Go-Go Babyz Kidz Travelmate
by Go-Go Babyz
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List Price: Our Price: $79.95 You Save: $9.05 (10%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Baby Product See more product details |
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Baby Products Reviews of Go-Go Babyz Kidz Travelmate
Customer Review: Great idea, but needs improvement
Summary: 4 Stars
EDIT 11/29/09: The product description now mentions a strap that sounds like it might solve the attachment/detachment problem. I haven't seen the strap in action, but check more recent reviews to see if it's working well.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
I really love the idea of this gadget. We've used on several plane trips, and it's definitely easier and more practical than bringing the carseat AND a stroller. Many people have stopped us in the airport to check it out, and our son loves riding around in it. It has great polyurethane wheels that roll over just about anything with ease, and the telescoping handle can be made long enough for the tallest parent. It's light, easy to steer, and streamlined. Our Britax Marathon fits on it beautifully and attaches securely.
However, it needs a couple of major improvements to make it worth the effort and the price. First of all, there simply MUST be a way to attach and detach the device to/from the carseat more quickly. Currently, you must attach it by twisting two long screws into their guideholes. This takes WAY too long. On just one trip, we screwed the TravelMate onto the carseat in the parking lot, then unscrewed it in the security line, screwed it back on, unscrewed it on the plane, and then screwed it back on in the jetway. This means we spent WAY too much time screwing and unscrewing those very long screws. It's even harder when the kid is asleep in the carseat. There simply MUST be a method to snap the carseat securely onto the TravelMate without frantically twisting screws on and off. It's ridiculous. Until this company comes up with a better method for attaching the carseat to the TravelMate, I would not recommend purchasing it.
Secondly, the telescoping handle is great but it feels quite flimsy. I am pretty comfortable pulling my kid along behind me, but pushing him in front of me seems risky because it feels like I'm going to snap the rails of the handle. It would be worth the extra weight to strengthen the telescoping rails and make the handle more sturdy.
In summary, this is a great idea, but wait to buy it until the company comes up with a simple snap-in to replace the screw-in attachment.
Customer Review: Excellent must have item!
Summary: 5 Stars
Car seat type: Graco Sport and took the cup holder off.
Cons -
Labeling on the strap so you know which way to put it in. I had to do what seemed to be backwards in order for it to work.
Requires a screwdriver a Phillips head to be exact.
Pros -
Once it's on, it is on
Quick installation
Super easy to use
Traveling with an 16 month old can be tiring between the luggage and car seat, but GoGo Kidz saved the day! It was fairly easy to put together, screw the strap, attach the wheels, slide the strap through the car seat, then crank it in order to tighten. It is lightweight enough that my child can pull it around the house sans car seat.
When traveling, a child's car seat is that one familiar thing that is all theirs. This item makes it so much easier in that the child gets to sit in their own chair and as parents we get to save our backs, necks, and arms. When it came to leaving from the airport, I had to ask several times for TSA to hand wand because it will not fit through the machine although the agent insisted it would. If attached this will NOT fit through the machine as previous raters have said and by all means be persistent if TSA tells you to take the wheels off because it still will not fit. Back to the product, when we finally made through security we got several looks of awe and wonderment from other passengers and flight agents. We were able to leave little one in the car seat on the train to the terminal and when walking to the gate.
Once we reached our destination the same stares and finger points continued and the ease of use through the terminal and train were still excellent. We had one gentleman in terminal while we were waiting for the elevator remark that he wished he could have a 'ride' in the chair. Be ready for the stares and finger points because people will be in awe. We also saw several envious parents who were carrying their child and they looked like they could use this item for sure.
GoGo Kidz Travelmate gets 6 thumbs up from me, my husband, and son! Excellent item and we will use it again and again and will be sad when we have to let it go.
Customer Review: Worth every penny!
Summary: 5 Stars
On the recommendation of numerous parents on a parenting list-serv I subscribe to, I purchased this to use on vacation. It was a lifesaver! Well worth the price. Our 10 month old loved rolling through the airport in his carseat. This product comes with various adaptors for different carseats, don't be alarmed when you open the box and see all the different parts! We have a Britax Roundabout, so we didn't need any of the adapaptors for non-Britax brands. It takes a mintue to figure out how to screw on this device with the two long screws, but once you've done it a couple of times, you can take it off and put it back on in about one minute.
