https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 28 Apr 2026 10:45:55 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/rent-v-gate-check#post-1634401 Wed, 14 May 2014 17:15:52 +0000 fairy 1634401@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I actually just went through the same decision-making process! I'm flying to FL in August and was looking up car seat rentals at car rental places and the general consensus was that the rental seats are almost always GROSS because they are never cleaned. But what really made my decision for me was reading that our car rental company rents out seats that only rear face to 20lbs and there is no way I am forward facing my 1yr old! </p> <p>I'm going to be buying a cheap cosco seat and checking it in the box to protect it so that I don't have to worry about my Nextfit getting messed up ;) Good plan! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/rent-v-gate-check#post-1634273 Wed, 14 May 2014 15:55:44 +0000 septca 1634273@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Okay, guys. Thank you SO much for the advice.</p> <p>We are going to buy a new seat for travel. I am going to call the airline to see if we can check it in its box, and if not, we'll gate check it.</p> <p>We travel A LOT so I figure it will be well worth it. Plus, my MIL is moving near us soon and it would be nice to have a spare seat to let her keep in her car. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/rent-v-gate-check#post-1634257 Wed, 14 May 2014 15:47:10 +0000 shinymama 1634257@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@septca: There is an obvious quality difference between the seats {padding, material, etc.} but they accomplish the same task. </p> <p>For what it's worth, my LO tends to prefer the travel car seat {Safety 1st Alpha Omega} to one of our *better* ones {Britax Marathon and Recaro}. </p> <p>We gate check the car seat - inside our own bag - before boarding, and retrieve it when we exit the plane. I'm sure it gets tossed around, but it hasn't been damaged once. Also, we check everything except for our stroller and car seat because we don't want to lug anything that's unnecessary around. We keep the stroller - for obvious reasons - and the car seat on the off chance that we are told there is an empty seat that we can have. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/rent-v-gate-check#post-1634242 Wed, 14 May 2014 15:37:54 +0000 mrsjyw 1634242@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We flew with DS last summer when he was around 8.5 months and we rented a car seat. It was janky and we'll probably never rent again. (it was an infant carseat) Thankfully we only had a 10 min drive to/from aiport to our resort.</p> <p>I have friends who've had great luck with brand new britax convert seats both times they rented! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/rent-v-gate-check#post-1634233 Wed, 14 May 2014 15:34:03 +0000 looch 1634233@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Is the seat guaranteed on your arrival, or is it best efforts? That would be the deciding factor. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/rent-v-gate-check#post-1634152 Wed, 14 May 2014 14:50:03 +0000 LemonLong 1634152@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had to rent an infant car seat once when the airline lost ours. It was the worst car seat I had ever seen. It looked like it was made of cardboard! I was shocked! We refused to use it and they gave us a convertible car seat instead which was a bit better. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/rent-v-gate-check#post-1634084 Wed, 14 May 2014 14:20:44 +0000 hilsy85 1634084@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@septca: we have the safety first guide 65. Cheap bit more padded than the next cheapest we found. Does the job! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/rent-v-gate-check#post-1633934 Wed, 14 May 2014 13:33:01 +0000 bpcmarj 1633934@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Jenn23: @septca: My daugher actually seems MORE comfortable in the Costco Scenera ($39 at WalMart) than her seat that we generally use at home! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/rent-v-gate-check#post-1633723 Wed, 14 May 2014 12:32:42 +0000 Mrs. Bee 1633723@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@septca: i bought a cheap one for my mom's car and it's totally fine. they all have to meet the same safety standards. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/rent-v-gate-check#post-1633717 Wed, 14 May 2014 12:30:53 +0000 Jenn23 1633717@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@septca: The Cosco Scenera is the cheap, lightweight one we bought for our trip. We loved it and it seemed comfy for our son on the planes. Never used it in a car, but if you look at reviews, most people really like it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/rent-v-gate-check#post-1633668 Wed, 14 May 2014 12:16:45 +0000 septca 1633668@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@shinymama: and @Mrs. Bee: How do you find the quality of the cheaper seats? I think this may actually be the best option (especially since we could just baggage check it in its box rather than dealing with lugging it around)... our seat is a Britax Pavilion, so it was *expensive* and it's super heavy. I am thinking we would need to buy a cart anyway, which would probably be the same cost as a new seat.