What Is The Best Newborn to Toddler Travel Stroller?

Yes I’m one of those crazy mamas that want to try all the best strollers. The secret to being able to afford it is

1. To only try them one at a time. Whenever I get a new stroller I sell the older stroller online immediately.
2. Always try to buy them preloved first on Facebook, Craigslist or Ebay Kleinanzeigen.
3. Or wait for it to go on sale.

Be sure to road test strollers first either in the store or if a friend owns one before buying a stroller. NEVER EVER EVER buy a stroller without testing because each one will feel different depending on your built. Below are the strollers that I’ve tried.

• Babyzen Yoyo The first stroller that almost had it all.
• Stokke Xplory One of the best luxury city strollers in my opinion. Though not for travel, it’s great to use in Manila because I find most of the baby seats in restaurants pretty gross. This stroller is high enough so you can feed and talk to baby in restos without having to move baby from the stroller. Bought mine preloved because I couldn’t bring myself to buy it an such an exorbitant amount.
• GB Pockit Guiness Book of World Record holder as the lightest and most compact stroller in the world. Does not recline and the canopy is too tiny.
• Pockit+ Slightly wider, heavier and more difficult to fold than the first version, but it has a bigger canopy & recline funcion so kids can sleep in it.
• Looping Squizz 3 Has all the best features in one neat package.

DiploBaby doesn’t really use strollers when we are just in Manila. He mostly used it when he was a newborn in Berlin (I was still recovering from CS and found it difficult to carry him while walking), when we traveled to Hamburg for TDs eye operation, when we moved from Germany to the Philippines and when we travelled around Asia. This is why I am talking specifically about Travel Strollers because it’s the only time we really used them.

Important for Travel Strollers

Size is important. It must be IATA approved so that they don’t try to take it away from you before you board.

Even if it’s IATA approved, budget airlines like Cebu Pacific will try to take ask you to check it in because “the flight is full.” I always tell them that I would rather give up my hand carry than my stroller because I do not want to carry the baby from the plane, through immigration and wait forever for the stroller to come out of the luggage belt.

Many of the new versions of the strollers below are compatible with newborn car seats, but to me, this was not important because it is not advisable to keep newborns for too long in car seats, because babies backs should lie completely flat as much as possible. I only know of one newborn car seat that has an ergonomic lie-flat position once removed from the car, the Cybex Cloud Q. The rest don’t, so please don’t keep baby in the car seat longer than 30minutes each time. They need to stretch out their backs and lie flat in between.

BABY ZEN YOYO

Where to buy: USA • Europe • Philippines

Admittedly my first stroller was the Babyzen Yoyo because Looping did not exist yet then in 2015. DiploBaby was only 4months when we moved from Berlin, Germany to Manila Philippines, but he was a heavy baby. I specifically chose the Yoyo because it was the first stroller to fold so compact that it fits in the airplane overhead bin. This is important when moving or flying with a newborn because:

• When you deplane you can immediately open your stroller and not have to carry a heavy sleeping baby through the long process of immigration and while waiting for your stroller to come out of the luggage belt.
• Having our stroller during our layover in Istanbul was heaven because our 4month old was able to sleep. I cannot imagine having to carry our baby for the whole length of our 4-hour layover.
• If you check in your stroller, you won’t have access to it until you reach your final destination. This just was not okay for me because my CS procedure made it difficult to carry baby for long periods.
• When you are traveling, especially when you are moving from one country to another, you are carrying a lot of stuff. A stroller to carry your baby and to help you carry all the baby’s things is crucial.

LOOPING SQUIZZ 3 VS BABY ZEN YOYO

• For the Yoyo, you have to buy the newborn pack or get the more expensive bundle to be able to use it with a newborn. Looping reclines absolutely flat and is ready for newborns without spending more.

• Though the Yoyo is slightly lighter (6.2 kg to 6.6 kg) than the Squizz (6.9kg), the full weight has to be carried your shoulders when it is folded. This is physically harder than rolling it around like a trolley.

• I honestly don’t think that the Yoyo can stand on it’s own. Though in most of the promotional pictures it looks like it’s standing while folded. The very first version that I tried, I could never get it to stand alone, so it was a hassle to store. Maybe it could, but I just couldn’t make it?!?

GB POCKIT

Where to buy: USA • Europe • Philippines

Though it is not for newborns, it is also worth mentioning the smallest and lightest stroller in the world, the Pockit (4.3kg) and Pockit Air All Terrain (4.5kg), however again you have to carry it around folded. It doesn’t roll like a trolley like the Squizz. You can start using the Pockit when your child is 6mos onwards, just be sure that they can already support their own head.