Different airports have different sized x-ray machines. At one airport (Denver), we only needed to pop off the wheels to put it through the machine, and they pop off in a second with a simple clip. In Seattle, we tried that, but it wouldn't fit. We elected to request a hand-inspection rather than detatch the entire thing, which was a mistake. It took much longer for them to summon a supervisor and do the hand inspection than it would have taken to detach and reattach the whole thing.
Boarding the aircraft, we did detach it entirely then carried the seat onto the plane and strapped it in, and put the GoGo Kidz in the overhead bin. Disembarking, while we waited for everyone else to get off the plane, we reattached it (with the baby in the seat, which is easy to do!) then rolled seat and baby off the plane. It was a tight fit down the aisle, but we squeezed by.
We originally purchased this at the same time as a Britax Marathon, but we had to return that seat because it was too big for our car. I later learned that the Marathon won't fit in most coach airline seats, so it worked out for the best!
It looks like the resale value of the GoGo Kidz is pretty high, and in our neighborhood they are in such demand that people ask to RENT them from friends and neighbors who have them. We plan to sell ours in a few years when we no longer need it, and recoup some of the cost. But I'm not renting ours out, it's too valuable to us to risk having someone else lose it!
Customer Review: Great idea, okay execution
Summary: 4 Stars
12/8/10 ETA: My second travelmate has the strap attachment instead of the screws.
PROS: it attaches faster than the old one and there are no loose parts to worry about losing.
CONS: it can be really tricky to snap the belt loose and it has also broken twice while the first travelmate with screws is one year older and has never broken.
Overall, I still say this product is a lifesaver for anyone who travels frequently since you really can't trust your car seats to go through the baggage conveyor without being damaged. By keeping the seats in our possession at all time, we know they're undamaged and are going to do the most important job in the world of keeping our kids safe.
Final travel tips:
1. You do not need to detach the Travelmate to pass through Airport Security. Many car seats don't fit through the X-Ray anyway so chances are they're going to have to check it by hand regardless -- don't let them bully you into fussing with the attachment when you have more important things to do like get yourself and your kid through the checkpoint.
2. You do not need to detach the Travelmate to buckle it into an airplane seat (unless your kid has really long legs). It should fit just fine and by sitting a little higher your kid will get a better view out the window!
Hope this helps!
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I fly with my kids about 20x year. This product is a great idea for bringing the car seat along, but the whole process of attaching and detaching the travelmate takes too long! It connects to the car seat by positioning a plate with two very long screws, which takes about 5-10 minutes. It's absolutely impossible to do with a child asleep in the seat.
If the car seat could either be installed with the travelmate attached or if there were some faster way to snap it on instead of using screws, it would be perfect. It's pricey for what it is, but still the best option for travel with a toddler seat which is why I give it 4 stars and will probably buy a second one now that my son is outgrowing his infant seat..
Customer Review: Needs work - consider an alternative
Summary: 2 Stars
While it seemed like a great idea and technically it does work as claimed, you would be better off buying a smaller and/or lightweight car or booster seat.
We just got back from our hawaii trip with our 16 month old son. Bought him his own plane seat and attached the TravelMate to his Britax Marathon. The initial trip into and through the airport was fine, then the problems started:
1) The Marathon is admittedly big, but many are these days. It is too wide for the plane aisles so you cant just roll up to your airplane seat. Not the travelmates fault but too late to do anything at that point. I had to take my son out of the seat and lift the car seat over my head to get to our seats (of course we had other carry on luggage as well)
2) Per other comments, getting the travelmate off the car seat was a royal pain, GET RID OF THE THUMB SCREWS!. HOWEVER - realized that you really dont need to take it off as the car seat fits in the airplane seat fine with the travelmate still on it (thanks for covering this in the instructions, NOT). Just ignore the fact that it pitches the kid forward so he is constantly kicking the seat in front of him.:)
2a) the attachment plate makes snaking the seatbelt buckle through the seat a royal pain (as you are blocking the aisle and getting dirty looks)
3)Same problem getting off the plane - seat was too wide to roll through the aisle, so had to give kid and carry-ons to wife while i hold seat over my head to get it off the plane.
4) You may think you will use this as a stroller replacement but you wont. We ended up going to WalMart on the island and getting the $17.00 cosco stroller. It worked great, left it there.
Repeat all above on return trip. argh.
Had we known, I would have bought a smaller lightweight car seat or maybe just a good booster seat and then checked the stroller at the gate.
Its enough of an adventure traveling with a child or two. While seemingly a cool idea I would pass on this piece of gear until they make substantial improvements.