Dedicated Travel Carseat

[Jing]

I need a recommendation as our Nextfits do not fit in a plane seat. I would like something that is comfortable, easy to install in planes/cars, and durable so I only have to buy one. I am okay with spending the money if the features are worth the cost.

 

[agibe405]

How old is the child? What height and weight?

 

[Jing]

He is 17 months and petite: 22 pounds, 27 inches (with the head circumference of a 2year old). Technically he still fits in the keyfit infant seat, but he should be close to outgrowing it by our Disney trip in October.

 

[DopeyDame]

We've traveled a ton with our Britax Roundabout. It's not too heavy or cumbersome, easy to install, and just generally a great seat.
I've also heard a lot of people buy the Cosco Seneca for travel because it's pretty cheap and light.

 

[Boo Bear]

I have a Britax Marathon. It's my 2nd one and I'll never buy a different type of car seat. It's by far, the easiest to get in and out. It's heavier and more expensive than the Cosco one but slimmer. I've used both. The Cosco was $38 but it's wider and not as secure feeling. The Britax is high quality and $260. You can get both at Target. I'll be taking it for my DS3 and I plan on using a luggage dolly for transporting through the airport.

 

[agibe405]

I was going to recommend a Seneca also! However if he still fits in the infant seat come October I would totally use that! So easy to snap and go through the airport.

 

[blackpearl77]

Check out onestepahead.com They have a lot of travel infant/kid stuff.

 

[Jing]

I was going to recommend a Seneca also! However if he still fits in the infant seat come October I would totally use that! So easy to snap and go through the airport.

We primarily babywear and went with a BOB stroller when he was 9ish months instead of the one that matched the key fit. I'm really hoping for a growth spurt for his sake!

 

[MommyMK]

If he can still fit in the infant bucket I would take that. Otherwise I'd go for a Scenera, cheap, lightweight, great travel seat.

 

[pezaddict231]

We have the Cosco Scenera, it is cheap and very light. It's also narrow enough to carry easily down the plane aisle. We have a Britex seat for the car but it's wider and heavier.

 

[Lupeix]

Diono Radian hands down! It folds in half and fits nicely in its carrying bag. Fits well on airplane seats. A little on the heavier side but very durable. Can be back or forward facing and converts to booster. Very easy to install. We bought it for travel and it ended up our main carseat when at home.

Before getting the Radian and after being out of the infant seat, I tried carrying our britax through the airport using one of those straps that you attach to your carry on. It was a pain.
Now that DS is 4 I just check the Radian in its bag at the counter. The airline people still cannot believe that "tiny" bag contains our car-seat. They sometimes unzip it to take a look to make sure we are not cheating and getting a free bag.

 

[travelgirl06]

Diono Radian hands down! It folds in half and fits nicely in its carrying bag. Fits well on airplane seats. A little on the heavier side but very durable. Can be back or forward facing and converts to booster. Very easy to install. We bought it for travel and it ended up our main carseat when at home.

Before getting the Radian and after being out of the infant seat, I tried carrying our britax through the airport using one of those straps that you attach to your carry on. It was a pain.
Now that DS is 4 I just check the Radian in its bag at the counter. The airline people still cannot believe that "tiny" bag contains our car-seat. They sometimes unzip it to take a look to make sure we are not cheating and getting a free bag.

Is there a special bag for the radians and travel? We have 2 but haven't traveled with them due to weight and heft. Our last flight, we were able to fit our Graco snuggled inside the Scenera in a car seat backpack, but now that both kiddos are in convertibles I'm more nervous about the airport hauling and looking for a plan . I'm thinking we'll have at least one 2-convertible-car seat flight before ODD can graduate to a booster.

That said, we've been very happy traveling with the Scenera (it's also our second car car seat foR ODD). It's lightweight, a quick install and pretty inexpensive (I think it was around $40). It also had pretty good reviews, so if your looking for a back-up/second car/travel seat this might be a good option (certainly doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the Diono, but gets the job done!)

ETA: if you need a narrow car seat the diono Radian is amazing. After much research I got two and they are next to each other in my civic - with enough space to actually have a passenger in the remaining seat. For smaller cars they are perfect!

 

[HCinKC]

We used to have a Maxi Cosi Priori that was in a car, but I bought that one with the idea of easy travel (which it was). They don't make it anymore, and it is pricier than I would spend on something solely for travel. Our other car seats are a Radian and a Recaro. I would never take either on a plane. The Recaro is bulky, and the Diono is heavy. Don't get me wrong, I love both of these seats; I just wouldn't want to use them on a plane. If I was buying something specifically for that purpose, I would go with a Scenera - light weight and very affordable. If I was buying something that I planned on also using in my car for an extended period, I would buy another Radian.

