Twin Stroller WDYT of possible fleet?

[JessK87]

I already posted on the multiples board but I think everyone is busy with their babies lol! My best friend is pregnant and Im helping her with all things baby gear. So im asking for her. Her babies are due at end of winter. She is short her husband is TALL. She wants parent facing when they are older and bassinets when they are little. She lives in the suburbs of Boston near beaches, walking trails, and shops. They have a car and do drive a lot. His parents live out of the country so a lot of travel could be in these babies future. They are getting a mini van. She is obviously overwhelmed but she thinks she will probably need at least 3 strollers. A side by side, inline double, and possibly travel option. She plans on using chicco car seats. On our tentative list after a little research she most definitely has fallen in love with the Bugaboo donkey. Meets all her criteria for a side by side double. (I also love it and wanted to get it too but Im only having one baby now!) For the inline double we think we like the britax b ready. It seems it is the best inline double option for twins and could work as her snap and go. We think with the adapters 2 chicco car seats will fit but are looking into confirming that. Travel options seem limited probably a snap and go when babies are little and maclaren or city mini when they are older. Or she will just travel with the B ready I think we are leaning more towards Maclaren though.

So we think

Bugaboo donkey twin (prob won't be able to be talked out of)
Britax b ready with chicco car seat adapters (bag if they use to travel) baby jogger tandem seems harder to maneuver but could possibly hold two chicco car seats. (she is against using car seats out of the car but I think that is impossible with twins we will see.)

possible travel options
a snap and go for when they are infants (she hates this loll) havent treid double decker

Maclaren twin techno
city mini (we dont love the footprint seems big for travel)


Are there any strollers we should be on the look out for/coming out soon?
Any other double that both seats are parent facing?
What doubles do you absolutely love that we should put on our research list? we obviously have time lol.


Thank you!

[mikala]

The Spark is also reversible.

http://www.valcobaby.com/products/strollers/model/spark-duo.html

[BabyBearsMom]

I would hold off on buying an in-line for now. I think with twins, you are better off with a SBS.

Also, I have the B-Ready and the only carseat you can put on the bottom are the Britax carseats. They don't have an adapter for the bottom for the other seats. I love my B-Ready, but I wouldn't get it if I didn't have an older child who walks some of the time.

[JessK87]

I would hold off on buying an in-line for now. I think with twins, you are better off with a SBS.

Also, I have the B-Ready and the only carseat you can put on the bottom are the Britax carseats. They don't have an adapter for the bottom for the other seats. I love my B-Ready, but I wouldn't get it if I didn't have an older child who walks some of the time.

Thank you for letting us know the car seats are not compatible with both the adapters.

She wants an inline to fit in between cars in parking lots when putting the children back into the car.

Thank you again!

[JessK87]

The Spark is also reversible.

http://www.valcobaby.com/products/strollers/model/spark-duo.html

Wow that looks amazing adding to the list! Although i doubt it will talk her out of the Bugaboo donkey twin. Great suggestion! Looks like an amazing side by side that fits all her criteria!

[BabyBearsMom]

Thank you for letting us know the car seats are not compatible with both the adapters.

She wants an inline to fit in between cars in parking lots when putting the children back into the car.

Thank you again!

I park the stroller behind the car and take both kids out, put them in the car and then put the stroller away. The B-ready is 26inches wide, it is hard to fit between cars.

[mikeys_mom]

My twins are now 3.5yo. I had a love-hate relationship with my double snap'n'go. It was great because;
- It was so light and took up no space in the minivan. I was able to lift it even a couple of weeks post c/s.
- The basket is huge and easy to access. I could go grocery shopping and not need an extra cart or basket.
- It was cheap. I bought it used from Once Upon a Child. I highly recommend looking for a used one either through Craigslist or her local twins group. There always seem to be a ton of these for sale used. They are used for such a short period that they tend to be in good condition.
- It was often a huge ordeal to go out with the twins when they were small that the convenience of not taking them in and out of their carseats in the winter was huge. I had 2 older kids in tow so that made it all the more complicated.

What I didn't like - the push is not great. It was a bit of a beast to push. But for quick messages in and out of stores or a short walk through the mall just to get out of the house for an hour, it was fine.

If I had to do it again, I'd probably still use the double snap'n'go at the beginning. Also, keep in mind that with 2 infants she might not be out of the house much at the beginning.

I have an older version of the Mac Twin Techno. The push is fine when they are small but gets more difficult as they get bigger. It would have been nice to have something with a one-handed push like the City Mini but the umbrella fold worked much better for us. We travel by car often and tried to see if we could fit the City Mini with all our stuff and while it is a flat fold, it just didn't work for us. But, we have 4 kids so all the seats in the minivan are occupied and there is considerably less cargo space. With only 2 kids, space might not be as much of an issue.