We used the Pockit+ on our very first trip to Japan. We went to Fukuoka last November 2019 and did a lot walking. The sidewalks were tiny, so when DiploBaby was not using his stroller, it was easier to fold the stroller and my husband would carry it. It wasn’t too bad, but it’s much easier if you can roll it around like a trolley, especially if you are traveling alone. A friend of mine traveled alone around Europe with her baby using the Looping Squizz, but I don’t think it would be possible with the GB Pockit.

The Pockit+ and Pockit + All Terrain is newer, slightly wider (for bigger toddlers) and can be slightly reclined so kids can sleep more comfortably on it, however I found it harder to fold/unfold and the Asian version is heavier than the original. The canopy is a bit of a joke for all the Pockits IMO because they are too tiny to really protect our Little Ones.

See Cat Arambulo’s honest review of the GB Pockit.

BUGABOO ANT

Another stroller that can be folded and pulled around like a trolley like the Looping Squizz is the Bugaboo Ant. A friend of mine in Japan has this stroller and we tested each other’s stroller when we went to visit her. The Pros:

• I love how it looks so sleek and chic!
• Can be used by newborns because of it’s full recline.
• Reversible seats really help with keeping eye contact with newborns
• Very light. Weight-wise, there is very little difference. The Ant is 7.2 kg vs the Looping Squizz’ 6.9kg.
• Adjustable height handles mean it’s good for taller Caucasians.

However it is definitely not a one-hand fold like the Looping Squizz. There are many steps to get it in Trolley Mode:

1. Put the break on.
2. Fold the canopy flat.
3. Fold both sides of the canopy in.
4. Push down the folded canopy.
5. Flip canopy into the basket.
6. Pull up white buttons on both sides until you see the red indicator.
7. Push in with your hand and foot to flatten.
8. Adjust the height of the handlebar and pull.
9. If you want it to stand on it’s own, fold down the handlebar.
10. Reverse the process to be able to use it again as a baby stroller.

You can see how it folds below. Start at 3:03 if you want to go straight to Trolley Mode.

It’s a lot of steps to get it folded. For travel a quick one-handed fold is so important and makes a world difference of difference. For examples, we sometimes make a split-second decision to go on the escalator instead of looking for an elevator in a super busy, crowded platform. In this situation, I am always thankful that can do a super quick one-hand fold and carry the stroller with me without taking too much space in public.

Folding with both hands is easy but in the real world, when we are traveling, we are usually carrying a bag in our other hand, holding our childs hand and wrangling with our winter gear.

LOOPING SQUIZZ 3

Where to buy: Europe • Philippines • Lazada

I got the Squizz 3 because it’s already available in Asia. The online stores in Europe only have the Squizz 2 and I can’t seem to find it in any US stores.

This stroller is designed in accordance with IATA standards for airplane hand-carry and in accordance with the current European safety requirements and quality standards (EN1888:2012 Safety Certificate). It’s was really amazing to have when we went to super busy and crowded Tokyo and while wandering the tiny alleys of Kyoto.

The reason the Looping Squizz 3 is the best for me is that it has so many features in one stroller. But my favorite features are:

• Trolley mode. The T-bar luggage handle is so convenient. When you are traveling to places with really tiny spaces like Japan, you will appreciate the ability to fold and pull it around. 
• Convenient one-hand fold and unfold. It’s easier to fold than
• Generous canopy that actually protects the child.
• Large viewing window with removable plastic cover for more air flow
• Bumper bar which is better for older kids
• Can be used from 0 or Newborn onwards. Though it says maximum for 20kg kids, my son is 21kg and we’ve been using the tires it came with. It has larger wheels for heavier kids, which we are have but reserving until the current wheels give up. 

Fold and unfold in 1-2 steps only:

One time we went to a restaurant in Tokyo that was so small, we had to leave it outside the restaurant. We folded it small so that it wouldn’t be easily pushed away.

Though DiploBaby is beyond the 20kg max, he still somehow manages to fit and it’s the only way he gets to power nap when we are traveling and walking around. At 21kg+ he is too heavy to carry for more than a few minutes.

Going around small crowded places is easier with the Looping. When there is no elevator, no problem! We just ask DiploBaby to hop off and it’s so easy and quick to fold.

Though he never asks for a stroller when we are in Manila, he loves riding his Looping Squizz 3 when we are traveling. This prevents him from getting over tired at the end of the day.

I am contemplating getting the stroller hooks so we can hang our diaper back pack on, or getting their travel bag (no hooks needed because it goes on the built in hooks). But then what will I do with the diaper backpack that I already have? The console looks good for mamas who walk around daily with the stroller, so they can easily place their phone, wipes and bottle.

Hope you enjoyed this detailed review. This is not a paid or sponsored post. All strollers were personally paid for. I am an Amazon affiliate, but all opinions are my own.