travel stroller advice

[meljc]

Long time lurker, first time poster...

We're looking for a lightweight/travel stroller for our now 10mo old DS. Right now we have a BJCM and a stroller frame and that combo works pretty well, but DS doesn't love hanging out in the carseat anymore so I think the stroller frame will need to be retired soon. However, DS still falls asleep in the car ~2/3 of the time. We have a few trips coming up and we'll be bringing our Keyfit 30 carseat with us but I hate the idea of using just the stroller frame full time, especially for an international trip when DS is 14mo. Of course I also hate the idea of bringing multiple strollers with us!

I think I have it narrowed down to the following, though I'm open to other suggestions:

-G-Luxe (seems like a solid choice overall, only one we've seen in person)
-Valco Snap (too much like our BJCM? is this really so much more compact?)
-Babyhome Emotion (too much like our BJCM? is this really so much more compact?)
-Bumbleride Flite (less solid reviews than the G-Luxe, but carseat compatibility is a plus and would seem to address our nap/travel dilemma)

Requirements: decent recline, light weight, doesn't cost an arm and a leg, good canopy for our pasty baby in SoCal

We have played with Maclarens in person and don't care for them.

Any thoughts about the strollers I listed above? Are there others I'm missing? Thanks!

[legaleagle]

I guess the question is how lightweight do you want? The cybex onyx checks all your boxes (full recline, fabulous canopy and car seat compatible) but it's 16 lbs. What didnt you like about the macs?

[DietCokeLover]

I really liked my Britax Blink.

[meljc]

I guess the question is how lightweight do you want? The cybex onyx checks all your boxes (full recline, fabulous canopy and car seat compatible) but it's 16 lbs. What didnt you like about the macs?

Since we already have and like the BJCM (weighing in at 17lbs), we're looking for something smaller and lighter for travel.

Both of our gripes about the Maclarens we saw might be related to life in LA: the foot pedal used to fold the stroller was not flip-flop friendly and the canopy isn't large enough. DH and I didn't care for them at all when we were shopping previously.

[meljc]

I really liked my Britax Blink.

I'm not familiar with this stroller, but it looks like it has been replaced by the B-Nimble. Is that right?

I wish it had a better canopy :( This seems pretty similar to the Flite, but trading 2lbs for $100. Any chance you have experience with both strollers?

[Philly Mom]

I use my bjcm to travel including international. Love it.

[meljc]

I use my bjcm to travel including international. Love it.

Sorry, I should have been clearer. We are looking for a light weight stroller to replace our stroller frame for both travel and daily life (mall, dr visits, etc). I know we *could* use the City Mini for travel, but we'll be taking trains and subways so I prefer to get something less bulky. To be honest we rarely take our BJCM in the car, though this might change when we move DS into a convertible seat.

(On the topic of the seat switch, DS is small and a car sleeper so I'm going to keep him in the infant seat and accompanying frame until he can walk. Otherwise there's no way I could get him, his daycare stuff and my work stuff into the apartment every afternoon!)

[TwoBees]

What's wrong with the BJCM? I would totally take that.

We gave a Britax Blink too, and I like it although we use it less than our BJCM. I'm not sure you can get them anymore, and for the price of the B-Nimble (which is what Britax replaced the Blink with), you might like the G-lite or G-luxe instead.

[meljc]

Not sure why my responses didn't post earlier...

We love our BJCM but find it a little bulky for in and out of the car. When we travel abroad we'll be using trains and other public transit, so would prefer a smaller stroller. We also want the stroller for quick errands. My thought is 13lbs or less, otherwise I might as well just use the BJCM!

We played with Macs when we were looking for our main stroller and did not care for the pedal to fold (we wear flip flops most of the time when we're out with DS) or the canopy (insufficient for SoCal sun with our fair-skinned baby).

Any idea how the B-Nible compares to the Flite? I like that those can take a carseat, although I only anticipate needing that feature for a few months so it's not a deal-breaker.

