Jané Twone by Rachael

Before I start I have to quietly mention that I LOVE my Twone but I can’t quite put into words precisely why. There are plenty of things about it that drive me mental but as soon as I have pushed it 50 yards all is right with the world again.

To start with some downsides – with two children on board basket space is pretty much non existent. If the lower seat rider is a baby then you can fit individual items in around their feet but not a bag of any kind. I got some JL Childress net side bags, they are absolutely fabulous and carry everything that I need them to – school book bags, jumpers, coats etc. They don’t add any extra width to the pushchair either which is excellent too, as I don’t do any major shopping on foot they are a very easy and effective way to add that little bit of necessary storage. I also got an Elodie Details shopper to hang off the handle when extra storage is required – this was also a great investment as it’s so roomy and again not bulky at all. These two things provide all the storage I personally need but it clearly would be inadequate for some. A changing bag will hang off the handle easily. Overall, considering the price of the pushchair, it seems unfair you should have to shell out more just to have somewhere to put your basics.

The raincover, although very nice and roomy is essentially useless as it has boning that requires you store it across the whole floor of the basket, it will not fold smaller. Once there it is impossible to remove it with the lower seat still on the pushchair… I have tried and tried, it’s impossible. The raincover is in the cupboard, I am using a cheap travel system one currently that folds smaller so fits in the basket and will actually come out if it rains! Another expense. The lower seat hood is also quite ridiculous, approx 5cm wide. Handily it zips on so I have sewn an insert for it and found a matching zip and voila – a full size hood. Why Jane failed to put a proper hood on is beyond me, even another 5 or 10cm would make a difference.

Jane say in the manual the lower seat is intended for an older child than the upper one, which is interesting because if you put the toddler in the lower one you then cannot recline the upper one at all. Once notch perhaps but even then it is right in the toddler’s face. The seats are really close even when both upright and the lower one is literally in the basket. Logically then you end up putting the younger child in the lower seat (technically from 6mths, I have a 5.5mth old in it who seems quite happy and comfortable, I definitely wasn’t going to buy a carrycot for the sake of 1 month). The younger child can then be reclined at will, the toddler is not affected. My toddler naps in the pushchair so rarely she does not need a recline. If she did the whole thing would not work at all. The upper seat cannot recline unless the lower one is also reclined, they are just too close. However toddler on top, baby on the bottom works well for us and because the baby is still relatively short in the seat I think she has a slightly better view out, for a taller child more of the frame is in the way at the sides. There is no getting away from the limited view and low position of the lower child though. I must admit I am not a fan of the look of it, I can see why so many parents dislike this kind of thing. However at this point I am going with the opinion of my occupants, neither has complained at all and toddler says “the downstairs seat is my best seat ever.”

One other thing to note about the seating positions is that the pushchair is absolutely stable with a child in either seat, ie if the upper child gets out there is no danger of it tipping backwards whatsoever. This is one of relativly few pluses to having the lower seat so far into the basket and so close to the upper one. It is not without merit though as it’s one less thing to worry about!

Although it is not mentioned in the manual I have also used the upper seat fully reclined parent facing and the lower seat upright so the baby faces me, the toddler is below. The manual is ambiguous, the main seat parent faces in single mode, it does not specifically say it cannot parent face in double mode but neither is this option mentioned so I would hesitate to recommend it. I feel happy using it for my own children however. It’s nice feature, both children like it and we are all happy for as long as the baby is happy to stay reclined. As she likes to see me then for most short journeys this is fine. I post the toddler into the fully upright lower seat between the handle and the upper seat back, it is vital that she is compliant at this point. If you have the facility you would load the lower child with the upper seat off, I hardly ever do this but it is far easier. Loading generally would be made easier when using the matrix carrycot or rebel carseat for a baby because you could lift this off the chassis to take the baby in and out. Because of the type of thing I use the buggy for the loading isn’t a big deal to me, sure it would be nice if it was easier but it doesn’t bother me hugely.

So far I seem to have done nothing but pick faults, so why is it I feel so good about the Twone?
The push. Oh the push. THAT’S why I love it. So light, so easy. It doesn’t love cobbles like a proper terrain buggy would but it manages, it drives up lips and bumps with no problem, no coming to a sudden unexpected halt because of a 2cm lip between paving stones. Tipping up curbs is easy, even with the toddler in the top seat. There is no play in the pivoting handlebar. There is some up and down movement in middle joint, which at first I found disconcerting but after using it a while I now see is part of making the ride comfortable for the occupants and the person pushing.

The fold is small and easy to do and the seats clip off effortlessly. For a double it is very light but I have weighed it and it does not by any stretch of the imagination weigh the advertised 7.5kg!

I kind of (more than) suspect this might be a a marmite pushchair, but now I have solved the storage problem and the raincover I am truly in business, all tandem pushchair browsing has stopped. This is us until we no longer need a double.. and it’s not very often I say that!

The children are 6 month olds and 2 years 6 months old in the photos.

The parent facing upper seat is not recommended by Jané as a seating position. It is NOT safety tested in this position. These photos are purely to give an idea of the size of some younger children in the seat units and were not taken by Best Buggy.