Mountain Buggy Duet Luxury Collection Review

Quick Summary: As double pushchairs go, the duet is at the top of its game when it comes to functionality. There is no doubting the versatility of this double pushchair with its ability to house carrycots, newborn cocoons or parent-facing seats (in the form of the new carrycot plus) and even convert to a single pushchair with the use of the joey side basket. Plus, of course, the duet is famous for carrying two children side by side in a pushchair that is no wider than many singles - a piece of magic that is achieved with rear wheels that sit inline with the chassis.

The rugged Mountain Buggy duet has had a makeover! The Mountain Buggy Luxury Collection promises to be more refined and elegant without compromising on any of the practical features parents know and love, so see what we thought during our in-depth review…

Chassis

The Mountain Buggy duet is well loved amongst parents with twins and siblings and we're familiar with this clever double here at PX HQ too. The most recent model is just 63cm in width, which means it slinks through doorways and turnstiles with ease. We unpacked the box and built the pushchair in our living room and easily wheeled it through interior doorways - a very positive start!

The Luxury Collection herringbone model sports the same frame as the previous duet V3. The black frame was lighter than we expected for a substantial double pushchair but still felt strong and stable when we stood behind the handlebar. Speaking of handlebars, the one on the Luxury Collection duet is notably more streamlined than that of the standard duet V3 model. It's slimmer in diameter and covered in a lovely leatherette. Personally we feel this is a vast improvement over the ‘comfort grip' handlebar on the duet V3. The hand-operated brake is still a feature and perfect for parents who want to stroll up hill and down dale or go for the odd jog.

As well as the handbrake there is also a foot pedal brake. The metal bar runs the length of the rear wheel base and has a large red rubber lever on each side so you can flick the brake on and off with either foot. The bar sits low to the ground so you need to make sure you tuck your toes right underneath when you need to release it.

The most significant luxurious change to this model of the duet in our eyes has to be the wheels. The puncture-proof aeromaxx tyres perform just as standard air-filled tyres would but they look so much more stylish and really make a difference to the overall aesthetics of the pushchair.

The front wheels can still be locked into position if needed with a simple twist of a lever or they can swivel for some serious slalom action in and out of shop aisles.

The storage options for the duet Luxury Collection will be music to parents' ears. Not only is the under-seat shopping basket very roomy but it also has the benefit of additional zip-close and elastic compartments to hold bottles and small valuables. We almost didn't need to take a changing bag with us at all thanks to the range of compartments on the basket. However, the Luxury herringbone duet comes as standard with the most fabulous changing bag to complement the seat fabrics of the pushchair! We could easily fit a day's worth of essentials for twins in here.

If you didn't already know, the duet can be used as a single pushchair and not just a double. By removing one of the seat units and purchasing the additional Joey basket, the pushchair turns from double into a single with an abundance of storage! The Joey is a spacious removable shopping basket with handles that can be placed on one side of the pushchair frame alongside the remaining seat. We found it fantastic for carrying everything from a full shop to spare coats and picnics (up to a weight of 18kg)!

Seat & Carrycot Plus

The versatility and flexibility of the seating really impressed us during our time with the duet Luxury Collection. As standard, the duet comes with two forward-facing seats attached to the chassis. On the Luxury Collection herringbone model, these seats are covered in grey twill smooth fabrics, cotton-like to the touch.

As a side-by-side double, the seats are a snug 26.5cm wide each but are roomy enough to house a 4 year old. We did notice that the boards in the seats were easily felt through the fabrics so wondered about the comfort factor for an up-to-weight 18kg child, though admittedly we had little complaint from our own 4-year-old tester. The height of the seat units is 56cm, giving that all-important support and headroom for taller children riding in the duet.

The 5-point harness is made of slim webbing, which can be secured into a round buckle with four separate clips. The adjustment on the harness was simple to alter too.

Whilst each seat does benefit from an independent recline, it is a strap recline system that is operated by tightening and lengthening the webbing on the back of the seats. This is a two-handed process and isn't always easy with a child in the seat. A one-handed and smoother-to-operate recline lever would be more fitting to the luxurious name of the pushchair model. The individual sun canopies are made of the same smooth grey fabrics that feature on the seats. There is a peek-a-boo window on the top of each canopy so you can sneak a quick look at your sleeping baby and there is also a built-in visor at the front of each hood that gives a little bit of extra shade when the sun is really shining.

The double bumper is one continuous bar and it is covered in the same leatherette as the handlebar. The bar clips onto the pushchair frame at each side and pivots when opening to make it a bit easier to get children in and out. Two separate bumper bars would still be simpler.

In terms of configurations and versatility, you can use the duet in the double mode (two forward-facing seats) or single mode (one seat and joey basket) that we have already talked about, and on top of these it can form part of a travel system with many brands of car seat. You will need to purchase the additional car seat adaptors but once fitted the car seats clip on and off the frame effortlessly. You can use one or two carrycot plus units on the chassis and the beauty of the Mountain Buggy carrycot plus is that it can also be converted into a parent-facing seat.

The carrycot plus has been improved upon since our last review of the duet. In carrycot form, it provides a well padded but very snug carrycot for a newborn baby with a maximum load of 9kg. You also have the option of using the hinges on the carrycot plus to adjust the incline of the carrycot slightly, which is great if you have a colicky or reflux-prone baby. It comes with a new and improved hood and apron, which doubles up as a footmuff when in parent-facing seat mode.

When you no longer require a carrycot, the carrycot plus offers great value for money by converting into a parent-facing seat unit, by swapping the carrycot fabric on the frame for the seat hammock. If you have twins, you can have both parent-facing or if you have a toddler and baby you can have one child parent-facing and one world-facing. With five recline positions, the parent-facing seat certainly offers a good flexible seating option for parents with children of different ages.

Fold

Folding the duet couldn't be any simpler. Once you know where the fold mechanism is, it takes just seconds to operate. Underneath the soft leg rests of the seats and just above the metal footplate is a twistable lever. Push the grey button in and twist the lever, and the whole pushchair will collapse down on itself. The chassis locks into place automatically. To unfold, simply reverse the process and pull up on the handlebar until the duet locks back into place. The handle on the duet can be folded in to make a neater package. It stands alone when folded, which makes storing easier. While it is still a large overall package and you will need space and a decent-sized car boot, it is smaller than many equivalent doubles and the pushchair structure obviously means it folds down with the seats in place, which is always handy.

Our Verdict

As double pushchairs go, the duet is at the top of its game when it comes to functionality. There is no doubting the versatility of this double pushchair with its ability to house carrycots, newborn cocoons or parent-facing seats (in the form of the new carrycot plus) and even convert to a single pushchair with the use of the joey side basket.

Plus, of course, the duet is famous for carrying two children side by side in a pushchair that is no wider than many singles - a piece of magic that is achieved with rear wheels that sit inline with the chassis.

The new fabrics at first glance are more stylish and deluxe-looking than on previous models of the duet that we have road tested, but after using the duet on a daily basis the nature of the overall finish left us wanting more. Luxury by name, we expected extra refinements to the design over previous models. We longed for sumptuous fabrics for baby to nestle in and a deeply padded seat unit but in fact we found the fabric quite thin and the seat unit needed a footmuff or extra lining to be inserted to give our little passengers a really comfortable ride.

Not that the Luxury Collection elements of this buggy are limited to the tailoring. It comes with a wonderful satchel-style changing bag (more rhapsodising about that later!) and an extended three-year warranty - and we were definitely won over by the new addition of four 10" puncture-proof aeromaxx tyres. They look sleek and streamlined and never disappointed with their smooth rolling over whatever terrain we stumbled across.