Sunday, October 2, 2011

The Double BOB

What We Bought:  BOB Revolution (the "Double BOB")
Years Owned:  Over one year.
Why We Bought it:  Needed something easy to push over long distances.

What We Think
We've had our "Double Bob" for about a year now and really its been fantastic.  We got it to serve as our rugged "go anywhere" stroller to replace an older hand-me-down jogging stroller that had a non-swiveling  front wheel and was too heave for my wife to push long distances.  This is the stroller we take to the beach, on mini-grocery runs, to the zoo, and occasionally jogging :)

BOB Revolution with our
 26 month old twins.

First Impressions
When we first bought this I remember the first thing we commented on was just how light it is and how easy it was to roll.  It moved like a dream.  Suddenly short walks to the grocery store became non-marathon events.

Size
This stroller is big and burly but almost unbelievably light.  It might fit in your Mini Cooper but if it does, nothing else will.  In this instance big and burly is a good thing and its the reason that most people buy it.

For a while we were delusional enough to think that a sedan would be ok for a family with newborn twins.  What a laugh.  Anyway, this thing fit into the trunk of our sedan when we fully folded it up but it didn't leave a lot of room for other things.

That said, despite its considerable size when unfolded and in use, it gets pretty small when you fold it all up.  The key to getting it down to a really small size is that all the wheels come off pretty easily (I found that the back wheels come off much easier than the front wheel). Once you get them off, the profile becomes quite small.
Double BOB in our Odyssey
folded with wheels on.

BOB Revolution folded with
wheels off (next to a double McClaren).

Folding Process
Though the wheels do come off, we don't usually do this anymore because we've got a van and we don't need to get it down to its absolute smallest size.  In fact, I think what I like the most is how easily and quickly it folds and unfolds when you don't take the wheels off.  Its literally a 1 second process of "jerking" a hand cord and allowing it to click into place and you're on your way.  When the zombie horde is on your tail, this is the stroller you want to be unfolding.

Jogging
I've taken this guy jogging a couple times and its really quite easy to jog with since its so light.  The first time I went I forgot to lock the front wheel in place. This is a major mistake that should be avoided as it does not jog well when the front wheel can swivel.  I found that the suspension system gave my girls a nice comfortable ride as long as I wasn't running over ridiculous bumps.

Price
I'm not going to lie, the price hurts, but really compared to everything else out there its pretty reasonable.  We supported our local economy and bought it at a local toy store for $530 which isn't too terribly far off from prices you'll find online (with shipping).

Storage
There is actually a lot of storage in this puppy including two large pockets in the back and a big basket on the bottom.  To give you and idea of what you can put in the storage, let me give you the contents of my last grocery run in the BOB:  Two gallons of milk, an apple pie, eight yogurt cups, a box of cookies and a box of crackers.  All that plus my girls was a lot of weight and the BOB handled it like a champ.

Complaints
Really the only thing that bothers me is that its kind of tough to get a pump nozzle attached to the tire to pump it up.  I think I bloodied my hands a couple times, however, this could have been a function of the pump I was using at the time :)

Conclusion
Recommended for people looking for a really light yet tough stroller for jogging or just long strolls.


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