We Tried It: The Joolz Aer+ Stroller Is Small But Mighty

The five-point harness on the Joolz Aer+ is easy to adjust, so my son stays snug, upright, and in place in his seat—even when he’s feeling tired or noncompliant. Many strollers, even those I’m on the record for loving (like the Nuna Trvl LX), have harnesses that can be difficult to get just right, so my 19-month-old is sometimes slumped to the side. The Joolz’s seat is designed so it’s immediately apparent that my baby is perfectly centered, so I can tailor the straps to fit securely and support him in a centered, upright position, no matter how tired he may be.

The Joolz Aer+ is a small stroller, weighing only 13.2 lbs. and measuring 41.5 inches high and 32.7 inches tall. It’s small enough to fit in an airplane overhead compartment when folded, and light enough to carry on one shoulder with your toddler on the other hip (the included carry strap helps in this regard). 

It’s not just a marketing claim—the Joolz Aer+ has one of the easiest one-handed folds of any stroller I’ve tried (though the Nuna Trvl LX might have the Joolz beat here, by a smidge). Click two buttons on the center of the handlebar, apply a little pressure, and the stroller clicks down into place.

To be fair, a bumper bar is not an absolute necessity, and when designing a good travel stroller, you have to ditch what is not absolutely necessary. But it’s a pretty big nice-to-have. My toddler likes to hook his feet up and over a bumper bar, a bit like how some people like to lean back in their chairs; he also likes to hold on to a bumper bar with his hands. A bumper bar can provide an extra safety measure against your child falling out of the stroller if they’re the type to undo their straps, and it provides a place to put accessories, like toys or a snack tray. 

I encountered the disadvantages of no bumper bar recently, when I had to break out the stroller fan to help keep my kid cool(er) in 90º F heat. I attached the fan to a bar below the seat instead, which worked, but the airflow wasn’t as direct as it would have been had it been attached to a bumper bar. 

Luckily, if it’s a significant issue for you, Joolz sells a bumper bar separately.

These flaws might not be dealbreakers for everyone, but are worth noting. 

The handlebar is a fixed height. This is normal for travel strollers, which sacrifice adjustable handlebars for compactness. I find the height comfortable enough despite being only 5 feet tall, though my husband, who’s 6 feet, has complained about it. Taller people may want to take the Joolz for a spin before deciding. 

The storage basket is small. This is my main beef with the Joolz, but given how small the stroller is, I’m not sure you’d be able to fit a larger basket on it anyway. I can fit a small to medium backpack or diaper bag beneath the stroller seat, but anything larger is a stretch. The basket’s small size sometimes presented problems at Friday day care pickup, when I had my toddler’s bedroll on top of his regular lunch bag to carry home. In short: you can’t depend on this stroller to be your pack mule the way you can with other, larger strollers.  

There are bigger canopies. But it’s big for a travel stroller, and will protect your child’s face and belly from the sun. 

At $449, the Joolz Aer+ isn’t a budget buy. It may be best for families who travel often and need something light and fuss-free to get their baby or toddler from point A to point B. It also makes a fantastic second stroller if a full-sized, full-featured stroller is more than is needed day-to-day. I’m excited to try the next stroller Consumer Reports sends my way, but I imagine I’ll continue to recommend the Joolz Aer+ to my friends who are ready to move on from their SUV-style strollers to something simpler, streamlined, and compact.