After our lab test, one of our editors, editorial director Ashleigh Morley, took the Nuna TRVL out and about for testing in the real world. She used it with her 1- and 4-year-old children for a full month, even taking it on a trip to Walt Disney World with her older child. Ahead, get all the details about how this travel stroller held up after rigorous real-world road testing.
Who It’s For
Nuna’s TRVL stroller is for families on the go who want a compact stroller that doesn’t skimp on full-size amenities.
Folding
The one-handed fold and unfold couldn’t be easier. You simply engage the foot brake, press a button on the handlebar, and lean it forward with just the slightest push. “Folding this stroller is a cinch!” Morley said. “Throughout the airport or getting in and out of the car, I’m able to easily fold it using my right hand while my left hand/arm is busy carrying other items, or a child!”
Design
With the design of a travel stroller, you might expect to sacrifice some of the features that come with larger full-size strollers for convenience, size, and portability. But the Nuna mainly delivers. First, the fabric, plus the faux leather handle and bumper bar, look and feel luxurious and high-end. The UPF 50+ canopy has a peekaboo window as well as a mesh vent, accessible with a zipper. Morley liked the zippered airflow vent, but had a minor complaint about the peekaboo window: “I wish there were a way to keep it open if I wanted to create more airflow for my son or just wanted to be able to look down at him without moving the flap to the side,” Morley says. “Not a huge issue, but definitely an annoyance.” The seat reclines to a nearly prone position making it a great napping spot. “On my 1-year-old’s very first nap-time ride in this stroller, he fell asleep,” she said. “I was able to recline him easily without waking him, and he stayed asleep for about a half-hour after we finished walking. Nap success!” The recline also fit her tall 4-year-old comfortably when he was completely wiped from a day at Disney. “He didn’t nap; such is life,” Morley said. “But he did enjoy being able to lay down.” Both kids seemed to find the seat comfortable; neither had verbal or behavioral complaints about the ride. “The bumper bar (which the brand calls an ‘arm bar’) is one feature where Nuna could really improve the product,” she said. “It’s easy to remove the arm bar, but putting it back on is awkward and frustrating—especially when you’re on the move and need to get going quickly (which, when you’ve got a Lightning Lane appointment to make at a theme park, is often). Everyone, including my son, me, and my parents, who were along for the trip, had issues putting it back on.” That said, the buckle is actually a joy to use. It has magnets inside the clips and the buckle, so once you have the clips in line, the magnets do the rest for you, and it all glides into place. Further, the stroller doesn’t come with a rain cover; it’s sold separately for $50. It would have come in handy during an afternoon downpour at Disney. “Luckily the [water-repellent] canopy is very generous and kept the seat mostly dry, and the rest of the stroller didn’t get too wet,” she said. “If I go on another trip with the stroller, I’d look at getting one just to be safe.” The bottom storage compartment is generous, an extra bonus for multitasking parents on the go. “The storage basket is genuinely spacious for a travel stroller—a category of stroller where they can often seem like an afterthought,” our editor said. She was able to fit several reusable water bottles, bottles of sunscreen, the travel bag, souvenir shopping bags, an oversized sling bag, and a camera in the basket. Even with all that, everything was easy to access. “I was honestly pretty blown away by how usable the storage basket was through the trip."
Portability
At more than 15 pounds, the Nuna is substantial cargo to carry around when folded—and it doesn’t have a built-in strap that could make it any easier. You’ll have to use the included carry bag for hands-free carrying. “If you just need to collapse this stroller and carry it for short periods of time, it’s incredibly portable,’’ Morley said. “You carry it holding the arm bar, and it’s very comfortable to walk short distances. If you need to pack it in the travel bag, it’s not quite as comfortable.” Although the included carry bag is a nice-to-have, “I carried it this way through the airport, and the strap was digging into my shoulder, so I had to keep switching shoulders. I wish the stroller itself had a nice padded strap, so I wouldn’t need the bag.” Getting the stroller in and out of the bag is pretty quick and simple, but it does require removing the back wheels—easy to do, but an extra step. Perhaps realizing that the included bag isn’t the most comfortable, Nuna recently came out with a backpack transport bag for the TRVL, which you can purchase separately for $150.
Maneuverability
Our lab testers reported “brilliant maneuverability” for this stroller—and our editor found the maneuverability held up well as she continued to use it at home. “After a month of using it in my neighborhood, through two airports, and throughout the Magic Kingdom, it’s still gliding over sidewalks like butter,” Morley said. “It’s easy to maneuver over grass and handles uneven surfaces and going over curbs like larger strollers. I never once felt like I was sacrificing stability, control, or maneuverability for the size and portability with this stroller.”
Durability
Morley gate-checked the stroller in the travel bag for both flights, and it came out on both sides unscathed. “After a month of pretty frequent use and a trip to Disney, it’s still in great shape,” she said. “The black material does show some white marks from sunscreen transfer, but I have yet to meet a stroller that is immune to white smudges from sunscreen.”
How We Tested
First, our editors tested the Nuna at the Verywell Lab in New York City, as part of an evaluation of the best travel strollers on six different attributes: ease of folding, portability, design, maneuverability, durability, and value. Nuna won in that contest. Next, Morley used it for a month in real-world scenarios, including her trip to Disney World with her 4-year-old.
Price
At $449.95 (at the time of this publication), Nuna is expensive for a stroller that might not be your main go-to for everyday use—though it certainly could be, according to our testers. “This is a really solid travel stroller that in many ways feels like a more tricked-out full-size stroller,” Morley says. “It’s on the expensive end for travel strollers and may be too much of an investment for families that need a second stroller for vacations. But I do think it could easily be the main, go-to stroller for many families.”
The Competition
For another even lighter option, our testers found the 14-pound Joolz AER a sleek choice for travel. Both the canopy and the seat reclining feature use zippers to hide the extra fabric when not in use, for a streamlined look and less-fussy fold. An elastic strap makes hands-free carrying comfortable.
