suggestions for light car seat for travel

We'll be traveling with our 2 year old and I am looking for suggestions for a light weight car seat to use on private excursions (mostly in vans). We currently have a Britax Boulevard and it's pretty bulky. Any suggestions are appreciated!

The vans we were in did not have seat belts so a carseat would have been useless. Email each company to find out if they even have seatbelts if you arent sure.

I emailed a few companies who do tours in Mexico and they all couldn't guarantee car seats. Even Royal Caribbean wouldn't make any promises.

Hope you have better luck! We've decided just to do excursions that you don't need to travel by van/taxi to.

We have a Tote 'n Go. Love it. Fits in a suitcase. It is a pain to install, but better than lugging a bulky seat.

We have an Evenflo Tribute V (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3012743) that we use for Grandma's car and recently used it for airplane travel. It is very light and even sat perfectly on the stroller for airport use. Don't compare it's quality to the Britax, but the price and weight were perfect for our needs!

Another vote for the Tote N Go. Like previous poster said, it's a pain to install the first time, so be sure to try it at home and pre-adjust the straps to save time when you're installing at your destination!

We rented car seats with our rental car; the supplied seats were Cosco Scenera's.

It was very lightweight and easy to install. Not a lot of padding and no extras, and not the seat I would choose for home use, but it seems good for travel. Above link says it's on sale for $35 right now.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

We'll be traveling with our 2 year old and I am looking for suggestions for a light weight car seat to use on private excursions (mostly in vans). We currently have a Britax Boulevard and it's pretty bulky. Any suggestions are appreciated!

I recently purchased a ridesafer vest based on the recommendations of a car seat expert that frequents this site. I've used it several times already and plan to use it again for our upcoming cruise in March.

http://www.safetrafficsystem.com/

If this fits your 2 year old it might be a good option.

http://www.elitecarseats.com/Safe-Traffic-Systems-Ride-Safer-Travel-Vest.pro

If not then I would go with a Scenera

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00192GC82/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000GY5OBA&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=07X14F1P8FP5AEXYKGJW

The Scenera is sold at Target, Walmart etc. Just different fabric patterns basically. decent, light 5 point harnessed seat. Good till a child reaches 40bs!

It looks like they don't make it anymore but the Eddie Bauer Portable Car Seat is amazing. It's lightweight and folds into the back of your luggage or stroller. Maybe you can find it on ebay.

I recently purchased a ridesafer vest based on the recommendations of a car seat expert that frequents this site. I've used it several times already and plan to use it again for our upcoming cruise in March.

 

http://www.safetrafficsystem.com/

We have used the ridesafer vest and really like it. It is a little hot if you use (which we do) the back piece which has the portion with head and neck side impact protection. An added bonus is it works with lap shoulder or lap only belts. Takes up a little more room, but not much. We went to Baltimore for the weekend and just placed it across the top of the clothes in the carry-on rolling bag. When we got outside to get into the inlaw's car I just opened up the bag, popped out the vest, and hooked her up. Great.

The Tote-n-Go and the Eddie Bauer seat have been pulled off the market, supposedly because they're dangerous. Definitely avoid these products.

By contrast, the Rider Safe vest get excellent reviews from car seat techs and is easy to bring along.

The Scenera car seat is light and easy to carry. You can also use it on the airplane (which is safer than just the lap belt).

Where are you going??

In Europe last year we requested a car seat with each of our private tours. I know some folks shy away from this- but in our experience the seats appeared to be nearly new (very gently used, if at all) and we had great luck.. with no lugging of car seats.

I know this thread is a bit old, but, does anyone have any updates on this topic? My daughter will be just under 2 on our cruise next year and we are not sure what we will need car seat wise. We are cruising out of San Juan.

Thanks for bringing this back up! We're cruising with our 2.5 year old in a few weeks and the saferider vest would be perfect but DD is not old enough for it yet. It looks like it will be a great investment in the future though. I would love to find something just as safe for her but more travel-able than a bulky car seat.

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We have the Alpha Omega carseat normally, which is huge and heavy. We bought the Cosco Scenera to use on our cruise last October and it was perfect. Not heavy at all, but still has a five point harness. It was perfect for our "two and change" toddler.

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