Travel System - Peg Perego or Chicco Keyfit ?

I have the Chicco and I love it. The stroller is easily folded and handles great no matter the terrain.

When I was pregnant, we looked at both Peg Perego and Chicco systems. We did not like the Chicco stroller that much and I was concerned by the smallness of the car seat. I also was not that impressed with the safety ratings. If memory serves me, both of these carriers are quite heavy empty. Just think about adding 15-20 pounds of baby and then carrying it around!

We actually started out with the Graco Metrolite travel system for our son. The car seat was rated as one of the safest. The infant carrier was one of the lightest out there. The stroller was okay, but quite light (good for travel).

At about five months, we decided to get a better stroller. We ended up with a Peg Perigo Aria and LOVED it. We were also still able to use our Graco carrier with the stroller. Of course, before we bought it, we did test it out in the store to make sure our infant carrier was compatible with the stroller. The Graco carseat worked just fine for us during his entire first year.

The reason I am telling you all of this is that you may be better off buying the carseat and stroller separately. Just make sure they are compatible. I know it is nice for everything to match, but if you are going to have to settle for something you don't like for each of the travel systems, then just get what you really do want.

We used the Peg car seat with the Pliko P3 stroller and loved it. The stroller is fantastic! However, the car seat is sized a bit small and my son outgrew it around 5 months. As long as you're getting a second car seat that has a rear facing option (Britax Marathon in our case), this is not a big deal. By the time he outgrew the Peg he was really too heavy to carry around in it anyways.

I would suggest doing some research online at the maker's websites and on Babies R Us and other baby stores where you can read up on customer reviews. Keep in mind that just because you are paying significatly more money for those brands does not make them and better or safer.
When consumer reports tested infant carseats a year or two ago they found the Graco Snugride and Baby Trend carseats to be the safest. Obviously any carseat is better then no carseat but those were their results.
The most important thing is to make sure it fits properly in your car (not every carseat fits properly in every car, my cousin received the travel system she had registered for only to find out when they went to install it in their car that it did not fit correctly) Before you spend the money go to the store where you plan to buy your carseat and ask to take the display model out and put it in your car.
On another note, 2 of my good friends just had babies a couple months ago and both got the Chicco carseats. They do like them but both complain that they do not fit in shopping carts. Chicco's do not have the ''notches'' on the bottom that click onto shopping carts so they end up having to put the baby in the basket of the carts (which doesn't leave much room for shopping)

I personally have the Keyfit 30 and it is fab!! The Cortina stoller is bigger but it is sooo smooth to push, almost no effort. I also like the feature where the carseat "clicks" into the stoller.
The only downside to the carseat is that it doesn't "click" onto shopping carts.
I still love it!

I have the Chicco and I LOVE it! I do not know what the Peg Perego is like but I know I am very happy with my Chicco.

I love the Chicco Keyfit. The stroller is really great. It is lightweight and easy to manueuver. It is also a really user-friendly system to figure out. The carseat fits right inside the stroller, so whenever I have some place to go for any length of time, I always pop the carseat inside, pile my other bags in the bottom and I am virtually hands-free.

My husband and I purchased two bases for both cars,so we wouldn't have to be taking the base in and out and always wondering if it was in securely enough. It really wasn't necessary to have the two bases because the baby is usually with me or if all of us are together, we take my car (SUV). So I don't know if this scenario would apply to you or not.

Good luck with your decision!

A.

