Double stroller needs are going to vary based on where you live, your lifestyle, and your children’s ages. You may even be able to get by without one. But strollers are essentially our cars here in New York and with two kids under two, a double stroller was a must for us.

We’ve been through several different stroller configurations with two kids as they’ve gotten older. Luckily if something doesn’t work out, we can usually buy and sell it easily without losing much (or any) money. If we lived in the suburbs where we had more space and used the stroller less frequently, we could probably have made almost any double stroller work. But we have to think about things like limited storage space, walk up apartments, folding up the stroller daily, using public transportation, etc. and as we’ve moved, our needs have changed. So here’s what worked and didn’t work for us at each age with our city kids that are 22 months apart.

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1) N E W B O R N  +  T O D D L E R

When Olive was a newborn, I purchased a used snap and go to use with our Graco car seat because it’s what we used when Charlie was a newborn (I sold it once he outgrew it). For the first couple months of Olive’s life I either wore her in a carrier (Beco Butterfly II) or pushed her in her snap and go. Most of our outings were close to home so Charlie usually walked, or I wore Olive and he rode in our Maclaren Quest umbrella stroller. On longer outings to places like the zoo, we would take the both the snap and go and the umbrella stroller.

The Pros of a Snap and Go:

  • perfect fit for itty bitty newborns
  • you don’t have to wake them up when they fall asleep in the car
  • it is so easy to snap and go!
  • ginormous under basket
  • easy to buy/sell used
  • only used for a short amount of time, but it gives you time to figure out which double stroller will best suit your needs

The Cons:

  • it won’t handle as well as a regular stroller
  • we did have to use two strollers at times, but we’re always together on the weekends so it wasn’t a big deal for us

I’m not a huge babywearer — I only did it really often the first 4 months, so the snap and go was essential for me. I also couldn’t chase Charlie around the playground if I had Olive strapped to me, and eating at restaurants was a lot more comfortable when she was happily snoozing beside me than in a carrier. Having used one with both kids, you can say that I’m a big snap and go fan!

You could also purchase a car seat adapter for a double stroller, but I hadn’t decided which double stroller I wanted yet, and I wanted to wait on that decision until I better knew my needs. I’m glad I started off with the snap and go with both Charlie and then Olive, because the strollers I ended up wanting both times changed. As a bonus, the snap and go was still in great condition once Olive outgrew it, so I even sold it for the same price I paid!

2) I N F A N T  +  T O D D L E R

Once Olive started outgrowing her snap and go around 6 months, I decided to give a stroller + buggy board combo a try because a double stroller would take up so much storage space. I was able to score a new Bugaboo Bee with a buggy board for half off. What I liked best about the Bee (other than the name of course) was its light weight and that the seat could forward or rear face, since Olive wasn’t quite ready to forward face yet. But Charlie would constantly try to sit on the board instead of stand on it, and he’d want to ride the stroller as well. He still loved sitting in the stroller and had always been a monster stroller napper, so at 28 months, he wasn’t ready to give up the stroller. We ended up selling the Bugaboo Bee after just a couple of months.

The Pros of a Buggy Board:

  • takes up as much space as a single stroller
  • you save money by not buying a double stroller

The Cons:

  • the older child can’t nap
  • the older child can’t sit
  • the buggy board (at least on the Bugaboo Bee) sticks out so you kick it or have to walk with a really wide stance

3) I N F A N T  +  T O D D L E R  /  T O D D L E R  +  P R E S C H O O L E R 

I knew we needed a double stroller, but most of them were just too wide — even the tandem ones — to fit through our building’s narrow front door. (You can read my research on potential double strollers here and here.) One day we saw our friends’ Combi Twin Sport, and I knew it was exactly what we were looking for. (It looks like they’ve discontinued the Twin Sport we have for the Twin Cosmo.) We’ve used this stroller for the past 1 1/2 years.

The Pros of the Combi:

  • The kids can sit side by side. I vastly prefer side by side than tandem.
  • fits through most standard doors
  • one of the lightest double strollers
  • 3 snack holders/belly bar
  • belly bar easily detaches so the kids can climb in the stroller easily
  • both seats have deep independent reclines (both kids nap really well in the stroller so this was important to us)
  • one of the most affordable double strollers
  • easy and compact fold
  • stands when folded
  • comes with a cup holder

The Cons:

  • sunshade is pretty much useless
  • low maximum weight limit (45 lbs) but it looks like the newer model has a max limit of 90 lbs
  • handling not as smooth as higher end strollers, especially for our bumpy streets
  • not as popular of a stroller so harder to buy/sell used

I still think that the Combi Twin was the perfect double stroller for us at the time, particularly because of its compact fold which was a must for our limited space. I wouldn’t have wanted any other stroller even if it were free because I don’t think any other double stroller could fold as small.

4) T O D D L E R  +  P R E  –  K

We used to live a block away from the kids’ schools so we walked every day, but recently we moved farther away. The Combi was great when we just used it on weekends, but now we needed to use a double stroller for drop offs and pick ups every day. It’s a pretty long uphill walk, so I wanted to get a double stroller with better handling. Plus the kids had exceeded the Combi’s maximum weight capacity so it started buckling at times when we lifted it backwards over curbs, and we were always hanging endless amounts of stuff off the stroller (lunches, bedding, homework, etc.) on top of that.

The double stroller I originally wanted was the City Mini Double. The only reason I didn’t get it was because it was so big when folded and didn’t stand on its own. But we have stroller storage where we live now, so the size wasn’t as much of an issue anymore. Recently I purchased a used City Mini Double.

The Pros of the City Mini Double:

  • side by side
  • fits through most standard doors
  • great handling
  • the best oversized sunshades
  • flat independent reclining seats
  • easiest fold of any stroller
  • great resale value

The Cons:

  • harder to climb into than the Combi because the seats are higher
  • the sides of the stroller block peripheral view so the kids are always leaning forward to be able to see
  • tiny basket – it’s so small that I don’t like putting anything in there for fear it might fall out
  • takes up a lot of space when folded and doesn’t stand on its own when folded (but in all fairness most strollers don’t)
  • you have to buy all accessories separately.

Many people understandably love the City Mini Double, and I still think it’s a great stroller for most people in the city or the suburbs. But honestly the kids vastly prefer the Combi because it’s much easier for them to see out of it, it’s much easier to climb into, and it has a great belly bar/snack cups. I think the obstructed peripheral views really bother them because they’re so used to the Combi. And come to think of it, the difficulty of climbing in and out of the single City Mini is what also made both kids prefer the umbrella stroller.

I still like the City Mini because it handles great, I love the larger sunshades, and it’s a really nice stroller for the price. But I never would have thought that we’d come to love our trusty old Combi so much… if only it handled a little better!

T H E  P E R F E C T  D O U B L E  S T R O L L E R

For our needs, the perfect double stroller would:

  • be side by side
  • handle well
  • have large sunshades with peekaboo windows
  • have independent deep reclines
  • have a large storage basket
  • have open peripheral views
  • be affordable
  • have a compact fold
  • have an easy fold (you have to fold strollers when taking buses)
  • stand when folded (for storage and on the bus)
  • and have easily detachable belly bars/snack holder

Charlie just turned 4 so his stroller days are limited. But if a used Joovy Scooter or Britax B-Agile Double came along, I’d be interested in selling our current strollers and giving them a try!

What stroller/carrier configurations worked best with 2 kids for you?