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This wagon stroller is perfect for festivals and family trips

The robust design could fit several little passengers or camping equipment

Expensive? Yes. But worth it for a smoother festival experience (Chloe Hubbard/The Independent)

Before having children, we were regulars at music festivals, but we haven’t yet been brave enough to attend one with a baby in tow.

I think, pre-children, I envisaged I’d be a much more bohemian parent than I actually am. I imagined at some point I’d be effortlessly wafting through a sun-drenched field with my offspring by my side, happily dancing, wearing ear-defenders. Upon having a child, it is painfully obvious that I am the sort of parent that finds comfort in convenience, and essentially I end up carting around a small regional branch of Mothercare whenever we leave the house.

For me to even consider a festival, I knew we would need a festival wagon to drag around our child and all the paraphernalia you may – or may not – need. It became quickly apparent that there is lots of choice, ranging from very cheap trolleys that really are designed to carry goods, not children, to the £495 nipper wagon by Out n’ About – a brand I trust having tested and used various versions of their running buggies.

Out n’ About has built a reputation for buggies that last for years; so much so that I’ve lost count of the amount of friends who’ve proudly told me they bought their nipper second-hand. Their products are durable, thoughtfully designed, and in recent models have moved beyond purely functional into something genuinely stylish.

The nipper wagon is the brand’s latest addition and at nearly £500, it’s a serious investment. Which begs the question: is it really worth it? To find out, I decided to put it to the ultimate test by doing what previously felt unthinkable: taking a young child to a music festival. Keep reading to learn exactly how it performed when tasked with ferrying a small human and an alarming amount of stuff. Plus, why, in the end, I can really see what all the fuss is about.

How I tested

I put the nipper wagon through its paces with the help of a little festival-goer. I assessed the stroller on everything from how easy it was to set up and fold away to how travel-friendly and easy it was to manoeuvre. You can find out more about my testing criteria at the end of my review.

Out’n’About nipper wagon

Dimensions Up: 64cm (W) x 115cm (H) x 109cm (L). Folded (wheels off) 64cm (W) x 33cm (H) x 95cm (L)
Why we love it
- Easy to fold
- Robust wheels
- Push and pull feature
Take note
- Can be confusing to put together
- Large
- Expensive

Assembly

Like all of these types of items, they are a bit of a faff to put together – but thankfully the instructions for the nipper wagon were pretty good. I would say to follow them, rather than your nose because there were a couple of fiddly sections that seemed counterintuitive and different to putting together a buggy.

Once up there is no getting away from the fact this is a large piece of kit (64cm (W) x 115cm (H) x 109cm (L). And folding it if you are transporting it in a car you and going to have to take the wheels off in order for it not to take up too much space in the boot. This is of course something to consider when transporting everything a family needs for camping.

Read more: Nuna swiv stroller review

Once it has been assembled the wagon is very easy to fold down, and we were able to put it inside the tent at bedtime. It collapses completely in one simple motion, which was seamless once I had worked out the technique.

Design and usability

Firstly, it looks really smart and we felt very smug as we pushed this nice piece of kit around the festival. Secondly, it has both a push and pull feature, the push is like manoeuvring a large pram, while the pull bar is more like the more traditional festival buggies.

I personally found the pushing technique easier to use, but this may be different if the ground is very muddy. The ease of pushing and premium padded handlebar made for a much more pleasant experience than I could see other parents having with less premium wagons.

The wheels are the same as the rest of the nipper range in that they are very robust and are air-filled. The wagon also comes with a pump, but I used our larger bike pump to fill the tyres.

Our only slight niggle was the canopy doesn’t extend over the entire trolley. It shields the sun in certain positions for one child, but I would suggest finding some sort of universal blackout blind to cover the whole bassinet for naps.

Versatility

The real plus of this wagon is the size of it and the versatility of the seating. You could happily load four children inside, keeping the footwell open for tiny feet. There are also straps to seat children in place like a traditional buggy, but we found ours didn’t really want to use those, preferring to be free range instead.

Another plus is that you can close the footwell and make the bottom of the trolley completely flat. This was great for naps and meant our child was able to sleep properly while we enjoyed some downtime.

The flat bed was also really handy for transporting all of the camping equipment from the car! And it really can carry a lot - up to 60kg total!

The verdict: Out ‘n’ About nipper wagon

It may be a splurge but, overall, the Out ‘n’ About nipper wagon impressed during testing. Thanks to its robust, versatile design, the wagon is likely to come in handy if you enjoy going to festivals as a family. It could be improved with a better sun shield, and there’s no getting away from the fact it’s a large piece of kit, but it can help you transport up to 60kg and it collapses down easily when needed.

How the Out’n’About nipper wagon was tested

Assembly: How intuitive the instructions were and how easy it was to setup. How easy it would be to transport in the car. Equally, how quick and easy it is to fold away.
Manoeuvrability: How easy was it to push the stroller, noting the handlebar and the wheels.
Design: I assessed the overall look and design of the nipper wagon.
Versatility: This involved noting how many children could easily and comfortably fit inside the stroller, and how well it adjusted to help family getaways run more smoothly.

Why you can trust IndyBest reviews

Chloe Hubbard is the UK Editor at The Independent. She has reviewed myriad strollers including the best lightweight strollers and the best running buggies, and if you're looking for an honest verdict of popular models, you can read her full, in-depth review of the Joolz hub 2 and the Nuna swiv. All Chloe’s reviews are based on stringent, real-world testing.

For more options, read our review of the best lightweight strollers for travel