Car Seat Stroller Review

Introduction to Car Seat Strollers

Stroller/car seat combinations, also called travel systems, are specialty strollers that include or support infant car seats. (Infant car seats are appropriate for babies from newborn to one year old and can hold babies who weigh up to either 22 or 30 pounds, depending on the model.) These strollers usually include an older-baby stroller, a rear-facing infant car seat/carrier that fits in the stroller and a stay-in-car seat base, all in one set. The idea is that when the infant outgrows the car seat, the stroller is used alone. There are also a number of frames that come without seating of any kind in order to hold a separately purchased infant seat. For more information on car seats for newborns, see our companion report on infant car seats.

The best reviewer of car seats and strollers in general is Consumer Reports, which conducts in-house crash testing. When it comes to travel systems, however, editors have included only a handful of car-seat strollers specifically. Even so, reviews say the car seat is the most important component of a travel system, so Consumer Reports' car seat ratings are also valuable. The book Baby Bargains also offers a wealth of information on baby gear. While editors don't conduct crash testing, they examine every other aspect of the car seats and strollers, with an interesting section on why you might want to skip a full travel system and go with a stroller frame instead. Parent-written reviews at Amazon.com, BabyCenter.com and Epinions are also helpful.

Travel systems are a good option if you're in and out of the car a lot, since you can remove your baby's infant carrier from the base and pop it into the stroller, all without waking her. In addition, since travel systems come with both the car seat and the stroller, you can usually save some money.

The downside is that most major reviewers suggest that car seat strollers are not the way to go. First of all, travel systems are heavy, often up to 35 pounds, and bulky. The true benefit of the car seat stroller occurs while the baby fits into the rear-facing infant car seat that comes along with the stroller. Once the baby outgrows the seat, the car seat stroller becomes no more useful than any other stroller. Due to these factors, the majority of reviewers say that it is a better idea to buy a regular stroller instead of a travel system. Or better yet, pair your separately purchased infant car seat with a lightweight, inexpensive stroller frame.