I’ve never been big on the latest-and-greatest parenting gear. In my mind, simple and unfussy is always better than glitzy and complicated. Through my first four children, I stuck with all the same basic baby gear: my budget jogging stroller, my beloved Boba baby wrap, and the plain Winnie-the-Pooh themed swing and bouncer I had received at my baby shower.

Done and done.

But then, after welcoming baby #5, I had the opportunity to try out an Evenflo Pivot Xplore All-Terrain Stroller Wagon. And let me tell you what: my world has been forever changed.

Why a Baby Wagon Stroller Rocked My Parenting World

Admittedly, before I owned a baby wagon stroller, I had no idea that such a parenting product even existed. Is it a stroller? A wagon? A very fancy snack holder? But as it would turn out, it’s all three, and so much more.

The Evenflo Pivot Xplore Stroller Wagon is exactly what it sounds like––both a stroller and a wagon all-in-one. It has an adjustable handle on it that can pivot positions and be locked into place for use as a stroller for pushing, or unlocked and extended to move freely to pull as a wagon. To unlock it, you apply pressure to the tabs located at the base of each handle and free it. It can easily be done with one person, but you will need both hands free to do it, so I always do it once I have put my baby in the seat.

Having a stroller that can convert to a wagon might not sound like a big deal, but I’ve learned that it actually is. For whatever reason, this fifth child of mine has hated using a regular stroller. As in, actively fought me and made my life miserable anytime I tried putting her in it. I had visions of us going on long mother-and-daughter jogs and walks, strolling around the park, sipping coffee as I pushed her serenely around in nature…but my daughter had other ideas. She simply hated being confined.

The stroller wagon, however, is a different story for her. Because it’s an open seat (each seat still has a 3-point harness, so she’s still buckled in), she feels like she has more freedom to move and see the sights. And the fact that there’s a nice-sized snack tray with built-in cup holders right in the middle helps tremendously too. She has free reign to all the snacks and drinks she wants and she can still see me and look around to her heart’s content. While she refuses to sit in a stroller, she absolutely loves the stroller wagon.

As soon as I realized how much my daughter loved the stroller wagon, it became my go-to to use. And much to my surprise, I realized how much I loved it too. Before I knew it, I was using the Evenflo Pivot every single day. We live in a rural area, on a small farm, so I dragged this stroller wagon literally everywhere––through my yard, on walks up and down hills, across the garden, through the orchard. And because it has two seats, I was able to take both of my younger children everywhere with me. I kept them close while we enjoyed endless time outside and during the shut-downs, when they were with me 24/7, I was still able to get everything done that I needed to, thanks to dragging them everywhere with me in that thing. I parked the wagon right next to me in our garden, popped the included two sun shades up, and the kids played and snacked happily next to me while I took care of our vegetables. In fact, here’s a short sampling of all the places I have used my Evenflo Pivot Xplore:

On walks up and down our dirt roads
Down my gravel driveway
On walks in the paved pathways at the park
Literally everywhere in our yard and garden and farm
At the beach
While camping

What I Love About the Evenflo Pivot

I honestly can’t say enough about this stoller wagon and I can say, in all sincerity, that I have used it every single day since I have received it. There are a few key features in particular I think are helpful to highlight, so let’s take a look:

It’s incredibly durable and versatile. The advertising for the Evenflo Pivot Xplore is focused on how it can help you “explore” the world with your baby and let me tell you what––the advertising is right. I’m not lying when I say I have put this stroller wagon to the test in every type of condition: through our muck-filled cow pasture, in our freshly-tilled gardens, up and down rough hills in our yard, across the sandy dunes of Michigan’s shores. It’s held up beautifully, thanks to a heavy-duty frame and all-terrain wheels.
It has super convenient child-friendly features. Along with the heavy-duty versatility that I love about the Evenflo Xplore, it also has super practical details: two child seats, both with 3-point harness, a removable middle snack and drink holder console that has plenty of space for toys or food, a mesh foot tray inside that makes clean-up easy, tons of storage, including a removable hanging storage basket on the outside, and individual removable and adjustable UV canopies. Oh, and it has easy-to-use foot brakes too so you can lock it into place. This is truly a well-thought-out product.
It’s actually easy to transport. For how heavy-duty the Evenflo Pivot Xplore is, I have to say I’m also incredibly impressed by how easy it is to fold. I avoided attempting it for a long time, but eventually, my husband showed me that all it took was pushing two buttons to watch the entire thing fold in half. I could easily do it myself and it folded into a very convenient and manageable size. However, it is still pretty heavy, and although I could handle loading it in the back of the minivan just fine, I couldn’t lift it over my head to load in his truck, for example. Specs-wise, the stroller wagon measures 45 x 27 x 39 inches and weighs 34 pounds, which is not bad for what is essentially a heavy-duty double stroller.
It can be used as a travel system. Yup, really. You can use the Evenflo Pivot as a modular travel system for a baby right from birth, so it can actually be the only stroller you ever use and buy. The infant seat car seat adapter is sold separately, but it hooks directly into one of the seat areas, leaving the other one open for another child or to just load stuff.
It’s so convenient for lugging around crap too. Speaking of loading stuff, we took our Pivot Xplore to the beach and it transformed our experience. Normally, taking 5 kids to the beach is an exhausting process of hauling tons of crap around, while lugging a baby in my arms, while burning my feet in the sand. But with the Pivot Xplore, I loaded it all up with our beach toys and towels and snacks and literally everything I could possibly stuff into the seat and included storage basket, plus my baby, and pulled it right through the sand. It was amazing! I was shocked the wheels could handle the sand but they did it beautifully. In total, the wagon can hold an impressive 120 pounds of kids or stuff.

The Final Verdict

My final verdict on the Evenflo Pivot Xplore is that if you are a parent who spends any significant amount of time outside, this is a must-have product. You will use it everywhere and anywhere–if you’re a gardener, just enjoy being outside in the yard, if you take a lot of walks, or if you’re hitting the beach, you will love its convenience and versatility.

It’s easily become my favorite parenting product ever and because it can be used a travel system, you can make this your main stroller and never look back.

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