I too used (and loved) a frame stroller for traveling when my daughter was young. Later went with the umbrella type stroller, but made sure it had the ability to recline as it was easier for her to take a nap in.

This is a good point. We had to check [booster] seats when we took the
older kids (ages 3 and 7) on an international trip a couple of years ago,
but I was willing to do a short drive (to go get replacements) without them
if necessary. As for the infant seat referenced above, we were en route
to my parents' house, and they have some seats too, though it would have
been less convenient for them to have to meet us instead of us taking a
cab which we'd planned.

I guess I multiplied risk by outcome and decided that the known PITA of
carrying the seat all the way to the gate with three kids, outweighed what
might have happened with lost luggage. But your point is a good one
nonetheless.

--LG

Why wait for traveling to get a light weight stroller?

Take a look at the Combi - http://www.combi-intl.com/

Look under Strollers a specifically at the Combi City Savvy LX. Be sure to watch the video.

It is very sturdy but light (13 pounds).
Only complaint I have heard is the handle seems low for really tall people. But I noticed they added an additional 1" to the City Savvy LX.

Unfortunately, some people think bigger is better or safer like having an SUV. It has actually changed our lives as we never get any dirty looks when going through large crowded events like we did before when we had a big hurking Eddie Bauer with giant wheels.

Stroller frames should not replace a stroller for long periods. Carseats are for use in the car. Frames are fine for in and out errands, but long periods of time confined to an infanct carseat can cause intestinal and respiratory problems, as well as cranial deformities.

Volos are fantastic strollers for toddlers, but they are not good for infants. They have no recline and no leg rest, so babies can't sleep in them.

Take the stroller you want to use at your destination. The brief aggravation of dealing with your stroller at the airport would be magnified a hundredfold if you were stuck using an undesirable stroller at your destination.

We regularly travel with a MBUD, P&T e3, or Maclaren double, plus two Marathons. When we only had one kid, the Peg Perego P3 went everywhere.

The cheap umbrella strollers don't have storage, don't have adequate sun protection, and aren't very comfortable for your child during a long day's outing.

Oh, dear. Do you have a reference documenting these serious problems?

Michael

Comfort is a matter of opinion, not fact. My son preferred the umbrella stroller over the bigger stroller, your kids may not.

As for storage and sun protection, well, you shouldn't be counting any stroller to serve as adequate sun block - the angle of sun shifts all day long, you know, and so does the angle of the stroller toward the sun. Protective clothing, including a hat, and sunblock are what parents should be using as sun protection. The mesh bag for the back of the stroller cost me $3, and slide off easily so I could tuck it into the carry-on - that saved loading and unloading the stroller many times every trip.

Our toddler loves his "umbrella" stroller (which originally was not "cheap" either (I think over $150) but we hit a big sale at Babestyle). Maybe there is a difference between infant vs. toddler but they don't stay infants for very long. We bought out Combi 2 years ago and it still looks new despite heavy use. He looks very comfortable as the umbrella strollers of today are not your mothers strollers. I tend to think the big strollers are more for the parents than the kids.

Here's one I found: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/ma...ticlekey=78008

Basically, you shouldn't keep your baby in the infant car seat (or swing or bouncer, for that matter) for extended periods of time. In addition to the problems noted above, it's also a factor in positional plagiocephaly (the head flattens due to the amount of time spent in that position).

I tend to think these concerns are more for the parents who bring their baby in and let it sleep all night in the car seat because they're afraid to wake it up to take it out. As long as you don't leave the baby in the car seat for hours on end, it's probably fine. I kept my son in the car seat while running errands, grocery shopping, going to the mall, but it was never for all that long. He had to come out so I could nurse or change his diaper while we were still out, and he never stayed asleep while we were bringing him in the house.

For a lightweight, ultracompact stroller, we like our Mia Moda Cielo. It folds up very, very small and has an easy carry bag. It's also light (13-14 lbs, I think), has a well-designed bag, is padded, and does pretty well even on bumpy cobblestones.

Here's a picture:

http://www.miamodainc.com/strollers/cielo.asp

And a folding demo:

http://www.miamodainc.com/strollers/...demo_cielo.asp

You can get it on eBay for $120-130 with shipping.

Cheers!

I'm not an expert (except wrt cranial deformities), but my searches of the literature suggest that the respiratory issues are really only significant for very small infants (and preemies).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...m_uid=16882803

I can't find any referrences related to any intestinal problems.

Cranial molding is related to any supine positioning, whether in a car seat or elsewhere. This is not really a significant health problem, or anything with any real long-term consequences.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...=pubmed_docsum