| |
Q. Which buggy will be best for me ?
A:
- I have 7 week old twins and I bought a Maclaren twin
opus and I can highly recommend it as it does have seats
that fully recline for newborns, and 4 other different seat
positions, it comes with a good hood and you can take that
off so it becomes just a normal umbrella twin buggy for
when they are older which I know a lot of people switch
to anyway. It's really easy to push and definitely fits
into all car boots, its nicely padded for the little ones
aswell, so check this one out to before buying!! Emma
- I own an Atlanta Twin and am very pleased with it.
it is light and easy to steer, sturdy and has everything
included in the cost (no costly extras). I have recently
bought a Maclaren buggy and this is ok for running about,
but not really for shopping. The Atlanta has plenty of space
underneath for all those twin bits you'll be needing, not
to mention shopping. It doesn't fit that well in the boot
of my car and I do have to take out the parcel shelf but
never mind, it's not forever and I don't have a really big
car. Sam.
- I also have the Mothercare Atlantic Twin and am absolutely
thrilled with it. It is suitable from birth with nicely
padded seats which are cosy and felt as though my boys were
secure and snug. It is very easy to push and very suitable
to get around the shops. I also do alot of walking with
my toddler and dog and its not too bulky to get around swiftly
with. Another plus is that it folds down flat really easy
to get into the back of my car (VW Passat estate). Sue.
- My twin boys are 3 years old and we are still using
the Mothercare twin mirage that I got when they were born.
Lightweight. good handle for pushing, they have always been
comfortable in it. Covers easily removed for washing. Very
useful large baskets for carrying things. Good for loading
up with groceries doing a shop&go, pay and then load
into boxes that I kept in the front-seat of the car. Baskets
handy for then to use to push the buggy along when they
start to walk. Felt it was a very good buy. Not disappointed
with it. We did buy two single Maclaren's when they were
one year old to go to Singapore. Useful for holidays and
doing things as a family. Share the weight and easier access
to places. Makes it a little more fun ie buggy races. Kiki.
- I had a Cosatto twin Max which they had from birth.
I was very impressed with this although it was a little
on the heavy side for lifting etc. They last used this when
they were about 2 1/2 so I had my moneys worth. I'm now
in the process of selling it. Its the only double buggy
I had & its still in good condition & was used regularly.
Sarah.
- I have the Graco Duo Sport which I am pleased with
and also had an Emmaljunga one which I used for the first
3 months. (I bought it second hand). I also have the Cosatto
twin max which I hate as it is too heavy to fold and I have
2 single basic buggies for nipping in and out the shops
with when there are 2 of us! Carol.
- Our twins are 16 months and we're on our second buggy.
The first one we had was a Graco (about £100), and it only
lasted 7 months, with heartache in between. We fought the
shop and got our money back, and invested in an Urban Detour
Glacier, from Mothercare. This pram is VERY easy to push,
can recline in any position you want it to, and comes with
fleecy cosytoes, and raincover. Because it is a three wheeled,
all terrain type buggy, it also comes with pump (which thankfully
we've never had to use!). it cost double our budget (about
£200), but I am so grateful to have purchased this model.
Tara.
- I had the Cosatto Kiwi and it only lasted six months.
I got my money back from the shop and bought a three wheeler.
It is brilliant. How I lasted six months without it is amazing.
I also have an older son and it fits a buggy board. A great
place to visit is kiddicare.com. They always have lots of
offers and one of the biggest selection of twin pushchairs
I have come across. Leanne.
- We did a lot of measuring and in the end bought a
Bebecar Duplo which is a twin pram that converts into a
tandem pushchair. We have a very long front garden and found
that most double side by side buggies wouldn't fit through
the front gate let alone the front door! Our girls love
their pram - fortunately their big brother is a very good
walker so we haven't had to worry about him.
We have also just bought a Maclaren Twin Traveller for holidays
as although the pram will go in the boot of the car there's
then no room for anything else. The Maclaren will fit through
a standard front door (we checked with Maclaren before we
bought it). I think it really depends on where you live
- what you are going to use it for etc. as to what you get.
Try contacting your local twins club and ask people there
what they think. Jane.
- I also have a Bebecar Duplo - and have found it brilliant
so far - although my twins are only 4 weeks old at the mo.
I managed to get it second hand, and buy a new mattress
for it. It pushes brilliantly, you can manoeuvre it even
in between the isles in M&S, and the babes are shown
off beautifully like a pushmepullyou baby!!! Getting it
in and out of the car has been a bit of a trial, with us
needing to take the instructions with us to put it back
up again the other end - but I've managed to get it on the
bus no problem. It has also been invaluable for them to
sleep in during the day in the sitting room, doesn't take
up much space, and when folded has little feet to hold it
up, so it doesn't need to lean against a wall. Sam.
- We have the Mothercare Alpine Twin which is excellent.
