The Best Double Strollers of 2017

Editors' Choice: Best Side-by-Side

Thule Urban Glide 2

$649.95 at Amazon See It

The Thule Urban Glide 2 earned the highest score in this comparative review and an Editors' Choice award impressing us with the overall quality, maneuverability, and ease of use. This option has a 3-wheel jogging design, is easy to fold, and has a great self-stand feature. The Urban Glide 2 is easy to maneuver through doorways, around corners, and over rough terrain. You can jog with it and take it up and over curbs with relative ease. The passenger seats have inside storage pockets, large canopies, independent recline, and padded 5-point harnesses. This option isn't the best choice for parents expecting twins because it only accepts one infant car seat. It is also somewhat heavy, but it is the lightest in the top 3 scoring strollers, and it is lighter than the similar BOB Revolution Flex Duallie. Overall, the Urban Glide 2 is a great everyday stroller packed with features that let you run and take adventures off-road when the mood strikes while keeping baby cozy and protected from the sun.

Read full review: Thule Urban Glide 2

Editors' Choice: Best Inline Double

UPPAbaby Vista Double

$1,059.98 at Amazon See It

The UPPAbaby Vista Double is a standout stroller that earned a 2nd place rank and quickly became the stroller of choice with testers, earning it an Editors' Choice award. This stylish, easy to use option offers a variety of seating configurations including two infant car seats making it great for twins, multiples, and single rider (or three). This stroller sports foam filled rubber tires, the biggest storage bin in the review with the largest maximum allowable weight (30lbs), a telescoping handlebar, and easy fold. While the Vista is not an all-terrain stroller, it does manage uneven terrain better than much of the competition thanks to all-wheel suspension and larger wheels. This stroller may not be the best choice for parents with limited funds, but it may be one of the only options if you need room for three children of different ages. The Vista has a higher than average price, but we think it is worth the money if you can afford it given its high quality, efficient design, and overall seating versatility.

Read full review: UPPAbaby Vista Double

Best Bang for the Buck

Joovy ScooterX2

$193.99 (31% off) at Amazon See It

The Joovy Scooter X2 walks away with a Best Value award thanks to a great combination of higher score and lower price. This stroller is a user-friendly product that draws you in with bright colors, fun features, and functionality in a way you didn't think possible for a product with a price this low. The Scooter is a quality product suitable for multiple ages or older twins, as it does not accept any infant car seats. This side-by-side design has inset front wheels that help it negotiate corners and narrow doorways with ease. The shared large canopy, inside mesh stow pockets, giant storage bin and dual pockets hanging off the back provide all-day comfort and convenience. The Scooter has deep reclining seats with individually adjustable leg rests, all-wheel suspension, belly bar, and easy to use brakes. Given its overall value and plethora of features, it's easy to see why testers liked the Joovy Scooter.

Read full review: Joovy Scooter X2

Best Value on a Budget

Baby Trend Expedition Double

$209.99 at Amazon See It

The Baby Trend Expedition Double is the least expensive double in this review which helped it earn a Best Value award with above average performance at an affordable price point. The Expedition is technically sold as a jogging stroller and sports rubber pneumatic tires, padded seats, easy to use recline, and the second highest score for maneuverability. While the Expedition may not have the same attention to detail, or use the same level of quality components as much of the competition, for the price, it offers what we believe is a reliable double stroller that gets the job done. It even has a few extra features like a parent tray, cup holders and cinch pockets on the back of each seat. Unfortunately, the Expedition Double is not compatible with any infant car seats, so it isn't a good choice for babies under six months, and you can't jog with a baby until 8-12 months. However, if gear price is a concern, and you want the freedom of moving off-road with the occasional run, then the Expedition Double is an option to consider.

Read full review: Baby Trend Expedition Double

Top Pick for All-Terrain

BOB Revolution Flex Duallie

$543.99 (23% off) at Amazon See It

The BOB Revolution Flex Duallie is another 3-wheel jogging stroller that also has everything parents need for multiple children with the bonus of all-terrain tires and adjustable suspension. This stroller earned a second place rank in this review and an Editors' Choice award. The BOB has a high score for maneuverability and impressive scores for quality and ease of use. While it doesn't accept two car seats, so it isn't a great option for twins, it does work for children up to 50 pounds in each seat and will take one car seat with an adapter sold separately. The infant car seat also requires a strap attachment which isn't our favorite, but using the adapter buys you about 8 months additional strolling time with the BOB.

