car seat travel bag

[MyLittleTyke]

Can anyone recommend a car seat travel bag? We are going to Disney at the end of this month (YAY) and are using the seats on the plane (we will have 2). Any rec's for a good quality bag that will not totally break the bank? TIA!

 

[CatSanders]

My friend just bought this one. She is traveling this weekend so I havent heard back as to whether she liked it or not...but here is the link:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/inde...eat+cover&kw=car+seat+cover&parentPage=search

 

[gwenvet]

When we travel with two seats we put both seats in a McLaren double stroller bag. They both fit in it and it has wheels so we just attach it to the stroller and roll it thru the airport. I found it on Ebay for about $40.

 

[mom of big kid]

gwenvet,

that is a brilliant idea.

What size/kind of car seats can you squeeze in there and how durable is the bag?

We will be traveling in two months with a marathon and a snugride. I bought a travel bag once and it barely fit the marathon and was a very miserable experience. The bag got holes in it in about 10 mins of use.

thanks for your help!

 

[mom of big kid]

oh! I forgot to add I would be checking this as luggage. Which is why I am concerned about durability....

 

[wendytthomas]

oh! I forgot to add I would be checking this as luggage. Which is why I am concerned about durability....

Why are you checking them? Durability or no, they can be damaged, so unless you don't absolutely need them on the other end I'd take them on board the plane. Plus it's much safer for kids to be in carseats on the plane.

Wendy

 

[gwenvet]

gwenvet,
that is a brilliant idea.
What size/kind of car seats can you squeeze in there and how durable is the bag?
thanks for your help!

We fit a marathon and roundabout in there with the backs overlaping and the bases facing the ends of the bag. I would definitely either bring them onboard and use them in seats or gate-check them to minimize any possible damage.

 

[AdventureMom]

We bought whatever bag BRU had in the store a few years ago. We love it! It is held together by duct-tape right but we still love it... We did check it once but won't do that again. That's when the bag got torn. We had stuffed diapers all around the seat, jackets, etc - all kinds of stuff - to pad the seat some. I checked the seat out thoroughly after the bag got ripped and it seemd fine, but on the return trip we took it on board with us. After seeing the damage to the bag, I would encourage you to bring your seat on board and either use it or check it at the gate like folks do with strollers, etc. (FYI, carseats and strollers don't count against your carry-on luggage limit )

I'm not sure about the Maclaren stroller bag, but in our carseat bag we can get all kinds of stuff in there with the seat.

Hope you find something that works for you -

 

[RGG]

For what its worth, I have a totally different approach. I always check my car seats (albeit I take the junkier of my seats), and check them in using a clear airline bag (e.g. united airlines's big bag). I've never had a problem, and I always do curbside checkin to minimize the hassle (since I travel with my 2 kids, usually without husband).

 

[Ann W]

If anyone is interested, there is a travel bag for sale on Ebay right now, good deal!

http://http://cgi.ebay.com/EUC-Car-Seat-Booster-Seat-Carrier-Back-Pack-Black_W0QQitemZ200085382303QQihZ010QQcategoryZ66693QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[mom of big kid]

Thanks everyone for responding!

RGG: Are those clear airline bags free? Do they seal up pretty good and everything?

Adventuremom: So I can bring a big ol' bag of car seats through security?

I would prefer to gatecheck them. I didn't know you could do that. There will be 2 adults, a 2 year old and an infant (in lap). I don't think I want to give up the space for a carseat, plus the 2 year old has been on many planes and likes to buckle up and sit like we do. I don't think a car seat would be that helpful.

I am tempted by the airline bag, but the maclaren double stroller bag is tempting. We also have a maclaren double stroller so I think it would be a good purchase.

I thought to damage a car seat it would need to be more than just dropped a little. I would think gatechecking it or even checking it would be ok. But I have only flown a few times with a kid, so I don't know too much.

Thanks for all your good advice guys. I love this forum it has helped me so much!

 

[wendytthomas]

Thanks everyone for responding!

RGG: Are those clear airline bags free? Do they seal up pretty good and everything?

Adventuremom: So I can bring a big ol' bag of car seats through security?

I would prefer to gatecheck them. I didn't know you could do that. There will be 2 adults, a 2 year old and an infant (in lap). I don't think I want to give up the space for a carseat, plus the 2 year old has been on many planes and likes to buckle up and sit like we do. I don't think a car seat would be that helpful.

I am tempted by the airline bag, but the maclaren double stroller bag is tempting. We also have a maclaren double stroller so I think it would be a good purchase.

I thought to damage a car seat it would need to be more than just dropped a little. I would think gatechecking it or even checking it would be ok. But I have only flown a few times with a kid, so I don't know too much.

Thanks for all your good advice guys. I love this forum it has helped me so much!

