Baby Trend Snap n Go Double Review

The Baby Trend Snap-N-Go Double is a lightweight, sturdy frame product that accommodates 2 infant carrier car seats. It allows parents to move infants from a car and onto a stroller without disturbing them. It has under seat storage, a parent tray with 2 cup holders, front wheel swivel, and a quick and easy one hand compact fold with a manual lock. This frame accepts all Baby Trend and most major brands of infant car seats including the Baby Trend - 22 lbs & 30 lbs, Graco - Snugride, Snugride 32, Evenflo - Embrace, Discovery, Peg Perego - SIP, SIP 30/30, Britax - Companion, Chaperone, Chicco - KeyFit, KeyFit 30.

Performance Comparison

Ease of Use

The Baby Trend product earned a 6 of 10 in this metric which tied with the Britax B-Ready Double Frame. The Joovy Twin Roo had the highest score in this metric with a 7 of 10.

Storage

This product has a very large under seat storage bin. Our diaper bag with supplies for two fit easily in the bin, but can't get in or out of the bin if the infant car seats are in place. The bin has access from all sides even if the carriers are in place, but the access will be limited to smaller items that can fit in the smaller spaces between the carriers. This is the only storage option on this stroller.

Sun Shade

As with the Joovy, the Baby Trend does not have its own seats or canopies attached to the frame. The minimalist nature of this kind of product precludes it having some of the options the other products enjoy. The sun shade for little passengers will depend on what kind of infant carrier seat you have, as that will be the only canopy. This will prevent a 100% coverage option like the Graco Duo Glider has with the ability to use the attached canopies for extra protection, but it is a common issue for this kind of product.

Convenience

This product has a small covered compartment and 2 cup holders in a parent's tray located at the top of the handle bar. The holders are relatively deep and can hold most of the bottles and sippy cups we tried. The compartment itself is too small for mobile phones, and is probably only good for loose change or keys. The main downside of this tray is the location being too high up on the handle bar and possibly being a safety hazard to little riders located below.

The Baby Trend does not offer any other kind of convenience option. Given the nature of a frame product to begin with the addition of other conveniences is not necessary or possible. Any seat related conveniences will be limited to whatever the car seat infant carrier comes with.

Maneuverability

The Baby Trend earned a 6 of 10 in this metric. This is an average for the products in this category, and it tied with two others in the group. The highest ranking product in this metric was the Bugaboo Donkey Twin; It earned an 8 due primarily to the better tires and larger wheels giving it an advantage. Even with the swivel front wheels, this product is not easy to maneuver.

This stroller is hard to push, even on hard surfaces, and it takes a lot of force to make it turn or avoid obstacles. It did fairly well on hard surfaces, but struggled in the grass and failed on gravel. The double front wheel on each front "leg" is a style and design that continually disappoints us in testing. The swivel and the width of the two wheel design causes frustration when push and allows the wheels to catch on lower objects. The Trend had trouble going over 1 inch curbs and it was difficult if not impossible to navigate up stairs and higher curbs.

This product has no shocks or other nods to increasing ride comfort. Little ones might be jostled around or feel every bump and vibration of the road. As children age this may not be a problem, but when passenger are brand new to the world it might be more than they can handle comfortably.

Safety

BabyGearLab reviews each product with a discerning eye for any possible safety related issues. For frame products we considered brakes, cup holders, and the possibility that the products could tip under duress. The Trend earned just a 6 of 10 in this metric. Six is an average score for the products in this category, with only 2 strollers scoring higher. The Britax B-Ready and the Orbit Baby Helix G3 Double Frame both earned a 7 in our tests. Both products offer more than the traditional frame product because they can also be used with toddler seats, which might explain why they had stronger features for safety.

Brakes
The photos above show the brake pedals.

The brakes on the Trend are relatively easy to set and release, but they are not sandal friendly and they require two pedals to be set before proper engagement. We prefer a single action brake to avoid the potential to forget pressing both pedals, or the laziness of thinking one is enough for now. Once set the brakes had about 1 inch of play in them.

The brakes on this product required about 17 pounds of pressure pushing on the product before it moved forward. This amount is better than 2 of the other products we tested. The stroller that requires the most amount of pressure is the Britax B-Ready with 42 pounds. For movement backwards the Trend required about 18 pounds of pressure pulling it. This is only better than 1 of the competing product, with the Graco needing only 8 pounds before it moved.

Tipping

The Baby Trend tipped sideways when placed at an angle of 25 degrees, this is the average angle for products in our review. This angle tied with the Joovy, and is only better than the Graco in our test. The lowest angle in the review was the B-Ready which didn't tip until after 29 degrees, but the difference is relatively negligible. The deepest angle of any product before tipping was the B-Ready; it doesn't tip until past a 29 degree angle.

The amount of weight that can hang off the back of this stroller before it falls backwards is 34 pounds. This was the average amount of weight for the products in our review. The Graco required over 56 pounds before falling, at least in part due to its longer length design. The best practice is to never hang items off the back of a stroller to negate possible safety concerns, but in the event that someone forgets, 34 pounds is a respectable amount of weight to bear.