The only fault is we have to put up with folding it up etc
outside but not many houses have big doorways so we expected
that. That's the only downside. We have a 9 year old Fiesta
and it fits into the boot okay. It is very light and smooth
to push. So much so I want to walk faster with it! It has
a very tight turning circle (can turn within it's own axis)
unlike four+ wheelers so is great for manoeuvrability. My
husband and I wouldn't change it for the world. It's also
very easy to take the wheels off, if need be (will need
second person, though, to hold up the pushchair!) but I
find it fits through most doorways. Personally I don't like
the tandem (one in front of the other) designs, I've tried
a friend's one a couple of times and they are tough on the
lower back when it comes to turning corners and lifting
up onto curbs, etc. Tina.
- I bought a second hand Emmaljunga bouncy type facing
parent pram and a brand new Cossato twin max buggy (umbrella
folding). Big bouncy pram was good for their first 3 (winter)
months and then they were in the buggy so I am glad I did
not waste a lot of money on a brand new bouncy pram. The
buggy was crap! Too heavy and very wide. I now have the
Graco Duo Sport which I am very pleased with. It is the
lightest on the market, a dream to put up and down and it
is very slim. Just fits through my door! Carol.
- I have the Maclaren Opus Duo and I am really disappointed
with it. The pushchair was one of the biggest purchases
we made and we looked at loads before we finally decided.
The Maclaren had everything we were looking for. (Except
price!!) We have had a number of problems with it, the latest
being the folding mechanism. I have been waiting for two
months for the parts to arrive from China so the Maclaren
repair man can fix it. The buggy is 15 months old and the
mechanism started to go at 12 months (Maclaren only give
6 months warranty). It certainly isn't cheap and I expected
it to last a lot longer. Another Mum at my twinsclub has
the same buggy and she had the same problem when the buggy
was 8 months old. Jane.
- When I found out I was having twins for the second
time we decided to buy a MACLAREN DUETTE thinking it would
last as it was a good make, compact and easy to fold. How
wrong we were. The babies were only 6 weeks old when one
of the seat supports broke. The shop gave us another new
one, telling us if it happened again it would have to be
sent for repair. 2 months later the same thing happened.
When we took it back they offered us 2 single buggies on
loan while awaiting repair. How they thought I could push
2 buggies the 30 min round trip to school I don't know.
I then contacted Maclaren myself. It took 4 wks for twin
loan buggy to arrive at the shop. Neither the shop or Maclaren
were concerned my children were in a broken buggy. Now a
further 3mths down the line the top supports have broken.
So if anyone is thinking of buying one think again. Anon.
- I have a Maclaren Duette and I must say I am not
that happy with it. My two are 20 months and it's been back
to the shop several times for various reasons..ie. plastic
window splitting after 4 weeks, the support bars between
the handles breaking, foot rest breaking..etc..and some
of the things I had to pay to be repaired as they were just
over the six month guarantee. I am surprised it's still
actually usable, but it just feels like it's about to fall
apart at any minute which is a bit worrying as I don't really
want to have to buy another buggy at this late stage. Karen.
- I used my ATP Mountain Buggy from when my boys were
about four months. Admittedly the reason that I wanted one
was mainly to go walking. I found it brilliant!! A swivel
front wheel would have been a nightmare to use over the
tracks that I used to walk which is why they do not have
them! I also used it for the rare shopping trips into town
and had no problems (apart from a puncture once and I hadn't
taken my repair kit as I thought I would be safe in town!
I met a very friendly chap in Halfords who took pity on
me!). Although heavier than other twin buggies they are
very easy to control - even my Mother prefered it to our
lightweight Maclaren, with swivel wheels, which I had bought
for around town!! Laura.
There you are then! You're probably still confused, but the overall
message is that all buggies are different and you have to
identify what your actual needs are. Is it more important
that your buggy goes through doorways ? do you need an ATP
to handle your love of country walks ? Unfortunately as you
can see above it is highly unlikely that you will find one
buggy which will satisfy every need, and you will have to
live with a compromise. If you are still unsure of what you
should buy then consider buying second hand, especially if
you are thinking of buying more than one buggy for different
purposes (ie nice comfy one for walks + cheap umbrella for
shopping with car/travelling etc This way the workload will
be spread as quite often second hand buggys have already seen
major action and may not be able to cope with being the sole
mode of transport 2nd or 3rd time around
without something going.
You could surf the net, trawl round Mothercare or post a
message on the forum again, but you may still be confused
without actually seeing them in action. Highly recommended
is a trip to your local twins club to see what is currently
around. Ask the mums there (or anywhere you come across one
actually) to let you have a go at pushing their buggy WITH
THE CHILDREN IN IT! Take it for a test drive and you'll soon
be able to make your own comparisons. Don’t be put off by
older models if you are considering buying new. Remember buggy
design is changing all the time and whilst some models used
to be very heavy, their design descendants may have evolved
with the introduction of new materials etc. into something
more manageable. Also, don't assume that the lighter the buggy
the easier it will be to manoeuvre, or that umbrella fold
buggies are necessarily thinner than other types.
Finally don't expect to get it right first time (another
reason for buying second hand). Hardly anyone who has replied
to questions about buggies in the past did, so why should
you be any different!
You've got some home-work to do baby, and you'd better start
now!
|
