Baby Jogger City Select

A stroller that's able to keep up with your growing family is a big plus. The Baby Jogger City Select accommodates infant car seats, a bassinet and standard stroller seats in more than 16 configurations, so you’re covered for any stage of having two young kids—or even three, if you add on the glider board. The adjustable handlebar, leg rests and canopy, along with a second seat that clicks effortlessly into place, allow you to customize the stroller in a snap, keeping both parents and passengers comfortable. Whether you’re on a city sidewalk or traversing gravelly terrain, the air-filled rear tires and swivel-locking front wheels make pushing and manoeuvring this tandem stroller a breeze. And when the adventure’s through, the City Select folds up nice and compact, so you can store it in your car’s trunk until the next adventure.

FOLDING AND CARRYING

Double strollers take up space, no doubt. But the Baby Jogger City Select folds up nicely, even when used as a double stroller, so you can easily fit it in your vehicle or a closet. As with most double strollers, to fold the City Select you have to remove the second seat—a slight inconvenience, yes, but the seat is super easy to slide in and out, so this can be done in a jiff. You'll need to close the canopy and extend the leg rest on the remaining seat, then simply pull up on the two folding handles (located on both sides of the stroller) and the whole thing will collapse into a neat and tidy fold. We found that it does collapse quite quickly, so you'll want to be mindful of fingers and nails. Once folded, you'll need to snap the storage lock into place, which requires a bit of strength, so it can stand.

Unfolding the City Select takes a little more effort: After unclipping the lock, you pull up the handlebar and the stroller pops open. While this sounds smooth and sweat-free, the folded stroller weighs 29.54 pounds, so pulling it open takes a little muscle (though you can remove both seats to make it a bit lighter). When we asked our parent testers about it, they all told us they had no trouble folding and unfolding the City Select.

While you want to be able to carry some strollers when folded, doubles are inherently cumbersome. Our editors found carrying the folded City Mini a bit clunky as there's no carry handle—plus, you also have the second seat to juggle if you're not using an infant car seat. (If you do really want to carry it around, you could purchase the separately sold carry bag.) Our parent testers were divided on how easy it is to carry this stroller, but if you're going to be loading it in your car, that's not really going to matter much. The good news: All of our testers found this stroller fit easily into their vehicle’s trunk.

WHEELS, BRAKES AND MANOEUVRABILITY

The City Select has one of the slimmer profiles among the tandem double strollers we tested, and our parent testers told us it's easy to fit through entryways and manoeuvre through crowded areas. With air-filled rubber rear wheels, and swivel-locking front wheels, our editors found pushing this stroller very easy. From concrete to grass, guiding the Baby Jogger City Select with two hands was smooth sailing. Single-handed, the stroller became a little more challenging to push over grass, gravel and curbs, but that's pretty common. In everyday use, parent testers told us the City Select rolled smoothly over sidewalks and roads, though they did run into a bit of trouble making their way over soft surfaces like sand and mud. (Tip: Locking the front wheels in place should help keep your stroller on course when needed.) Since the handlebars easily adjust to accommodate a range of heights, all testers were able to get a good grip and felt like they were in complete control of the stroller’s movement.

Whereas most strollers have foot brakes, the Baby Jogger City Select features a hand-operated brake, located along the top left side of the stroller’s handlebars. While this feature is definitely flip-flop friendly, and our testers found it easy to apply and release the brake, our editors found it a little stiff and worried about it pinching fingers. Nevertheless, the brakes get the job done, keeping the stroller securely in place when you need it to be.

RECLINE AND LEG RESTS

Comfortable kids are happy kids, and happy kids make a fuss-free outing (usually). With three recline positions and enough leg-room for two, the Baby Jogger City Select is a comfy double stroller. All parent testers agreed that the seat recline is easy to adjust: just one single-handed squeeze of the recline button and you’re in business. Adjusting the leg rests takes two hands and a bit of dexterity—you have to press in buttons on both sides of the leg rest and then pull it into place—but only one tester found it somewhat difficult to do this. It's worth the small effort as most testers told us the adjustable leg rest added to their child’s overall comfort. In fact, all little passengers were so cozy that every parent tester said their kids could both nap comfortably in the stroller. Since the City Select offers so many variations in seat placement (forward-, parent- or sibling-facing), it’s easy to find a position that keeps both kids content while you’re out for the day.

