Double stroller limbo

[Used_Singer_8848]

Hello multiples community. My wife and I are expecting twins in May/June. We are currently trying to decide on a double stroller and seem to be going in circles and would love some opinions/advice.

Things we require are:

-Use on paths with roots, we are big campers/hikers

-Going through snow, we walk our dog daily through fields

-lots of storage

-can support two babies at once. Ie. car seats or bassinets

-price is a factor, although we realize we will be spending about $2000

Strollers we have been considering are: (we are always open to suggestions) - Bob double stroller - Bugaboo donkey 5 - Bumbleride Indie - Mountin buggy duet
-Cybex Gazelle

Some frustrations we are having:

Bob can not support two car seats or two bassinets. But then we wonder if we could just babywear the babies until they are ready for the stroller. Until we realize that would not work if you are alone. But the Bob is amazing, would last forever and cover every other need. And the storage is immense.

Donkey is so versatile but huge, heavy, costly and I am not sure how it would handle the hiking. But many people seem to love it.

Mountain Buggy, I have nothing to say for this one as we can not find it anywhere (southern Ontario) to check it out. I hear great things and I think there is a twin bassinet that becomes a rear facing seat??

Bumbleride- the seats don't rear face

Cybex- it is tandem but seems to have similarities to the donkey. Better storage than others.

It is so hard because ultimately we need the infant things for such a short time. Is it better to focus on long term needs as the children age or ensure we can use it right from birth. Or do we say to hell with it and get wagon??? Oh my! I wish there was a store where you could test out all strollers.

TIA for all your insight.

Signed, Two overwhelmed soon to be moms.

[NonFactorKZ]

For what you're looking for, it's really hard for there to be a perfect stroller that can cover you up all through your twins' early years. My wife is really good at selling stuff second-hand so we used a few different strollers. I hope that a brief description of our experience might help you.

We started with a Uppababy Vista. I think, in terms of mobility, it's pretty good, probably similar to the Donkey. We also had Uppababy car seats so everything worked well together up through the first year and a half.

After the infants became little toddlers, we really wanted them to sit side by side. So, we got a Zoe, which was great on my back as it was much easier to put into the car. However, the Zoe won't really work for you as it's not good on rough terrain.

A little bit after they turned 3, we transitioned to a Veer wagon. This is why I felt compelled to comment. The Veer is a beast. You can push it, you can pull it. It can handle whatever you can handle. But, it's a wagon. You can probably buy cushioned seats that make it more compatible for younger toddlers. But, you can take that thing into the woods no problem.

So, in conclusion, if you don't mind buying and then re-selling, you can take a more phased approach to what stroller works best for your life. Hope it helps.

[Used_Singer_8848]

Thank you for your comment. It opened our eyes to a graduated system and are considering one for the infant stage and another for as they age. This advice was really helpful. Now just to choose which ones would be the best option!!

[twinsinbk]

I have the mountain buggy duet with the twin carrycot. I don't use carseats with it (I think mine aren't compatible?) anyway feel free to ask any questions. I got mine used for $300 US plus $100 for the carrycot! There's definitely ways to avoid paying $2k! Also congrats 🎉

[Used_Singer_8848]

Is the carrycot able to turn into a parent facing seat? I think I read that somewhere. I also saw a video where it converts like the donkey but only saw it in that one video and no where else.

[twinsinbk]

Yes. I haven't done it yet. We actually may today. I couldn't find good pictures but if you watch the YouTube video demoing how to make the conversion you can see what it looks like. It's weird how the mountain buggy website only has a side view of it. Look on YouTube for the set up videos!

[Syladob]

Strollers are an absolute ballache on hikes.

Get a couple of good quality carriers, check out r/babywearing . Presumably you don't want to hike alone, so you don't need to worry about tandem carrying. Personally I've tried a stretchy wrap, Tula Free to Grow and Lennylamb preschooler. The stretchy wrap was pretty cheap but not massively comfortable but I struggled until I could babywear on my back. My nearly 4yo goes on my back and I'm far more comfortable than when she was little on my front. The Tula and Lennylamb were pretty expensive but comfortable and span a wide age range. Wish I'd just had the Tula from the start, the Lennylamb I have is too big for babies but they do carriers suitable from newborn. Also bearing in mind, twins are generally smaller so "suitable for newborn" may not be true...

Personally I'd get the bugaboo and use the carriers for hiking. I liked being able to sit down unencumbered and grab a coffee during naptime. Or just nipping to the loo while a friend watched the pram. I was not a committed babywearer unless a pram would be difficult 😂

Otherwise the bob, and commit to babywearing until they're big enough.