Customer Reviews

JL Childress Padded Umbrella Stroller Travel Bag, Black

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I decided I needed a bag so we could check our our stroller when flying. We have a Maclaren Quest. Maclaren sells their own bag for a bit more money, so I decided to try this. It worked perfectly. We have used it for both domestic and international travel and it has held up well so far. The Quest fits in it with room to spare, so we are even able to throw toys and shoes in there to reduce some of the weight in our other bags - baby items like strollers and playpens don't count against you as pieces of baggage; defintely helpful in these days of airlines charging for extra bags! ;-)

We haven't taken it through security with us so I can't comment on how easy or not easy it is to maneuver (we generally have our car seat with us and just roll our son through the airport in that, so we don't need the stroller until we get to our destination).

I was a little worried about my Joovy Kooper fitting, because although it's an "umbrella" stroller, it's a bit larger than most. No worries, though, the bag is roomy enough to fit the stroller - but I did have to remove the wheels to make it fit lengthwise (not an issue for me).

The material is sturdy, and not too difficult to fold up and stick in my stroller's basket. The handlebars are great, although I am afraid to carry it using the shoulder strap because the clips that attach to the bag look like cheap plastic that will snap from the weight of the Joovy Kooper (my stoller is heavier than most umbella stroller, so it might not be an issue if you have a lighter stroller). I just took the shoulder strap off and only use the handlebars.

One thing I was surprised by was the padding. I re-read the item description, and it says it has a padded end. I didn't notice it said that when I first ordered it. I assumed the entire bag was padded. It's not, just the flip top end of the strollerbag. It's good for those who have a stroller that has all it's wheels at one end when it's folded. The Joovy Kooper has wheels on both ends when it's folded. If your stroller folds down and has wheels on both ends, only the padded end will protect your wheels. You might want to take your wheels off and store them in the padded end. The padded end will do well protecting your wheels, but the rest of the bag isn't padded and your frame in the unpadded part can still get banged around. Although, if it was a fully padded bag, it probably wouldn't be as easy to fold up and store while not in use.

I do wish the zipper went down lengthwise instead of around the top. But I knew that when I ordered it. It would be just little easier for my heavier stroller to have the bag open the other way. If you have a standard umbrella, the opening shouldn't bother you.

One last thing, apparently it can look a little like a duffle bag, and if you are going to gatecheck your stroller at the airport, there's a small chance it will get mixed up with regular luggage and not be waiting for you when you exit the plane. I bought some red ducktape and put a strip on the bag, then wrote "gate check" in permanent marker on the ducktape. Not super pretty, but we use this primarily for airports, and it gets the attention of the airline employees.

Overall, it does it's job, and has held up well. Joovy makes a stroller bag specifically for the Kooper, but it's almost double the cost of this. I would choose this over the Joovy bag anyday. It's sturdy and perfect for the price!

This bag does not accommodate the 2008 Maclaren Techno XT. I tried to force the top of the bag closed, but it just wasn't happening. Bummer, the bag seems to be well constructed and the padding is good.

Took this to travel on transatlantic flights with our Peg Perego P3 Stroller. The bag kept it from getting scratched etc, and the stroller fitted nicely inside. It was useful for carrying it over your shoulder to the gate, especially with a baby/toddler to carry too.
The padding is great, but even though we gate-checked it the stroller still had some of it's frame bent and damaged (thank you baggage handlers everywhere!!).
This bag is well made and served its purpose well.

This bag was much nicer than others we looked at and did a great job of protecting our stroller (Chicco Liteway) from damage on our flight. The bag got pretty beat up from the baggage handlers but our stroller was good as new! We received many comments on how nice it was from others traveling with lesser bags. I would highly recommend!!

I went back and forth for a few days as to whether or not I wanted to get this bag or the Maclaren bag. I decided to go with this bag first since it was cheaper and if I didn't like it I'd still have time to return it before my trip. This bag did just fine! I have a Maclaren Quest and it fit just fine, no wrestling it into the bag and it didn't have to go in a certain way (meaning the handles or wheels HAD to go on a certain end). There was extra room in there for me to put other items in the bag as well, such as extra packs of diapers and some other items I couldn't fit into my suitcase. The only thing I'd wish to be changed was that there be a little more padding throughout the bag and not just on one end. It did a good job though, my stroller came back to me without a scratch.

I have no idea how this bag is getting decent reviews unless people are using very, very lightweight strollers. We purchased this bag to accommodate our Maclaren Triumph (11.5lbs) and the hooks fastening on the longer carrying strap broke *on both sides* the first time we attempted to lift it off the ground. The plastic snapped in two. We are returning this immediately and purchasing a Maclaren bag.

I purchased this for a recent trip and while I was happy our 2009 Pliko P3 was protected, the only way the stroller fit in was if the 2 front wheels and snack track were popped off! In addition, even with those popped off (the bag was roomy enough to stick the wheels and tray in along with the stroller), the stroller just.barely.fit.in.the.bag! I had nothing in the basket underneath, so nothing else taking up room. It took me a good 8-10 minutes (yes-- that long!) to wedge, push, cajole and mash the stroller in so the top of the bag (padded part) would fit over and actually zipper closed! My husband helped me try a 'practice run' at home before I flew alone and we both had trouble even while working together at it! I thought the zipper would rip off, as it was a no-name, generic one.
To clarify, the height was okay (a little snug, but fine), it was the width at the bottom of the stroller when folded (i.e. not the handle bar side) that caused the top of the bag many problems in closing.

Just so future purchasers are aware, only the top zippered 1/3 is the padded part, though the rest isn't too flimsy. When I got it back, it had definite scuff marks and a rip in it from some sharp edge under the plane, so it did it's job (it had been gate-checked).

While it may not have fit the new model P3 that great, it would definitely fit an umbrella stroller much better. I just wonder if Peg Perego changed the dimensions on their newer models causing them not to fit so well..?


**EDIT/UPDATE** 12/09-

Used it again on a roundtrip flight and the same thing happened. Took a long time to finally close the bag. Zipper does not work anymore and stroller got scratched beneath plane as a result :( I guess I should have seen it coming as the zipper feels/is junk. It would be great if they invested in better YKK zippers etc.

This holds our Maclaren Techno XT without issue. There is extra room in the bag should you need it. It also holds my Graco Pack n Play just fine. We travel a lot so when we bring the Pack n Play we also bring an extra mattress, pads and, sheets for it. All fit without issue. We've had the bag for over two years and it has held up pretty well - no rips or loose seams. The shoulder strap did break on our last trip, but this was with the Pack n Play and other stuff in it, so I'm sure it exceeded the weight limit. There are handles so it's not a big deal.

My chicco liteway umbrella stroller does not fit in this without disassembling the front wheels. Another reviewer noted that they don't mind removing the wheels from their Liteway stroller to make it fit, but that is too much hassle for me in the airport with a small baby. I am going to return it.

It seems like this is a good quality product if your stroller is small enough. Maybe a little bulky--just one more thing to deal with/store when it's not in use.