vrajajee says:

This combo-stroller works well as a stroller and is quite adequate as a car seat. It is quite easy to convert and fits through airport security scanners if positioned properly.

My problems with it are-

1. It is unusable in most Economy airline seats as it is too wide. I was made to check it in on 2 consecutive flights.

2. It is overpriced for something that is basically only a car seat- stroller combo.
Rating: 2 / 5

J. Lawry says:

I so wanted this product to work. I consulted the reviews here very carefully, and talked to another owner, before buying. But the product ended up just not quite working as intended on a long-haul trip with my 14-month-old son.

First, let’s be clear: this product has a very specific target market, as far as I can tell: flyers with young children. It is not a general purpose stroller: the wheels can’t handle anything but the smoothest sidewalks, and forget about steps. Nor is it a good general-purpose carseat: I wouldn’t use this in a car as a permanent installation. It is the sort of car-seat that you take traveling because you’re going to be in and out of unfamiliar vehicles (such as taxis) and want something that can be used temporarily without full installation. This product is designed to get you to the airport, through check-in and onto the plane, and then off again at the other end, with your child in some comfort and you with the ability to carry your carry-on luggage with a minimum of fuss.

But here the problems start:

1) The seat doesn’t fit in some airline seats. If you can raise the armrest between seats, no problem: I did this in a United economy-plus seat. I am a large man and I could comfortably sit next to the carseat even though it was encroaching an inch on my space, and I had good access to my son during the flight.

However if the armrests are fixed, there is nothing you can do. Air New Zealand Economy Plus has all fixed armrests and the Sit’n'Stroll was too wide: it had to go in the hold. Fortunately I was carrying a CARES harness ([...]) just in case for my son to use, but it was far less comfortable for him. Very few airline seats will be wide enough to take the seat without raising an armrest, except some first class seats: check [...] for exact seat widths before you fly. You need either 19 inches of width or liftable armrests.

2) The seat won’t roll down the aisle in economy. Not even close. This means you have to fold up the wheels and retract the handle, pick it up with your child sitting in it, and carry it over the seatbacks to your seat. Try to picture doing this with your hand-luggage over your shoulder. Not easy. Dads travelling solo get sympathy from other travelers and airline staff, fortunately.

The mechanism for opening the wheels is not very smooth. It works ok once you are used to it. It is very difficult to open the wheels out while the child is sitting in the seat. You need somebody to hold the front of the seat off the ground as you operate it, it’s very difficult on your own. The mechanism has a slightly plastic feel, although it’s metal, and occasionally the mechanism doesn’t lock in position if you don’t pay a lot of attention, so you have to be very careful that the wheels aren’t about to spontaneously retract themselves. Not quite up to the build quality of the more expensive strollers. One particular annoyance: there are rubber sleeves on the handles which aren’t attached in any way and simply fall off. I lost one on the first flight. How hard would it be to glue them on in the factory?

Other people have commented that the extending bars to the handle are unnervingly flexible, and this is marketed as the steering mechanism: this strikes me as a marketer’s effort to turn a bug into a feature. It isn’t easy to steer the Sit’n'Stroll with one hand, and steering is possible by flexing the bars but you don’t feel like you’re in control of the stroller. If the surface you’re travelling on is not smooth, it’s much harder as the wheels are low-quality.

As a seat, it appears very comfortable: my son showed no restlessness in it and could sleep and sit comfortably. The angle of the back is less steep than many car seats, which probably makes it easier to sleep in. The forward-facing belt position across the child’s chest is unusually high, and this is one reason I couldn’t envisage this as a permanent car-seat. There is no way to run the belt behind the sitting position as in dedicated carseats, it goes across the child’s chest. At 14 months but tall (85 cm+), my son really had to have the belt crossing over his upper arms, and he could still feed himself, but I can imagine this working poorly for some kids, either pinning their arms down or holding them uncomfortably high. Rear-facing is also possible although the strap guides are very difficult to use in a hurry compared to a Graco SafeSeat.

So, if you’re a frequent flyer, and your child will have a business class or better seat with wide aisles leading there, then this seat may well be the answer to your prayers. If that’s you, then the high price won’t be an issue, either. If that isn’t you, then this seat may solve some problems, but it will probably create others.

One thing I can say: you get admiring glances in the airport when you’re pushing your kid along in one of these. Doesn’t really make up for the problems however.

Rating: 2 / 5