Originally Posted by
Jack_Tauson_Sr
Thanks. One more question. Did you use any sort of stroller cover before gate-checking in the stroller? I bought this one though:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/J-L-Child...Grey/191462399
And wondering if they provide any sort of coverage before they gate check-in the strollers?
Sorry for the delay in replying.
We did use a stroller travel bag on some occasions, but like all such things, stroller bags vary in usefulness and quality.
We first looked for a stroller travel bag when we bought the Maclaren Major stroller for our daughter when she was older. As her stroller was expensive (being larger than normal strollers), we assumed a travel bag would be available but couldn't find anything which it would fit into. After contacting a few retailers who sold the Maclaren Major we eventually found a travel bag which worked but wasn't specifically made/designed for the Maclaren Major but was actually intended for traveling with drum and drum equipment (cymbal stands, pedals, etc.). It was a fantastic bag which was padded and lined and certainly offered good protection, but the disadvantage was that it was rather hefty and hard to fold. On a few occasions we had to carry it from the jet bridge to the arrivals hall as we couldn't fold it easily and would have got in the way of others if we had spent any more time trying to get it folded up on the jet bridge. That became easier when our daughter was older and would buckle herself in the stroller while we folded up the bag, but eventually we actually stopped using it as it wasn't really practical. It did provide good protection but the only time it got used during a whole trip was for flying and overall it wasn't worth it.
Obviously with regular sized strollers you'll have a lot more choice of travel bags - like the one you've found - but our recommendation is to be aware that you'll have to balance the level of quality and protection with the overall practicality. Something very lightweight might fold up easily and to a small size, but likely won't offer a lot of protection. Equally, something which offers a good level of protection (like the bag we used) might not be that practical and could take up a lot of space when not being used.
One other aspect which you might wish to think about is whether a stroller travel bag provides any additional useful storage. For example, if there are parts which must be detached from the stroller in order to fold it - whether they are part of the stroller or additional things such as clip-on toys - a stroller bag could be a practical place to store them if you don't need them for the flight. Our daughter's Maclaren Major stroller had a detachable footrest which also locked the stroller open so it was vital we never lost it - the bag really helped with keeping it with the stroller (though we later just took it onboard and placed it in the overhead bin).
Overall, it really depends on how you plan to do things and you know best how you wish to do so. Overall, a stroller travel bag can provide good protection and useful storage, but one can also be "just another thing" to carry with you. We suggest thinking about how much the bag will likely be used, how much you would like it to provide protection and storage, and based on that what alternatives there could be - such as buying a cheaper stroller for traveling. As with all such things, it's very much a balancing game, but we hope this is helpful!