Strolling Along

Since our son was born, we've been able to do a little traveling and I have been on a constant search to make the traveling experience an easier one for me. Inevitably, I end up feeling and looking as thought I was taking my family on a hike up to the top of Mount Everest. If only the FAA would allow me to have a pack mule travel along with me I'd be in much better shape. Children require an almost unthinkable amount of things when traveling. There's no "roughing it" when you are a 1 year old. When you want your garbage truck, it better be within grabbing distance. When it's time to snuggle up with your lamb blanket, it better be there. Your children do not grab the concept of "being on vacation" and therefore won't accept less than what they are used to at home.
This time, I thought I would see about getting a "travel stroller" for our upcoming trip. At one time we had used a Sit and Stroll, but our burly boy quickly outgrew that thing (although he's still within the reported weight limit, he doesn't fit in it anymore). This all grew out of our last airline experience. We flew Continental, who proceeded to loose our stroller on the way back home. Luckily it was eventually found and returned to our home, but it has made me a little more wary this time around. We own a Maclaren Techno XT, which we've been using for about one year at this point. We love this stroller and have had no problem with it at all. My only thought was that at 17 pounds, it was a little on the heavy side.
I've done a lot of online research and have been to may baby stores looking at the different lightweight and travel strollers. Basically, I found that none of them are worth it. They range in weight from 11 to 15 pounds, which is really not that much different than my current 17.

Overall, I found these models:
Maclaren Volo
Maclaren Triumph
Combi International Helo
Combi Flare
Cicco Ct0.6
Cicco Capri
Jeep Wrangler All-Weather Umbrella Stoller
Graco Ipo
Peg Perego Aria
Inglesina Trip
Inglesina Solo
Babyplanet Solo

So... I've looked at quite a few. I didn't look at soe of the other, more expensive companies, like Bugaboo, because if this was going to be something that I was only going to use while traveling, I'd rather save the extra 2-3 hundred dollars to use on the trip itself. Very few have the ability to recline fully, which basically eliminates the possibility that our child will be able to fall asleep in them. Maybe you are still one of the lucky ones, but our son grew out of that uncanny ability to be able to fall asleep in any position a long long time ago. He is very particular about his sleeping arrangements (unfortunately we have a very high maintenance baby) and sleeping upright is not on his pre-approved list of preferred sleeping positions. Another problem with most of these strollers was the canopy. Many had othing more than a handi-wipe sized piece of fabric stretched out over the top of the seat. To me, these provide as much protection as the bill of a baseball cap. We're going to Florida, where the sun will undoubtedly be beating down upon us as points in the day. My son's going to need more protection that this, unless I become keen on the idea of melanoma in the future. Finally, most did not have an adequately sized basket for storing items. One of the good things about bringing your child around in a stroller with you is having somewhere to stash your gear. What's the point if you have to push a stroller AND carry your crap. Some models have no storage space at all. While others either have tiny baskets or the baskets are situated in such a manner that accessing them would be impossible even if you were a contortionist or your name was Mr. Fantastic.
So... in the end, I decided not to buy a single one. It made no sense. There was no model that filled all of my requirements. I wanted something lightweight, with a good canopy, good storage and with the ability to fully recline. Unfortunately, this type of stroller does not seem to exist. Perhaps I should make one and sell them to like minded parents.
For now, I'm sticking with our trusty Maclaren Techno XT. It's exactly what we need, and although my back may suffer a little carrying this thing around the airport along with the rest of our luggage, it's the best we have.