Jeep Wrangler Twin Sport All-Weather Review

The Jeep Wrangler Twin Sport All-Weather umbrella stroller is a side-by-side design stroller made by Kolcraft. It is a very lightweight double stroller that offers two seat with a 3 point harness in each. The back of the seat rolls up revealing a mesh seat back for added ventilation. It has dual saddle bags, one on each side, for storage of up to 3 pounds per side. It has one removable cup holder for parent beverages, and the seats and canopies move independently for individual adjustments for passengers. It sports all terrain wheels, seats children up to 35 pounds, and comes in one color option.

Performance Comparison

Ease of Use

The Jeep had the lowest ease of use score in our tests with a 2 of 10. Its closest competitors both received 4s, the Graco Room for 2 Classic Connect and Phil and Teds Verve with 2014 Double Kit.

Storage

The Jeep has no under seat storage at all, not even the hint of storage or useable space, so don't even look there. This seems sort of strange because regardless of the cheaper price tag, even the single version of this umbrella stroller had under seat storage.

The only useable storage is a saddle bag on each side of the stroller frame, located down low and even with potentially curious passengers. The bags are small, have a hook and look closure and attachment system, and they hold a maximum of 3 pounds. This is probably enough for a diaper and wipes on one side and a sippy cup and a snack bag in the other, but you won't be fitting supplies for two children in these bags. Given the hook and loop closure and attachment, we suspect that given enough time the bags will get lost, or the tabs will begin to fray and be less effective. Even if they don't, we just can't imagine these bins being very useful. Their placement at child level is also a potential problem that will mean you can't hide your phone or keys there unless you want small fingers playing with them.

Sun Shade
The photo above shows the Jeep sun shades. The canopies can be moved independently depending on desired coverage.

The Wrangler sun shades are the smallest in our test group. They almost look like tiny after thoughts that are almost useless. While they are adjustable and can easily be moved, they offer little in the way of “full coverage” and they have no ability to block out bad weather or excessive sun. There is a good chance that some smaller children will find them more interesting as a play toy than as a sun shade, further contributing to their uselessness, and at some angles they just fall and refuse to stay in place. If you live in an area where sun or even rain is a concern, this is likely not the best ride for you. Little ones will be exposed almost in their entirety to the elements and other accessories or add-on will need to be fashioned in order to protect your little one. However, if this is a ride you will use solely at the indoor mall, maybe you won't mind.

Convenience

The only two conveniences the Jeep offers is a relatively small cup holder for parents high up on the outside of the frame, and a reclining seat back. The cup holder is on the small side and will not accommodate a sippy cup or similar style cup. A standard water bottle will fit, but the bottle might topple out during transport due to the shallowness of the holder.

The reclining seat backs on the Wrangler Twin aren't much to write home about and probably only go back far enough for children to rest their heads back and avoid the front head hang or dreaded neck bob. The recline angle is only 40 degrees which makes it the second to the last for this metric with only the Graco Duo Glider Classic Connect front seat being worse, with 48 degrees of recline.

This minimalist product also does not offer an adjustable leg rest, a feature found on at least half of the products we review. Instead it has a slightly bent frame and contoured fabric to support the back of passenger's knees. It does have a roll up seat back pad that has a plastic mesh ventilation back underneath for hotter days.

Maneuverability

This stroller got the worst score out of all the products we reviewed in this category of double strollers. It earned a 3 of 10 for this metric with the highest score being earned by BOB Revolution SE Duallie which got a 9 of 10 for superb pushing, turning, and twirling.

The Jeep is one of the widest strollers we tested which made it hard to navigate through tight corners and smaller spots. It turns and pushes okay on hard surfaces without the need to turn or swerve to the side, but the handles flex a lot, more than any other ride, and this makes the overall handling difficult. It doesn't help that the double front wheels design found on a lot of strollers, that we aren't super fond of for maneuverability, is repeated not twice but three times on the front of this wide ride, making turning more difficult as the independent 3 sets of doubles fought with each other over which direction to face and which direction to go. It often felt like the wheels were never pointed in the same direction and arguing or bargaining with them silently under our breath didn't seem to help.

