Baby Jogger - city mini® GT3 stroller

We got a stroller that could clip to our car seat. We looked at travel strollers but a lot of them are not super sturdy, have little space for cargo, don’t lie flat, and they can be tricky to fold. In the end we settled on a used baby jogger city mini as our travel strollers. It’s not compact, but the one handed fold is awesome for when you need to collapse your stroller for public transit or to carry up the stairs (hello Netherlands). It has space to carry the diaper bag, it lays flat and has an awesome shade for naps, and it has big wheels so is good for a variety of terrain and longer walks. We got ours used so it’s not precious and we just gate check it without a bag or cover.

City Mini. Turns on a dime, slender frame good for shopping, lives in my minivan but fit nice in a car trunk. Mine is used (3rd lady to use it in the friend group). Doesn’t fold completely upright, but it has a following among moms.

We had the car seat attachment instead for when he was a newborn/infant. We had to convince GW hospital to let us walk home in the stroller + car seat ?? but it was very convenient for detaching quickly to use as a car seat carrier for catching the bus

We took a totally different approach, which was to get the stroller we wanted for at home and to get a rugged stroller for cheap second hand for travel. We got a baby jogger city mini for travel for $50 on marketplace. It’s large but it folds so easily with one hand and it has some other features that are great for travel like a very good sunshade and a decent cargo basket. We were also able to get an adapter for our baby bucket car seat which was awesome. We gate check it without a bag. It’s flown around 10 times and is so far still going strong.

One thing I'd note before going all in on a $$$ stroller is: do you even need one? There is a lot of stuff we're told we need, but a lot of it depends on lifestyle. Baby wearing may be an option and was what worked well for my wife and I. We love hiking and there was no way a stroller would have kept up with \*where\* we wanted to hike. We'd take turns wearing the little one while walking through the woods. So many times she'd be sleeping on us, and people walking by would comment on the little legs hanging out. ?? As she grew older and more aware, we'd face her out and let her see/touch everything. I'm not against strollers though, of course. They work for many people. We got a Baby Jogger City Mini (or something like that) because it had available adapters to hold our car seat. It did the trick in those early weeks. We'd walk the bike path near our house and it was a guaranteed nap. We also went through some shit and ended up at my in-laws and there were no trails, so we'd go up and walk around the school with the stroller. Once we found a new place near nature though, the stroller sat folded up in a corner for a few years before we finally sold it.

As a stroller addict with 6+ strollers under my belt....I vote for the new Baby Jogger City Mini GT3. [https://www.babyjogger.com/strollers/shop-all-strollers/all-terrain/city-mini-gt3/baby-jogger-city-mini-gt3-all-terrain-infant-toddler-stroller-deep-sea-blue/SAP\_2216844.html](https://www.babyjogger.com/strollers/shop-all-strollers/all-terrain/city-mini-gt3/baby-jogger-city-mini-gt3-all-terrain-infant-toddler-stroller-deep-sea-blue/SAP_2216844.html)

I know it’s not exactly what you asked but we heard about lots of people being told they must gate check their tiny, expensive stroller, which seems like a recipe for damage. We didn’t want that stress so we bought a used baby jogger city mini, wheel it up to the gate, then gate check. It’s not precious because it was only $50 and it is very sturdy. We’ve gate checked it about 10 times with no damage. The nice thing is if you’re not trying to hide an expensive folding stroller from the gate agents, you can actually USE the stroller around the airport and right up to the gate.

Very different approach, but we use an uppababy vista day to day and got a baby jogger city mini cheap on marketplace to use as our travel stroller. It’s not small or lightweight and doesn’t fit in the overhead, but it’s sturdy and we just gate check it naked (without a bag or any protection). This approach means we don’t have to wrestle it onto the plane or pay for carry on luggage fees to bring it along. Once we get to our destination we have a full functional stroller that can carry a decent amount of gear, lays flat for naps, and has a fully functional sunshade. We’ve flown with it probably a dozen times (and used it for a while at home as a backup when we had an issue with our vista) and it’s still holding up well. The other upside to the city mini is it folds up with one hand in one second, so if you’re traveling somewhere where you’re not allowed to bring an unfolded stroller on transit (London, England, for example) you can fold it up quickly when it’s time to board.

I'm just a mom who never left this sub with a 5 and 7 year old. I've had the Citi Mini jogger since my daughter was born. Now admittedly it never got particularly heavy heavy use. But it's still holding up. I just used it in Universal with my 5 year old. I thought the wheel was busted but turns out im dumb and it was just locked. I personally used convertible carseats from the start; but there are adaptors you can use to click into this stroller. It lies flat so I just kept it flat when they were tiny; i may have used some kind of cushioning when they were peanuts but I dont remember. Solid stroller, not crazy expensive.

