Happy with our purchase

We used the Sit 'n Stroll on a recent trip to San Antonio with our 6 month old. We flew in early March in cold snowy weather and purchased a seat for our daughter.

The travel system stroller comes pre-assembled in a box with a rather long booklet of instructions. It has all of the safety features that are expected (5-point harness, LATCH system, infant bolster pillow, wheel lock, FAA certification).

Transforming the car seat to a stroller is not very intuitive so you really need to read through the instructions carefully. There are separate instructions for cars using the LATCH system, and those that do not, as well as airline seat instructions. It is a little confusing and overwhelming to find the right instructions for your needs, but once you sort that out then the pages that you will read are clear and also have very helpful diagrams.

Converting the car seat to a stroller takes some strength and patience. While the product itself weighs less than most full size strollers, it is designed so that your child sits in the car seat as it is converted to a stroller. Add the weight of your child to that and it can be back-breaking for some people. It can also be converted to a stroller without the child in the seat, but it always has to be lifted to deploy the wheels.

Deploying the wheels means lifting the car seat above your waist and reaching and sliding a big red lever down with one hand while gripping onto the foot of the car seat with the other. The lever is very easy and clear to use, but you have to remember to do this with your arms on the side of the travel system and not with your armpit over the car seat or your arms may not be long enough to push the lever down far enough to lock the wheels in place. To release the wheels, 2 red tabs are squeezed and the motion is reversed. The telescoping handle has a few different height positions and seems flimsy at first but really steers well, even with one hand.

We had to purchase our sunshade separately. No other sunshade works with the product except for the one specifically made for the travel system stroller. If you do intend to use the sunshade then it should be attached on the stroller before you leave the house as it comes packaged in a long plastic sleeve and does not fold down. It is also made of a plastic vinyl of some sort, so it does appear to look cheap and is noisy when you move it. Installing the sunshade was fairly easy and it provided ample coverage.

We flew down on a United 737 and while the car seat fit into the airline seat, the stroller was too wide to wheel down the aisle, so we had to take our daughter out and my husband had to hoist it over the airline seats with our carry-on bags. The airline seat armrests had to be lifted to accommodate the seat, but it fit very well. We had our seat rear-facing and you simply thread the airline seat belt through the belt tabs. ONE VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure the passenger in front of the car seat knows that there is a baby in the seat behind them. If they decide to recline their seats, then they will push the car seat forward into its own back of the seat and will squish and definitely frighten the child, giving her only an inch or so from the back portion of her own seat.

Maneuvering through slushy snow at home was easy and the Sit n Stroll was fairly smooth riding down the streets of San Antonio (and parts of the Riverwalk too). We rented a car so as not to rely on public transportation with an unpredictable baby. The struggle was lifting her in and out of the car, but it was comparable to a regular infant car seat.

My daughter was able to nap in the Sit n Stroll, the removable bolster pillow kept her head from slumping over. With the sunshade, we were also able to drape a light blanket over the stroller as she slept and still enjoyed our own sightseeing.

Overall we were happy with our purchase. We liked having the extra room on the plane, we liked having one less piece of luggage, and most importantly we were glad we took her on vacation.