Once in gravel and grass this product got predictably worse for its pushing and turning ability. Grass was hard to get through, which means if you have a green belt you will need to cross with regularity get ready for a workout and some possible swear words, but the gravel was impossible and had us stopped dead in our tracks unable to move. Curbs and stairs are also a no go in this product, because the brakes catch as they are moved back and up over the lip, which rendered the whole stroller immobile. This isn't a big deal if the stroller is empty, but becomes a significantly bigger deal if it holds two sleeping toddlers.

Safety

BabyGearLab believes that safety in baby products is a big deal. We consider safety when reviewing most products. For double strollers we reviewed features with a keen eye for typical safety concerns. Reviewed features included: harness design and execution, brakes, and the tendency for the product to tip sideways or backwards. This is pretty much the only category that the Jeep shined in earning a 7 of 10. The lowest scoring products received 6s, and the highest rated, award winners BOB Revolution SE Duallie and Joovy Scooter X2, earned 8s.

Brakes

The brakes on the Wrangler are easy to set and easy to release. They are a triple action style system and are sandal foot friendly. You must engage the brake on all three sets of wheels before the brakes can be considered as properly set. This is a time consuming affair that many parents may forgo, or even forget to do in haste. While the brakes worked well and had very little play in them once set, we do wonder how much human error could be involved in brakes that require so much diligence, especially considering the ease of some brakes that require depressing one pedal to set and another to release.

The brakes did well in our resistance before rolling tests as well. It took around 18 pounds of pressure pushing forward before the stroller started to slide and 13 pounds of force pulling to get it to roll back. These numbers weren't close to the top which included 55 for forward and 51 for back rolling, but they were respectable and not at the bottom. The Graco Duo Glider did the worst for this test needed just 8 pounds of force in either direction before sliding.

Harness

The Jeep only has a 3-point harness system and the crotch strap is not adjustable. Given the lack of straps overall you'd think it would be easy to adjust, but in reality the double back threading on the adjustment buckles were kind of a pain and time consuming to make bigger or smaller. The crotch strap not being adjustable was also a problem because it was so long it came up to the stunt baby's arm pits. This will certainly vary from child to child, but it's a good thing the strap and buckle is covered in fabric, because some passengers will need the added protection from a chaffing buckle located where there shouldn't be one. One of our testers remarked she felt uncomfortable with the 3 point harness system and wished it offered the more common 5 point harness.

Cup Holder

The Jeep cup holder is located high and on the back of the frame on the right side of the product. The depth of the cup is 3 inches, which is deeper than many of the competition, but some of the taller bottles could still topple out when full and heavier on top.

Tipping

The Jeep did fairly well in the tipping tests requiring a side angle in excess of 39 degrees before the stroller tipped to the side. This was above average in this test and likely due to the side-by-side design and low center of gravity the Jeep has by design.

It took over 54 pounds hanging off the handle bars for the ride to tip over backwards which was a pretty impressive number given that the stroller itself is the lightest in our review and it was weighted down with identical weight as all the other products. 13 other products tipped back with less weight, and the average was only around 30 pounds. The highest amount of weight required to send a product over backwards was the Orbit Baby Helix G3 with Helix Plus Double Upgrade Kit with was in excess of 96 pounds.

Quality

For quality the Jeep came in on par with the Combi Twin Cosmo and the Graco Duo Glider. All three products earned a 4 of 10 in our tests. The lack of quality is fairly self-evident when using a critical eye while looking at the Jeep.

The fabric on this product feels smooth with a dense weave fabric that seems like it should wear well. The ventilating mesh under the regular back fabric feels like plastic window screen material that would likely chaff and would definitely be sticky on sweaty skin. The back of the harness, where it is sewn into the back of the seat, is rough and definitely will chaff. The fabric seems to fit the frame fairly well, but overall the look and feel is one of cheap and thin. Product testers reported that little ones did not want to stay seated and attempted to get out of the stroller much faster than other options we looked at.

This frame is relatively lightweight, but still manages to feel pretty tight. It is definitely the cheapest and most fragile looking stroller in the group, and all the connections are exposed as opposed to welded or disguised under fabric and features. The frame has a significant amount of flex, and it is a bit off kilter when being pushed, especially if the weight in each seat varies significantly.