Read full review: BOB Revolution Flex Duallie

Top Pick for Outdoor Adventure

Thule Chariot Cross 2

$999.95 at Amazon See It

The Thule Chariot Cross 2 is a unique product designed for outdoor adventures with included strolling and bike trailer kits standard. The Cross 2 does not disappoint because it isn't an ordinary stroller. Though it isn't a traditional double stroller, it is a great buy for parents that like being outdoors and want to include their children on every fun adventure. This product replaces the Thule Chariot Cougar 2 with some impressive upgrades like lower weight, better storage, and reclining seats. If you want to stroll, bike, ski, or jog, this product will not disappoint and is the only one in our review that can do it all. The Cross 2 may not be a true contender for the traditional family, but it wasn't designed to stroll through city streets or the local mall. If you love being outdoors, there may not be a better stroller for two.

Read full review: Thule Chariot Cross 2

Best Frame Stroller for Twins

Joovy TwinRoo+

$107.99 (23% off) at Amazon See It

The Joovy Twin Roo+ is a dedicated frame stroller that accepts two infant car seats of almost any brand. This product wasn't included in this review because it was unlikely that it would manage to do well compared to strollers that offer more (like canopies and seats). However, that doesn't mean this stroller doesn't have a place in the baby gear line up for parents expecting twins. Because many of the double strollers only accept one infant car seat, and some don't accept any, the Joovy Twin Roo+ fills a gap in the product line-up with its two car seat capability. This product is easy to use, lightweight, compact when folded, with storage and 4 cup holders. It allows babies to face either direction and the seats sit low enough for parents to see both. This stroller has a $130 price, which means new parents can save some cash by purchasing the Roo+ over the more expensive products that won't accept two car seats. The Twin bridges the gap between birth and the end of infant car seat use when parents can make a more informed decision on their remaining strolling years. If you are expecting twins and money is tight, or you aren't sure what kind of stroller is best for twins, then the Twin Roo+ can meet your needs without the big expense.

Read full review: Joovy Twin Roo+

Best Sit and Stand Lightweight Stroller

Joovy Caboose Ultralight Graphite

$174.42 (30% off) at Amazon See It

The Joovy Caboose Ultralight Graphite is a little different than anything else we tested. This stroller is the lightest option in the group, has an available back seat for purchase, and offers a cover for the back seat rider. The Caboose is easy to fold and lift, and it has everything a parent of multiples would need for a fun day out, without the hassle of a heavy, clunky ride. At first blush, this option didn't score well in comparison to much of the competition. But the more we used it and learned about it, the more we liked it. With a list price of $250, it is one of the cheaper options in the review, and it has enough functionality and features to keep most parents and passengers happy on fun or quick trips out and about. If you have children of different ages, with one that seems always to be moving, then this sit and stand style is a good fit.

Read full review: Joovy Caboose Ultralight Graphite

Analysis and Test Results

Selecting the right double stroller for your family might be a bigger struggle than juggling the two children you want to put in it. With so many options, each with different features and designs, it can be difficult to figure out what matters most and how one product compares to another. Add in which options are best for twins versus children of different ages, and you have a complicated comparison process that could take months to decipher. In our review, we found that the differences are big, and an in-depth comparison is necessary to sort out which products worked well and which just looked good on paper.


We purchased and tested 19 highly-regarded, double strollers to determine which products are the best. We used each stroller for several months in both the real world and our in-house lab. The table above shows a comparison of the overall scores for all the strollers in this review. Overall scores were computed using the individual metric scores with an emphasis on ease of use and maneuverability performance because we feel these are the most important for day to day user experience.

The sections below provide additional details on how the products performed during testing compared to one another.

Ease of Use

For a product to be easy to use it has to have useful features that work well. Products without certain features, or those with difficult to use features, will invariably be frustrating for parents on a regular basis.


The goal is for features to make life easier, not harder. For example, folding and unfolding a stroller is a process that has left more than one parent crying or cursing in public. The features and functionality of each product were noted, tested, and compared to the other products to determine scores.

Fold and Unfold

Many of the products have an intuitive folding operation with only a few steps. Some offer self-standing and automatic locking features, but even if they didn't, a few managed to be easy to operate. We preferred products with the least amount of steps that folded smoothly and without awkward complications that resulted in banging shins, sliding, or pinching. The Peg Perego Book for Two earned the high in this test, because it is super easy, has one step, self-stands, and auto-locks, but you can't fold it with car seat adapters on which is a bummer.

