Kolcraft Double Stroller

This Kolcraft stroller is named as the options stroller because it really does have a lot of options. Each of the seats in this tandem stroller can be swung around, creating up to six different stroller seating arrangements. Both children can face forward, face the parent, face each other or sit back to back when the fighting starts. Besides sitting two children in the stroller, the double stroller can also act as a single-seater. The child can seat in the front with the back seat acting as additional trolley space or vice versa.

While the Option stroller provides multiple seating positions, not all the arrangements are ideal for the double stroller. When children sit facing each other, the seats cannot recline properly because the foot rests block the opposite seat from reclining further. Also, when children are facing each other, there is not enough room for both of their feet. When children are facing the driver, the seat closest to the handle cannot swing easily as the footrest bumps into the double stroller basket behind. While swinging your child's seat around with the children in it is easy enough, using the reclining feature is much more difficult. In fact, the instructions advise that you should take out your children before adjusting the double stroller.

The double stroller comes with armrests that can be opened easily for simple access in and out of the seats. This helps you to place your children into the stroller with greater ease. Together with the toddler step, the armrests enable older children to climbing in and out of the double stroller all on their own. Toddlers can even walk alongside the double stroller by holding on to handles on the stroller and climb back in when they are tired. One point to note is that the Contours Options stroller has fairly shallow seats. While this helps young children to climb in and out, it does result in a less comfortable seating.

The seats use a five-point harness to hold your children in, and there is even a safety bar that snaps into place in front for additional security. However, you can easily pinch your own finger if you're not careful when snapping the safety bar own. Similarly, it would be easy for your child's fingers to get pinched too.

The Contour Options stroller is widely reported to be easy to push and manoeuvre. It comes with fairly large wheels with two 8" single swivel wheels on the front and two 10" wheels on the rear. It is easy to go onto curbs, even with the heavier child in front. But sometimes the double stroller can be slightly too long and steering around tight corners is a real challenge. The tandem stroller, while long, is not wide and fits through doorways easily.

However some users have complained that the double stroller is way too heavy. Most double strollers weigh between 30 to 45 Ibs, but the Contour Options stroller weighs a staggering 53 Ibs! The double stroller is large by any standard and very large shopping basket further adds on to the weight. This makes pushing the stroller around fairly difficult even with its well designed wheels and steering capabilities.

Its great weight also makes it difficult to carry around, but luckily, it folds up compactly enough so at least it's not bulky. It folds with a trigger and is able to stand on its own after folding. However, for it to fold compactly, you have to actually remove the seats before folding. Some parents feel that removing the seats is a simple task, but others feel that it's troublesome to have to remove the seats each time. The Contour Options stroller comes with a sun canopy that is adjustable in all directions to block out the sun; however it does not come with a rain cover which can be very useful in rainy climates.

The Kolcraft Contours Options Tandem Plus Stroller is an innovative stroller that allows multiple seating positions in one stroller. Given the recent debates on whether it is best for children travelling in strollers to face forward or to face their parents, the Contours Options satisfies both sides of the debate. However, the Options stroller can come off as too heavy for smaller framed parents. But besides that, most parents will be happy to take an Options stroller home with them.