Gogo Kidz Travelmate Review: Turns a Car Seat Into a Stroller

Gogo Kidz Travelmate Review

Price and Where to Buy Gogo Kidz Travelmate: $79 on Amazon.com; $89 on Gogobabyz.com

Fact: Car seats are one of the bulkiest, heaviest, most uncomfortable things to carry through an airport. On a recent family trip, we traveled with a car seat for my one-year-old. To more easily move the seat through the airport and onto the flight, we tried the GoGo Babyz Travelmate, a small platform-strap-telescoping-handle combo that turns a car seat into a stroller.

Pros: To carry a car seat through an airport requires two hands. But if you’re carrying a car seat through an airport, you don’t have two hands to spare—you’ve got a kid to hold onto, and probably a diaper bag and a carry-on full of entertainment options. The Travelmate does double duty because it turns a bulky, heavy, uncomfortable-to-carry car seat into an easy-to-roll chair and works as a stroller. My one-year old loved riding in it, and it felt both sturdy and comfortable to pull. When my kid wasn’t catching a ride, we plopped a carry-on or two in the seat and pulled it along behind us. So it was always useful.

Cons: Not so much a con as a warning: Practice mounting the car seat to the Travelmate at least once before you get to the airport. The securing strap takes a little getting used to, and it’s far better to figure out how to mount and release the car seat when you’re not on the curb at the airport at 5 am with an amped-up toddler and a mountain of baggage.

How Gogo Kidz Travelmate Rates:

• Usefulness: 10/10.  I would never travel with a car seat again without the Travelmate. It handily solves two major car-seat-at-an-airport problems: transporting the car seat and corralling the child.
• Value: 8/10. $90 isn’t cheap, but it made such a big difference it felt worth the cost. And because it’s sturdy and remains with a family only during the toddler years, it seems like it would be a big hit on the second-hand market.
• Durability: 9/10. I’ve seen Travelmates that were nearly a decade old and still going strong. In my test, the construction felt solid and held up to the rigors of being dragged through the airport and parking lots, up and off curbs, and even up a grassy hill.
• Cool Factor: 10/10.  One- to three-year-olds would give this an 11 on the cool scale if they had voting rights. It turns out there’s high novelty value in seeing your car seat sprout wheels and roll around.

Final Verdict: If you need to fly with a car seat, seriously consider the Travelmate. It can save your back and your sanity, and will help keep your kid where you can see them.

(Photo: Go-Go Babyz)

Editor’s Note: Reviews are based on usefulness, portability, durability, value, and “cool factor.” Some review products are sent to us free of charge and with no incentive to offer a favorable review. We offer our unbiased opinions, positive and negative, and will never accept compensation to review a product. If you have any questions or comments concerning our reviews, or would like to suggest a product for review, please email us at editor@smartertravel.com.