Storage

All of the products claim storage of some type. This feature is a bit open to interpretation with the size and weight allowance of storage varying widely across products. For instance, the Joovy Caboose Ultralight Graphite offers a small under seat bin with questionable access under a sliding seat, while the UPPAbaby Vista offers a large easy to access basket that holds 30 lbs. The Joovy Scooter X2 has additional storage pockets and cup holders on the canopy back, and interior mesh pockets for passengers. The BOB Revolution Flex Duallie, Thule Chariot Cross 2 and the Thule Urban Glide 2 also have passengers stow pockets and larger storage bins but can't carry as much weight as the Vista.

These photos show some of the additional storage features found on some products. The Joovy Scooter X2 (above left), covered storage bin and zippered pocket of the Thule Urban Glide 2 (above middle), and parent tray on the Baby Trend Expedition Double (above right).

Sunshade

Every product in this review has a sunshade for both passengers. Some have smaller shades for rear passengers, like the Phil and Teds Dot, while some have a single shared canopy like the Joovy Scooter 2X. Some shades are relatively small, like the Graco Ready2Grow LX that covers only a little, while others offer giant canopies like the BOB Revolution Flex Duallie that covers most passengers from head to past the knee. The Graco Ready2Grow LX shade earned the lowest score in our tests with a 3 of 10, while the canopies on the BOB and the UPPAbaby Vista scored 10s. Most of the canopies fell somewhere between the BOB Revolution Flex Duallie and the Graco Ready2Grow, offering adequate coverage for both passengers. The inline models often skimped on one canopy and the Joovy Scooter X2 and the Baby Trend Expedition Double both had a single canopy for both passengers, which can cause problems between siblings who may want different things.

The photos above show some of the variations in canopies across products. From left to right they are the Baby Trend Sit N' Stand, BOB Revolution Flex Duallie, Joovy Scooter X2, and the Graco FastAction Fold Duo.

Harness

All of the products have 5-point harnesses, and some offer padding or safety buckles that require two hands to operate. Some of the products have an adjustable crotch strap and shoulder height strap adjustment. Several offer a non-rethread harness, and the rest rethread. However, even the rethread options aren't as hard to operate as those found on car seats and luckily you won't need to adjust any of them very often. The Chicco Cortina Together and the Baby Trend Sit 'N Stand only have two shoulder strap positions, while most have more than two height options. The BOB Revolution Flex Duallie earned the highest score for harness adjustment.

Products that are easy to use and adjust scored higher than those that were difficult. We assume that parents are more likely to regularly use harnesses according to the manufacturer's directions that are simple, straightforward, and easy to fit.

The photos above show the top scoring harness of the BOB Revolution Flex Duallie (left) compared to the low scoring harness of the Phil and Teds Dot (right).

Seat

Several of the products offered adjustable leg rests, and almost all of them had some degree of reclining seat. Napping and finding a comfortable position to sit can be of the utmost importance to little ones on the go. You shouldn't overlook these features when choosing which product to buy.


The photos above show different recline options. From left to right they are a plastic toggle for the Thule Urban Glide 2, a button push on the UPPAbaby Vista, and a metal bar that sits in grooves on the front seat of the Baby Trend Sit N' Stand.

Some of the strollers offered a near flat recline and leg rest adjustment like the front seat of the UPPAbaby Vista Double that came close to flat. Other products like the Chicco Cortina Together, had different recline options for each seat, with one reclining further than the other that remains almost upright when fully reclined. This disparity seems like a design flaw, and while it might work for children of vastly different ages, it may also end up in a fight for who gets the more comfortable seat and cozier napping experience. This kind of position disparity is found only with the inline products. Depending on the age of the siblings, and whether or not they are twins, this type of seat arrangement may end up being more headache than it is worth.

Ease of Car Seat Attachment

This metric doesn't carry a lot of weight in the overall score, thanks to the limited life span of this portion of a stroller's life (9-12 months out of a possible four years). However, the information can help parents determine which strollers offer the easiest attachments or work the best with award winning car seats. If this is something you are looking for, you may want to check out the individual scores for the strollers you like the best.

The other consideration would be finding a stroller that works with two car seats if you have twins, something that only half in the group can manage. We recommend choosing your infant car seat first because car seat safety is so important. Then you can find the best compatible stroller that works with your chosen car seat. Not all strollers offer car seat compatibility and often you need to read the fine print to determine which car seat is compatible with which strollers and whether or not it can accept two infant car seats at once.

