Joolz Aer Stroller Review

Charlotte Clarke and her 22-month-old daughter Adelaide tested out the Joolz Aer to see how it stacked up against the other travel strollers in our best travel strollers buyers' guide.

As soon as you get the Joolz Aer out of its (surprisingly small) box, you know you are dealing with a premium piece of kit. It looks smart with a grey finish and textured brown faux leather handle. Charlotte found it collapsed smoothly and quickly by folding in on itself in a concertina fashion.

‘My usual buggy is a beast and takes up most of my boot space,’ explains Charlotte. ‘But the Joolz Aer is so compact, you’d hardly know it’s in there.’ The Aer is compact enough to fit in the overhead locker on a plane. And, weighing just 6kg, it's light enough that won’t do your back in lifting it over your head!

This is the full 'bells and whistles' with a roomy shopping basket, adjustable reclining positions (via a quick and easy zip), extendable hood complete with mesh segment, well-padded straps and seat unit, and sturdy wheels. ‘The Aer is designed so that the comfort of your baby is paramount, and every little detail has been thought through,’ says Charlotte. ‘It’s incredible but it does come with a hefty price tag.’

While not for everyone, this premium travel stroller does offer value for money for the right person: someone who will be using it every day or regularly travelling and will make good use of the thoughtful extra features. In terms of design and innovation, there is very little that you can find fault with and for this reason, we've named it the best premium travel stroller.

VIEW AT AMAZON | £399.99

Stroller weight: 6kg | Age Range: Birth to 3 years | | Price: £399.00

Design

Sleek, in a smart mid-grey material with a brown leather-effect handle, the Joolz Aer can’t help but turn heads wherever it goes. ‘I took it with me to the hairdressers, and everyone was admiring it,’ says Charlotte. But does its design live up to its good looks? The answer is a definitive yes. It folds down really small and flat (enough to fit in an overhead locker on a plane), and it does it in one, smooth motion.

‘You press two buttons on the handle and it collapses, concertina-style, into a neat pile,’ Charlotte adds. ‘It was a bit tricky at first but fine once you’d got the knack of it.’ It’s lovely to ‘drive’ too and so smooth that even Adelaide would push it around the house. The wheels are a good size and even managed pretty well when Charlotte took it on the grass during a walk. The handle is a good size although Charlotte, at 5ft 6in, found it slightly on the high side.

Comfort and features

As you’d expect from a premium travel stroller, the Joolz Aer comes bursting with ‘extras’. ‘There were so many innovations, it took me a few outings to discover them all,’ says Charlotte. First up is the multiple recline feature, which you access by unzipping the pram from the back. ‘You can adjust how much the child is reclined with a strap but I like that it’s just one zip and they’re lying back.’ While they can’t lie completely flat, this would definitely allow most children to nap on the go - and there's a good chance they will because the Joolz Aer has clearly been designed with comfort in mind.

The seat unit and straps are well-padded for extra comfort and there's an extendable hood which zips open to reveal a mesh panel. This makes it easy to watch your little one as they snooze in the buggy and it also keep the sun off them (which the hood definitely does) at the same time.

The shopping bag is one of the deepest we’ve seen on a travel stroller and has a handy elasticated strap (which doubles as a carry handle when it’s folded down) to keep everything in place. There’s the added bonus of an extra pocket at the back of the stroller which would be perfect for storing smaller items, like your purse or phone, that you need quick access to. This buggy doesn’t show the dirt but, if it got mucky, the covers come off and can be washed. ‘I didn’t have to use the rain cover, fortunately, but I had a go putting it on and it was quick and easy to so,’ adds Charlotte.  

Value for money

At just under £400, this travel stroller costs around double the price of most on the market. But, while she personally found this pretty steep, Charlotte feels certain parents would be willing to pay this extra premium. ‘The Joolz Aer comes with absolutely everything you could want and that’s what you are paying for,’ she says. ‘If you were going to use this buggy every day or because you are travelling around a lot, it's worth paying extra for it.’ The plentiful storage and the simple reclining system are two massive benefits that add real value and that regular buggy users will really appreciate. ‘There are cheaper models out there but if you are planning to put your stroller through its paces, you can’t go wrong with the Joolz Aer,’ she added.

You might also be interested in our Silver Cross Clic review - we named it the best travel stroller overall in our expert buying guide. And do check out our other baby product reviews, whether you're planning for a new baby or shopping around for a particular item of baby gear or toddler kit.