Graco - Contender Slim

We use a graco contender go/slim for travel. Comfy, easy to carry and easy to install

This is what I would recommend or the Graco Contender. Both are lightweight compared to traditional carseats. I've never used it in an Uber, but we have the Graco Contender as our primary travel carseat which we pair with a backpack bag.

We used a flyaway bed on a red eye to Europe a few times with my daughter between 15 months to 2.5 and it was amazing. Now that she’s 3 I don’t see us using it again because she’s too long and prefers to stretch out in her seat and across my lap instead to sleep. We’ve also used a Grace contender car seat in multiple European countries and never had an issue. I prefer to have my own car seat that I trust vs renting one. We also use a CARES harness during takeoff and landing for added safety since we aren’t using the car seat on the plane. 

Is this something you'd buy here and bring back and forth with you on trips, or would it stay with someone in Canada while you're away? If it will stay in Canada, bulkier picks like Graco Extend2Fit or 4Ever are classic value-for-money workhorses with high rear-facing limits. The 4Ever can be converted all the way to backless booster mode, the E2F only goes to front-facing harnessed mode. If you'll be using it in lots of vehicles and need an easy install I hear Britax seats with ClickTight are hard to beat, though I don't have experience using them. If you'll be taking it on planes you likely will be better off with one of the more lightweight options like Cosco Scenera, Evenflo Sonus, or Graco Contender. Of those I think the Contender has highest limits, if you want to use it into preschool years. We travelled with the Contender and a 1.5 year old and found it easy to use; it now lives in Grandma's car and has served us well over 4 years.

Unfortunately, unless it’s a seat with a closed belt path, like the graco contender, basically all seats have this issue with the buckle ending up behind the back on a plane.

We use this one too! We used it on the plane until she was 3 and then started checking it. It weighs about 15lbs, so heavier than the Cosco but more plush like a traditional convertible seat. It’s also the one we use when family is transporting our daughter.

We bought a car seat for traveling, Graco contender and we rent a car. Life with a toddler!

Can he still fit in a bucket seat? That’ll be the easiest. Otherwise the graco contender is lightweight and easy to travel with.

Lol understand. We have the contender just for traveling. It’s lightweight and easy to transport.

Graco Contender was the choice for us. Was able to rear face on the plane both trips.

Yes. You are missing something. Car seats vary in price. You do not need to spend $350. Because these are long-term seats, I would opt for a seater with higher height/weight. But the cosco scenera is a light and popular option.. currently $59 at Walmart. Safety first trifit (reversible seat) is currently $60 at Walmart.. normally $120. Graco contendor is $199 and extend2fit is $249. If you want/need four seats, there are multiple options that would put you in the $300-$500 total range. No need to spend $1500 unless you want to.  IME, certain colors are cheaper randomly through Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Keep an eye out for these. You often need to click each color option to see the individual price. Also IME.. I know everyone loves the Target trade in but I think random low prices on Amazon/Target/Walmart easily beat out the trade in coupon.  I bought an extend to fit in July 2025 for $149 from Amazon.. saved some money because I looked through each color and the blue happened to be cheapest. I bought an extendtofit in December 2024 from Amazon also in a random light gray color. Keep your eye out!

I had to buy three car seats 💀 my husband and I shared one for a while and gave one to the grandparents for daycare pick ups, but it became a problem when either my husband or I didn’t have a seat and needed to do a daycare pick up last minute. We have graco extend to fits and I ended up buying a graco contender for the third, but I wish I spent a little more to get another extend to fit since our son outgrew the contender rear facing quite quickly. Actually moving the seats between cars wasn’t that bad, it was the logistics of only having a seat in 2/3 frequently used vehicles that became difficult to manage.