Do you have the winter doldrums? Feeling a bit cooped up with your kids at home everyday? We know how important it is to get out of the house with your baby and experience life. But it’s snowing outside you say? It’s raining cats and dogs? It’s just too cold for the baby to be outside? No worries!!

Nowadays there is a great selection of lightweight strollers that you can keep in your car for easy impromptu outings, quick trips to the malls, or even getting through that list of post-holiday errands we know you’ve been avoiding.

What should you look for in a high-functioning lightweight stroller? Here are our top 5 tips for picking the perfect lightweight for you!

1. Match recline to child’s age and habits: If you have a younger baby or a toddler who often naps in the stroller – consider getting a lightweight that might be a bit heavier but has a easy recline. This can also be a great feature for long travel days. Examples include the Baby Jogger City Mini Series, The UPPABaby G-Luxe and more.

2. Do you need a lot of storage space or can you just attach your diaper bag to the handlebars? While a lot of great diaper bags fit easily onto your stroller handlebars (link to diaper bags that attach to strollers), some parents love having a more roomy underseat basket to store heavy coats or shopping bags when they are indoors. A lightweight with a great basket is the Valco Latitude Series.

3. Will you be using your lightweight mostly indoors or for short outdoor errands as well? If you are primarily using your lightweight stroller indoors than wheel size is not as important. You will prefer to push a lightweight with larger wheels or extra suspension on rough sidewalks and common outdoor terrain though. Lightweights with bigger wheels are the Valco Latitude, Baby Jogger City Mini and Bugaboo Bee.

4. Do you want to put your carseat in the stroller? If you want the convenience of clicking your carseat easily into your lightweight single or double, make sure to check whether a lightweight is carseat compatible before making the plunge. For anyone shopping for doubles, make sure to also check that the carseat adaptor attachment fits your brand of carseat.

5. Consider your trade-off between weight and features? For lightweight strollers, the lighter the stroller, the less padding and recline you usually get. On the other hand, heavier strollers often have fuller canopies, easier fold or other parent-friendly features. If you want the lightest stroller out there, make sure you are willing to give up on some of the other priorities on your wish list.

While everyone’s perfect lightweight stroller looks different and has different features, with the growth of the lightweight stroller category, there is likely one out there now that will work for you.

Here’s hoping it’s a short winter but that you find your groove and get out of the house no matter what the weather!