Unlike basic folding wagons like the Mac Sports models, stroller wagons don’t usually list their capacity in volume, since they’re mostly used for toting kids instead of gear. For the first round of testing in 2019, I used all six wagons for two-kid trips to my son’s elementary school, traveling about half a mile each way over sidewalks and city streets during the course of two months. I also took the non-stroller wagons to the beach, rolling them down the beach path and testing them on the sand. Additionally, I tested each wagon (filled with soccer equipment) on grass and bumpy, broken concrete surfaces, paying attention to how the suspension and wheels performed under different conditions. In spring 2021, I tested four additional beach-friendly wagons during several trips from my home in Santa Monica to the beach (10 blocks away) and back. I hauled both of my sons along with beach gear like boogie boards, coolers, chairs, and endless amounts of sand toys.
Unlike the typical stroller, wagons allow two kids to face each other, to climb in and out easily, and to feel like they’re a bigger part of the action. Over the past decade, more and more families have started to use wagons as a way to pull kids around—and stroller companies have noticed. Companies like Keenz, Veer, and Evenflo now make collapsible wagons that meet many of the same Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association ozark trail screen house (JPMA) safety standards as strollers. And many of them also have other stroller-like features, including five-point harnesses, sunshades, snack bars, and brakes. We were able to fix the problem, but a year of use has also led to scratches on the wheels and the plastic looking pretty shorn. One staffer who also owns the Mac Sports Heavy Duty Collapsible Folding All Terrain Utility Cart has also noticed scratches on the wheels.
But after previously recommending a cheaper, less-sturdy beach wagon—which broke after a year—we think the Mac Sports All Terrain’s overall durability and maneuverability on sand make it worth the increased cost. We tested the Pivot Xplore on multiple surfaces, including sand, grass, and concrete, and the large, stroller-like wheels moved smoothly through all the environments. As you’d expect, it was a bit harder to push through beach sand, though still feasible. The brakes on the Pivot Xplore are activated by a small pedal near the wheel, and we found them to be fairly easy to use. The Mac Sports wagon’s skinny rubber wheels, compared with larger-wheeled models we tested, sunk into the sand a bit during testing.
It weighs 32½ pounds—a couple of pounds lighter than our other stroller-wagon pick, the Pivot Xplore. And Veer sells various add-on accessories that make the wagon versatile for babies and bigger kids, including adapters to accommodate a car seat for infants and a multipurpose infant and toddler seat for toddlers. This Mac Sports wagon folds up to about the same size as the beach-wagon version of the Mac Sports. But because of how tightly this one folds, it seems more compact and easy to carry than any of the other wagons we tested. When folded, the Mac Sports wagon’s dimensions are approximately 29½ by 20 by 8 inches. It comes with a small cover, which squeezes the accordion folds together tightly and makes the wagon easier to lift and carry with the included strap.
The Pivot Xplore comes with the shades included and ready to go (shades are an additional purchase on the Veer Cruiser). Out of the box, the Pivot Xplore takes about 15 minutes to put together; it requires a few (included) tools to connect the long handle to the wheels. The Pivot Xplore folds up into a small, compact shape, at 23 by 27 by 37 inches. Even though the Veer and the Pivot Xplore both fold down to about the same size, the Pivot Xplore feels way more portable when folded, compared with the tank-like Veer. To start, we assessed the initial assembly of each wagon, noting any particular frustrations, as well as any extra tools that were required. (Because none of the wagons were especially difficult to put together, we did not make this a major criterion.) We also looked at how easy each wagon was to fold and pick up, and to store in a small space.
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