Would love to hear feedback from anyone who has tried the strollers on my list :)

[hihellonikki]

I'm looking for a lightweight stroller to compliment my BJCM, too, (although mine's a GT). I played with all the strollers you mention, except the Valco, at the same time that I purchased my Baby Jogger. Since the BJCM isn't that big of a stroller to begin with, I was/am only interested in a very light, small footprint stroller to compliment it. The Flite was alright but it didn't feel that much smaller than what I already had. I absulotely didn't get the appeal of the G-Luxe, it feels quite Maclarenish to me and while it did push decent, I was not in love. The Babyhome Emotion was really cool. I liked it's push, and it feels like so much less stroller than my GT. In fact, it's at the top of my list. The only other strollers that I'm eyeing are the smallest Cybex, the Ruby, and the Valco Zee. The Zee, while way cool, may not be a little enough stroller for what I'm hoping to find, because as I said earlier, the BJCM is not a big stroller either.

[kaharris83]

Love, love, love my G-Luxe. I detest Macs. We have one at my parents house and DH wouldn't let me take my G-Luxe when we visited for a week this month. I was miserable pushing the Mac and swore I'll always bring my G-Luxe from now on. DS loves it and climbs right in when he sees it. The G-Luxe and Mac are totally different push-wise. I tried all the Cybex models before getting my G-Luxe and I didn't like any of them either.

[jam224]

We're looking for a lightweight/travel stroller for our now 10mo old DS. Right now we have a BJCM and a stroller frame and that combo works pretty well, but DS doesn't love hanging out in the carseat anymore so I think the stroller frame will need to be retired soon. However, DS still falls asleep in the car ~2/3 of the time. We have a few trips coming up and we'll be bringing our Keyfit 30 carseat with us but I hate the idea of using just the stroller frame full time, especially for an international trip when DS is 14mo. Of course I also hate the idea of bringing multiple strollers with us!

Why not get the Keyfit adapter for the BJCM? http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Jogger-Adaptor-Chicco-Single/dp/B00318CLA0/

[meljc]

Still not sure why my last three responses won't post :( This is getting shorter every time I re-post.

We're looking for something very compact for quick trips, smaller than the BJCM.

Didn't like the fold pedal or the canopy on Macs.

Please keep the comparisons coming!

[meljc]

I'm looking for a lightweight stroller to compliment my BJCM, too, (although mine's a GT). I played with all the strollers you mention, except the Valco, at the same time that I purchased my Baby Jogger. Since the BJCM isn't that big of a stroller to begin with, I was/am only interested in a very light, small footprint stroller to compliment it. The Flite was alright but it didn't feel that much smaller than what I already had. I absulotely didn't get the appeal of the G-Luxe, it feels quite Maclarenish to me and while it did push decent, I was not in love. The Babyhome Emotion was really cool. I liked it's push, and it feels like so much less stroller than my GT. In fact, it's at the top of my list. The only other strollers that I'm eyeing are the smallest Cybex, the Ruby, and the Valco Zee. The Zee, while way cool, may not be a little enough stroller for what I'm hoping to find, because as I said earlier, the BJCM is not a big stroller either.

Sounds like we're in the same boat! We liked the G-Luxe pretty well in store and if there was the option to attach a car seat I think it would be perfect for us. The Emotion, Snap and Flite might just have too high of a price for a secondary stroller (currently ~$250 each at AlbeeBaby) -- they cost more than we paid for our BJCM :wink2: Maybe it's time to call my local store and play "let's make a deal."

[roseyloxs]

I guess the question is how lightweight do you want? The cybex onyx checks all your boxes (full recline, fabulous canopy and car seat compatible) but it's 16 lbs. What didnt you like about the macs?

Love my cybex but it folds like the macs do so maybe that's a dealbreaker for you. The aprica presto flat is on sale at albeebaby (http://www.albeebaby.com/aprica-presto-flat-stroller-premiere-red.html). Looks like it would check your boxes but I wouldn't expect the canopy to be as awesome as a BJCM one.

[meljc]

We played with a flite in store this weekend and it didn't seem nearly as high quality as the g-luxe despite the higher price tag! I found an awesome deal on the g-luxe + travel bag ($204 all in) online and my local store was kind enough to price match :jammin:

[kaharris83]

Hope you love it as much as we love ours!! I'm seriously tempted to duct tape two together for a double when DS2 arrives.

[PZMommy]

Hope you love it as much as we love ours!! I'm seriously tempted to duct tape two together for a double when DS2 arrives.

At BRU, they sell straps that connect two strollers together.

[todzwife]

My g-luxe is my favorite stroller for a "lightweight" and I've tried several.