We always loved the Baby Jogger GT double or single stroller. It fit both my kids comfortably and had decent storage. I dont know the price on it now, as my kids are older, but it was great. And super easy to fold up for flights, rental cars, buses, etc

I’m glad that was helpful. I expect the city mini *could* be used for an infant. The real issue is that their body wouldn’t be big enough to secure in the straps, and they can’t just be free in the seat to lay down bc they’d fall out with any slight bump. Most kids would *probably* be able to use it by 10-12ish weeks, but I have only used it for kids over 6-12 months. I would check their website or call their help line to find out what they recommend.  City Mini is a well established brand and likely has many being resold on FB marketplace, which many other commenter suggested.  The Babyzen Yoyo does have a bassinet function. But again, smaller wheels, so not as easy to push in the city, but it grows with you.  The bassinet part is useful, but none of them fold up well and it’s only really great for about 4 months. By that point the child is typically ready (developmentally) to be in a harness strap set up. 

This!!! There is no need to buy new when there are tons and tons of strollers you can buy for a fraction of the cost secondhand. I loved the baby jogger city mini and it is widely available on listservs, parent Facebook groups, and Facebook marketplace.

I worked at a baby store in college so I used to sell strollers to all types of people. I’m also a FTM and recently purchased one for myself. I will say that it’s an extremely personal choice - what works for you and yours may not work for me. For example, I live in a city with rough brick sidewalks - so good wheels and suspension were important to us. We also haven’t met our baby yet and don’t know what their temperament will be, so shelling out $800+ for a stroller seems risky. I have plenty of friends/family who have expensive strollers collecting dust in their cars/basements. We looked at the UppaBaby, Nuna, and a lot of the other popular systems on the market and decided they wouldn’t work for us. We loathed the Doona (my husband is 6’5) and weren’t overly impressed with the Graco / Chiccos we saw at Target. We found a boxed and brand new Baby Jogger City Mini at a discount store and bought it for a great price. My husband is obsessed with it already. It’s a brand I used to sling at the store and it’s very functional / in line with what we were looking for. I suggest testing out as many as possible, if you can. There aren’t many baby stores left, but Nordstrom has some on display. Rei might as well. Target as a few. Unsure about Walmart. And I think talking to parents who are out and about when you see them pushing strollers can be helpful. But default on your own judgement and prioritize your needs. Also, if your baby is going to be born in colder months, or if you’re not ready to commit to a brand/type, you may want to hold off or just get a snap n go system.

They’re in my budget. I just ordered the new GT3 that came out and the back of the seat is hard as a rock. Not very comfortable at all

I’m a nanny in the district, working here for about 10 years in childcare so this may be more info than you really wanted. I put a tldr at the end.  The strollers with the big wheels are excellent in the city. They absorb the bumps in the sidewalk so well that you don’t feel them in your back. So, if you can afford it and have the space/capacity, I do recommend the high end ones like Cybex, UppaBaby, Bugaboo. I don’t particularly like Nuna because, in my experience, they don’t steer as well. There is definitely something to be said for the experience that these products provide. I do love using these and can absolutely feel the difference in my back and shoulders when using the strollers where the frame really absorbs the bumps. *HOWEVER* Do you *need* to spend $600-1000? No, because Mountain Buggy, Mockingbird, and Baby Jogger are also excellent and cheaper. I also like BabyZen Yoyo but it’s definitely considered a travel stroller (it’s much smaller). It all really of depends on the kind of life that you expect to live with your child. If you do a lot of walking as a necessity for daily life - work, school, groceries etc, it can be great to have the big stroller because then you can put the diaper bag, some toys, their coat, your coats, and grocery shopping bags into the bottom of a big basket and you can be out for 4 to 5 hours with all of your stuff, and the basket of the stroller functions kind of like a trunk of a car.  It probably seems like a lot of capacity with a newborn. A lot of families I’ve worked for in Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, Shaw, & Capitol Hill have these because you’re out a lot with the kids and walking 3-5 miles over the course of a day, dropping off and picking up a child from school, grocery trip, pharmacy, playground, the library, etc.These bigger & sturdier products also make ride-on boards to clip to the back for an older child, about 3+years old, to hop on the back of the stroller and flips up and down. It is so much easier to do this, essentially pushing a 20lb toddler and 30-40 four year old??, plus their stuff when the stroller is well made. Idk you’d even want to have another child, but the big ones that are more expensive are really made to be a workhorse for a family. This doesn’t mean that you can’t do all these things. If you don’t have this, it’s just a tool that I have often found to make your life easier. If you live in a place where you take walks more for leisure and you drive for essential functions, then having a big stroller would be so cumbersome and heavy, and you would really only need one of the smaller/travel models. Also: it’s super important to spend the minimum amount of time in a car seat, when/if possible because it’s bad for their hips to be contained like that on a regular basis. This is why you see a lot of newborns in the lie flat bassinets on the strollers and then move on to the regular seats when they become able to hold their own heads up around 4-5 months old. You’d want to be able to put an infant car seat onto the stroller for the times that you’re going directly into a car and it’s convenient in that setting but it’s not a regular situation.  tldr: Anyways, I’d recommend Babyzen Yoyo or Babyjogger City Mini if you have very limited space, because they fold well with one hand, can be carried with one hand, fold small enough, and you can buy adapters to put an infant seat on them. The giant ones are really great if that works for your family, but there are certainly other priorities like how many stairs you have to carry it up and down every day or how much space you have to store something every day so they’re just a lot of variables, but the giant expensive ones are definitely not the only optionYou can dm me if you want to message more about this. ETA: I don’t know of anyone who uses a particular travel system. Most people get their infant carrier car seat from one brand and the stroller from another, not necessarily intending to be able to attach the car seat to the stroller, but most strollers have universal attachments you can add to fit most car seats. I’ve never seen/used either of the systems you mentioned. Realistically you may only use your infant carrier seat for 6-9 months before your child outgrows it and you would need to switch to a convertible style car seat which would take a child up to 40-60 pounds (about 5-7 years old), depending on the brand. Though some kids are small and you can use an infant carrier car seat until they’re like 20 months old if they still are light and short enough. I wouldn’t focus too much on the car seat and stroller match because you may not be using the infant car seat for more than a year or so. A convertible car seat is what you’ll end up using the most, and those aren’t ever used with a stroller. 

