Best Stroller and Car Seat Combos
Top travel systems from Consumer Reports' tests to help keep your baby safe when you're on the go
By Keith Flamer
For an expectant parent, a nursery item like a crib can be an exhilarating first baby purchase. But when it’s time to hit the road, you’ll rely heavily on two items that aren’t quite as fun to shop for: a car seat and a stroller. One keeps your baby safe on drives, and the other keeps her safe virtually anywhere else you’ll need to go. And both are indispensable—well into the toddler years.
Manufacturers sometimes bundle strollers with a car seat base and sell them as “travel systems.” You can pop the car seat off its base and transfer it onto the stroller, without ever unstrapping—or even waking—your little one. It’s a convenient tandem until your baby outgrows the infant car seat. And if you find the right combo, your mind can rest as easy as your baby.
“With a travel system, you’re getting products that the manufacturer has designed to work together,” says Joan Muratore, the engineer who oversees CR’s stroller tests.
You can mix and match some strollers and car seats from different brands to build your own travel system with an adapter you buy separately. But our testers found the best synergy between a car seat and stroller happens when you stick to a single brand.
Another plus? Typically, you’ll save money buying a travel system instead of purchasing the pieces separately. You’ll find 16 travel systems in our wide-ranging stroller ratings, retailing from just under $200 up to $850. Our combined scores for these travel systems assess how the stroller performed in our rigorous tests for safety, ease of use, and maneuverability, as well as how the infant car seat performed with regard to crash protection, ease of use, and fitting into a vehicle using the car’s LATCH system or the vehicle’s safety belts.
CR members can read on for ratings and reviews of five high-scoring travel systems that earn top spots in our ratings of car seat/stroller travel systems. If you’re in the market for a traditional stroller, a double stroller, or another type, check out our full stroller ratings. And for more intel as you shop, see our stroller buying guide.
Best Car Seat/Stroller Travel Systems
Chicco Bravo Trio
CR’s take: The Chicco Bravo Trio is one of only two travel systems to earn top marks for both stroller and car seat performance. The Chicco Bravo stroller weighs 23 pounds, is easy to use, is fairly easy to maneuver, and aces our safety tests. The Chicco KeyFit 30 car seat is stellar across the board. It’s one of the easiest to install using a vehicle’s LATCH system or its safety belts, increasing your odds of getting a secure fit. It also earns a very good safety designation for crash protection, according to our tests. The car seat maxes out when your child reaches 30 pounds or 30 inches tall.
Chicco Activ3 Travel System
CR’s take: The Chicco Activ3 travel system combines the Chicco Activ3 stroller with the Chicco KeyFit 30 car seat, the same one included in the other Chicco systems highlighted here. This sturdy stroller does well on all types of terrain, is easy to fold and unfold, and offers excellent safety. But at 27 pounds, it’s quite heavy. Chicco says you can use the stroller when you’re jogging—we do not test this, but our experts recommend waiting until your child is 1 year old before she rides in any stroller when you’re running.
Chicco Mini Bravo Plus travel system
CR’s take: This Chicco Mini Bravo Plus system matches the Chicco Mini Bravo Plus stroller with the Chicco KeyFit 30 car seat, which is a breeze to attach to the stroller and to install in a vehicle. Weighing in at 20 pounds, the stroller is small and one of the lightest in this group. It’s easy to fold and fairly easy to maneuver, with strong safety test scores. The basket is big enough to fit a diaper bag, and the storage pocket comes in handy. That said, testers found the shape of the handle to be uncomfortable, so try out this stroller in the store if possible before committing.
Chicco Viaro Travel System
CR’s take: The Chicco Viaro Travel System features the Chicco Viaro stroller and the Chicco KeyFit 30 car seat with base. Despite its no-frills design, the best feature of this stroller is the ease of attaching to the car seat. But even if you don’t use the car seat to stroll, the versatile stroller itself accommodates babies from birth to 6 months old. It’s also very easy to fold (one-handed), however, it doesn’t latch while folded, which makes it awkward to carry as it can flop open. The Chicco KeyFit 30 car seat is one of the best seats overall for balancing crash protection, ease-of-use, and vehicle fit, based on our tests.
Britax B-Lively & B-safe 35 Travel System
CR’s take: The Britax B-Lively & B-safe 35 Travel System Stroller is a sturdy, maneuverable stroller with a very easy and compact fold. Car seat adapters allow quick and easy installation of the B-Safe 35 infant car seat. The B-Safe 35 is lightweight alloy with all-wheel suspension, capable of transporting infants from 4 pounds up to 35-pound toddlers. According to our tests, this stroller’s performance is excellent and its car seat rating is very good as well. However, it lacks trays, and buckle slots and harness loops have weight requirements that are not labeled on the seat. Though this model showcases a handsome red-and-black design, it’s currently available only in "Safewash Eclipse Black."
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