Hi B.. I too had children 7 years apart. My son just turned 8 and my daughter will be 1 this month. :-) We had the Graco with my son and now use the Chicco Keyfit with my daughter. I love the Chicco Keyfit system. The handle on the stoller is adjustable which is great for parents that vary in height (i'm really short and my hubby is really tall.) The whole system has been really easy to clean and has stayed very new looking. The fabric is easy to wash and most stuff wipes off. The stoller collapses very, very easily. And, the stoller rides nicely. The only downsides to the Chicco are:
1. the infant seat does not "attach" to grocery store carts like the Graco seats do. The Keyfit system is different. I don't have a problem with it no latching and actually like it better so that I can tilt the seat any direction.
2. when using the infant seat in the stroller, you can't access the underneath storage. you have to put things in and out when the stoller seat is in the upright postion. i hate this!!
3. the stroller seat back does not sit completely upright. my daughter is just starting to sit in the stoller (w/out infant seat) and she holds on to the tray in order to sit all the way up. The seat back needs to come up further than it does.

Good luck. Let me know if you have any other questions. I'd be happy to help. Lots changed in 7 years....trust me. :-)
J.

We used the Chicco Keyfit (our son is almost one) and absolutly love it! It is by far one of the safest out there (highest rated travel system). We have heard and experience the carseat not having the notches to fit into a shopping cart, but it fits very snug in the top of the cart (just as tight as if there were notches) and I guess it's not recommended to put them like that in the shopping cart regardless, so either way is just as safe.

Anyways, good luck!

Sorry for answering a question with a question but please consider at least one more option. Please do a little research on car seat safety and consider Britax and also consider buying the car seat based on it's safety ratings and the stroller based on it's own features. I understand the attraction to travel systems, but as you noted, not all components of systems are equally attractive. For most folks I know the car seat gets used a lot more than the stroller so I'd put the money into the safest car seat that fits my car and my budget and buy a stroller for it's own features and how it will be used. The last two kids I primarily needed a stroller for long exercise walks to the park or around the bumpy uneven sidewalks in my "historic" neighborhood - so I got a big wheel with a great sun shade and enough storage for drinks and snack. When I was primarily using a stroller for walks along the paved beach "boardwalk" I got a lightweight, easy to fold unit with a great overhead sunscreen, and mesh panels to let the breeze through. How and where and how often will you be using your stroller?

hi B....my husband and i had the same issues, and had a hard time deciding....we finally landed on buying the baby trend flexloc infant seat (which got fantastic reviews, not to mention a great versitile handle), and the snap and go stroller frame to avoid the clunky stroller/travel system for the time being. we love the seat, and the snap and go is so convinient and light weight you can pull it out and put it together w/ one hand...we figured we'll buy a nice stroller after the fact. we weren't happy with both pieces of any of the travel systems, but loved some of the trendy lightweight strollers that dont work w/ the infant seats... good luck in your decisions, and during the rest of your pregnancy!

Thanks that info read helped me out as well!!!

Hi B.,

We have the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio carseat and the Pliko P3 stroller. We have been very pleased with both. They are both easy to use individually or as a travel system. The carseat has great side impact protection and it accomodates babies up to 30 lbs/30 inches. My daughter stayed in it until she was 18 mos.! The stroller is just great. It's sturdy enougth for a little bit of rough terrain but it's light enough for travel. We travel a lot and it has held up well with all the gate checking. My husband and I were just commenting last week that it was the best investment we made in baby equipment. We still use it all the time.

Hope this helps. Best of luck to you!

I bought a Peg Perego infant seat and the Pilko3 for my first just over 4 years ago and LOVED it!!! I reused the carseat for my daugther two years ago and will use it one more time this fall when our third arrives.

I did, however, just purchase the Peg Perego Venezia stroller which I like much, much more because the handles can flip to have baby mommy-facing or forward facing and the basket it big and easy to access.

I'd think that the stroller features are more important than the infant carseat features (as long as it's safe...which the Peg is extremely safe) since you'll be using for a couple of extra years over the carseat.

Good luck and congratulations on baby #2!

I don't have either of those. I have the Combi from 2005. I love the stroller--very light and folds in half for compact spaces. My husband and I are tall, and it's tall enough for us. The car seat is a little long and doesn't fit on shopping carts well, but it holds baby's up to 22#. Just another option for you. good luck!