it, but I had a combi single for M and it was a beast to push.

How funny would it be if we were at WDW at the same time? We're leaving the day after Thanksgiving.

Momof3Labs
11-03-2010, 11:00 AM
We'll be there the week after you.

The Combi isn't too bad to push but the girls aren't that big (21-22lbs each). Plus, I'm kinda short. There are no legrests, the recline is a bit flimsy, and the hood really isn't big enough for Orlando sun. And the basket is pretty small - it's really two smallish baskets, one under each seat. Bigger kids won't fit in the Combi (not an option for DS2 to hitch a ride, for example) so it doesn't have as long a life. Note, again, that ours is probably a 2002 or 2003 model, so a new Combi may be very different. The fold is so awesome, though. It folds down to just a little bigger than a P3.

The BJ City Mini really is somewhat smaller and definitely lighter than the Elite. And it really pushes nicely, has huge hoods, a decent basket, and can handle DS2 in a pinch. The handlebar is adjustable, too, which is nice for shortie me or tall DH. Our City Mini has gotten a ton of use around the neighborhood.

You might look at a Maclaren double, too. I have thought about getting one but the Combi/BJCMD combo has served us so well to date.

mikeys_mom
11-03-2010, 12:30 PM
We have a double Mac - the Twin Traveller. It's about 6 years old, I think it has a different name now. It is great for us - easy to push, compact fold, full recline, legrests and decent canopies. The baskets are small and difficult to access when the seats are reclined but must umbrella strollers have that problem.

The one disadvantage over the BJ City Mini is that it is difficult to push one handed because of the umbrella style handlebars rather than one horizontal bar. I can, and do push one-handed at times, it's just not the easiest. I have considered getting the BJ for that feature, but for us, the compact fold is more important than the one-handed push, so we have stuck with the Mac rather than get a BJ. Also, my kids are tall and the BJCM has low canopies, I think.

I am short and DH is tall and we both find it comfortable to push.

Momof3Labs
11-03-2010, 12:59 PM
DS2 is probably 44" tall and just barely fits under the City Mini canopy, for reference.

twowhat?
11-04-2010, 02:09 PM
Some people have compained that the BJCMD seats are too reclined even in their most upright position. They are reclined a bit - maybe 30 degrees? But for 18-month-olds, it's easy for them to just sit up when they want to. That's what my girls do - they sit up straight (not resting on the seatback) when they want to, and rest on the seatback when they want to. We routed the clips for the shoulder harness back around to the D-rings on either side of the PULL straps for folding. So they ride with the harness buckled just around their hips (and not at the shoulders), making it easy to sit up whenever they want.

The one-handed push and the super easy fold and huge canopies are really so nice. We love our BJCMD, and the girls love it too (ours are 2 years old about 50th %tile in weight and height, and have room to grow).

HTH!!

eta: We have both the mini and elite doubles. The mini folds down MUCH smaller and flatter. The stroller frame itself is just as wide as the Elite's, but the big Elite wheels make it wider when folded because the wheels stick out a bit. Those same big Elite wheels also make it fold not as flat. The BJCMD folds down impressively flat, but will still be kind of wide (though not as wide as the Elite), In our minivan trunk, it stands straight up (vertical) when folded, and it's easy to pack bags, etc around it. The Mac or Combi doubles probably folds down even smaller since they don't have one long single handlebar, but folding won't be as quick. One big pain to the BJCMD fold is that you have to use a velcro strap to "lock" it in the folded position. The new BJCMD might have solved this issue.

scriptkitten
11-04-2010, 02:29 PM
i've pretty much solved the problem of "no straight up and down" in the BOB. i just belt them around the waist and don't put the straps around their arms.

they can sit up all they want and they love it. the only thing is that i have to watch to make sure their hands aren't grasping the sides of the stroller when i'm going in and out of store doors.. DS got his hand hit the other day by a door frame (bad, mommy!)

i used to have a Mac double and I sold it. SOOOO hard to push outdoors with 45lbs of baby in it.

twowhat?
11-04-2010, 02:43 PM
i've pretty much solved the problem of "no straight up and down" in the BOB. i just belt them around the waist and don't put the straps around their arms.

they can sit up all they want and they love it. the only thing is that i have to watch to make sure their hands aren't grasping the sides of the stroller when i'm going in and out of store doors.. DS got his hand hit the other day by a door frame (bad, mommy!)

i used to have a Mac double and I sold it. SOOOO hard to push outdoors with 45lbs of baby in it.

Haha - yup - but once your kids are big enough you have to watch out for this every time, regarless of whether you've belted them across the shoulders or not!

dowlinal
11-04-2010, 07:04 PM
Thanks for all the replies. If the CJ has the same recline, then it definitely won't work. I'm jealous of those of you who don't need the 5 pt harness. My sons have the baby houdini gene and now that they don't like the recline they wiggle out of the 5 pt harness and try to climb out of the stroller.

I just found a mac double on craigslist for a great price. Hopefully it looks good in person because it's much easier to justify a new stroller when it doesn't cost a fortune. I'm going to keep my current stroller for walks, going onto the ball fields, and stuff like that since it's a dream to push and my boys are about 60lbs combined right now.

HIU8
11-04-2010, 09:53 PM
I had a mac twin rally that I hated to use. I love my single mac. The twin rally was a beast to push (I'm short at 5'2"). It also has 2 settings--upright and reclined (you unsnap the back and it goes down). the canopies are not huge. It does have a footrest and a larger basket underneath though. It was my mall trolling stroller for 2 kids (not twins). I took my BJSCD on trips b/c although bulky it was so much easier to use and the canopy was amazing.