With the arrival of a new baby, it seemed like the perfect time to review a new travel system! We’ve been trying out the GB Lyfe Travel System with our new baby, Gideon, and I’m excited to tell you all about it today.
Now, the first thing I want to talk to you about is the GB brand. I’m guessing there is a good chance you have never heard of the brand. I hadn’t until I saw their products in person at the ABC Expo last October. GB stands for Goodbaby International Holdings Limited. GB has over 25 years of design, development, and testing experience. It’s an internationally recognized brand for parents, and now it’s come to the U.S. with a new line of innovative and stylish baby products.
We were sent the GB Lyfe Travel System in the Merlot color scheme at no cost to facilitate this post. The first thing I noticed as I pulled this system out of the box was the color. It’s such a gorgeous maroon red and perfect for either a boy or girl. The infant car seat is already fully assembled and the stroller assembly was simply popping the wheels and cup holder into place. It was out of the box and ready to go in less than 5 minutes.
GB Asana 35 LTE
I thought I’d start out by talking about the infant car seat included with this travel system (the GB Asana 35 LTE) and then I’ll move onto the stroller. The GB Asana 35 LTE can be used for infants who are between 4-35 pounds. It features a no-rethread harness, which means you can adjust the height by simply pushing a button and sliding the harness to the desired position. Since babies grow rapidly in the first year, this is a must-have feature for me on our car seats. The other feature I look for is the ability to loosen/tighten the straps quickly and easily. With the FirmFit Harness, you simply pull the front strap to make the harness snug, and it conforms to the correct position on baby, every time. To loosen, just push the button at the front of the seat and pull on the straps. It also comes with strap covers where are great for protecting your little one’s delicate neck and a special newborn insert for tiny babies.
A car seat is only going to function at 100% if you can achieve a good install. This travel system comes with one base for the car seat (although it can also be installed without the base). You can install the base with the LATCH system or the seat belt. Whenever possible, I prefer to use LATCH which is how I installed it in our 2013 Honda Odyssey. The base features GB’s FirmFit Arm which helps you to achieve a better, tighter (hence SAFER) fit in the car with minimal effort by providing 20 lbs of additional force. I found the install quick, easy and tight. The GB FirmFit Arm really does make a big difference.
For the first week or two of Gideon’s life, we used the infant car seat we’d used with Zellene, our 3rd child, because it was really cold outside and we hadn’t had a chance to install the base for the Asana yet. Everytime we’d go somewhere, Gideon would cry in his seat. The warm weather arrived and we switch out his base to the Asana one and, truly, I was amazed at the difference it made. I honestly never gave any thought to the car seat being the reason why my babies would cry in the car, but the Asana has made a noteable difference. We’ve traveled with it a few times now and Gideon does not cry the way he did in the past. I’m completely sold on this infant seat for that reason alone!
Another thing I really like about the Asana is the canopy. It is firm and, thanks to strategically placed Velcro at the back of the seat, it stays in place! With my last seat, I would pull it forward on for it to come unattached at the back. Especially during the cold, windy months, I love that the canopy stays in place to block out the wind.
Lyfe Pram
Now let’s talk pram — how I love this pram! It is chock-full of great features! I love the red color and the fabric looks chic and high-quality. Because you can use it from 4-50 pounds, it’s the only stroller you’ll ever need. The seat can be either forward-facing or parent-facing and adjusts quickly and easily. And, of course, it is a travel system, so you can also use the frame with the infant car seat.
The seat is adjustable to help you find just the right incline position for your little one, including a 180 degree recline so you can use it with your newborn and comfortably let an older child sleep. Taking it from the 180 degrees pram mode to sitting mode (and back again) is pretty easy.
- First you’ll locate the buckle on the side of the foot section.
- Pull tightly and buckle underneath. It might feel like the buckle is too short but I promise it works. Just push up on the seat a little bit.
- Once buckled, it will look like this.
- Once that is secured, head to the back of the seat and lift the recline handle until you reach the desired position.
- For additional incline you can pull the cord at the back of the seat.
- When finished, it looks like this.
If your child falls asleep while riding in a seated position and you want to return it to 180 degrees, just follow these steps in reverse. It’s important to be sure you adjust the seat at the back first to as flat as it will go before you release the buckle at the feet.
The canopy is very durable, stays in place well, and features an expandable mesh section.
It also comes with a 5-point harness system, a parent cup holder (yay!) and a large basket that you can access from the front or back. Braking is accomplished by stepping on two foot brakes at the back. I love the arm bar on this system. You can remove it on one side and it will pivot away, making it easy for your child to climb in/out without having to remove the entire bar.
When it’s time to collapse the stroller, you can do so without removing the seat and the self-standing fold will keep it off of the ground. The fold of this stroller is probably the only fault I can find with the entire travel system. I love that it’s a standing fold and it’s really easy to collapse but it takes up a considerable amount of room for a single stroller when folded, because the seat/pram is so long. In the grand scheme of things, this is only a minor fault in my book and a trade-off for having the nice full reclined pram seat always available for nap time and my newborn.
Real World Testing
Sometimes a piece of baby gear can sound great on paper, but it really needs to be tested in the real world. The infant car seat proved to be easy to use. I didn’t have any trouble getting my son in/out of the car seat. Clicking it into and out of the base was also very easy. As I mentioned earlier, he seems to LOVE it which makes me love it even more. I can’t find one thing to complain about with this car seat.
I put each of my 4 children in the travel system so you can see how they all fit. Check it out:
This past week we had gorgeous weather so I went walking nearly every day. It felt so good to be out in the sun after all of the cold winter months! The stroller is so easy to push and glides with ease, even through gravel. The car seat clicked into place so easily! I also took it out to do some shopping and it was great at the outlets. The two oldest kids generally want to walk these days unless it’s an all day excursion, but Zellene, my 20 month old, took a turn in the stroller and seemed quite comfy. I think she enjoyed how high she is when riding in this seat.
As I mentioned earlier, it was really hard to find anything to dislike about this travel system. I’d love it if the fold was a little bit more compact, but it’s certainly not a deal-breaker when you look at all of the other great features. It has everything I’d want for my newborn, toddler, and preschooler plus it’s priced at just $379.99!
GB wants to give one of my lucky readers their own Lyfe Travel System! Click HERE to be taken to the giveaway entry form. Good luck!
Disclosures: I’ve partnered with GB for this post. The travel system was sent to me at no cost to facilitate this review.
JOnal
Tuesday 20th of November 2018
How do I convert this car seat to front facing?
Janessa
Saturday 24th of November 2018
This seat should never be used forward facing. It is a rear-facing only seat.
Theresa
Thursday 9th of November 2017
How has this stroller held up over time? Do the wheels still function smoothly? I would love to see an update!!
Jyoti
Wednesday 30th of November 2016
Did you have any trouble snapping in the car seat to the stroller? We aren't able to do it with one hand, but we also have an empty car seat, so no weight in it. Baby doesn't come until March! Love everything about the stroller, but wanting to know if the car seat snaps in easier with the weight of the baby
Janessa
Wednesday 30th of November 2016
It did have a little bit of a learning curve for me. You have to get it lined up just right. After some practice it wasn't too hard.
Lily Kwan
Saturday 26th of March 2016
This travel system looks very useful. Thanks for sharing!
Jessica Ayers
Friday 25th of March 2016
This looks like such a nice set!!