
Cosco Kids - Scenera Next DLX Convertible Car Seat
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Reddit Reviews:
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Based on 1 year's data from Jan 28, 2026 How it works
Liked most:
100
25
"I bought one for a trip across the country, have used it on the plane and in the cars here. ... it’s perfect for the airport. ... I might have felt more compelled to travel earlier."
"Yup, an absolute game changer. ... We traveled for a month in Europe when our kid was 10 months old and the doona made it SO easy and convenient. ... 10/10 for travel!"
"It's crazy light, unlike our Graco at home ... super super light for carrying. One handed, no trouble. ... taking it through security/awkwardly carrying it down the plane aisle is super easy when it's that light. I could have it and a bag in my hand and not worry"
26
0
"super cheap for a car seat (~$50 at Walmart)"
"so cheap so it doesn’t matter if you only use it once or twice."
"It's cheap as dirt"
296
15
"I bought one for a trip across the country, have used it on the plane and in the cars here. ... it’s perfect for the airport. ... I might have felt more compelled to travel earlier."
"Yup, an absolute game changer. ... We traveled for a month in Europe when our kid was 10 months old and the doona made it SO easy and convenient. ... 10/10 for travel!"
"It's crazy light, unlike our Graco at home ... super super light for carrying. One handed, no trouble. ... taking it through security/awkwardly carrying it down the plane aisle is super easy when it's that light. I could have it and a bag in my hand and not worry"
21
5
"We fly with Air Canada for most of our flights and they require kids under 2 (who are in their own, paid seat) to be in a car seat. ... no way in hell I had them as a lap infant for a 9 hour flight between Rome and Toronto, haha"
"I actually find my kids sleep better in them. We've done multiple long haul flights and I've been so grateful for the carseats! ... the kids are more comfortable"
"That Cosco seat was great. ... I had two of them specifically for air travel."
428
33
"We have traveled to 3 countries with it, set it up on taxis etc."
"Super easy. ... Took about 20-30 minutes"
"sets up in under 3 min including stake out time. ... Take down is just as fast and it fits in its storage bag with out much fuss. ... set up in under 90 seconds 120 if you putting in stakes."
Disliked most:
21
44
"This price tag for something that only lasts *maybe* a year is a dealbreaker for me."
"our 99th percentile baby grew out of it around 12-13mo. ... I am SO sad that we can no longer use it."
"I would say the only thing I hate are the straps. ... I think I never learn to use them properly or maybe now that my son is 17 months the seem to be short for him."
4
5
"In the car it ’s impossible to secure the seat adequately. ... It just flops around while I cross my fingers we don ’t all crash."
"This is our travel seat, it's definitely a pain in the ass to tighten it!"
"It would flip completely on its side when fully tightened."
2
5
"This is our travel seat, it's definitely a pain in the ass to tighten it!"
"It would flip completely on its side when fully tightened."
"it was a real pain to tighten"
3
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"The minu is basically a janky doll stroller in comparison lol. ... I can take the vista across gravel or grass with no issue. The minu is so uncomfortable for my kid and the steering is so stiff and the wheels are tiny. I never use it and wish I hadn’t ever bought it honestly!"
"The minu is so uncomfortable for my kid"
"It also is pretty flimsy which might make it hard for a baby who isn’t a strong sitter to even sit in. ... It’s not as adjustable, though you can lean it back a bit, but it’s not going to be as supportive and an infant wouldn’t like being in it for long."
1
42
"Haven’t you he’d the c3 since. ... Granted I live in a small apt in NYC ... Even if the c3 is much better at cleaning, it doesn’t mean much to me if it means I’ll only vacuum every other week vs once a day."
"heavy as hell"
"getting stressed out about the whole process of plugging in, lifting, storing the giant Kirby and not vacuuming at all in the end."
If you check your car seat it will have an unknown history and might be damaged without you knowing. The Costco Serena next is a great travel seat that reclines well ff in the plane and it’s small enough to tuck in the. Bottom of your stroller
There’s some seats like the Costco Serena next that you can achieve really good recline angles ff on the plane. There’s a bunch of CPST that travel and have videos on how to position it for a newborn. Bucket seats do not fit well.
This is also a really great travel car seat and I still use it with my 18 month old for every trip!
Frequent traveler single mom here. The best car seat for travel if you’re in North America is the Cosco Scenera. It’s super lightweight and I actually just tie it to my stroller. Next, bring a lightweight stroller that you can gate check. Check all your bags, just bring minimal stuff on the plane, you don’t want to be lugging and managing that through the airport. I also usually travel with a pack and play and blackout tent but if you don’t need them awesome! It just means getting creative with packing. Bring all the snacks, download stuff on your phone they might enjoy, I’m all for unlimited screen time on planes, but usually I start with little activities until my kid gets fussy. Mess-Free Crayola marker pouches are always a hit. And yes, you can get toddler-safe headphones.