[mikeys_mom]

She wants an inline to fit in between cars in parking lots when putting the children back into the car.

Depending on the parking lot, even the double snap n go didn't really fit between cars sometimes. I just put the stroller behind the car and did one kid at a time. If you are using the infant carseats, it only takes a couple of seconds to snap in.

[roseyloxs]

Since the donkey is in her price range I would recommend looking at the iCandy strollers for her tandem. They only seem to take graco, maxi cosi, and peg perego so her car seat of choice wouldn't work with it but it does take bassinets. If she wants the car seats to work with her strollers I would probably look at a different car seat since the Chicco is the least stroller friendly of the bunch.

https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTnnYwb2ecxkVvUEU1pg1BpFXpQhWr37 qNwZ2UBL2DbYgQXr8PT

She would want to look at the iCandy Pear(right) and iCandy peach blossom twin(left). This site (http://www.madeformums.com/hot-stuff/exclusive-peach-vs-pear-icandy-reveals-the-pros-and-cons/945.html) looks like it gives a good breakdown about the differences between the two. The pear seats face parent but the peach seats face forward.

https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ0eWo4TVH3wZwdt62njgkNrbiBoxvCH YaI7g-vTanFJyBTCplM

The phil & teds promenade (http://philandteds.com/us/Products/Push/promenade) also takes two bassinets but not two car seats (not sure if it takes a chicco either). Regular seats face forward like B-ready.

https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQfncdlI2oezQICXzASw35-NNThBrKkFEugvmqq_JzawJ8ciQgJWw

I might also look at the spanish company Jane (http://www.jane.es/us-en#/catalogo-jane/de-paseo/twins). They make the powertwin and the twone(pic above) which your friend might like. Seats face forward like B-ready.

https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSpF5hFRObj4_A1cyR78_ZiPHlIanrWA he1xBvW0lRm9_dotpo-

Then there are a couple of strollers that have add on seats where both seats remain reversible (and do NOT forward face). The vista with rumble seat (http://uppababy.com/products/product.php?id=91) or the peg perego skate with jump seat (http://www.pegperegousa.com/babyproducts-catalog/2012/Skate+Jumper+Seat/)(pic above). The second seat for both strollers is not suitable until at least 6 months and they don't have reclines. I am guessing she can get by on the donkey until then though.

[JessK87]

Thank you for all of your responses they were very helpful! Its true Chicco car seats are great but don't seem to have a lot of adapters that fit twin strollers, which is surprising because they seem to be the best for small babies. After going to buy buy baby and playing with adapters car seats ans strollers we might have our final line up!

Car seat - Maxi Cosi

Side by Side Stroller - Bugaboo Donkey Twin

Tandem Stroller - iCandy peach

Travel Stroller - Maclaren twin techno

[roseyloxs]

Sounds like a great line-up. I forget that you have to think about the babies being itty bitty because they are twins. My babies are on the large side at 8 lb+ (since they tend to show up late) so its not anything I had to think about before.

I just got the Cybex Aton (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07ZARQ3w-20&feature=plcp). I haven't been able to test it with a live human since my baby isn't due for awhile but I love the fabrics. They are so soft and silky. The only downside is the sleek canopy which is cool but a bit lacking in significant coverage. The Aton fits into maxi cosi adapters so she can add it to her search of a maxi cosi seat. I don't know how the itty bitty babies fit into it but I am sure someone on the internet has done that trial.

[legaleagle]

I would search car-seat.org re the maxi cosi for small babies. I know they are coming out with a new model soon too. Also, instead of a tandem, how about theMB duet? It will be as skinny as any tandem and takes bassinets and 2 carseats. The peach does look fantastic too.

[JessK87]

She wants a tandem, side by side, and travel stroller. A lot of parents with twins are telling her she will need all 3 at some point. I don't know if Im sold on the maxi cosi car seats I really like chicco keyfit car seats.

[roseyloxs]

I don't have any experience or knowledge of side by side umbrellas but wanted to share that Cybex just released a twin umbrella called the twinyx. It does not take car seats. I am guessing that the Mac does not have a canopy like the Cybex. Its huge (bigger then the pic below) and can slide up and down the frame for ultimate coverage. Looks like the mac isn't as expensive though.

http://cybex-online.com/us/pushchairs/twinyx.html

http://cybex-online.com/fileadmin/content/product_images/gems/twinyx/2012/twinyx_chilli_pepper.jpg

[Jupiter]

I'm new at this but love the bjcm select. It can be so many different strollers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPp35jmQ5V0this is a video review.

Also the Grace snugride 30 is a great infant seat