I procrastinated flying anywhere with my son until he was almost 3. There were so many things needed—a car seat! Stroller! In-flight entertainment! His own luggage! A crib when we landed!—that it felt like too much to coordinate. And who can blame me? It’s just parenting in a new location, after all, rather than a vacation.
Still, a trip we wanted to take finally presented itself. We booked a long weekend in San Francisco and the nearby wine country to see family and friends we haven’t seen since I was pregnant, and to relive a family tradition (though sans my grandmother, since she passed in 2020) for the first time since before the pandemic. Just in time, the perfect gadget presented itself to make the trip feel a little more manageable: the TernX Carry-On Luggage Stroller.
The TernX is both a small carry-on suitcase and a travel stroller built into a single device. One less thing to carry as a parent is always a godsend, and being able to tote my son and his clothes with one device felt heaven-sent. The TernX was founded by two parents who brought the company to Shark Tank, so it’s no surprise it has a parent-minded design, though the compact size makes it best for younger (or shorter) kiddos. It was no problem to wheel this around the airport and San Francisco streets as a stroller, and as a suitcase onto a plane (which not all travel strollers can do!).
Stroller Stride
Photograph: Nena Farrell
As a travel stroller, the TernX is pretty solid. It’s easy to unfold, has a five-point harness, and sports a storage basket underneath that fits a small bag (I stuffed my kid’s backpack underneath it while we walked through the airport). The TernX is always 14 inches wide, while reaching 38 inches tall and 35 inches long in stroller mode, compared to 22 inches tall and just 9 inches long in luggage mode. This stroller can also hold kids up to 48.5 pounds—almost as much as a regular stroller. When it’s empty, it weighs 17 pounds, only adding 3 pounds compared to my favored Nuna TRVL stroller.
It’s really best for small children since the seat is under 12 inches wide. It was a fine size for my tall, almost-3-year-old to sit in, but bigger kids won’t fit into this. I also didn’t realize on my trip that I could extend the height of the back of the seat. He’s nearly 40 inches tall with a particularly tall torso, and his head and shoulders tower above the TernX’s lowest setting. Mom-fail for not spotting I could raise that for him (but if that’s the worst I did on my trip, I’ll take it!).
Still, being tall didn’t seem to leave my toddler uncomfortable. He happily sat in the stroller both in the airport and while we walked around Sonoma and San Francisco. The wheels are small and can’t handle rough terrain, so I recommend sticking to the smooth airport floors and well-paved sidewalks.
