The 10 Best Stroller Travel Systems

For most families, the Chicco Bravo Trio gets the basics right: a light infant carrier that clicks in firmly, big wheels with suspension at every corner, and a frame that folds with one hand. Consumer Reports picked it for newborns, pointing to the simple, secure install of its KeyFit 30 seat. Once the carrier is outgrown, the toddler seat keeps going for years. Long babies can reach the carrier's height limit before their first birthday.

Newborns ride flat in the Graco Modes Pramette, because its seat lowers into a small pram before it becomes a toddler seat that faces you or the street. The SnugRide 35 Lite DLX carrier fits babies from four pounds and clicks onto the frame in one step, and the frame folds with one hand. Its wheels are small, so it rolls best on smooth sidewalks and store floors rather than gravel or grass.

Parents who haul a lot should look at the Evenflo Pivot NXT. Its basket takes a full diaper bag plus the groceries, and big rear wheels take cracked sidewalks in stride. The seat starts as a lay-flat pram for a newborn and ends as an upright toddler seat, facing either way. The LiteMax NXT carrier starts at three pounds, which helps with small babies. Folded, the frame is long and can fill a compact trunk.

The Doona is a car seat with wheels that fold out from underneath, so a sleeping baby goes from the back seat to the sidewalk without being unbuckled. It's approved for use on aircraft, which helps on trips that mix taxis and flights. The trade-offs are real: there's no basket, the hood is small, and the whole thing is heavy to lift in and out of a car. Once the baby outgrows the seat, the stroller goes with it.

The Graco Verb is a light, simple pick for parents who mostly push on pavement and lift the frame in and out of the car a lot. It folds with one hand, stands up by itself and has a strap for carrying. A suspension and a lockable front wheel help on curbs and straight runs. The SnugRide Lite carrier takes babies from four pounds. The basket is small, so a big diaper bag stays on your shoulder.

City parents who ride in cabs will like that the Joie Ginger comes with a car seat that needs no base: the Mint Latch clips straight onto the car's lower anchors. The stroller has suspension on every wheel and a seat that lies flat for a newborn, then sits up and faces either way for a toddler. Without a base, every install is a full install, so it takes a minute of care each time.

With the Evenflo Shyft DualRide, the car seat rolls out of the car on its own wheels, or leaves them parked in the base when you only want to carry the seat. It pairs with a phone and warns about a hot car, a child left behind, an undone chest clip or a long stretch buckled in. It fits babies from three pounds. There's no toddler seat, so it stops being a stroller once the baby outgrows it.

Built for trips, the Graco GoMax pairs a car seat that locks straight onto the car's anchors with a frame that folds about as small as a diaper bag. The seat is certified for planes when used without its base, and a backpack-style bag carries the folded frame. It's a frame, not a full stroller, so once the baby outgrows the seat, you'll need a second stroller.

Budget-minded parents get the essentials from the Safety 1st Smooth Ride: a light OnBoard FLX carrier that fits babies from four pounds, a deep canopy with a peekaboo window, trays for parent and child, and an extra-large basket. The brakes work fine in sandals, and the frame folds with one hand. The whole set is heavy, though, and the small wheels feel every bump on rough paths.

Families who want a flat newborn seat on a small budget can start with the Baby Trend Passport Switch. Its seat works as a carriage, then as a toddler seat, facing you or the street, and the carrier rides on the same frame. The basket opens from the front and back, and a phone holder sits on the handlebar. Carriage mode is meant for walks, not long naps, and stock has been thin.