Trying to Decide on a Double Stroller- Phil and Ted's Sport, Dash, or Vibe?

I'm looking for a good double stroller, too--but my little baby's only 3 months old, &, with my 20-month-old, I found the sling to be handier than the stroller till she was about 6 months, so, right now, I'm just strollering my older one & slinging my little one. The phil & Ted doubles kit set up bugs me. I can't imagine either of my kids would be happy riding in the cargo basket, which is essentially what's happening there.

We went with the sport because the size was more manageable than the vibe. We are very happy with the sport, it has worked great with two children.

My girls are 17 months apart. I went back and forth b/n a double side-by-side BOB, a sit and stand and the Phil & Ted. I ended up with the Phil & Ted Sport. I am not a jogger, so I opted for a front-back stroller as I also couldn't deal with the wideness of the double side-by-sides. My sister got the Vibe for her twin boys and it supposedly has a bigger undercarriage/basket than the sport, it also can fold w/o taking the second seat off. We have used the Phil & Ted for over almost a year now and it has worked. I did have a single BOB before the Phil & Ted and it is lighter and therefore easier to push/run with. Hope that helps.

I have the Vibe, which I use only occasionally with my 6 month old and 3 year old. I test drove it in NYC before moving across country with my husband and kids recently. While I loved it for NYC, it's not as practical here because it is big and heavy and too much for me to cart up and down the front stairs to my home. Plus I drive alot more here as opposed to walking because of the hills. But I still think it's a great stroller, probably the best double on the market if you are going to need one allot.

The cons; the break button is in a bad spot so it accidentally gets tripped allot. And it's hard to unlock the break, the push mechanism sticks a bit. Also you cannot use it with an infant carseat. Because of the weight when two kids are in the stroller I also find it a bit tippy going off and on curbs without cuts. But I'm very petite and this might not be a problem for others.

The pros; it's the narrowest stroller I could find on the market so you can maneuver in stores etc. well. The bassinet feature is great for a newborn and allows you to change a diaper on the go etc. I love the fact that you can add or subtract the second seat as you wish so you are not stuck with a double stroller when you do not need it!

I had a sport briefly and sold it...it's a pretty neat concept but there are some impracticalities with it I found. If you kids are that closetogehter you'll be using a stroller for a while soI'd personally go for some other kind of double (like my friend has twins and got a baby jogger city classic). And I ended up getting a babyjogger city mini which also comes in double and I LOVE it.

I got the sport b/c my kids are further apart in age and I would not need a dedicated double for long, but other than the fact that one is on top of the other I did not find it to be fantastic.

There is no shade for the back seat, the shade it does have for the front is inadequate. you have to take the back seat off each time you want to fold it (for the vibe you don't, folding it not very intuitive (the baby jogger city is sooo easy), not much cargo space, if you hand a bag over the handle it will bump the kid in the back...

I jsut did not love it for the cost...I would really look into other options.

I love the Phil and Ted's but there were a couple of drawbacks. We have a Phil and Ted's Sport. It was difficult to get used to the folding mechanisms. There was a recall on the Sport, to correct some of that issue. Also, It can be a bit heavy. I wouldn't recommend jogging with it. Maybe an occasional exercise walk.
The great things are that it is easy to maneuver when its in operating position. If you or your husband are tall, there is great leg room. You can really get a good stride without hitting the bottom/back. I would always kick the back of other strollers, it drove me nuts.
There were a few things that I had a hard time figuring out when deciding to make the purchase. You can't use an infant carrier while it's in double mode. That is a bit annoying, because a baby carrier is so helpful. When the baby is small the regular seat reclines totally flat, and the attachment booster seat sits on top. If you have a tall toddler their head might hit the bar that runs along the back of the attachment seat. The little baby can't sit in the second seat until at least 3 to 4 mos. old. I hope that helps.

Good luck with your choice and your newest addition.

