Graco makes great strollers. If you have and infant and a toddler, need a car seat attachment of the little one and a comfy seat for the toddler than you can’t go wrong. Graco has been making strollers for nearly forever and they seem to know a thing or two about what kids need and what parents like. Ask virtually any parent about great double strollers for infants and toddlers and the name Graco inevitably pops up. The company name is almost synonymous with stroller. So what makes them so terribly popular? It’s essentially a combination of function and price. In other words, the savvy buyer, buys a Graco. You can’t beat the value.
Great Value
You can beat the value in a Graco. They make the best all around and generally great stroller. They are not the flashiest, they are not the sexiest and they are not the shiniest. They are somewhat like a workhorse, stable, reliable, well built. They include everything a parent could ever want or need in stroller in one, relatively simple to use package.
Details, Details
Graco has been making these things long enough now that they now what people need in a double stroller. There are some non-negotiable things that I like on board a stroller and somethings that just plain make life easier. Here are some examples:
Coffee Holder – I love to stroll along and have my coffee at the same time, especially at the mall. This I must have.
Easy Fold Down – I usually have a lot of stuff to back up and throw in the van. Having the ability to fold the thing down with one hand is super convenient.
Car Seat Attaches Easily – You don’t have to strong arm the Graco carseat to fit this unit, you just drop in onto one of the preexisting seats and off you go. Could NOT be easier.
Weighs Less Than Thirty(30) Pounds – I don’t know how they do it, but they’ve have engineered this unit to be strong and light. For a stroller that can carry two kids, 30 pounds isn’t bad.
Kids Get A Good View – With one seat slightly higher than the other, both kids get to see what’s going on. My kids could not stand it when they could not see the world around them.
Easy Maneuver – The Graco double stroller for infant and toddler with the one behind the other design means you can easily pop in and out of stores and you have no trouble with any doorway.
Big Cargo Basket – 2 kids means twice the amount of stuff. You need a big cargo basket for all of the blankets, diapers(2 sizes possibly!), wipes, jackets if you are at the mall and all the other good kiddy stuff!
There isn’t really much downside to be honest. As I said above, it’s generally speaking not the stroller that’s going to stand out or be the shiniest unit going. But if you want a machine that can take life’s events, baby spit-up, accidents with drinks and food and OTHER things, bump into things and get thrown in and out of your car – and still come back for more, but a Graco. You can’t go wrong. Check it out on Amazon right here. You’ll be glad you did.
The best double stroller for infant and toddler is the stroller that suits your lifestyle the best. The best one I have found is the BumbleRide Indie Twin. This unit has all of the features and benefits that I look for in a stroller and folds up pretty well when not in use.
You’ll Use It Longer Than You Think
Buying a stroller should not be an exercise in utter frugality. The truth is you will have your stroller for a long time. Your kids will most likely ride in it, at least part time, longer than you think. My kids spent a lot of time in it as infants, but as they grew bigger, we also found that there were times after a long time walking that they wanted a break. The would sometimes just pop into the stroller with their younger sibling for a 10 minute rest then pop out again when they were revved up again.
Buy Smart
With a double especially it’s important to look at all the factors. A double stroller is bigger and heavier than an equivalent single and will just naturally take more abuse. It will bump into things more often because of it’s size, it has to carry more weight because it’s a double and will suffer twice as many feet kicking it and just generally abusing it. So it’s important to buy one that’s not disposable and that’s been built well. I wanted one with a metal frame and one that I knew would bump up over curbs and deal with potholes easily. Roads and sidewalks are not always in good condition and it seems that where I want to cross is not always where the cut curb is.
All strollers are reasonably safe, and anything that’s even the smallest threat will be handled by a recall. But that’s not what I am talking about. I want a stroller that is highly visible and is a side by side. The inline strollers on small wheels to me, look like an accident just waiting to happen. A side by side, especially a colorful one, is highly visible and that makes you safer when you are in a parking lot or a city street. Also, the 5 point harnesses keep your little ones snug and secure should you bump over a particulariy perilous curb or terrace.
