Evenflo - Sonus 65

Evenflo sonus is what we use

Most that will be recommended for daily use aren’t the best for travelling (heavy). For example the graco extend2fit is probably the most widely recommended convertible seat but I’d never take it on a plane. We got an evenflo sonus for travel, the cosco scenera is another popular travel seat, both around $100. Convertible seats aren’t like infant seats that can detach from their base, if they do have a base for easier installation/more stability, recline options etc, it’s not removable.

We have the evenflo sonus, believe it fits them just a smidge longer than the cosco seat. Also has a head pad which makes it a bit comfier I think!

We used the Evenflo Sonus and it nestled into our Ergobaby Metro plus stroller (also secured it with a luggage strap). We flew with it (took both car seat & stroller on board), took trains, taxis & uber. The combo worked really well for us!

It’s a bulky seat, for sure. At least it’s a compact one and not a 27lb Diono 😜 (the school bus of car seats) For Canadian lightweight travel seats (if you plan to travel often) I’d recommend an Evenflo Sonus if under 37” or the Evenflo Sureride/Titan 65 if over 37”. You could get away with a Cosco Scenera Next if they’re petite but it won’t be long lasting as it’s often outgrown by 2-3yo.

So for little (<2yo) baby travel, we have found that the cosco scenera next is awesome. It's a convertible seat, but we used it even when our kids were still in the bucket seat at home. It's only 7lbs, super easy install in a car and airplane, machine washable, and goes on sale for about $100 fairly regularly. We use it as a secondary seat in my husband's car while at home. We drag it through the airport in the basket of our stroller (uppababy vista) and then gate check the stroller. Our almost 4 yo uses an evenflo sonus on board, also her secondary seat in my husband's car. That comes through the airport on a folding carseat cart. There's no way I'd take their seats from my car (britax advocate and clek foonf) on an airplane, as both are ~40 lbs and the advocate is too wide. The cosco seat is an easier airplane install than our infant seat (uppababy mesa). I hope this is helpful!

I agree with everything but especially number 3! We gate checked out stroller but they accidentally tagged it to luggage claim instead. As I was waiting in the oversized baggage area I watched the guys throw multiple carseats into the area. They hit the pick up area so hard and you have no way of knowing if anything has been broken or even weakened until it's to late.  It isn't worth the risk for me. I also love that my toddler is strapped in and can't just slinky his way out of the seat belt.  Edited to add: we bring the evenflo sonus on the plane because it's lighter. The cosco scenera is also great but my LO was on the end of rearfacing limits and we needed it for a car also so it wouldn't work for us. 

Meh my toddler was fine it it for travel! I like the evenflo somus a bit more though. Both feel cheap though but fine for travel

Cosco Scenera is popular for this. It's like $60 US. Evenflo Sonus is another option around $100 - my son fit well in it, but certain cars it was awkward to install. They are both around 12lbs to carry. I use a travel bag for the carseaf with backpack straps and check it as soon as possible. I have an oversized Adidas backpack I use for flying. Fits everything that would be in my purse and my diaperbag but comfortable to wear. My guy hated being worn, so we use a travel stroller (bugaboo butterfly) and check it at the gate. It also allowed me to wear the carseat on my back, backpack under the stroller, and one hand free to manage suitcases (1 or 2 large depending on trip length). I would get looks traveling through the airport, and my husband was in awe every time he dropped us off or picked us up from a trip. I didnt have time or patience to chase a child or track down a cart. Edit: 8 round trips between 4 months and 2 years old.

It sucks for long car and plane rides imo. The straps are the worst and so hard to tighten. My tall thin toddler used to get red marks all along his back from it. My 1.5 yo is in the scenera on my current trip and after an hour or so in it is grumpy and needs a break out of it. We got an evenflo sonus for travel for my older toddler who is 3.5 and it seems much more comfortable for him. It’s around $80 and a tiny bit bigger but since it weighs around the same amount (11lbs vs 8lbs) it’s the better pick for me.

Your bucket seat should fit. I took my Graco Snugride on a plane when my daughter was 4 months, 8 and 9 months old, and it's the only seat that can fit rear-facing on an airplane. If you buy a Scenera, it will not fit rear-facing, and you'll need to put it FF, which will probably be uncomfortable for your 7-month-old, cause it'll be straight up, no recline. Also the belt buckle will be in their back, cause you have to feed it through the FF belt path. I flew recently (8 flights) with an Evenflo Sonus with my 20 month old.

In Canada, I bought the Evenflo sonus, it’s 11lbs and I used it full time at home. Currently in Europe and used it on all 3 flights. I bought a luggage strap and strapped it to my travel stroller through the forward facing and then buckled her into the seat for transport! Super easy!

A convertible. My daughter is 19 months, and sits rear facing in the car in this seat. Infant seats can be rear facing on the plane cause there is enough space (took one on when she was 9 months old), but all other seats can only fit forward facing, which is fine cause a crash impact is different than a car and any 5 point harness in an aircraft is safer than being on your lap. (Transport Canada highly recommends a car seat on an air craft for all kids up to age 7 or 48” in height)

I mean, you say you don’t want to compromise safety, while you’re considering putting 2 kids who are still small enough to rearface in many car seats in booster seats and while you forward face a 2 year old. It’ll be more difficult in terms of flying, but I’d pick up some lightweight convertible car seats (we like the Evenflo Sonus, the Babytrend Trooper is also good) specifically for travel and install them on the plane for all 3 kids (at least for the 2 year old. Might want to research lightweight combination seats for the 2 bigger kids, but I’d still have both of them in harnessed seats given their sizes).

1. It’s safest for the kid if you hit turbulence 2. It contains them so they’re not crawling and jumping all over the place and disturbing other passengers 3. (And most importantly), if you need a car seat at your destination, it’s the only way to assure that your seat is safe. Baggage handlers are rough on baggage (on our most recent trip to Disney, our stroller wheel got bent and one of our suitcases cracked). Your carseat may be damaged in cargo, and there’s a decent chance you wouldn’t even know until it fails in a crash. And rental car seats are never a good idea because you don’t know how they’ve been stored, handled, and cleaned. We use lighter weight carseats for travel than our everyday convertible seats (currently using the Evenflo Sonus for our 3 and 5 year old. We loved the Cosco Scenera Next when they were littler). I will say though, that now that they are 3 and 5 and can sit quietly for a flight, flying is much easier without a car seat. But we only do this if we won’t need a carseat at our destination (our most recent trip we did Disney and took bus and Disney transportation everywhere).