My husband and I started running at the start of 2008. We worked through the Couch to 5K program that is getting increasingly popular and we ran our first 5k hosted by the Chicago Cubs called, "Race to Wrigley". We kept running and were running about 3 miles at a time 3 times a week... then we had kids. After we had our daughter my parents gifted us a jogging stroller. We picked the one that seemed to fit our needs and it did for a normal stroller, but honestly it doesn't fit our needs at all as a jogger.
Basically we used it as an excuse for not running.
Flash forward quite a bit and we now have two young children and even more excuses to not be running. It felt near impossible to run because with only so many hours in the day and not having a double jogger so both of us could run at the same time it just became difficult.
Enter the BOB Revolution SE Duallie.
We were looking for a double jogging stroller that could handle going at least 8-10 miles at a time, would be comfortable for the kids, would last us a while and had a swivel wheel so we could also use it outside of running.
We made the decision to purchase our double BOB on Amazon for $494.25 - this post is not sponsored by BOB in any way.
I was so excited when it arrived! It came in a large box that had cut out handles on the sides.
I started to open it when I got a text from the husband telling me to wait on opening it until he got home... I was so close!
The packaging was pretty easy to open. For the most part it was sealed with large staples vs glue meaning less pulling and tearing of cardboard. If you had been a witness to our opening of our daughter's crib box you'd know we have issues opening box packaging :)
Here are a few pictures I snapped while we were taking it out of the box.
We were pretty surprised that it shipped essentially put together. All we had to do was remove the packaging and attach the wheels. There were no tools needed and it was incredibly quick. It took very little effort. We assumed there would be some assembly so it was a pleasant surprise.
We slipped the wheels on just as our daughter was waking up and she was more than happy to jump in. We read somewhere that the double is only 6 inches wider than the single and can fit through a standard doorway so we decided to test it out.
It fit with about an inch on each side. We were at the mall yesterday for the first time with it and had no trouble getting in and out of stores at all.
The single jogger that we have is a Baby Trend. Here is a picture of our BOB Duallie next to our single Baby Trend:
Finally the next morning we were able to test it out! Here are the kiddos in it:
*Note: Bob suggests waiting until a child is 8 months to have them ride in their stroller in this manner. Our Baby Trend suggested 4 months. Our son is 6.5 months old with excellent head control and we feel confident in allowing him to ride in the stroller in this way (without being in an infant carseat carrier). If you in any way doubt your child's head control I would use the car seat adapter as they suggest while running*
A look at the Duallie:
I love how much sun protection they get!
The peak-a-boo windows are nice and large
The flap rolls up (on the left) and slides under a mesh pouch, or you can just flip it over the top of the shade (on the right)
Now here is an interesting feature! Look at the picture right above this. See how there are black straps on the sides of the "windows"? Well if you have an older/taller child and want to fold the canopy up half way or all of the way you simply pull on those straps and it gets rid of the extra bulk near their head. Let me show you.
On the left the excess is pulled up and out of the way of the older child's head vs the one on the right has the extra fabric/window material down but since they are smaller it doesn't reach their head.
They were starting to get a little tired of not moving but here you can see how you can see the plastic of the window material over Wes' head and you can't see it over Norah's. That's because the straps that I just explained are pulling the material up on her side.
I like that each child has two of these mesh pouches for a drink or snack or small toy. There is one on each side of each seats.
So great, it looks nice... but does it function as a jogger? As an every day jogger? I haven't gotten to jog with it other that a small bit because my husband keeps hogging it! Each time we've gone for a run he pipes up saying he'll take the kids. I'm guessing that is a good thing :) The limited time I have ran with it I found it to be very smooth. It honestly is easier to push our TWO kids in this than it is to push one kid in our other jogger. I feel like with this stroller you just have to guide it and your momentum pushes it vs. our Baby Trend you have to PUSH the stroller, exerting more energy.
What about every day use? Yep, it does that too. It is really easy to change it over to a swivel wheel and like I said before it fits through a standard doorway which is great for a side by side stroller.
Is there anything I don't like? Well I do wish it would fold up a little easier. It's kind of awkward feels heavier than it is when my 4 foot 11 inch self is trying to carry it. I prefer the Baby Jogger (not Baby Trend) method of folding up but it isn't a big enough deal to keep us from the BOB. It does fit in the trunk of our small Toyota Yaris, but we have to take the back wheels off. That is super easy though and only takes a second. Really, not a big deal.
The BOB Revolution SE Duallie seems to be a good fit for us. The kids have done great on runs and it's really been the kick we need to get back to running.
Even Mickey approves ;)
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