Orbit Baby Infant System Travel System Stroller

Before my daughter was born, I did a ton of research on stroller/ travel systems. I had a lousy travel system with my son- an Eddie Bauer- and we ended up trashing it after 4 months or so and moving him up to a convertible carseat (Britax Decathlon). After much deliberation and reading tons of reviews, I opted to purchase the Orbit Baby system. It is VERY expensive, so this decision was not entered into without much thought! I have to say that it is money well spent! My criteria in a travel system is: 1. Safety, 2. Ease of Use, 3. Durability, 4. Style. This system exceeds all 4 of my standards. I'll address each one individually:
1. Safety- The base is heavy and sturdy, as is the infant seat. While some people consider this cumbersome, I consider it "Safe"! The base is simple to install and it's not hard to get it to where it doesn't move (very much unlike my old Eddie Bauer system).
2. Ease of Use-- wow- they've thought of everything! The base is so easy to install, the stroller is SUPER easy (and light!) to open and close back up (literally one-handed close!). With two children in tow under 3, ease of use was very important to me! And the stroller folds up fairly compactly, but it does still take up quite a bit of room in the back of my Highlander.
3. Durability- this system is extremely sturdy and well made!
4. Style- you wouldn't believe how many people stop me and ask about my system because they think it looks so "cool"!

Overall- absolutely love this system! My only complaints (and they don't really count because the benefits FAR outweigh the complaints) is that there's not a good place to put shopping bags if you are shopping. And- I don't know yet what to think about the toddler car seat. I'm debating whether or not to get it or another car seat. My baby girl is now 6 months old and doesn't have much longer to fit in the infant seat. So I'll have to make that decision soon. I DID buy the toddler stroller seat a while back and it works fine- I wanted to have it to use with my toddler son as well. So this system IS expensive if you are only going to use it for the infant stages. Other than that- hands down the BEST system out there!

will start with the cons first because I am fairly pissed that I just paid $900 for a stroller system I WILL NEVER USE!! here's why:
1) BOTH THE INFANT AND THE TODDLER CAR SEATS ARE REAR FACING!!!!! YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SEE YOUR INFANT WHILE YOU DRIVE UNLESS YOU INSTALL AN ILLEGAL MIRROR IN THE BACK OF YOUR VEHICLE AND PRETTY MUCH COVER HALF OF YOUR REAR WINDOW WITH IT. ALSO, DO PEOPLE REALLY LEAVE THEIR TODDLERS FACING BACKWARD WHILE THEY ARE DRIVING???? IS THE KID GOING TO STARE OUT THE BACK WINDOW AND RELATE THE TRAFFIC CONDITIONS BEHIND YOU??? AND WHEN HE/SHE GETS OLDER, WHERE ARE THIS KIDS LEGS GOING TO GO??????????
2)hERE'S A QUOTE FROM ORBIT BABY'S OWN SITE: "Yes, the Infant Car Seat is approved for use without the Base." THE INFANT CAR SEAT CANNOT BE USED SAFELY IN YOUR VEHICLE WITHOUT THE BASE BECAUSE IF YOU WERE TO GET REAR ENDED THE SEAT WOULD SLAM INTO TO THE VEHICLES SEATBACKS, BABY'S FACE FIRST!!! IF YOU DON'T BELEIVE ME, GO TO A STORE AND TRY AND USE THE SEAT WITHOUT THE BASE. Push the seat up to immitate the forces of a rear end crash... guess what... slams right into the back. ANd yes, I did follow the written instructions they provided.
3)This seat is manufactured in CHINA!!!! Why am I paying a $500 premium over similar seats if it costs them the same to make it??? Just because some movie stars got suckered into buying one (just like me) by their cute design????
4) The tire pump is useless because the valve is placed too high and cannot be bent; did Orbit even try to use the pump they include on their wheels??
5) Too many plastic joints that will simply not last when used frequently. I don't know what their warranty covers after a couple of years of use, but I can bet it doesn't cover the shipping to and from their repair facility.

Now the good stuff:
1) It is by far one of the simplest strollers to fold; kudos to orbit for their folding design.
2) The infant seat is sturdy and can rotate on the base, albeit it only locks at 90 degree angles.
3) Its not bulky and is fairly light compared to most expensive strollers.
4) Very nice and modern design.
5) The vehicle base is very sturdy and fairly easy to set up (too bad you'll never be able to see your kid in his/her seat if you're driving).

Everything. Another review said they could not put the infant seat in a grocery cart. I found that I could very easily and with much stability. It is long enough to fit across so that baby is horizontal to you (fold in the kid seat of the cart). After time and more confidence that I was not looking like a foolish new mom at Target, I also figured out how to get the seat in the cart's kid seat-it's the same way as all of the other car seats. For city dwellers using public trans, it can't be beat-you can hold the infant seat with one hand and the base with the other, then put it all back together in a flash, and if you are REALLY tired, get a cab. You have the carseat with you! Speaking of, this thing comes out of the car easily and can go into another car sans base using a seatbelt with no problem, not sure why the other reviewer said they thought that this was not an easy thing to do. So now...it's perfect.

Forget about your bugaboos, zoopers, mutsy, graco etc. This is the best. The stroller is lightweight and truly folds/unfolds with one hand. The clever turning design makes putting the baby into your car a dream- and saves your back. It is so much easier to strap them in when they are looking at you. It is great for strolling again b/c you can twirl them to see you (or away from the sun), and because it is lightweight and narrow it goes anywhere and turns on a dime with one hand pushing. Great cupholders and easily removable diaper/accessory bag with strap. The depth of the seat is safer for side impact. Cons: can't prop it in a grocery buggy seat area (not sure that is so safe anyway!); the base is heavy so you'll need a 2nd one if you plan to swap baby amongst cars much. You'll spend alot of time in public answering ?s about your cool stroller! The folks at Orbit are a delight to deal with.

Please be careful with the comments in the review below from "dejonese" - there are many inaccuracies.

In the US, all infants should ride rear-facing in the backseat of cars until they are 20 pounds in weight AND 1 year of age according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. All infant-only carseats sold in the US are rear-facing (again, until 20 pounds/1 year).

If you purchase the Orbit Toddler car seat, it comes with braces that let you use it forward-facing when your child is over 20 pounds/1 year.

Using non-glass mirrors to view your rear-facing infant is NOT illegal in the US.

The carseat can be docked at any angle in the stroller base.

I question how it is possible that "dejonese" does not know about the rear-facing 'rule' with putting infants in carseats. This is labeled on every infant carseat on the market in the US. And even more puzzling - why would one spend $900 on something without understanding the most basic aspect of how it (and all products like it) works?

PS - the Orbit rocks! It is absolutely the best infant travel system on the market in terms of features, functionality and form. The other positive reviewers summarized it well.