Maneuverability

Finding a good double stroller that turns on a dime and is a pleasure to push can be a daunting and seemingly impossible task. However, after significant testing, pushing, turning, and narrow negotiations we found that some products are better than others, and some are a pleasure to use. Moving a double-wide or super long stroller can be a struggle, and there is little that can be done to decrease the size or weight of the average double product (which only gets heavier with little ones inside). However, the kind of tires, wheels, and suspension can have a huge impact on how easy the products were to move.


The BOB Revolution Flex Duallie, Thule Urban Glide 2, and Thule Chariot 2 are some of the easiest to push in the bunch with a score of 9 of 10. These strollers earned the high score and proved that it is possible for a wide stroller to be easy to maneuver. The 3-wheel design and pneumatic tires make the BOB Revolution Flex Duallie, and Thule Urban Glide 2 a breeze to push, and the large back wheels and inset front wheels make the Chariot Cross 2 smooth to move. Add on their great suspension systems and they are as comfortable to be in as they are easy to push. Alternatively, the average product in our review only scored a 5. The UPPAbaby Vista and the Baby Trend Expedition both earned a second place with 8s.


Many of the products are difficult to push because they have flexing frames or wide-set wheels. Some were hard thanks to wobbly plastic wheels or dual front wheel designs (4 wheels on two front legs). These designs make pushing frustrating or impossible over various terrains and transitions. If they don't have suspension, the pushing is harder and baby will feel every little bump in the road.



The products in our review endure a course of twists and turns, narrow doorways, and tight corridors. We put them through the paces over hard floors, concrete, asphalt, grass, and gravel, then we drag them up and down curbs. We assumed that some of the products would have trouble on gravel or grass, given that most are not designed for this kind of use, but some of them had difficulty on hard flat floors. We scored products side-by-side on how well they performed in each part of the course.


The photos above show the locking front wheel of the BOB Revolution Flex Duallie (left), and the dual front wheels of the Britax B-Agile Double (right).

Weight and Folded Size

There are a lot of factors to consider when choosing a double stroller, which might lead you to overlook the weight and folded size. However, we feel this metric is important given that multiple passengers mean twice the work and twice the weight. The last thing any parent needs is a product too heavy to move from place to place, or too large to store when not in use. If you consider that each passenger might weigh up to 40 pounds, and the product could weigh over 30 pounds, this creates a final weight that might be over 100 lbs with supplies and shopping treasures! This makes weight a driving factor behind which product you choose, especially if you live in a location with steep inclines or an up and down terrain like San Francisco.


Unfortunately, none of the double products are truly lightweight, so the goal is finding the right option for you with the lowest weight. The heaviest stroller in the group is the Baby Trend Navigator weighing in at 39.7 pounds. The lightest is the Joovy Caboose Ultralight Graphite at close to 23, which is one of the reasons it won an honorable mention. The average is about 32 pounds and is shared by the Peg Perego Book for Two, Thule Urban Glide 2 and theMountain Buggy Duet. The BOB Revolution Flex Duallie came in close with a weight near 34 pounds, while the Baby Jogger City Mini Double and the Britax B-Agile Double are both close to 27 pounds making them good options if weight is a concern.


For this metric, we weighed and measured all products in the same way with the same equipment, so the comparison is truly apples to apples. Unfortunately, we've discovered that not all manufacturers offer accurate measurements and weights, so we weigh and measure the products ourselves for consistency across products.

The smallest folded products in this metric were the Britax B-Agile Double and Baby Jogger City Mini Double at under 10,700 cubic inches. The largest option is the UPPAbaby Vista at 28,264 cubic inches (down about 1000 cubic inches from the previous version. The smallest award winner is the Joovy Scoot X2 at 18,188, while the honorable mention Joovy Caboose Ultralight Graphite is around 11,000 cubic inches.

Quality

The double products proved that quality is available in almost every price range from different brands. However, it does somewhat hold true that you get what you pay for, and in general, many of the cheaper options also scored lower in our tests for quality. With the exception of the Joovy Scooter X2, the cheaper products ($250 and under) scored a 4 or below. The Scooter is $280 and managed a quality score of 6, the highest for any product with a price tag under $300. The Chicco Cortina Together and the Graco FastAction Fold both had a list price of $300 and scored lower than the Scooter, showing money isn't the only factor when it comes to quality.


The high score for quality is a 9 earned by the Thule Urban Glide 2 with a list price of $650 and the Thule Chariot Cross 2 with a price of $1000. While the Urban Glide 2 is on the pricier end, it is by no means the most expensive in the group, with five other strollers costing the same or more with lower quality scores. While a higher price might indicate better quality, there seems to be a price break where this is no longer the case, and larger cost doesn't necessarily correlate to an increase in quality.