Cup Holder

The cup holders for the Trend sit high above where the infant carriers attach and close enough to the location of one of the seats that there is a potential for whatever is in the holder to topple out and onto the baby. The holders themselves are fairly shallow compared to the competition at just 2.5 inches deep, and even some of our shorter water bottles fell out over small bumps while strolling. The bottles usually fell into the carriers and had a baby been in the seat, it no doubt would have been hit by the items. This seems like an obvious design flaw, one that is easily mitigated by positioning the cup holders lower and making them deeper. The Joovy TwinRoo did both, and we experienced no accidental bottle dislodging with that stroller.

Car Seat Attachment

With a product called the Snap-N-Go you might expect that the car seats attach by snapping onto the product. Unfortunately, that is not the case with this stroller. In order to accommodate infant car seats from multiple manufacturers BabyTrend moved to a snap and then strap connection

process that essentially makes the whole process more convoluted. The increase in steps also increases the chances that a step will be done improperly or skipped altogether due to negligence or accident. While strapping the seats in is easy enough to accomplish, and it doesn't take a member of the brain trust to do it, it seems unnecessary when other frame products have managed to accept multiple car seats without the need for straps.

You can definitely install the seats incorrectly if you don't use the straps or if you fail to snap it in place properly before the straps. Both might feel somewhat secure, but still be unstable given that the design calls for both methods to be used for proper attachment. The strap on the buckle itself is also a pain to adjust and could lead to parents neglecting to use it; at least it is something you will probably only need to adjust once.

Weight and Folded Size

Weight and Folded Size

The Baby Trend is the lightest product in our review weighing in under 18 pounds. This is always a plus in a product for twins or strollers you plan to use on the go. The heaviest product in the review is the Orbit Orbit Baby Helix G3, which is so heavy you likely will not be using it to commute or carrying it a long distance.

The Trend measures out at 26.25 x 12 x 36 when folded, and around 11,000 cubic inches. This makes it one of the smaller models in our review, but not the smallest. The Joovy is a smaller overall package closer to 8,100 cubic inches. Even the Orbit is smaller, but the fold is actually a dismantle process as opposed to a true fold, so it isn't really a fair comparison.

Ease of Folding

This product has a very easy one hand fold that takes about 5-7 steps, has a manual lock feature, and self-stands. There is very little to no bending involved in folding the product, and its self-stand design feels pretty stable. The fold process is sandal foot friendly, but there is no carry strap. This stroller can easily be carried by the frame, but it would be nice to see one of these products offer a shoulder strap to help free hands for holding other items.

For the unfolding process this product is even easier. It takes just 2-3 steps to unfold and can be done with just one hand. This stroller scored well in this test for basically unfolding itself; there is not practice necessary to learn this process

Commuting

The Trend earned the second highest score in commuting out of the products in our review. This is thanks primarily to its lighter weight and smaller size. It is a product you can lift easily and move about, but it takes up more room in the trunk that the Joovy. It is also a relatively long and wide ride which means it is not going to navigate foot traffic and tight spaces well and needs some power to make turns when weighed down with babies and supplies. It is also too long to conform to the 2'X4' rule of public transport in some areas, so it will need to be folded and car seats removed to take it on the bus or subway. The length also precludes it from being used at a smaller table at cafes and restaurants. It will be too long to pull alongside a table, which may not matter given that little ones are in seats, but might be an issue in smaller spaces where the product itself is in the way. Overall, it isn't a great stroller for commuting, but in fairness none of the products made for two really are.

Ease of Setup

This product took just over 5 minutes to set up and get strolling; this was the least amount of time out of all the products in this review. The illustrations in the manual were so good we almost didn't need to read the instructions. The parts snap together easily and quickly, with little to no hassle.

Best Applications

The best application for this stroller is for infant car seat attachment for day trips or the long haul. Unfortunately, it just doesn't perform as well as the competition and it may not have a true best application. The snap and strap connection system makes it harder to attach the seats than it should be and the length makes it hard to take in crowded spaces.

Value

The Baby Trend is the cheapest product in our review with a list price of $100. This makes it look like a great value on the surface. However, given that it scored 3rd out of 6 products, we believe it is worthwhile to spend the estimated $20 extra to purchase the award winning Joovy Twin Roo. The Joovy did better in just about every metric, and has a true click and go connection system without strap attachments. While we recognize that $20 is still $20, we believe the performance of the Joovy is significantly better than the Trend and that the extra expense is worth it in this case.

Conclusion

The Baby Trend Snap-N-Go Double frame stroller is not what it claims to be. While it is a frame and it does accept two infant car seat carriers, the carriers do not just snap in, they also require a strap in to be secured properly. This feature alone makes this stroller one we are not too excited about. It isn't a bad product, scoring 3rd place means that at least 3 other products scored lower. However, given that the Joovy scored higher, and has nicer features, and a true snap connection feature, it is hard to recommend this stroller. If the product offered a real snap connection with no straps, it might do better in our tests in the future.