 

[HCinKC]

Is there a special bag for the radians and travel? We have 2 but haven't traveled with them due to weight and heft. Our last flight, we were able to fit our Graco snuggled inside the Scenera in a car seat backpack, but now that both kiddos are in convertibles I'm more nervous about the airport hauling and looking for a plan . I'm thinking we'll have at least one 2-convertible-car seat flight before ODD can graduate to a booster.

That said, we've been very happy traveling with the Scenera (it's also our second car car seat foR ODD). It's lightweight, a quick install and pretty inexpensive (I think it was around $40). It also had pretty good reviews, so if your looking for a back-up/second car/travel seat this might be a good option (certainly doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the Diono, but gets the job done!)

ETA: if you need a narrow car seat the diono Radian is amazing. After much research I got two and they are next to each other in my civic - with enough space to actually have a passenger in the remaining seat. For smaller cars they are perfect!

I don't have one, but I know Diono does make a strap you can snap onto the folded seat and a bag.

 

[travelgirl06]

We used to have a Maxi Cosi Priori that was in a car, but I bought that one with the idea of easy travel (which it was). They don't make it anymore, and it is pricier than I would spend on something solely for travel. Our other car seats are a Radian and a Recaro. I would never take either on a plane. The Recaro is bulky, and the Diono is heavy. Don't get me wrong, I love both of these seats; I just wouldn't want to use them on a plane. If I was buying something specifically for that purpose, I would go with a Scenera - light weight and very affordable. If I was buying something that I planned on also using in my car for an extended period, I would buy another Radian.

We have a Priori too and love it! It is pretty lightweight - I don't know if we've trailed with it since we use the Scenera, but it's definately much lighter than the Radian.

I don't have one, but I know Diono does make a strap you can snap onto the folded seat and a bag.

I found the bag on Amazon - looks like a good option if I can overcome my fear of hauling the radians through the airport. Like you, we love them (DH who doesn't really care about car seats has even mused about replacing the Priori and Scenera in his car with Radians), but I don't really see them as good travel car seats (but maybe it's just because I haven't tried it yet)

 

[melindae10]

We used the Evenflo Maestro. It is very lightweight, easy to handle, and the cup holders are very handy to have!

 

[Lupeix]

Is there a special bag for the radians and travel? We have 2 but haven't traveled with them due to weight and heft.

We have the dedicated radian travel bag and it is worth it IMO. If you want to carry the car seat as a backpack, it is better to use the bag than the straps only. DH can carry the Diono as a backpack but I cannot. It is heavy. However my experience is that you do not need to carry a forward facing seat on the plane. You can start using the CARES as soon as your kid is out of the bucket seat.

At 4 yo our son is fine now with the airplane belt. We always took our car seat to the gate when he was in his infant car seat (we had a snugride 35, so this lasted a while). We did one trip with our britax forward facing car seat on the airplane seat and never again. We rolled him along with the car seat attached to our carry on, but it was still annoying/heavy and it was painful to install it on the plane. DS loved rolling around in his car seat that way through the airport, but refused to seat in it once in the plane. It turned out that unless you ask for an extender, the buckle of the airplane seat hits kids right in the back on a britax or similar convertible seat (the ones with a pedestal). Depending on how many people are using extenders they may not have extra for you.

The Radian bag does a very good job of protecting the car seat when we check it at the counter. We have done at least 3 flights with it, and the bag doesn't even have a tear. We used a Scenera once, on a trip we rented the car seat form the car rental company (that is usually what they give you). It is very light, but it is too flimsy IMO and DS was not comfortable (it has no padding) . We got the radian after that and have checked it at the counter since.

 

[sweetlike]

We have also traveled with a Diono Radian and the bag is worth it. We didn't bring it on the plane however.

If you want something lighter but slim like the Radian the Combi Coccoro is great. Has a lower weight max but your child would fit fine.

 

[travelgirl06]

Good to hear! If we take the radians we will likely be checking at the counter. Thus far ODD has done well respecting the lap belt and staying in her seat

 

[Superchikk]

I've flown with both my kids since they were young. I never used a car seat on the plane. Before age 2, I didn't want to buy them a seat when I knew they'd end up in my lap most of the time anyway. We did gate check a seat, and I would definitely recommend getting a gate check bag, even if it's just the inexpensive red drawstring bag.