Maclaren Twin Techno v. Peg Perego Aria Twin -- Please Help!

I am trying to decide between the Peg Aria and the Maclaren Techno double strollers. I already have a Baby Jogger and love it; the Peg/Maclaren is for use in and out of the car, for going to doctor's appointments, shopping/indoors.

If you have or have had either of these: would you please tell me what you love? what you hate?

I really have narrowed it down to these two, and ruled out many others after researching them, so I'm really looking for input on these two to help me make up my mind.

* I'm worried about kicking the middle wheels on the Maclaren
* the seats on the Maclaren seem very shallow compared to the Peg
* not sure about the handle design on the Maclaren
etc etc etc

I want to order it this weekend so I'm sure to have it for going to my ILs for Christmas...please help!!

Thanks so much...

 

I am trying to decide between the Peg Aria and the Maclaren Techno double strollers. I already have a Baby Jogger and love it; the Peg/Maclaren is for use in and out of the car, for going to doctor's appointments, shopping/indoors.

If you have or have had either of these: would you please tell me what you love? what you hate?

I really have narrowed it down to these two, and ruled out many others after researching them, so I'm really looking for input on these two to help me make up my mind.

* I'm worried about kicking the middle wheels on the Maclaren
* the seats on the Maclaren seem very shallow compared to the Peg
* not sure about the handle design on the Maclaren
etc etc etc

I want to order it this weekend so I'm sure to have it for going to my ILs for Christmas...please help!!

Thanks so much...

 

We bought the Aria and I love it. We don't use it as much anymore but I bought it for the quick on the go trips. I too was wanting info on strollers and I heard over and over again about the middle wheel on the other strollers. I stayed away from that.
The Aria is super light and the girls are up close to almost everything. I don't use it to store a lot of stuff in the bag but I have heard that the bag can drag if too much is placed in it. I haven't had that problem and there has been alot in there.
The stroller just pops right out and is so easy to close and get in the car. It is a comfy ride. The only thing that bothers me about an expensive stroller like that is that I want everything perfect. The canopies are like whatever-why even put them there! I didn't buy it for the canopies that is for sure. It would have been an added bonus if they actually were effective but they aren't. You will probably read negatives about that feature. My girls were around 18 months when we got the stroller so the canopies weren't really an issue. Good luck and have fun shopping. I totally recommend the Aria.

 

We originally had the Maclaren Techno and though the compact fold is great, my ds looked squashed in the seat and uncomfortable and my dh and I seemed to kick the middle wheels all the time. The Maclaren did handled pretty nicely though. We sold that stroller and got the peg aria. So far we love the peg aria becuase it's light, easy to open and close, and it also has the tray which my kids like. I have the same complaint about the canopies being basically useless and we have put too much stuff on the bottom basket and had it dragged a bit. But other than that we still prefer the Peg over the Maclaren.

 

I used the precursor to the Twin Techno - the Twin Traveller. I don't know what has changed on the Techno, so I hope my review is applicable for you! I *adored* my Mac! I also had a Mac single before the twins. The stroller was easy to fold and unfold, easy to maneuver, and all around easy to use. It also proved to be virtually indestructible! It was put through much abuse (trust me) and held up beautifully through multiple washings, outings in which it was stood on, and a frazzled me stomping on it to close it, etc...

Addressing your concerns:

I am 5'4" and never had any problem with the middle wheel. Perhaps I have a smaller stride, but I never ever even noticed the middle wheel. DH is 6'3" and he also thought the Mac was very comfortable to push. He actually preferred the Mac to our Mountain Buggy!

The seats have extendable leg rests. This means that you can slide out the seats a little to accomodate a younger child who is sleeping, or an older child who is sitting, but needs a bit more depth to their seat. I found this feature very useful!

The handles on the Mac are very comfortable, IMO. They are turned in a way which makes the stroller very easy and comfortable to push. Some people prefer a single handle, but I prefer 2 handles for my 'mall stroller' so I have a place to hang my bags! The downside, of course, is that you can't easily push the stroller with one hand.

Another bonus, after 3.5 years of hard use, I just sold my Mac for $150. They have fabulous resale value!

The best thing to do, if you can, is to go somewhere and try them both out. I took my older boys when I was pregnant with the twins, and I put them into all of the various double strollers. It was very enlightening to see what these strollers would push like when they had 80 lbs. of child in them! The Aria (IMO) was more difficult to push with a lot of weight in it then the Mac. Since I have big boys, this was a concern I had. Couple that with the fact that I had a Mac single that I adored, and the Mac was my choice.

Good luck on your decision - I LOVE stroller shopping!

 

We also had a Twin Traveller - I *think* the Twin Techno has adjustable handles, everything else is about the same.

I think I kicked the middle wheel once or twice. You quickly get used to it being there so it doesn't really become an issue (or it didn't for me). The handles are funny shaped, but surprisingly comfortable.

We loved so much about our TT - compact, rugged, fits in the airport X-ray. It went through over 2 years of *hard* use, and now it's on semi-permanent loan to our friends who have a 3yr old and a 1 yr old. (we're using an MBUD now - mainly because it's easier to manuver with heavier kids and we can actually tote it around with the battleship... er... minivan... )

The only complaints we've had with our Twin Traveller are:

Double handles makes it hard to manuver with one hand. (i.e. carrying a child, etc)
Size & design makes it a little sluggish to turn when the kids are older/heavier - but I think most double umbrellas will be like this.
Lack of storage space - but that's mainly because we were comparing it to the double snap-n-go that we had before it.

Hope that helps, good luck!

--> Andy

 

quote:
I'm worried about kicking the middle wheels on the Maclaren
* the seats on the Maclaren seem very shallow compared to the Peg
* not sure about the handle design on the Maclaren
etc etc etc

I found this to be true of my MAc and sold it. I got a PEg instead. The issue with thebasket is true--you cannot put really heavy things in there,but I jus bought the stroller hooks and hang bags from there-problem sloved. I really like my Peg--they can be cheap and break, make sure to savethe box and receipt, but I think it was worth it. We also have a Mountain Buggy,but the peg was used for quick in and out trips. The best part about the Peg is the snack trays.

You may look into a Combi too. I hear great things about those. If I had to do it all over again I would have gotten a Combi instead--they made better IMO.

I hated my MAC, absolutly hated it. I used it for only a week.