Key considerations she focused on when selecting these products include personal experience, safety features, ease of use, and user reviews. Every travel system has height and weight limitations for both the car seat and the stroller. It’s important to make sure your baby fits within these limits for their safety.
Plus, keep the limits for the car seat in mind so you’ll know to transition your baby into a larger rear-facing seat when the time comes. We liked that you have the option to drive the stroller with the front wheel locked or unlocked, and it handled multiple terrains like a champ. It also turned pretty smoothly and had a spot to put your foot on to help you get it up a curb.
(It would be a better fit for an SUV rather than our editor’s sedan.) Once you’ve hoisted it into the car, though, the Shyft clicks right into the car seat base, which can be installed via the LATCH system or the car’s seat belt. A level indicator and a loud click tell you when the seat is correctly attached to the base. To remove the carrier, all you need to do is pull a white lever on the back, and the car seat is released right away. If you’re looking to save on space, the Doona Infant Car Seat is a single piece of gear that pulls double duty as a car seat and a stroller.
With easy installation, adjustable harnesses, and ergonomic handles, the car seats and strollers provide a seamless and enjoyable experience for both babies and parents. The company invented the baby swing in the 1950s and debuted the first travel system concept, a car seat that snapped into its matching stroller, in the late 1990s. In this century, Graco has often led the way in car-seat safety with its SnugRide infant car seat line. This set comes with the popular SnugRide 35 Lite Elite Infant Car Seat, and the stroller seat slides higher and lower on the frame as well as turning forward and backward and converting into a pram. Use the adjustable features to find the height and direction your baby loves, then change it as needed as your baby grows into a toddler. You remove your baby, then just lift up a strap on the seat and the stroller folds in an instant.
It’s a two-in-one bundle, providing you with a seat and an attachable stand-on platform. It has large cruiser tires with rear-wheel suspension and front-wheel swivel function. It’s straightforward to adjust and provides a smooth ride for your babies. Another reason why the Pivot Xpand is far less expensive than its higher-end counterparts are the wheels. Good Housekeeping participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. Jessica (she/her) is a freelance writer with several decades of experience writing lifestyle content and evaluating home and parenting products.
When testing strollers, the Institute performs a brake test using a gauge to measure the force required to move the strollers when brakes are engaged. We also perform a stability/tip-over test in which we hang weights on stroller handlebars and measure the force required to tip strollers over. We weigh and measure each stroller while folded to help determine how well it can be carried and stored. The car seat felt evenflo car seat stable when secured with the LATCH base and the seat belt, so you have two great options. We needed to consult the manual to install the LATCH system into the car, but after that, it was straightforward to clip in. Our primary critique is that the stroller was difficult to unfold—we needed to unlock the closure latch with one hand and pull the frame up with the other, which is a bit tricky to do all at once.
They also look nice, with multiple color options and convenient features such as cup holders and large storage baskets. Ownership changes over the years allowed Evenflo to evolve, expanding its product range. After 1995, Evenflo Company Inc. launched collections of car seats, strollers, and home goods.
Now you’re ready to click on either an additional infant car seat (which you can place closest to you so you can easily attend to baby) or a second stroller seat! The TAVO itself is a luxury stroller with a fully reclining seat and an easy, magnetic buckle. The built-in full-protection canopy is great for protecting a snoozing baby. There’s thick padding on the stroller seat that’s ideal in chilly weather, and you can take it off and use the mesh seat below when the weather is warm.
During our test, we were able to attach the car seat to the stroller and car seat base with just one hand, and detaching was similarly easy, though we required a second hand to depress a lever. Where the travel system really shone was the installation, which took us under two minutes. The base quickly clicked into place thanks to the LATCH system, then we tightened it by pulling on the middle straps. Once installed, the base felt wonderfully sturdy and stable in the car. Attaching the car seat to the stroller was simple, with accessible buttons and levers and a clicking noise when the seat was securely fastened.
The rubber handle has a good grip, but we didn’t love the tire-like feeling. The canopy also didn’t adjust well—it kept coming all the way forward—and the seat material didn’t feel high-quality. The Shyft’s seat is higher off the ground than the Doona, which is a plus because it helps the carrier stay cleaner. On the other hand, it’s also much heavier than the Doona—the Shyft weighs nearly 13 pounds more—and trickier to maneuver into the car due to its bulkiness.