The Silver Cross Pop Duo comes with two padded cosytoes, a raincover and an adult’s cup holder. It has two independent hoods, with UV protective viewing windows. There are pockets for belongings on the back of each of these hood, plus two (small) shopping baskets and a foot-operated brake. To use the brake, you push down a lever using either foot, as there’s one on each side, and the flip it up again with your foot to release.
What we love
The Silver Cross Pop Duo is very cosy and comfy. I don’t think I’ve ever felt such nicely padded seats on a lightweight, and the head huggers and strap pads are very thick and covered in a silky fabric. The cosytoes that come with the Pop Duo are really thick, cosy, and ideal for newborns. They fix onto poppers on the back of each seat, which stops them sliding down or bunching up. The cover also completely unzips on each cosytoes, so you can use it just as an extra padded liner for the seat on warm days.
The Pop Duo has fairly chunky wheels, which means it handles well on grass and gravel – a bonus for me as I walk across a park to and from school twice a day. The front wheels lock, too, to make it easier to get over bumps. It’s by no means an all-terrain buggy, but it finds a happy medium, being light enough to lift easily in and out of the car or bus, and sturdy enough to cope with trips to the park.
My little boy is a chunky 2-year-old, so I wondered if the seat might be too narrow for him, but it’s fine. I’m confident he’ll be comfy in the Pop Duo until he doesn’t need a buggy any more. I also look after a 7-month-old girl, and she needs a cosy place to sleep on the school run each day. The seat is easy to recline while your baby’s in it – you just pull the toggle on the back of the seat. The hood is lovely and deep, too, so your passengers are well shaded on sunny days.
The fold mechanism is easy to use - you release the hinge on the back (with either your hand or your foot), then push down the handle at the side with your foot and push the buggy forwards. It’s the standard mechanism that you find on most umbrella-fold buggies, so I didn’t even need to read the instructions to work it out, and found it easy to do one-handed.
The pocket on the back of each hood is lovely and big, with a flap to keep your possessions safe. These could hold a couple of nappies and some wipes as well as snacks and small toys. These pockets are a useful addition, as the shopping baskets are fairly small and difficult to access when the seats are reclined.
The cup holder clips on to either handle – it might seem like a trivial extra, but pushing two children is thirsty work, and no one can hold a drink and push a double buggy at the same time!
All the added extras make this buggy seem like excellent value. All in all, the Pop Duo feels and looks like a very luxurious product for the price. I have the black and silver version, but it also comes in ‘Poppy’, a deep red. Both colourways are unisex so it’s ideal if you have two children of different sexes.
What to watch out for
There’s no middle handle, which isn’t a huge issue as it keeps the weight down, but would have been useful for manoeuvring through tight gaps.
The buggy can’t be stored upright, unless it’s leaning against something, which makes it tricky to store.
The shopping baskets are a bit disappointing, as they are hard to get to and small, but the pockets on the hoods go some way to making up for this deficiency.
Who is the Silver Cross Pop Duo best for?
Mums-of-two after an everyday option that won’t weigh them down.
The Silver Cross Pop Duo is a quality twin buggy that ticks lots of boxes. It’s light, compact, easy to manoeuvre and stylish. Add to this list the loads of added extras and it all results in a good value product.