I have and it works out well. Remember the seats can only go at the window.
I do forward facing for the plane, I know it’s not as safe as rear facing, but it’s definitely safer than no seat. Also, my son can watch the screen which makes travel pretty breezy.
Get a Cosco Scenera. They're super cheap and light. Really good for travel. [https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/cosco-scenera-next-convertible-car-seat-boulder-0468824p.html](https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/cosco-scenera-next-convertible-car-seat-boulder-0468824p.html)
So I feel like a bad mom for this, but when she was under two, I didn’t use a car seat because she could get on for free in my lap, and $500+ for her seat was rough. However, now that I have to pay for her anyway, I’ve brought a car seat on the plane with us. We bought the Cosco Serena I think, it’s like 6lbs and way easier to travel with than our real car seat. Way less comfortable though. We didn’t have any real issues getting it on the plane, and brought it in a car seat bag so I was even able to put blankets and stuff in there. (Idk if you’re supposed to do that but I def do.) I feel safer in case of turbulence, and she also has a more comfortable place to sleep if I get lucky enough for her to sleep on the plane lol. It is a massive pain in the ass to bring on the plane and to use especially because she’s still rear facing so people ahead can’t lean back, but safety first… I don’t trust rentable car seats at destination (first few flights we bought a car seat at the destination since we were visiting my mom, then she was 3 and I brought ours.) I also don’t trust that our car seat would be handled properly by airline employees when being checked, and can’t be sure that it’s still in good condition. I mean have you seen how beat up hard shell suitcases are after a flight? I don’t want that happening to her car seat especially since it’s not visible so I have no idea if her seat is still safe or not.
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/cosco-scenera-next-convertible-car-seat-boulder-0468824p.html This seat is excellent for newborns. It's currently on sale and tax free until midnight only. I know you said above $100 is to much for your budget but just in case this is an option I thought I would mention it.
If you do go the car seat route, I highly recommend getting the Cosco Serena! It’s inexpensive, simple, and super light weight. Just make sure you adjust the height straps ahead of time. We have bulky every day car seats, and they never would have worked for travel. We just draped it over our stroller awning while going through the airport, but if you have a big undercarriage, it might fit there too. Not quite as long, but we did a 5.5 hour flight with our son at 20 months and he slept in it nicely for the late night flight.
We got the Cosco Serena for traveling. It doesn’t click into a stroller, *but* is still portable depending on your stroller. If you have a bigger one, it could definitely fit in the under carriage. Ours is compact (Thule spring) and it fits perfectly when it’s upside down over the sunshade. That’s how we bring it around the airport. Looks a little silly, but it works. So maybe not ideal to just have on hand at all times, but if you know you’ll likely need it, it’s light and portable enough that you could probably bring it. They also make car seat back packs. It’s super light, so would be a little bulky but not too heavy to carry that way.
1) delta and suncountry are my only experiences. Seemed like the same old stuff. Both fine enough. Just pay attention to carryon restrictions but I believe diaper bag doesn’t count as a carryon. 2) we brought our own guava lotus and gate checked it 3) depends on your options. The extra leg room seats are always already booked or crazy expensive so not worth it for us. We aren’t tall people so it’s less horrible. 4) check bags is way easier IMO and check the car seat (but get a cheap and light travel one -Cosco Serena for 60$ Walmart so you don’t care if it’s lost or damaged). 5) watch some YouTube videos for advice. Ppl have done this hundreds of times and made good content. Baby wear.
Was coming here to recommend this car seat. It sounds perfect for what you need it for and it’s a very reasonable price in my opinion for a brand new one
When my best friend and I saw that air plane that ended up upside down, we agreed that we should says travel with our kids in car seats if possible. There’s no way I can hold my 9.5 months old that’s 20lbs in an airplane that ends up upside down. My eldest daughter is 3 and so skinny, there’s no way adult seat belt can hold her in properly. We have a cosco scenera seat. It was 80$ on sale. Super light weight
There are great low cost, light options like Cosco Serena that are good for young kids and for older kids a small packable booster like mifold or an inflatable booster
You will not find a toddler seat that goes stroller to car. Cosco Serena is going to be the lightest and smallest option, but it Maxs out quickly. I love our Britax poplars. They’re about 23lbs and compact so should fit most if not all cars and super easy to install. They have higher limits. You’d probably want a wagon/cart or a stroller with a big under space for it. I think it would fit under my stroller but I haven’t looked at all. Another option would be to look at Diono. I hate ours as it’s very long, but if you can center install/are short yourself it might be better? The seat folds on ours and you can get backpack straps for it! It’s heavier though, about 35lbs.
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