</p> <p>We actually have two trips this summer that offer the same conundrum, so I think buying a new seat is the way to go. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/rent-v-gate-check#post-1633665 Wed, 14 May 2014 12:16:01 +0000 Weagle 1633665@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If you absolutely can't use it on the plane (and I'm cheap, so I totally get not buying a seat for a &lt;2yo), I would either gate check or buy a cheap one when you get there. Granted, that could be a pain because you have to get your rental car, then one of you go to the store and get the seat, get back to the airport, install, and then finally leave as a family. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/rent-v-gate-check#post-1633641 Wed, 14 May 2014 12:08:23 +0000 Mrs. Bee 1633641@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>i would rent one. you have to carry enough stuff traveling.</p> <p>or just buy one when you get there... you can get one for $60 which would probably be cheaper than the rental. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/rent-v-gate-check#post-1633640 Wed, 14 May 2014 12:07:44 +0000 shinymama 1633640@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@septca: Neither. We opted to buy a new car seat {for under $100 at Costco} to be used just for travel. The ick/unknown factors of the rented car seat, combined with the potential damage to our pricier car seat pushed us in that direction. Plus, the price of the car seat will eventually equal the rental fees if we continue to use it for future travel. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/rent-v-gate-check#post-1633631 Wed, 14 May 2014 12:02:13 +0000 Jenn23 1633631@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I personally witnessed our car seat thrown in India last year. We used it on our first two long flights to London, then Delhi for J to sit in on the plane, but our 3rd flight on a tiny plane they wouldn't allow it, so we were forced to check it. When we got to our final destination in India, some men brought it down to the luggage area separately and threw it on the floor (without knowing we saw). Luckily, this was a cheap, light, car seat we bought specifically for flying. Had this been our regular car seat, we'd have to toss it and buy a new one. All that said, I would rent one! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/rent-v-gate-check#post-1633621 Wed, 14 May 2014 11:59:04 +0000 Tidybee 1633621@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm renting one when we get out to California. I just can't deal with the car seat AND a toddler on a 6 hour flight. We will probably only be taking the car to and from the airports and maybe 1 short car trip a day. I know accidents can happen on the shortest trip, but i wonder how truly bad they could be. If I don't feel secure with the seat, we just wont go anywhere hahah. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/rent-v-gate-check#post-1633619 Wed, 14 May 2014 11:58:09 +0000 Mrs.Someone 1633619@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So I don't have experience myself, but it sounds like your choice is between a short trip using a seat with an unknown history, vs. the rest your seat's life having an unknown history.</p> <p>With that said, we rented a toddler seat for my niece a few weeks ago from Hertz. It was cheap and they thought it was too tight for her (2.5). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/rent-v-gate-check#post-1633617 Wed, 14 May 2014 11:57:53 +0000 hilsy85 1633617@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Will your LO have your own seat? If so, I would definitely use the carseat on the plane, especially if you're considering lugging it through the airport to gate check anyway. You could also get a lighter seat specifically for the plane/trip--we did this and it was helpful. </p> <p>Otherwise, I would probably gate check it. I'd rather have my own seat than an unfamiliar one, although this also depends on where you're going. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/rent-v-gate-check#post-1633615 Wed, 14 May 2014 11:57:27 +0000 lamariniere 1633615@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would check my own at baggage check in. Don't they charge a per day fee for car seat rentals? That could become pricey... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/rent-v-gate-check#post-1633613 Wed, 14 May 2014 11:54:59 +0000 septca 1633613@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We will be flying and renting a car for a beach trip this summer... we will be doing a lot of driving and will be gone for about 10 days. Would you rent a car seat along with the rental car or gate check your seat from home?</p> <p>I am totally torn and the internet is not helping - some people say they would never rent a seat because you don't know the history... other say they would never gate check a seat because you don't know how roughly the seat will be handled by the baggage people. (I have ruled out checking our seat as baggage because I *know* that stuff gets thrown around.) On one hand, it will be a huge pain to lug our (heavy, big) car seat through the airport, but on the other hand, I am not sure I feel good about renting a seat.</p> <p>What would you do? </p>