Mountain Buggy Duet 2011

Official Kiwi Families review by Rochelle Gribble

Let’s be clear about this- I ♥ my Mountain Buggy Urban Elite. Sure, it’s a 2008 model but it’s done me proud and is still in constant use. But last week, a brand spanking new Mountain Buggy Duet arrived on my doorstep… Miss 2 ½ insisted on unpacking it immediately and in truth, I’m not sure who was most excited.

What’s it all about?

The Duet is one of two new double buggies recently launched by Mountain Buggy. While the +One is an inline model, the Duet is a side-by-side… I know you’re thinking: “Side-by-side- but they’re just too wide to go anywhere.” Not this one. At 630mm, it’ll easily fit through a standard 810mm doorframe and is, in fact, exactly the same width at the wheelbase as the Terrain and the Urban Jungle.

The set-up:

I’m not totally gormless but I do like things to be simple and let me tell you, this buggy took me about 5 minutes to assemble- even with the ‘help’ of the 2 ½ year old. It helps that it has a lot of similar features to my current buggy but actually, it’s mostly assembled- you just need to snap on the wheels, click on the bumper bar and you’re ready to roll.

I’m liking:

So much! It’s got that awesome Mountain Buggy manoeuvrability and is a brilliant smooth ride over rugged ground. It’s narrow enough to swing around in shops (passed the ‘mall test’ with flying colours) and my girls liked riding together (well, the big one did, anyway- 2 months is a bit young to express an opinion on this issue).

I’m sure this is not new to those of you with later model buggies but I L.O.V.E.D the clips on the straps. The snap clips on the straps made putting the small one’s sleeping bag in and out super easy (a vast improvement on the Urban) and the safety catch was incredibly simple to do up but still had 2 mechanisms to stop the kiddos undoing it by themselves. I’ve been doing battle with the buckles in both our car seats recently and it was so nice to have such a straightforward mechanism. Nice one, Mountain Buggy.

Things that made me go hmmmm:

The Duet is still a big, heavy piece of equipment and you’re gunna need a reasonable sized boot to fit it in. At 15.5kg, it’s a heck of a lot lighter than a lot of the double buggies out there, but you definitely need to bend at the knees when you lift it.

Extra for experts:

I know I’m being picky now, but when I was testing the Duet I realised that the one thing I would love to see on a buggy is a pocket up high. I know it’s got the tray down the bottom and all that but honestly, I’d love a pocket that’d fit my keys, cell phone and wallet without me having to bend down and forage around for them. Whaddaya reckon, Mountain Buggy?

The Verdict:

My big girl cried when we boxed up the Duet to take back and I’d have to admit that I was a little moist-eyed too. It’s perfect for the two-kid stage of life and I loved being able to push the kiddos around together. I’ve already recommended it to two friends- what other recommendation do you need?