Baby Strollers

Double Stroller Buyers Guide

A double stroller is a necessity for parents with two siblings close in age or with twins. There are many different types and brands of stroller and choosing one that fits your lifestyle can be a challenge. Each type of stroller comes with different features that will make transporting your little ones a dream, regardless of your budget.

Modern double strollers are lightweight and easy to maneuver, unlike past double strollers, and they no longer handle like an uncontrollable shopping cart with a mind of its own. With pneumatic tires, swiveling wheels and suspension they soak up the pot holes and bumps of the modern urban city with ease. Navigating the mall, grocery store or your apartment building is a breeze for the driver, whilst providing a silky smooth and safe ride for your precious occupants.

Modern parents expect a reasonable number of standard accessories and features in a baby stroller including: a bassinet, cup holders, winter boots, infant carrier accommodations, and plenty of storage space.

Double Stroller Buying Tips

The main consideration when purchasing a double stroller is whether you wish your children to ride side by side or in tandem. Both have their own merits and compromises, both for the parent driving and for the passengers.

A tandem double stroller is more maneuverable through doorways, down store aisles and navigating the busy downtown sidewalk. However, problems can arise as to deciding which child gets the best view by riding in the front seat.

A side by side stroller solves this problem as both passengers get to experience the ride and interact with each other along the way. With the extra width with this configuration maneuverability does suffer when negotiating narrow doorways or other tight spaces.

Standard Double Strollers

Standard double stroller models offer parents of multiples the greatest range in suitable uses, features and pricing. This type of stroller is extremely versatile and can be used everyday for shopping trips, afternoon walks and all day family trips.

The top of the range standard double strollers offer durable frames, washable seating covers, ample storage and decent maneuverability. Considered the jack of all trades, the standard stroller is suitable for most parents who need a flexible stroller for all occasions.

Umbrella Double Strollers

An umbrella double stroller is the most compact and lightest stroller that is available for parents. They are designed to be convenient for daily use as their light weight makes them the most maneuverable and the easiest to fold away for transport in your car's trunk or when storing back at home.

Due to their compact size and light weight, these types of double strollers are quite minimalist in its design, think race car rather than Rolls Royce. Storage space will be at a premium, so you will have to be prepared to carry most of your baby gear in an over the shoulder bag rather than in the stroller itself.

However, if your primary needs are for a double stroller for use on daily errands or short family trips, then the umbrella double stroller is for you.

All-Terrain Double Strollers

An all-terrain double stroller, whilst not being suitable for dedicated joggers, is more adept at the challenging terrain that outdoor orientated parents are used to. The all-terrain models allow you to experience all the health benefits of the outdoors life whilst taking along your young children for the ride.

They offer larger pumped up tires with a rugged tread, suspension that can handle all types of bumps and a stronger more durable frame. This type of double stroller will handle the abuse of outdoor treks into the countryside as easily as shopping trips to the local mall or supermarket.

Due to their versatility and flexibility in the many environments that they can be used, the all-terrain stroller is the obvious choice for many parents. Manufacturers are becoming wise to this and are expanding the choice of double stroller models in this category. Although the least developed type of stroller, both the number of all-terrain models and the standard features provided with each model are increasing all the time.

Tandem Strollers

Tandem strollers have a seating arrangement that positions one child in front of the other. This has the advantage that it makes this type of stroller a lot narrower than a side-by-side arrangement.

The tandem stroller is ideal for parents with one child older than the other, with the younger child or baby sitting in the rearmost seating position.

Tandem strollers offer more storage space than umbrella double strollers and therefore are better suited to longer journeys or day trips where the parent will not have to carry much themselves.

The narrower width of the tandem stroller compared to a side-by-side model makes it easier to fit through doorways and navigate down the aisles of grocery stores. However, their increased length can make them harder to handle through the twists and turns or when trying to avoid obstacles down a busy city sidewalk.

Double Jogging Strollers

The jogging double stroller is ideal for the most active parents who want to stay in shape, with young children of a similar age or twins. Suitable for use when jogging, hiking or on long walks, it's easy to get the exercise you need whilst taking your young kids along. The jogging stroller tends to be purchased as a second stroller as it is not suitable daily use on downtown streets an in the mall.

A jogging stroller is designed to go predominantly in straight lines at some speed, and require as little effort as possible by the jogging driver to do so. A wide stable lightweight frame and body with seating for two, combined with large 16 inch wheels with pneumatic tires enable it to cruise at jogging speeds in style.

But handling in the twisties can be severely compromised. This is not the double stroller of choice for navigating around the urban sidewalks or at your local supermarket.