iCandy Peach Blossom 2012 v’s Baby Jogger City Select

This set of photos is designed to show the new iCandy Peach Blossom 2012 side by side with the Baby Jogger City Select.

PLEASE do go and read the individual pages about these pushchairs because both pushchairs have far more to explore and offer than are shown in these photos.

Here are my experiences in a nutshell of these two pushchairs:

My honest experiences are that the Baby Jogger City Select is very hard to fault except in one way – the weight distribution. The seating positions, basket, handbrake, huge hood, options, wheels, seats and more are all fantastic. But ultimately these items are useless if the pushchair is too heavy to push. The Baby Jogger City Select did our family proud after our second baby was born  through the newborn / carrycot / car seat phase until approx 9-10 months. It was loved and well used. It folded down so flat that we stored the seats on the back of a door and the chassis simply slid in a gap. It was fab for travelling because of its slim size. We loved the huge basket for shopping. But completely out of the blue at approx 9-10 months, on our regular route, the pushchair began to pull to one side. After several trips where this happened, and my arms and wrists were hurting badly from trying to pull the pushchair into line (on a slightly sloping pavement), I had to admit defeat and we sadly sold the City Select. It is much missed, we have happy memories but I feel sad that it didn’t last our family longer.

The current iCandy Peach Blossom (2009) was the first tandem with bought for our new second baby. However we realised that the lower bottom seat only reclines and that a 9-15 month old would eventually not be happy in the lower seat and would want to sit upright. We sold it in favour of the Baby Jogger City Select thinking that we would get longer from it. But in reality as happened, both would have been useful to our family for approximately the same length of time!

When I first saw the new iCandy Peach Blossom (the one I call the 2012), I was delighted that iCandy had listened to my feedback, and the feedback of others and had produced the new Blossom kit (Pip 2 convertor). I was absolutely thrilled when we were offered the opportunity to test the new Blossom kit out.

For the first months, both pushchairs were used back to back to see how they compared. Whilst the City Select offers the seating options, by this time the children were 2.5 years old and 10 months old. The best seating position for us had been with the children facing (it allowed the eldest to see out from the top and the baby to parent face and recline for a nap). But around this time, the eldest kicked her brother in the face twice accidentally on an outing and we decided given we didn’t want the children both rear facing that the only real option for us was to then have the children back to back (they could have both gone forwards but there is only a tiny recline on the upper seat and I kept bumping the eldests feet on shop displays when she was at the front). But this meant that whenever the baby fell asleep we had to do a quick juggle around to allow him to recline. Shortly after the pulling to one side started and I admitted defeat. I cannot stress how important pushability is with these two pushchairs. When people used to say the City Select was heavy, I didn’t believe it as I whizzed around with my newborn and 21 month old. But less than a year hence I finally understood.

The new Peach Blossom however has surpassed all my expectations. Sadly we never used it in newborn mode, but the children are now aged 3.1 years old and 15 months old, and the new Peach Blossom is still being used all the time by our family, and is still easy to push even one handed with both the children on board. It doesn’t offer the seating options of the City Select, but both children have a good view out. My eldest will always choose to sit underneath if given the choice so it can’t be that bad!!! There is more space between the new Peach Blossom seats than on the current Peach Blossom. There is still good access to the basket because the lower seat footrest is fabric and therefore is flexible. I find the recline on the lower seat hard to access, and the brake is a bit tucked away under the lower seat. But all round at present I dont think there is another tandem currently on the market that works as well as the new Peach Blossom in every day life. The new Peach Blossom is one superb tandem and is very highly recommended by us – in particular it truly is the one double pushchair that will take your children from birth as a single child, through into double mode until both children are older, and then back into single mode again.

I really hope that Baby Jogger listen to feedback like this, as iCandy did a year ago, and try to get the weight distribution better on the City Select, because everything else about it is fantastic.

Many Thanks go to Kooltrade (Baby Jogger) and iCandy for the long term loan of their products