Best Double Strollers For Loading And Storing In A Car - Overall Winner: The Austlen Entourage

We just received our Austlen Entourage Sit + Stand as a gift, and somehow I'm already wondering how we managed without it.

We have an almost 2-year-old, and I'm expecting again in December. I knew we needed something that would work for two children, but I also didn't want a giant stroller taking over our lives before the baby was even here.

And in our case, there was another very practical consideration:

We live on the second floor.

The last thing I wanted to do was haul a double stroller up and down the stairs every time we left the house.

My solution? Find a stroller that could just live in the back of my Jeep Patriot.

Thankfully, the Entourage fits beautifully.

The Fold Was a Bigger Deal Than I Expected

Before buying a double stroller, I thought mostly about how it would work when it was open.

Where would each child sit? How would it push? Would there be enough room?

I didn't think nearly as much about what happens at the end of every outing.

With some double strollers, folding isn't simply folding. You may need to remove the second seat, turn another seat around, or find room in your trunk for multiple separate pieces.

That's one of the things I appreciate most about the Entourage.

The Entourage folds with its Second Seat attached, and the Sit + Stand can stay attached, too. There isn't a second bulky stroller seat that I have to remove and find another spot for in my car. Austlen lists the folded stroller at 33.5"L × 24.5"W × 19"H with the wheels and fenders attached.

I can put it in my Jeep and leave it there.

For a second-floor family, that feels like a feature worth celebrating.

How Popular Double Strollers Compare When Folded

I got curious about how the Entourage's fold compared with some of the other premium doubles we had considered. The differences are bigger than I expected, especially once you account for what actually has to go into the car, not simply the manufacturer's headline folded measurement.

Here is a quick comparison using current manufacturer specifications and manuals where available. For WonderFold, I'm using the W4 Elite stroller wagon as the comparable multi-child option.

*Entourage double weight is calculated from Austlen's published 32-lb stroller + 4.5-lb Second Seat. Vista double weight is approximately 27.6-lb stroller + 8.4-lb RumbleSeat. DEMI next is approximately the published 26-lb stroller + 10-lb Sibling Seat; Nuna notes that the stroller's 26-lb figure excludes its insert, canopy and armbar, so real equipped weight will be somewhat higher.

The fold instructions are an important part of that comparison. UPPAbaby specifically instructs users to remove the RumbleSeat and put the main seat forward-facing and upright before folding the Vista V3 in double mode. Nuna likewise instructs users to remove a stroller/Sibling Seat installed in the lower mount before folding the DEMI next.

Bugaboo takes a different approach: the Donkey 5 Duo offers a one-piece self-standing fold, although that fold is 29.1 inches wide; Bugaboo also offers a two-piece fold.  The WonderFold W4 Elite is in a different category altogether: it carries up to four children and has a much higher 300-lb overall capacity, but at roughly 58 lbs with its seats, it's also considerably heavier than these traditional double strollers.

Why That Makes the Entourage Work So Well for Us

Looking at the numbers actually reinforces why I'm so happy with what we have.

The Entourage isn't the lightest stroller in the comparison, but it's right on par with its primary competitors, and much lighter than the wagon.

Also, the Entourage can stand folded behind the vehicle and then roll into the cargo area, so instead of dead-lifting the entire stroller into my Jeep, I can make a light initial lift and roll it the rest of the way in.

And once it's there, I don't have another stroller seat sitting separately beside it.

For us, that's much more relevant than simply choosing whichever stroller has the lowest number on a spec sheet.

Right Now, We're Waiting for Baby

We're still in that exciting in-between stage.

Our almost-2-year-old gets to enjoy the stroller now, and then everything changes again when his new sibling arrives in December.

That's one of the reasons the Entourage made so much sense to us.

We don't have to buy one stroller for today and another for two kids.

And we don't have to commit permanently to a traditional double configuration, either.

As our older child becomes more independent, the Sit + Stand gives him a comfortable Jump Seat when he wants to sit, a Platform Rider when he'd rather stand, and the freedom to hop off and walk when he wants to be a big kid.

That's what makes it feel like the best single to double to Sit and Stand stroller for the years ahead.

And It Pushes Like a Dream

The other thing my husband and I noticed immediately was how incredibly smooth it is.

It navigates so easily.

That's something that's hard to appreciate from a list of stroller specifications. You can compare weights, dimensions and capacities all day, but then you put your hands on a stroller and realize that the way it actually moves matters just as much.

The Entourage feels substantial and incredibly well made, but it doesn't feel cumbersome when I'm pushing it.

My husband and I have both been blown away by the quality.

Features That Make the Entourage Stand Out for Us

Here's what has convinced us that we found the best double stroller and best single to double to Sit and Stand stroller for our family:

• Folds with the Second Seat or Sit + Stand attached, so there's no extra seating piece to remove and store
• 33.5" × 24.5" × 19" folded dimensions with wheels and fenders attached
• Single-to-double-to-Sit + Stand flexibility that gives us different solutions as our children enter different stages
• Sit + Stand rated up to 75 lbs, giving our older child years of potential use
• Primary seat rated from birth to 65 lbs, with a built-in bassinet mode
• Smooth handling and large wheels that make it genuinely enjoyable to maneuver
• Up to 200 lbs of total kids + cargo capacity, including a 70-lb lower basket and included 30-lb Market Tote
• Roll-in vehicle loading, which means putting it into the car doesn't translate into having to hoist it into the cargo area
• Premium construction that already makes us feel like this is something we'll be using for years

One Stroller for the Years Ahead

Right now, we're a family with one almost-2-year-old and another baby on the way.

A few months from now, we'll have two little ones with very different needs.

And a few years from now, those needs will change all over again.

That's what I'm most excited about.

The Entourage doesn't feel like something we bought for December. It feels like something we bought for all the stages that come after December, too.

For now, I'm just thrilled that it pushes beautifully, feels incredibly well made, and fits in the back of my Jeep so it can happily live downstairs instead of coming up to our second-floor home every night.

Sometimes the best double stroller isn't just the one that carries two kids well.

It's the one that makes everything before and after the walk easier, too.

And so far, the Austlen Entourage has absolutely done that for us.

Image provided by customer is for illustrative purposes. To read their review and other customer reviews, click here.