The handles on this stroller are about average. There are 3 sets of handle bars that are foam covered and of average height. They are fairly comfortable, but the plastic button on the end might dig into hands as you push a weighted stroller, or over time as the foam wears. It is nice that it has a center handle, which is good for steering one-handed on a really smooth surface, but otherwise it just gives the stroller the feeling of being two regular single strollers smooshed together into one big one. The problem with that is the implication that features and concerns of a double stroller possibly weren't considered.

The wheels are the flimsiest in the bunch. They are foam filled plastic tires over plastic wheels. They are also very heavily treaded which just made the ride wobbly and full of vibration. The tread did nothing to help with rougher terrain, despite the claim that this is an all-terrain vehicle, but instead just prevented the stroller from offering a smooth roll.

The suspension for this product is stiff and only present on the front wheels. The ride itself is stiff and the dense treaded wheels make the problem worse. The seat is not padded at all and has very little give, which results in an uncomfortable journey for the passengers.

Weight and Folded Size

Weight and Folded Size

The Jeep carries the prestige of having the lightest weight in our review of just 18 pounds. This is significantly lighter than many of the standard single strollers and even some of the single umbrella products, which means it knocks it out of the park when it comes to doubles weight. For comparison purposes the heaviest stroller in this review is the Orbit Baby Helix G3, it weighs in at a beast worthy 53 pounds. The average product in this review weighed closer to 34 pounds.

For folded size the Jeep continues to impressive with its lack of girth. It measures in at 17 x 11.5 x 44, or around 8,600 cubic feet. It is the smallest overall stroller in our review when folded, but still one of the longest.

Ease of Folding

This product is a one hand fold with an auto locking feature. The auto-lock feature requires the user to bend all the way to the floor which can be a little bit of a hassle, but it isn't a deal breaker. It takes 6 steps to fold, is not sandal foot friendly, and does not self-stand. Unfolding this stroller is very easy. It can also be done one handed and takes 4 steps. While it can be done by bare feet, pressing down on the stretchers across the back made us feel like we might pinch our feet in the mechanism. While this didn't happen, it did make us hesitate.

Commuting

This product did not score well for commuting. While it is easy to load and doesn't take up much space in a trunk, it will take up the whole width and possibly need to be stowed at an angle because of its length. It doesn't have a carry handle or strap, but it is still easy to carry and lift in thanks to its lighter weight. It doesn't self-stand, which will make it more difficult to manage on public transportation, especially if you are chasing little ones on foot at the same time.

The seat bottoms of this stroller are low to the ground and not great for taking little ones to coffee shops. Instead of pushing them up to the table you will have to pull the stroller to the side so they won't be looking at the gum under the table. This will result in the product sticking out in the aisle and possibly in the way of foot traffic.

Ease of Setup

The ease of setup for the Jeep is just about average. It took us over 10 minutes to put this product together and most of that time was putting together the rear wheels. This product has more steps to assemble than most. The instructions were complete and easy to use, possibly with too much information if that is possible. Colored or highlighted pictures would have been a nice touch, but the documentation is still good overall.

Best Applications

The only application where this stroller might be of use is for quick travel through the airport or mall where convenience features and performance aren't as important as getting where you need to go quickly by strapping children in place. However, that being said we still feel like it would be a better investment to purchase a more expensive option that you will be able to use frequently for a variety of trips or at least have a nice re-sale value, where the Jeep will not.

Value

The Jeep Wrangler Twin Sport is the cheapest stroller in our review, by a significant amount. However, being cheap does not necessarily equate to being a good value. In the event that all you are looking for is a throw away product to use once or twice for a specific trip through the airport or mall, then perhaps this product will work for you and it certainly has the right price that. However, if what you are looking for is a stroller you can use multiple times, in different environments that will be easy for you, and versatile for passengers, then this is not a good value.

Conclusion

Kolcraft seems to be hoping consumers will buy this product because it says Jeep on the label. Besides having two seats and enough wheels to move forward, there really is nothing noteworthy about this product. There is no storage of useable size, very little seat back recline, poor maneuverability, and very little canopy protection. While it folds to a compact size and is the lightest product in our review, what you will be sacrificing in the way of options and attributes will definitely outweigh it being easy to carry. In general, it is hard to recommend a product that ranked the lowest in our review and had nothing great to offer.