The photos above show the interior of the Thule Urban Glide 2 (left) and Baby Trend Sit 'N Stand (right), the high and low end of the quality scale respectively.

The average product in our review scored a 6 of 10 for quality. The UPPAbaby Vista and the BOB Revolution Flex Duallie tied for second place with 8s; these strollers use quality materials that are put together in a design that is both functional and pleasing to the eye. The four top scoring products stood out from the competition with attention to detail and features that were thoughtfully placed and skillfully assembled. We reviewed how well the products were put together, what kind of materials they use, and how well they tolerated our testing process over several months. If they can't make it through testing in one piece, they aren't likely to make it through your strolling years. We considered frames, fabric, comfort, and design when rating quality and the products with the highest scores offered better materials, quality connection, less flex, and durable stitching.

Twins vs. Multiples of Different Ages

The primary consideration that makes these two options different is that parents of twins will need the same or at least similar seating arrangements for both babies, while parents with children of different ages can manage with different seating features. For instance, a sit and stand style isn't going to work for infant twins as one of them clearly cannot stand. Alternatively, only half of the strollers offer the ability to carry two car seats; something infant twins will likely need, while parents of different aged children probably won't mind. The options we tested that accept two car seats are the UPPAbaby Vista, Mountain Buggy Duet, Baby Jogger City Select Double, Britax B-Ready Double, Peg Perego Book for Two, Chicco Cortina Together, Graco FastAction Fold Duo, Graco Ready2Grow LX, and the Baby Trend Sit 'N Stand. The remaining half accept only one infant car seat or none at all.


There are some things to consider when using two car seats. Some brands will only accept their native brand car seat, which will limit your choices of seat or stroller. The Peg Perego Book for Two, both Graco options, and Chicco Cortina Together strollers will only accept their brand of car seat. Given that the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio 4-35 and the Chicco Keyfit 30 both won awards in our Infant Car Seat Review, this may not be a big deal if you are prepared to commit to these seats. However, the Graco car seats didn't score that well in our review. Also, many of the native brands were hard to install on their brand stroller.


We prefer strollers that adapt to a variety of infant car seats, so you have a broader selection of options and are not locked into a particular brand or price. The UPPAbaby Vista will accept the UPPAbaby Mesa (also an award-winning seat), but with the right adapters, several other options are possibilities as well. The same is true of the Britax B-Ready Double and the Baby Jogger City Select Double. The UPPAbaby Vista also works with two bassinets which helps make it a versatile choice for infant twins.

The Competition

We considered more than 70 double strollers before choosing our 19 finalists. A notable popular product that didn't make the cut for hands-on testing is described below, along with our take on why it didn't make our selection. We reviewed this option in previous incarnations of our double review, and it didn't fare well enough to test again. Other products we decided not to review, received a significantly high number of negative reviews and comments on Amazon, leaving us to assume they wouldn't do well in this review.

Bugaboo Donkey Twin- $1885

As a luxury side-by-side system, the Donkey Duo (1 bassinet, $1719) and Donkey Twin (2 bassinets, $1885) are $620 to $785, which is more expensive than the Editors' Choice UPPAbaby Vista Double (the most expensive option in the review). Like the Donkey Twin, the Vista with the second seat can take twins from newborn through childhood for about 40% of the cost. In comparison, the Vista's inline system is around 3" less in width and about 10 lbs lighter. Plus, the Vista can be folded without removing the second seat, while the Donkey's seats must be taken off before folding the frame. For those looking for a luxury stroller with pneumatic wheels, the Donkey certainly has its place among the top-of-the-line elite, but for this review, it didn't feel like it could truly compete with the competition given the price and what it offers compared to the higher scoring strollers in this review.

Conclusion

With so many products to choose from, there is a stroller for everyone. Whether the passengers are twins or siblings of a different age, there is a product in our review that can handle the daily duty that comes with multiple children. With competition this solid, we found many products deserving of special recognition. As such, there are many award-winners in this lineup and a couple of honorable mentions that provided functionality we didn't see in the competition.

No matter what the budget or need, at least one of the strollers in our review should be able to fit the bill. Above all else, our constant goal at BabyGearLab is to help parents "crack the code," so to speak, so they can find the perfect fit without doing any of the legwork to get there. Whether you are looking for a stroller to take off the beaten path, or one to go around the block, we feel confident this review and our article on How to Pick the Right Double Stroller can steer you in the right direction to find the stroller of your dreams.