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What is a Travel System Stroller?

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

A travel system stroller is a combination of three basic needs for the new baby. It combines an infant carrier with a car seat and a stroller. These are usually suited to infants that are no more than 20 pounds (9.07 kg) in weight, and these travel systems do need replacement as your baby grows. This can be viewed as a disadvantage, though many people argue that the many pluses of a travel system stroller far outweigh the need to replace these items at a later point.

There are three basic pieces of the travel system stroller. One is a base that is fitted carefully into your car. This has a special mechanism that will allow you to attach the infant carrier for use as a rear-facing car seat. New versions of this stroller are safety rated to be just as safe as any infant car seat you could buy. When you want to remove the baby from the car, you don’t have to take the baby out of the seat. Instead you can just take out the carrier section of the car seat. Parents claim this may be one of the best features of a travel system stroller: it allows sleeping babies to be quietly transferred out of a car, usually without waking them.

Car seat strollers and carriers are often designed for use with infant car seats.
Car seat strollers and carriers are often designed for use with infant car seats.

The third piece of the travel system stroller is a stroller base. If parents are removing the carrier and walking, they can then fit the carrier into the stroller base. This allows for smooth transitions between car and stroller. Some types of this product do have a stroller seat that can be used once baby has grown out of the infant car seat. This means you won’t have to replace the stroller part of the travel system stroller, since strollers with an additional seat may accommodate babies up to a weight of 40 pounds (18.14 kg).

A high-quality travel system stroller meets the baby's three basic needs.
A high-quality travel system stroller meets the baby's three basic needs.

Some parents cite disadvantages to using a travel system stroller. As a baby grows, the infant carrier can be very heavy to carry, and some make clicking noises when you detach them that can wake fitful babies. There is also some concern about leaving babies in carriers for too long, though you can certainly take baby out and modify this as is needed. Carrier systems vary in price from about $100 to well over $300 US Dollars (USD). The less expensive ones are probably less than it would cost to buy an infant car seat and a stroller, but again, you will have to replace the car seat as baby grows.

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent WiseGEEK contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

Learn more...
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent WiseGEEK contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

Learn more...

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    • Car seat strollers and carriers are often designed for use with infant car seats.
      By: ramzi hachicho
      Car seat strollers and carriers are often designed for use with infant car seats.
    • A high-quality travel system stroller meets the baby's three basic needs.
      By: Adam Borkowski
      A high-quality travel system stroller meets the baby's three basic needs.