Most airplane emergencies are runway emergencies, which have physics similar to a car crash. Would you put your two year old in a lap belt in a car? I'd be surprised if the lap belt, even if it's snug on him, hits on his hips, not on the soft part of his abdomen with his soft organs right behind there. Not to mention the huge buckle sitting on his belly button for his body to ram into. If there's time you'll be asked to wrap your lap baby in blankets and put them in the space under the seat in front of you. Compartmentalization and padding. Otherwise you'll crush your baby (have you seen the video of an unrestrained mother and her baby on her lap?). Say you weigh 130 pounds. Say the runway incident is happening at landing, 150 mph. That would make you all of a sudden 19,500 pounds. Your upper body of course has most of your weight, with your organs and everything, and that'll be jackknifing over the lap belt. You don't want your baby right there. I would HIGHLY recommend you bring both seats (the FAA even recommends seats, and every flight attendant I know thinks seats are a good idea, even if they don't know what the manual says about them). If there's an empty seat on the plane you'll be allowed to install the infant seat free of charge. If not you gate check it.

Have you ever seen the Mythbusters where they drop the team from five feet to test the brace position? The brace position will help, they say that, but from five feet their arms are up over their head, their heads aren't on the seatback in front of them anymore, and they slam down again. No way you're holding onto a baby if the fall is from more than five feet. Not to mention the coming down again part. I think it'd be unlikely baby would land on your lap again. Not to mention they were all sore from a five foot drop, they had that much force on their bodies, and they weren't trying to hold something.

I'm confused by what you said, you don't want to give up the space for a carseat? What space? The seat would go in the seat you bought. If it's RFing it's quite comfortable, you get a nice armrest. If it's FFing, well, then you can lean on it to sleep. And if you have an infant seat and a toddler in a seat, and two adults, they're going to break you up probably. Infant and one adult in one row (carseats MUST go by the window and they CANNOT go in an exit row or the row in front of an exit row) and toddler and other adult in another. Or toddler by window, infant in middle, adult aisle and then other adult somewhere else. That's with two child seats. I'm very confused by what you say "give up the space." If you need a narrow carseat for flying, if you do it often, then I would recommend the Radian. It's narrower than a plane's seat, low enough to allow the tray to be used, folds up and can go in a backpack for through the airport, and has an open beltpath that is easy to install and uninstall the big airline buckle through. You'll be able to use the armrest from the plane, it'll be just like sitting next to another person, instead of a bulky carseat. And if for some reason you don't use it, you can put it in the overhead bin, where you don't need to worry about damage.

I HIGHLY recommend you take the seats on board. Even gate checked the seats are in the luggage compartment. And if your suitcases above can shift during flight, think about what's going on down below. Damage can occur, even gate checking, not only from the guys throwing them onto the conveyor belt. I absolutely cringe when I see carseats coming through on the baggage carousel. And I nearly want to shake parents who bring their kids on board without a seat. I know most don't know better, but I just want them all to know. We did it to, before we knew better. Lap baby, checked the seat, rented carseats at the destination. Then I learned and I will NEVER do it again. Piper's too old to travel by lap anymore, but if I had another baby and for whatever reason couldn't get a seat, either cost or the plane is full or something, I simply wouldn't go. Or I'd drive if possible.

Not to mention, it's far more comfortable for kids to be in their carseats. Those airline seats are not made for them. I can't imagine flying more than an hour with a kid in a regular seat, the seat is so big and they're so tiny.

It's great that he likes to buckle in just like the rest of you. Would you let him just wear the seatbelt in the car just because he likes it? It's not made for him, it's not safe for him. Have him buckle himself in in other seats on the plane while you install his carseat. Then let him buckle into his seat in his harness, just like the pilots do. No offense, but if the pilots do something I bet that's cooler than what you do. hehe See if you can get him into the cockpit to see the pilots' harnesses. Or show him the flight attendants sit backwards with a harness. Seriously, adults are so unsafe on a plane it's not funny. And that's with seats and belts made for us. A two year old simply is NOT safe. Just because you're not getting yelled at doesn't mean it's ok.

Wendy

 

[mom of big kid]

thanks for the info Wendy. I was just curious about car seat bags really.

 

[AdventureMom]

Thanks everyone for responding!

Adventuremom: So I can bring a big ol' bag of car seats through security?

I would prefer to gatecheck them. I didn't know you could do that. There will be 2 adults, a 2 year old and an infant (in lap). I don't think I want to give up the space for a carseat, plus the 2 year old has been on many planes and likes to buckle up and sit like we do. I don't think a car seat would be that helpful.

I am tempted by the airline bag, but the maclaren double stroller bag is tempting. We also have a maclaren double stroller so I think it would be a good purchase.

I thought to damage a car seat it would need to be more than just dropped a little. I would think gatechecking it or even checking it would be ok. But I have only flown a few times with a kid, so I don't know too much.