CANOPY

One of our favourite features of the Baby Jogger City Select is the UV 50+ adjustable canopy. There are two heights at which the canopy can be snapped into place—just another way this stroller grows with your family. It also has a peek-a-boo window with a magnetic closure (no noisy Velcro to wake a sleeping baby) and extending or retracting the canopy is virtually soundless. Parents found the canopy did a good job of protecting their kids from the sun, and a pretty good job protecting them from the rain, too. (If you live in a particularly rainy climate, the City Select is compatible with Baby Jogger’s Weather Shield rain cover.) Parents also told us they weren't concerned about their kids overheating with the canopies down, as they still allow air flow when fully extended.

CLEANING

One kid can be messy, but two can spell disaster. That’s why it’s super helpful that the seat covers of the Baby Jogger City Select are machine washable in cold water with mild detergent. There are many small closures that have to be undone to remove the cover from the seat frame, but it's pretty easy to do this. Once the cover is cleaned, Baby Jogger recommends re-fastening it to the seat for air drying to prevent it from shrinking too much. For small spills and messes, most parents found the durable material easy to spot clean. Any metal or plastic parts of the stroller—the frame and the harness buckle—should be wiped down with soap and water when clean-up is needed.

STORAGE AND ACCESSORIES

The Baby Jogger City Select features a spacious under-seat storage basket with flexible mesh sides that can hold up to 15 pounds of stuff (that’s a lot of diapers, toys and emergency snacks). All our parent testers agreed the basket was easily accessible and able to hold all they needed for a day’s outing. Our editors like that you can undo zippers on the back of the basket to make it easier to get larger items into and out of the basket. Plus, there's also a smaller mesh basket on the back of the stroller’s back seat, which holds up to two pounds of extras, like a smartphone and wallet.

Accessories will cost you extra, but they may be well worth it when it comes to upping the functionality of the stroller. There's a wide range of options, from the weather shield (a rain cover) to cup holder to organizers. And, of course, there's a pram-style seat and the glider board. There's even a kit to turn a standard seat into a pram and a shopping tote that mounts on the front of the stroller (where the second seat goes), for when your oldest outgrows the stroller or transitions to the glider board.

HARNESS

The Baby Jogger City Select’s five-point harness fits together intuitively and can be released quickly with one hand. All parent testers agreed it felt secure and comfortable against their little ones. The harness straps are fairly easy to loosen and tighten as needed, though adjusting the harness height requires rethreading. Our editors found rethreading a bit finicky because the openings in the back are covered with a velcroed panel that doesn't quite open enough to fully see what you're doing. We suggest giving yourself some time when adjusting the harness height, and maybe even having a flashlight on hand so you can see a bit better.

CAR SEAT COMPATIBILITY

You can use one or two infant car seats on the Baby Jogger City Select frame, making it a great option whether you have newborn twins or a new babe and a toddler. The City Select is compatible with select Baby Jogger, Britax, Graco, Maxi-Cosi, Chicco, Peg Perego, Cybex, BOB and Nuna car seats.

THE CITY SELECT LUX

Recently, Baby Jogger released an upgraded version of the City Select—the City Select LUX. While it comes with an upgraded price tag, too, there are new features that may very well make it worth the splurge (especially if you're starting off with buying this stroller for your first child). In addition to the standard parking brake, the LUX has a decelerating hand brake to ease the gravitational pull when you're walking downhill or slow down fast when you need to—especially useful as you add a second kid and extra kid stuff to the weight of the stroller. The fabric on the seats is softer and it also has a slightly more compact fold. The City Select LUX can also be combined with the LUX Bench Seat for a child up to 65 pounds (20 pounds more than the Glider Board can hold). The wheels are made of plastic (rather than air-filled rubber), but Baby Jogger has added all-wheel suspension to help absorb bumps. If it’s within your budget, the City Select LUX is a good option for growing families, and well worth a look when you're shopping.

FINAL WORD

We like that the Baby Jogger City Select offers the flexibility to get around in the way that suits your family, with plenty of options to change things up as the kids grow. After using the Baby Jogger City Select as a double stroller with a second seat attached, our parent testers gave the stroller good or very good ratings for quality and ease of use, and most felt the same about the stroller’s value. All but one of the parents said they'd recommend the City Select to other parents looking for a double stroller, and they unanimously felt the stroller is worthy of the Today’s Parent Approved seal. Our editors were equally impressed with this stroller's performance—from manoeuvrability and folding to storage options and configurations—and we feel it's a great option for families to consider when they're shopping for a double stroller.