We currently have a 22 month old and use a Maxi Cosi Romi for longer rides and Pico Wayb for shorter rides in the city. Both of these you can finagle a way to strap to stroller but definitely a little annoying. And agree once they get older moving to the RideSafer vest.
I think it’s worth the cost. Definitely easier to lug around for shorter day trips in the city compared to the scenera or romi or other regular car seats.
Idk how granola they are but the recommendations for a travel convertible seat are the Cosco Scenera or the Maxi Cosi Romi because they’re both lightweight (7-8 lbs if I remember correctly). We got the Cosco for free from a friend, but I’d probably choose the Maxi Cosi if I was purchasing because I believe it’s flame retardant free. Then we just got a cheap car seat backpack off of Amazon.
When we for with our 20 month old we used the Evenflo Tribute LX. She was right at the edge of there weight limit, and maybe a lb or two over fully clothed and stuffed with food. But it worked really well for us. It’s only 9.3 lb so relatively lightweight. My husband was able to use a heavy duty caribeaner and hook it upside down over his backpack so our hands were free.
We tried the either Cosco Scenera or Maxi Cosi Romi (I can’t remember which, but they’re basically the same car seat, made by the same megacorporation but under different brand names and Maxi Cosi has nicer fabrics) because it was lightweight and highly recommended for travel. She was right at the weight limit for it (40 lbs), too, but we weren’t able to use it because the straps were comedically too short. Like I don’t think they made it even halfway around her body. That might not be an issue for you, if yours is tall but not wide. Mine was super off the charts heavy and not particularly tall. All to say check the height restrictions, and make sure you buy far enough in advance that you can return it and buy another if you need to. Or plan to buy two and return one. Because you don’t want to buy too far in advance and then they outgrow it by the time the flight comes around.
Now that she’s older (3) we like the Graco Tranzitions 3-in-1 for travel. It’s also lightweight. But it’s forward facing only, so not really suitable for a 1 year old.
Im assuming your child has outgrown the infant seat.
The lighter car seats that still can rear face are maxi cosi romi (this is what I have) or the Cosco scenera. There are car seat bags on Amazon that work just fine for this type of smaller seat.
Definitely check the car seat immediately at the airport
Use the seat to get to/from airport and that’s it. Use a travel stroller otherwise to get around on public transit. I recommend the Mompush Nexis. We did this method traveling around major cities in Asia and living in NYC.
Perhaps if you do longer day trips where there’s not public transit, you can take a train and leave the car seat at a luggage check at the train station. Europe is awesome about having convenient luggage storage everywhere
If it’s not FAA certified then technically you can’t use it on the plane and some flight attendants will check.
The Cosco Scenera is one of the most popular travel seats. It’s super lightweight. But that’s about where the benefits end unfortunately. The harness is a manual rethread to adjust and it has the older style latch connectors that are not as easy to use. It also is usually outgrown for forward facing at the same time as for rear facing so it won’t fit most kids past age 3, so it’s not the longest term option, but it is cheap.
Maxi Cosi has the Romi which is also lightweight but maybe slightly nicer touches.
However if you are going to be putting her in your truck a lot more often than you’ll be on a plane, I might consider optimizing for that use case even at the expense of having to carry a heavier seat on the plane. We travel with a Graco Extend2Fit for this reason. It’s not my first choice or fifth choice even for a travel seat but it has more niceties like a no-rethread harness and adjustable headrest, so it is better for the everyday use case of being in grandma’s car as our backup.
The Graco Contender might be another compromise option where it’s nicer for everyday use but still workable on the plane.
If you do end up with a heavier seat, you can make things easier by getting either a luggage cart or a backpack for the car seat. Check bags and try to have little carry on luggage so one of you can carry the kid and one of you carries the seat.
Top Travel Car Seats on Reddit
1
Cosco Kids
Scenera Next DLX Convertible Car Seat
78% positive of 238 users
Super light, cheap, great for air travel, but outgrown fast.
1989ac