Nap Time
The Indie Twin has backrests that flatten out in an instant and footrests that let your toddler stretch out when it’s nap time. I can’t overemphasize the importance of this. As a new parent, one of my main goals with our strolls was to put the kids to sleep. Inevitably the baby and toddler would want to go out together and this was a great time to get break. Once the older one went off to sleep, I wanted to be able to lower her down gently but quickly.
More Info
You can check out other reviews of the Bumbleride on Amazon or on this site about baby strollers. Check it out, all things consider this is simply the best double stroller for infant and toddler.
What’s the best side by side out there? I will tell I think it’s the Bumbleride Indie Twin. I didn’t start with it though, but I wish I had. I started with a very inexpensive Dream On Me unit, thinking the kids are small, this will do. Big mistake. It was inexpensive and that part was good, but it just did not suit our lifestyle one bit. I should have known better, but my need to please my pocketbook won out. We beat the daylights out that poor stroller and where very soon in the market for a new one anyway.
BumbleRide, Best Side By Side
After renting a couple of different double strollers and borrowing a few more from friends for an afternoon we finally settled on the BumbleRide Indie Twin. Let me list the range of features that led me (well, us both my wife and myself…) to this conclusion:
Takes 2 Carseats – It takes the MaxiCosi with an adapter. This is actually fairly rare in a rugged double stroller but it’s great when the kids are under about 4 months.
Big Air Filled Tires – Nothing makes a stroller bump more easily over uneven sidewalks and terrain than big tires. The Bumblerides sports 4 of them, with front ones that lock straight. Don’t jog with it though, it’s not really a jogger.
Adjustable Handle Height – The handle height is adjustable. This is a big deal for me because my wife and I are not the same height. Every stroller should have this, but not all of them do for some strange reason
CupHolder – It comes with a cupholder. You snap it on the side, but it works. I dont’ know about you, but I have to have a coffee when I’m out strolling around. This is a must have for me.
Sun Safe Canopys – The canopys are rated to SPF 45. I think it’s just brilliant to make the fabric keeps your kids safe from the sun. The best defense from the sun is to simply keep it off your kids if you can.
As great as this stroller is, like anything, its not perfect. Personally, I would preferred that you could take it apart a little more like our Cameleon. It folds down pretty well, but I would like that. Secondly, it weighs 34 pounds. Now, that’s not bad for a double of this caliber, but there are always efficiency’s that can be found and I think Bumbleride could probably shave another pound or two off that. It makes a difference when you are pitching it in the car.
Lots Of Colours
A double stroller for infant and toddler of this calibre should be available in more than just one color or pattern and this one is. If you check it out on Amazon, you will see you can get it in a few different color schemes. Me, I don’t really care, but my wife seems to think it’s important.
It’s Been Everywhere
Our stroller and our kids have been everywhere. We have been to Disney ( great place to test drive/rent strollers by the way…), Aruba, cruises and lots of other places in between. This stroller does well on the plane, goes in and out of the car fairly easily and sets up for use quickly and easily. You don’t have to fight with it to get it ready to go. It’s attractive, feature rich and easy to use. If you like the sounds of that, check it out on Amazon right here.
Which one to buy? How much to spend? Which features do you really need and how to assess the quality machinery from the junk? These are all the questions that you might be ask if you are looking at double strollers for infant and toddler. It was bad enough probably when you had to buy your first single stroller. Or maybe you were catapulted into doublestroller-dom with twins. In either case there are some key things one needs to look at before making your choices:
Budget – Let’s face it, unless you’re made of money, this is key. Double Strollers range from a hundred or so right up to over a thousand or more. I will talk more about how to decide what’s right.
Your Uses – Well, obviously you are going to put your child in it. But aside from that do you plan to do nature walks or rough terrain? Do you do long walks with your kids each day? Or do you mostly just do the mall and maybe an occasional walk?
Convenience – Some strollers are super easy to strip down and throw in the car. Others only sort of fold up and are heavy to move around.
