Customer Reviews

GoGo Kidz Travelmate

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I fly by myself with my son all the time. He is 28 months old and already has 8 airplane trips under his little belt. I have (once) been that lady struggling to lug my ginormous Britax Marathon through the airport while trying to push a three-month old in a stroller and carry an over-loaded diaper bag (including breast pump!). And, I have (twice) used one of those black car seat travel bags with wheels and checked it with the rest of my luggage only to have the wheels come off and the strap break after the first trip - the zipper broke after the second trip when I struggled to zip up the behemoth car seat.

I looked at my options for awhile before going with the GoGo Baby Travelmate. One option I really considered was the Traveling Toddler strap. You can look it up; Amazon sells it and it gets great reviews. After sleeping on it, I decided against the strap mainly because I often travel by myself and I would probably never have a carry-on suitcase with me to strap the car seat on to. That would be something else for me to keep track of. And besides, after reading almost all of those 200+ reviews, I decided that if I really wanted one I could make one myself using some of the reviewers' suggestions. And, so, I went with the Travelmate.

It was a great surprise how easy and well the Travelmate worked. I spent a few minutes before our first trip with it to familiarize myself with the ratcheting belt and to test out the ride. It fits my over-sized Britax perfectly. And it is super easy to navigate! I can roll it behind me or in front of me. I found it easier to push/pull than my suitcase, and it is not "heavy" on my arms. The sturdy wheels make for a smooth ride.

I gate-check the car seat because it is easier for me, and I have never had a problem. The first time I used the Travelmate, I took the whole thing off and stored it in the over-head bin. On the return flight, I popped the wheels off and kept the back board strapped to the car seat. This last time, I kept the entire thing, wheels and all, strapped to the car seat - I think will continue to do that until I foresee an issue.

I don't travel with a stroller very often because I can rent one (Disney) or borrow (lovely sister) at just about any place I go, but when I do travel with one, I typically check it (for free!) with the rest of my luggage and keep the car seat with me.

Though the Travelmate is quite a bit more $$ than the Traveling Toddler strap, I definitely think it is well worth it. I have used it twice now: in August from DAY to DEN and just last week from CVG to MSP. My son LOVED sitting in it as we made our way though the airport. More than once I was stopped and asked about it. I can't say enough about the Travelmate. If you fly with your child's car seat more than once a year, quit reading all of the 200+ reviews and add it to your cart.

This new model has solved the issue of attaching and releasing the car seat. Apparently it used to be done via a screw, but now there's a strap that is very easy to release. I strongly recommend this product.

This is a great product, well designed and great price. However, a little research and test fit would have been a smart option. I purchased this based on web searches and found that it would work on my Britax Car seat. The fact is that the GoGo Kidz did not secure very well to the seat. I had a newer model and the latch system on the Travelmate was very difficult to tighten and release because the 'passthru' slots, on the seat were too narrow, and had a bad angle. Maybe a different latching mechanism would be more effective. Britax Model #E9L57J3, Manufactured on 04/09/08. Would recommend to others if they could test fit the set up. When attached to the car seat and the wheels remove, it fits on the airline seat (coach). Book a window seat for your child though.

We buy our son a seat almost everytime we fly. We like to have him sit in his carseat because it give us some rest time also. Fits his carseat perfectly! He has a Sunshine Kids Radian XTSL which is way to heavy to lug through the airport. It also save on the amount of stuff we have to bring on our trips. We have also used it as a stroller. I have traveled a lot with just my son and I and it makes it much easier for me to just stroll him through the airport to our connecting flight if we have one. I have seen so many parents at the airport asking me where I got it and if he will ever grow out of it. I was glad to tell them no!! So far it has been a life saver for me! Especially when my husband isn't there to help lug stuff around.