I've never used the P&T but I have the double BOB and I absolutely love it and have never regreted buying it!
I run very easily with it and it's super light and I have yet to find a door it doesn't fit thru.
It has a nice basket underneath that I fill up when I shop as well as I can put stuff on top of the stroller.
The drawbacks to it are that it takes up a lot of space and needs a little ummpf getting it in/out of the car since it doesn't compact down.
My kids have been in it since they were 8lbs (they are now ~23lbs) - so I've used it constantly.
Buy the double console with it if you decide to go with the BOB.
Congrats on Baby 2!

Hy K.,

consider the brandnew Citi Mini Baby Jogger - it is an ultralightweight side by side with a nice recline
for naptimes, good suncanopy and very durable workmanship.
citikids in SF carries it
good luck
C.

Hi K.,

I have a Phil & Ted Sport. I like the stroller, somewhat complicated in the beginning, (like all baby gear) but once you get use to it...it will feel like second nature. I was not too crazy about the brake in the beginning, but I read it was for safety issues for the backseat rider, which I don't mind anymore. I used this when my second baby was an infant and it worked great...now he's 6-months and my oldest is 17-months and I put him in the backset. He doesn't mind it at all, I just strap him in tight so he's not moving flopping around. I also love the fact that we don't have a double wide stroller...I still feel normal with this. I looked at the other lines Vibe and Dash and like that the brake control is in the handle. But without really fiddling with it, I can not tell you which one is better. I like my stroller and it was in my price range.

I hope this helps!!!

L.

I have the Phil & Teds E3 sport in red with the second seat and i LOVE it. It rolls smoothly over all kinds of surfaces, the front wheel pivots so turning is a breeze, both kids have plenty of room. my oldest is really tall, but he still fits comfortably. Both boys have ridden in both seats & i've never had a problem with one kicking the other, etc. i'm not really sure what the differences in the models are, except for colors... the only color we liked was the red one & that was only in the sport, so that's what we got.

there are two negatives we've found:

it does not fold up compactly. in order to fold it up & put it in the car you need to take the bottom seat off. and there's no latch to keep it closed while you are picking it up (there's a handle, but the stroller itself does not lock in the closed position)

it's not really recommended as a jogging stroller. the front wheel does have a locking pin, so you don't have to worry about stability, but the stroller is REALLY heavy. i think it's around 30 pounds BEFORE you put the kids in it. also, if you have long legs, or a long stride, you'll likely hit the bottom seat as you run... and there's nothing to protect the child on the bottom from the sun (or your sweat) . if you are a serious runner, i'd spend the $$ for a BOB and use a different stroller for everyday.

I just got the KidzKargo double stroller and I am loving it!
I had a single jogger stroller so I couldn't imagine going to a four wheel stroller for my double. I was deciding between the KidzKargo and the Phil & Ted and I chose the KidzKargo because I didn't like that P&T had the back child below. I had seen some families out walking where the lower child was craning around the side to see. The KidzKargo has the second child raised higher like stadium seating. It did take me a couple times out to get used to the slightly heavier push than my single. But, now I'm loving it and I get stopped all the time and asked about it. Good luck.
www.kidzkargo.net
Oh, and the price was way better on the KidzKargo!

We have a Phil & Ted's but I think it is the classic. We have had it for 3 years and have been very happy with it. I have been using it since my daughter was a newborn with no problems. Now that my kids are older I use it mostly as a single (my oldest is 5) but it is so nice to have the option of using it as a double for long days such as the fair or amusement parks. The rear seat goes on and off so easy ( I usually remove it to put in the car even though I don't need to- I like the extra space in the trunk). As far as people saying the kids won't want to sit in the rear seat--my kids fight over who is going to sit back there. Biggest drawback is no basket really when used as a double and I would highly recommend the optional sun/bug shade. It gave complete sun protection for both of my very fair children since it wraps around the entire stroller. We just carried a backpack when we knew we would be using as a double to make sure we had a place for our gear. It maneuvers very easily even with both kids in it and I love how easy it is to get through malls and stores. We have been very happy with our purchase and have never regretted buying this stroller. And after borrowing my friends double stroller just one time that I could barely push it was so heavy and hard to steer, I am sure we made the right decision.

Sorry, I don't know the difference between the 3, but I have a Phil and Ted Sport and I absolutely LOVE my stroller.

