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Making a baby registry and researching all of the available baby products was a super fun part of pregnancy for me. I highly enjoyed researching different brands, features, and accessories! When it came to picking a stroller wagon, it almost seemed like a daunting task. Back in 2019, there weren’t as many options as there is today, but, there was still a pretty decent amount of choices to review and choose from. What also made this harder, and is still an issue today, is most of these stroller wagons aren’t available to test drive and view in stores. More and more are coming available now in 2023, which is a great plus for parents on the hunt for a versatile stroller option!Options I was looking for in 2019. Although I was pregnant with my first, I knew the most important thing I wanted was space. I wanted enough space for another rider, the diaper bag, and any other fun baby gadgets that would accompany us on our ride. I wanted something versatile enough to work from newborn to at least, age 4 or 5. I wanted a luxury push and something that folded compact. Researching these features felt tedious. These wagons weren’t available in stores to test drive, to see how the push was, to get a feel for the fold and the wagon overall. My saving grace was joining national Stroller Wagon Facebook Groups and connecting with other parents who have owned these wagons.
Wagons available in 2019 were slim pickings. I can name the brands available on one hand, at least, from what I can remember. Although the brands available were small, there were a ton of options. Even through my research, I wasn’t familiar with features such as footwells, parent consoles, and extra accessories. The Wonderfold Wagon at the time was available in a 2 seater and 4 seater and was the top contender and most loved and valued wagon among the stroller wagon groups. I was lucky enough to find a local mama with a W2 wagon and she left me to “test drive” it around the neighborhood. This was an absolute advantage for me because it let me quickly determine that Wonderfold was not for me. In my opinion, it was already too heavy and bulky. I loved that it had elevated seats and easy access for young toddlers to crawl in and out. The size, weight, push and not to mention price were a deal breaker for me.
Next up, were budget-friendly wagons. In this category, there were two available at the time. The Babytrend Expedition and the Evenflo Pivot Xplore. I’m going to be honest, I did very minimal research on the Babytrend wagon. From my research and the information I gathered from the stroller wagon groups, it was easy for me to rule that wagon out. Although, it’s a great budget wagon for families with 1 or 2 small children!
Let’s explore the Evenflo Pivot Xplore! When I originally decided this one was the one, I was planning for future babies. This wagon does have a car seat adaptor, but it only works with the Evenflo infant car seats. We had already purchased the Chicco infant car seat, so this setup was not going to work for us. The saving grace, and probably one of my favorite features of the Evenflo Pivot Xplore wagon is the second seat pictured below!
Let’s talk features! The Evenflo Pivot Xplore is jam-packed with features for being a budget wagon! All-terrain wheels and suspension, child snack and drink tray, and one that is available with the second seat, that luxury push/pull, adjustable handlebar, double vented UPF 50+ canopies, removable storage basket, footwell, compact fold, and numerous pockets inside and out for storage! The Evenflo Pivot Xplore had all of the features I was looking for plus more! The Evenflo can handle all types of terrain as well, grass, mud, loose gravel, beach sand, as well as pavement. The second seat was a great option from newborn to about 9 months for us. It holds 55 lbs, fully reclines and has an expandable footrest. It can attach to the wagon to the forward or rear face, and when attached, leaves enough room for 3 children up to 4 years to comfortably use the wagon! I also have a great video here, showing the Evenflo going over deep fluffy sand!
Fast forward to almost 4 years of use on this wagon and my 90+ percentile toddlers (3.75 & 2.5) have started to outgrow the Evenflo Wagon. I started to notice that trips outside of the home were becoming less enjoyable for me. My toddlers were constantly kicking each other in the footwell, pushing each other, and screaming. It became inevitable that if we wanted to enjoy longer trips or solo parenting trips with both toddlers we needed to upgrade our stroller wagon. Below are some images of how crowded the wagon became for us. My oldest toddler does like to walk a lot, but for longer day trips like the zoo or aquarium or road trips, a larger wagon was a necessity.
Conclusion, the Evenflo Pivot Xplore is a fantastic budget wagon for families with up to 3 small young children. It can be utilized as a grow with me wagon from newborn up to 4-5 years depending on the size and height of your children, even longer if you have a single child or older independent children. If you’re looking for a high quality budget wagon, the Evenflo Pivot Xplore is it! In conclusion, the Evenflo Pivot Xplore is a fantastic budget wagon for families with up to 3 small young children. It can be utilized as a grow-with-me wagon from newborn up to 4-5 years depending on the size and height of your children, even longer if you have a single child or older independent children. If you’re looking for a high-quality budget wagon, the Evenflo Pivot Xplore is it!