Style – Do you care about style and color choices? If not, you will save some money. If you do, you are going to pay more
Size Of ChildrenAre you putting an infant in beside a toddler? Or are you buying a stroller for an older child and an infant? If makes a difference as to the size of your machine
Dedicated Use – Is this stroller dedicated to a single use like jogging or do you want a general use stroller for mall, jogging, sidewalks etc.
Music – Do you want or need music on your strolls for your kids?
Personal Nature – Are you the type of person that has to have “the best” (I am I can’t help it!), or do you prefer the best value? (my wife)
Choices Abound
Once you have established the criteria, then it’s time to choose. I’m assuming in this case that you don’t want a jogging stroller. If you do, then have a look at this baby jogging stroller review. The choices essentially come down to two things. If you are looking for a value oriented stroller that will withstand your daily grind, but not often leave the sidewalk, then it’s a Graco that you want.
Graco DuoGlide – A Great Starter
The Graco Duoglide will serve you well. It’s a ride behind unit, which means the kids are lined up one behind the other. The biggest advantage of this is that you will never have any problem getting through a tight door. They make a decent reclining seat for the infant and they add lots of cargo room for when you are at the mall with all the stuff, diapers, bubba’s snacks etc. Graco is the king of baby gear and they have been around forever. It’s hard to beat the value proposition that Graco provides. You get a decent stroller, great for the mall, not too heavy, lots of storage space and will carry 2 kids all day long. And usually for well under 200 hundred bucks. Pretty hard to beat. In fact, it’s just about the best basic starter stroller you can buy.
In my opinion, this is the hands down best double stroller for general use ( not a jogger ) that you can buy. It has big wheels for nature trails, lockable front wheels, folds down for compact storage and weighs in around 34 pounds. You can get it in a bunch of different colors and you can get some great accessories, like a carrycot for it. This is by far my preferred stroller for two. This thing will handle any terrain with ease, is narrow enough to get through most commercial doors, has huge ultra-configurable canopy’s and is available in several different color combinations.
Their Weighty
Double strollers are heavier than their single counter part, thats just life. Aside from that, it’s hard to pick apart either one of these units. For the premium unit, and you don’t mind paying a little extra then check out the BumbleRide Indie on Amazon here.
Find good value in a double stroller can be challenge undoubtedly. Let’s see, there is Graco, Evenflow, Chicco, Countour, Jeep, Instep and this probably isn’t half the list. It’s hard to know how to find the best value. As a parent, I want the stroller that’s going to accomodate my little guys in comfort, but also provides all the things that I want in a stroller. Things like easy to fold up, not too heavy and not complicated to deal with. My kids at a young age also tend to travel with lots of stuff. Wipes, extra diapers, sippy cups, sweaters, blankets and teddy bears. Again, the list goes on and on well know this is even half of it!
Attention To Detail
And I don’t know about you, but I like my coffee, and when my hands are full with baby stuff and possibly baby, I need a place to set my latte. Graco to the rescue. I love these things, for the amount of features they pack into them, you would be hard pressed to find a better value in my opinion. Graco puts a lot of thought into their double strollers for infant toddler. The features are their for both parents and kids, which is important, because we are both involved. Some of the better features:
One Hand Fold Down – With little person or stuff in one hand, stroller can be folded with the other
No Dissassembly Fold Down – You don’t need to take it apart to get it in the trunk
Flat Folding Rear Seat - For sleeping baby, nuff said!
Easily Takes A Graco Car Seats – A brilliant feature for a youg family
Under 30 lbs – Easy to swing into the car
Bleacher Seats – the rear seat is slightly higher than the front so both kids have a view
Canopies and Visors – keeping the harmful rays off of the kids
Some of the nicer features of this unit are it’s parent friendly features. The drink holders and the cargo nets are absolutely invaluable. You can fit the sippy cups in there for easy access and also your starbucks when you need to stop and pick something up one of your children has thrown overboard. The one handed operation to fold the unit down and up are also really really simple. There is nothing worse then fighting with your stroller, especially on those days that the kids are yelling and you are operating on your last nerver. Thats the day you don’t want to have to disassemble your stroller to get it in the car. Buying a Graco is a solid safe investment. Click here for another review of the DuoGllider.