Since our little girl moved up from her infant carrier to a convertible car seat (Britax Ashley Floral Marathon CV Car Seat), traveling with the car seat is a little different. It can't snap into a stroller frame or what have you, so it was going to be a big pain in the posterior to deal with bringing it with us. I am so glad we got a Go-Go Babyz (aka Go-Go Kidz) Travelmate. It means we can dispense entirely with strollers and use the car seat to roll her around the airport. It can equally be pushed in front of you or pulled behind you. It fits, clips to the tether strap and ratchets down tight really well and quickly and is also quick to remove on the plane or in the terminal.

I would give this 5 stars except for two minor cons:

Price: It's NOT cheap. It is worth it, but we would have purchased it sooner had it not been at a price point that made us think so hard first.

Detachment: It is not /terribly/ hard to detach, but the release level on the strap ratchet sometimes requires some finagling to get it just right to make it let go. This is *far* from a deal-breaker, though. It just means it can take an extra 5-10 seconds of mild annoyance.

The GoGo Kidz cart is a lifesaver. We have taken it on several plane trips and it minimizes our airport hassles immensely. The strap is easy to feed through our Evenflo seat as long as there isn't a kid in it.. It can be fed through behind a sleeping kid but is much easier when the seat is unoccupied.

This was an invaluable item traveling with my 19 month old daughter by myself. I purchased a seat for her and needed to travel light. This product helped me to achieve this goal. I traveled with the car seat(Go Go Travelmate attached) and one small carry on from Alaska to Nevada.
Easy to install, but I would recommend practicing a few times before your travel day.
It was great to be able to wheel her through the airport to connecting flights, and she enjoyed it! Also, I had a very short layover on one leg of the trip and she was happy enough staying in her seat the entire time which is unusual for her as she is a very active toddler.
Very convenient product and a smart idea. Particularly useful in the airport getting to connecting gates, etc. Excellent even if you are gate-checking your car seat as it is a great way to transport such a cumbersome item and your squirmy toddler once you arrive.

Cons: My Britax car seat is quite heavy. Depending on the type of aircraft you are flying on you may not be able to wheel the car seat down the center aisle; thus having to lug it and your child to your seat. Keep this in mind when you are boarding and ask for assistance if needed. This would not have been as much of an issue if I had been traveling with my whole family, but something to consider if traveling alone.

When faced with traveling across country with an active 2 year old, without any other adults along, including a layover, I knew I needed to be prepared. The GoGo Kidz Travelmate worked as well, OR BETTER, than advertised. Other than when we went through security (which was pretty smoothe), I never had to take my daughter out of her car seat throughout the entire trip (unless we wanted to). In 3 of 4 of the planes we boarded, I was even able to wheel her right down the aisle, lift her up in the seat, and strap her in WITH the Travelmate still attached. The 4th plane's aisle was too narrow to accomodate the car seat, but with a little help from a flight attendent, we were still able to use it in the seat. People stopped me several times in all 4 airports we were in to comment on her "stroller/car seat" and several travelling moms expressed a wish they'd known about it!
It was very, very easy to strap the Travelmate to our existing car seat yet extremely secure. The wheels were the perfect size and very smooth to navigate. I originally felt it was a bit pricey, but after using it, I have no hesitation recommending it and would buy another if needed!

We recently traveled to Sweden with our 2-year old, and the GoGo Kidz Travelmate was invaluable! We didn't want to take a stroller because we knew we had one to borrow at our destination, and we definitely wanted to take our carseat, so this was PERFECT. She sat in it comfortably most of the time (and played with it and her baby doll during layovers :) There was even one point where our flight was delayed, so we were racing to make our connection (at the other end of the airport, of course). My daughter fell asleep on the plane, but we were able to get her carseat connected to the travelmate, off the plane, and down to the next gate, all while she slept peacefully. I would HIGHLY recommend this to any parent!

I was given this as a gift when I was planning on traveling without my husband. It's the only way to get around and still have your sanity. Even on different trips with my husband, it was so wonderful to have one less thing to worry about. Our child was snug in his seat rolling right with us, along side our luggage. He loved it. We would take him out to let him roam while we waited for our plane and he would sit back in his chair because he loved the ride. Now we have two children and need to get another one for our next airline travel.