Thanks for all your good advice guys. I love this forum it has helped me so much!

Hmmm... a bag full of seats. I would think they would let you check it at the gate - as long as the size of the bag wasn't too bad. Why don't you look on the airline's website and see what they say about the size of items checked at the gate? I think that's what they make you do (check at gate) if your carry-on is too big, so it would probably be okay.

The thing about a car seat being damaged is that there are so many unknowns when you check your baggage. The people loading the cargo area literally just toss stuff into the cargo hold. They could put your seat on the bottom, then chunk one of those huge hard-sided suitcases on it, etc. Chances are it would be okay, but if it's not, then when you get to where you're going, you don't have a carseat. (Actually, ours got delayed onetime and the airline offered us a loaner).

So checking at the gate means it's not getting tossed around by the people handling the luggage and it won't be under a bunch of other stuff...

Now I'm curious about the double stroller bag full of seats! Please come back and post about how it went when you get back...!

 

[wchicoria]

Just want to share my flight experience with my son, then two years old as he and I were travelling to what turned out to be my grandfather's funeral (only stating this to explain it was a difficult trip to begin with).

He had just turned 24 months but was only 22 lbs so although we'd purchased a seat, the plane was full and several employees asked me to show my boarding passes because I'm sure they wanted to take his seat thinking he was truly a "lapchild." That was after boarding so let me back up a second - I had his 5 pt harness booster with me, but while FAA approved in its manual (which I did NOT bring with me), they insisted I had to check it. I was impressed they put it in a giant clear bag, sealed it, and sent it on its way - I believe this was either Delta or US Air. I was big on safety then but not entirely educated and thought he was ok using the lapbelt and thought how great they'd "bagged it" for safe handling! I also was already upset, and my husband wasn't with me so I didn't put up a fight.

I couldn't keep our initial return tickets and will only say I never use discount ticket agencies - Travelocity- anymore. But so I had to purchase two new one-way tickets to get home and got the cheapest seats on a different carrier. They didn't tell me I had to check the carseat, but I did for some reason (ignorance!) and I asked them to bag the seat as the first carrier did. They said they do not have those bags! So my long-story point is that not all carriers offer those clear bags, and while it was a hefty plastic when I got it, and I didn't notice anything wrong with my seat after either flght, you can't rely on that bag to be available. Also, if you pay for a seat- use your carseat!

I'm about to fly with an almost 5 year old and a year year old again without my husband, so I too am trying to be realistic but SAFE!! Good luck!

 

[mamato2]

We have an Eddie Bauer bag and love it. I used it to carry Dd's car seat onto the plane. I then removed and installed the seat. The bag made it easier to hang onto (not tempted to carry by straps) and as it is really heavy duty it does offer protection as you tote it around. There is TONS of room inside. Great place to store that teddy bear or blankie you will want on the plane! It also contains the straps as the seat glides along the x-ray machine conveyor belt .
We did travel once with our Scenera AND Parkway. We carried the Scenera and gate checked the Parkway in the bag. Not ideal to check the booster but the only way we could get it home. I did feel better that the booster would be grabbed and held by the bag straps and not the head rest.
C.
PS I did travel years ago with a seat that I checked.( I had little money and didn't know that I should buy a seat and put my kid in it in a car seat.) I was assured they would put it in an 'airline car seat bag' and it would be fine. The 'bag' turned out to be thin clear plastic that had no protective value except to maybe keep the seat clean.

 

[AdventureMom]

FYI, they have GIGANTIC ziploc bags now at Home Depot/Lowe's. Huge. The largest ones would definitely hold a carseat (in case someone made you check it at the last minute without a real bag for it).

In the past, if they had told me that I had to check my FAA-approved carseat when I had purchased a seat for my child, I would have gone along with it. Now, I think I'd make it clear that I will NOT check it and if I miss my flight b/c of going around in circles with them about it, then maybe a free ticket is in order... Of course, having the documentation about the seat would probably help, but - the more experience I gain as a parent, the more adamant I am about standing my ground and knowing my rights... Sorry, just a little OT here !

 

[mom of big kid]

mamato2: Does the EB bag fit a big car seat like a marathon?

adventure mom: that is a great idea about the giant ziplock bags.

wchicoria: thanks for sharing your story, now it seems obvious but yes, you can't count on the airlines for much.

I am not sure what I am going to do. But if I do try to take a bag-o-car seats to the gate I will check back here and let you know how it went.

But thanks for all the stories, it helps a lot.

 

[mom of big kid]

mamato2: sorry, I realized later I could just look it up on amazon. And yes, they fit a marathon very well.

 

[mamato2]

Mom of Big Kid, I'm not really sure! I'll look into how much taller and wider the MA is and see whether I can tell. I do know it is advertised as 'fitting all car seats'.
It sells for $20 or less.
C.