We use a second hand baby jogger city mini as a travel stroller (our day to day stroller is a vista). The city mini has a pretty wide wheelbase at the back but is much narrower than the vista at the front. It’s not small but it folds super easily (one hand) and is sturdy. My main complaint is the basket under the seat is tiny compared the vista. It was only $50 so we’re not precious about it and it can be thrown under a plane or bus without much worry.

the [citi mini gt3](https://www.babyjogger.com/strollers/shop-all-strollers/all-terrain/city-mini-gt3/city-mini-gt3-stroller/SAP_2216844.html) is a really good mid range stroller. good underbasket storage. Great canopy coverage, one hand one second fold, magnetic buckles, no rethread harness, sandal friendly brake. the 3 wheel design allows for easy maneuverability around stores and museums etc.

My son grew out of his doona by 6 months . After converting to a regular stroller, the difference in getting around is major .. no bottom storage on the doona either. Get a nice collapsible and light stroller. I like the baby jogger w 3 wheels that u just pull on the handle on the seat to collapse.. As far as getting around.. if you’re going to be using subways then you don’t have to worry about car seats except for the airport in which case you can try to reserve uber with car seat or any car service that has a car seat option. You can also buy a cheaper car seat from like Target and toss it at the end of the trip if you don’t want to travel back with it.

I have a stroller problem, and currently have 5. Don’t be me. Uppababy vista v2 - love it for walking around our neighborhood, so smooth, great on grass, good on gravel, daily use. It’s just HUGE. I hate bringing it anywhere as it takes up my whole trunk and then the bassinet didn’t fit in the trunk and had to go on my back seat. Summer infant 3d lite - love it! Stays in my hatchback, great for traveling, lightweight, small foot print, comfy for toddler. It’s not totally flat so we got this one when babe was 6/7 month old. Not intuitive to fold. Baby jogger city mini - bought for $20 on Facebook marketplace for a month long trip. My husbands favorite stroller. Easy to fold, good steering, big sun canopy. I Hate the basket. I don’t like that you can’t adjust the handle. It stays in my husbands car. Chico bravo - got with our car seat, it’s fine. I only got it because the set was on clearance and was $250 for the set, vs $300 for the car seat. Easy folding and fits in my car. Phil & Ted Vibe - air filled tires. Easy steering. Good for jogging. Hate the break, we accidentally hit it all the time. Also complicated to fold. But comfy for babe and easy steering. Also huge when folded. So I don’t think it’s unreasonable to have 3! You do you.

I highly recommend baby jogger city mini. It’s a bit heavy and the storage basket is small, but it fits the description you have sans the overhead bin. I just traveled with mine and gate checked it no problem.

I had the baby jogger city mini and I will sing its praises to the high heavens. It was, to me, very expensive, and it was the most expensive thing on my registry - did not expect to receive it. The onw-handed fold and the light weight were life savers multiple times when I had to take the stairs somewhere unexpectedly