Buying double baby strollers for your infant and toddler represents a large investment of time and money. And you will notice I’m using the word double baby strollers because we are pretty much going to need multiple strollers units for a growing family and for all of our modern day needs. We travel by car, by plane, by feet. We take our kids to the mall on vacation and everywhere in between. Your stroller choice will affect every aspect of your life simply because it carry’s your kids and our kids are permanent, for most of us at least. In addition to that you kids you most likely be in a stroller on and off until they are between three and four years old. Depending on your circumstances it can be longer.
Buy For Longevity
If you find yourself with the fortunate circumstances of having twins or having two kids close in age like we did, they you are definitely buying a double baby stroller to accomodate your infant and your toddler. There are lots of great units on the market. In this review I am going to talk about the one I like the best. We have actually had a couple of units believe it or not, but that’s more due to the fact that we had three kids in close succession and we didn’t buy smart at the start. So I’m hoping this review will save you a lot of trouble. Buy your double baby stroller for infant and toddler smart at the start and you will save some money. But more importantly it will make your life easier.
There are two ways, in my opinion, to approach this problem and it depends pretty much on your child primarily and secondly on how you tend to travel. In my opinion and based on my own experience, the finest stroller is the Indie Twin( I put a picture there). It’s made by Bumbleride and its available all over the place. Inexpensive it is not, but like a lot of things, if you pay a little more upfront, you only have to buy it once. If you want to learn a bit more about pricing on these cool baby strollers you can also check out Amazon.com
Why The Bumbleride?
There’s a few good reasons but let me enumerate some of the more important ones from my perspective.
Weight – The indie twin folded and ready to pack weighs in at 34 pounds according to the website. It’s by no mean super light but is easy enough to man-handle in and out of the car. And considering it holds two kids and a ton of gear, it’s pretty good.
Car Seats – The car seat adapters can accommodate Graco,Peg and a couple of others. When you kids are infants, there is nothing handier than that.
Cup Holder – Do I really need to detail the importance of this? It has a nice one
Air Tires – So that your infant and toddler are riding in their stroller in both comfort and style. These tires make it easy negotiate rough terrain and keep your child from experience those harsh bumbs. Think curbs.
Sun Canopys – This unit sports Sun Canopys which are an absolute must, but even more importantly they are a true SPF45. So you you little traveller is protected from the sun
Easy to Maneuver – Those pivoting front wheels make the unit a breeze to maneuver, but they also in position for travelling over soft under footing like the beach.
Accessories – The Indie Twin has tons of accessories and it’s all the smart stuff you need. Things like the obligatory cup holder, a snack pack folder for the kids, rain and bug covers. They also have included a decent size cargo holder, and not an afterthought thats too small and not very useful like a lot of others.
The thing that my kids like the most in this double baby stroller is both the folding seats. When they get a little sleepy, just fold those back and off to sleep they go. Likewise this baby stroller for infant and toddler has a great footrest for the kids. Your infant won’t need it right way, but it sure is fun for them when they reach 18 months or so. For some reason, it just gives that extra bit of comfort. And it’s also adjustable, I think it’s just super cool. Check out those pictures I found on their website they give you some idea of how it all works.
My name is Adam Cooper and I have a lot of strollers and kids equipment. I have three kids, four strollers, two bike caddys and a whole lot more! I'm a stroller junkie, I can't help it. If it got wheels, I have to have it. But hopefully you will find my advice useful and maybe it will help you buy better.
Graco makes great strollers. If you have and infant and a toddler, need a car seat attachment of the little one and a comfy seat for the toddler than you can’t go wrong. Graco has been making strollers for nearly forever and they seem to know a thing or two about what kids need and what parents like. Ask virtually any parent about great double strollers for infants and toddlers and the name Graco inevitably pops up. The company name is almost synonymous with stroller. So what makes them so terribly popular? It’s essentially a combination of function and price. In other words, the savvy buyer, buys a Graco. You can’t beat the value.