Benefits: Multiple ways to configure stroller that were easy enough for me to do by myself (single, double with infant laying flat, double with both sitting up), easy to maneuver through tight situations with one hand, relatively light for a double stroller, well-designed and built very well (my husband, who is an engineer, really liked it), pneumatic tires that make it easy to go on grass or dirt paths, I can do light jogging although they specifically claim it is NOT a jogging stroller, and the accessories (I highly recommend the backpack that attaches to the stroller and the cocoon that fits right into stroller).

Drawbacks: No cup holder, difficult brake to push down and lift up.

Hope that helps! Good luck in finding the right stroller for you.

I have the sport and absolutely love it!

We have had a Sport for 1 1/2 years and love it! I don't really know the difference between the different models but I would say that if they still sell this brand at O Baby Baby! on Solano that there were very knowledgeable there about strollers and very familiar with the different features because they only sell a few brands. They also give you 50 dollars off when you spend 500 so we ended up with a 10% discount in the end. They also let us do a test drive and walk around the block which was very important in helping us make our decision - you really want to see and feel it in action. I'm not sure what other stores sell them around here but there must be some. My other thought is that if money is a big issue that I believe you can get the old model Sport (the one we have) online with a big discount, at least this was the case a while ago when they first came out with the new models (I was researching on the internet for a friend).

We love that the stroller is useful for either 1 or 2 kids and when you use it with one but still have the extra seat on it it has a ton of storage space which is great for grocery shopping, etc. All in all a fabulous purchase and I had a very good buying experience at the store I mentioned above.

Good luck with your decision and your new baby!

If you're going to be using it to jog/run I would NOT buy a P&T. They are not meant for jogging. Also, they have been recalled a number of times.

For a double you can use to shop, stroll the mall and jog with I would go for the Double BOB Revolution. I love this stroller. I got it when I was pregnant with #2 (who will be 3 yrs old in April). I have zero complaints about it. I am a runner and use it for everything.

If you can hold out on buying it until March, you can get it 20% off as a co-op member at REI.

Also, the BOB diaper bag is the best! It atatches to the handle bar so it saves your bottom basket for everything else.

Here's my response to a similar request not long ago:
I love my Vallco Tri Mode Twin... it's a side-by-side that fits through standard doorways... I roll it right through my front door. It maneuvers like a dream even one-handed and can spin a 360 in place. It can accomodate an infant seat and if you have a 3rd child there's an add-on seat for the front even. I know another mom with the twin version and it's the only stroller she has (it lives in her car)... she loves it. I also know a MaMa who opted for the singleton TriMode and bought the "jump seat" for her toddler... she hates how hard it is to maneuver stacked with two kids and wishes she'd gone with the side-by side. I did tons of research and in-store test drives and fell in love with the TriMode Twin. Yes, it's very pricey but with all the walking we've done I wouldn't trade it for the world. Even my husband talks it up to folks expecting their 2nd baby and he wasn't originally thrilled to be plunking down so much for a stroller! On the Phil & Ted's I couldn't get past the idea that one kiddo wouldn't have much to see and would be taking up that teeny little basket for their grubby shoes. The best add-on I've had for my stroller was a clip-on cup holder by BabyJogger... it's self-leveling and can be attached to the center bar so it won't be in the way. The TriMode Twin has plenty of storage and you won't get tired pushing it... the true tires really make a difference. The sunshades go all the way down to the bumper bar so your kiddos will never be blinded by the sun or blown away.

And to add now that it's raining... the rain covers zip into the sunshades and go all the way over the footplate so you're precious little ones won't get wet while you're blowing off MaMa steam in the rain :P If it's a short errand I'd rather walk in the rain than have to take two kiddos in and out of the car... this way they get in at home and out at home!

My recommendation is for the sit and stand LX.. I love it. It allows my older boy to sit or stand to look around, he gets on and off easily. The front, for my daugter, can hold a baby carrier or switches to a seat. I like that is not double wide and doesn't put one kid highter up than the other and both can see. One is not blocked by a view of a backseat or big canopy. Check it out.