My husband and I have traveled frequently by car and by air with our three kids since they were tiny. We purchased this Chicco Capri Lightweight Stroller (an umbrella-style stroller) over five years ago on the advice of a friend when preparing for our first airplane trip after our oldest was too heavy for me to wear comfortably for long periods of time, and it has held up amazingly well.
Other than its durability, it has two major advantages in my mind:
- Having watched other parents struggle to fold a gate-checked stroller quickly at the end of the jetway while trying to wrangle their little ones, I am so pleased at how easily the Capri collapses with a quick flick of the toe on the frame latch and one hand on a handle. It also fits perfectly across the floor of the backseat of our minivan and SUV when the back is jammed full of luggage on long car trips.
- Perhaps even more important is that this stroller does not look ridiculously short when my 6-foot-tall husband is pushing it, nor does it look ridiculously tall when my 5-foot-2 self is pushing it.
The straps are easy to use and can be arranged so that you don’t have to use the shoulder straps when your kiddo is old enough to be trusted not to topple forward. There is a small area for storage under the seat, which has come in handy on more than one of our trips to the farmers’ market during peak season. It comes with a sunshade, which we have never used, and a carry case, which I gave up on using because of the hassle it added to the end-of-jetway packing.
I would highly recommend this stroller without reservation to anyone in search of a sturdy, but lightweight, stroller for traveling or for keeping in the car. There are plenty of more expensive collapsible strollers on the market, but you really get a lot of great features at a great price point with the Chicco Capri.