Best lightweight stroller for traveling to Asia
Asian cities are known to sometimes have very narrow sidewalks, so they are not the most pedestrian friendly when you have a stroller. You’ll probably even get the curious side eye when using a stroller. In our travels to Asia, I have observed that strollers are not really common either because the locals tend to prefer baby carriers instead when they do take babies and toddlers out.
If you are planning a trip to a densely populated city somewhere in Asia, like Hong Kong, Tokyo, or Seoul, plan to pack a really lightweight travel stroller that can be folded up into a small compact size. This was especially helpful for us when we wanted to dine at small ramen shops in Japan, for instance, because space is really tight at many restaurants. (I would highly recommend bringing your Ergobaby, or some other solid baby carrier too for the airport and plane.)
Even for normal city living, most of the time you don’t want to lug around a heavy-duty stroller, especially when you’re on the go often, or live in an urban area that’s not car friendly. And we like to travel — light and minimal (if that’s even possible with children).
Our baseline requirements are that it has to be compact enough to fit above an airplane overhead bin, be under 15 lbs, and is easy to fold and carry. Here are the best lightweight stroller recommendations in the order that we’d make to our own friends. Do you have a tried and true stroller?
Mountain Buggy Nano stroller
Weighs: 13 lbs
Fits in Airplane overhead bin: Yes
Unfolds with one hand: No
Max weight capacity: 44 lbs
Overview: Durable over multiple terrains, such as ice (Hokkaido in the winter!) and mountains (Switzerland) during our travel, deep recline for sleeping, good sized basket, can push with one hand and has safety wrist handle. Can fold and carry on one shoulder. Good for taller kids with footrest and comes with travel bag. Only con is that the canopy covers the handlebars when it's retracted while pushing stroller.
Babyzen Yoyo 2 stroller
Weighs: 14 lbs
Fits in Airplane overhead bin: Yes
Unfolds with one hand: Yes
Max weight capacity: 40 lbs
Overview: Easy to fold and compact, one handed driving, and can carry on shoulders. Great shock absorption and improved over the previous Babyzen Yoyo+. Default good choice for the stylish parent. Smaller sized basket and pricey though.
gb Pockit+ All City stroller
Weighs: 13 lbs
Fits in Airplane overhead bin: Yes
Unfolds with one hand: No
Max weight capacity: 55 lbs
Overview: Spacious basket, large canopy, super compact for travel and carrying on shoulders. Compatible with Cybex car seats. Con is that it requires two hands for driving.