Joolz Aer2 review: The one-hand fold that’ll change your strolling game

One of the most exciting things about your baby getting older is being able to ditch the weighty travel system you spent hours researching while pregnant and swap it for a lightweight stroller. Don’t get me wrong, I have absolutely loved the mammoth chariot that my two littlies have cruised around in… But I also jumped at the chance to try out the Joolz Aer 2 – apparently light as a feather and genuinely foldable with one hand. Something I’ve only dreamed about… Till now!

As you’ve guessed from the name, the Aer 2 is the newer model of the original Joolz Aer+. According to the brand, there are a fair few improvements to this iteration, which apparently include the smoothness of the one-handed fold, a slightly larger storage basket, a leg rest and improvements in the wheels.

Aside from our travel system pram, we also have a running pram and an umbrella stroller, which we bought when my first child was 18 months old – so I hoped that it would be lighter than the travel system pram, slightly easier to manoeuvre like the running pram and easier to fold and carry than the umbrella stroller.

Testing the Joolz Aer2

Build

When it came to unboxing the pushchair, I was pleasantly surprised by how small the box was, which amped up my hopes over Joolz’s promises around weight and folding ease. The box itself comes with cute vehicle cartoons for imagination play, and we all know how much kids enjoy playing with boxes. The instructions were simple but helpful, and we didn’t require a huge amount of direction anyway since the pram itself is hugely intuitive and ergonomic.

The quality is fantastic; the aluminium chassis feels sturdy but not bulky, and the fabric has a premium feel – even better that it’s made of recycled materials! The cost seems to be in the mid- to high-range of its competitors, priced at £439 with a travel pouch and raincover included. Compared to the Nuna Triv Next at £600, the Bugaboo Butterfly 2 at £435, the iCandy Pip at £429 and the Mamas & Papas Airo at £299 (sale price £189), the Joolz Aer 2 sits towards the top end of that range.

This stroller has clearly had many hours of designing, research and testing put into it before it hit the shelves; its USP of both folding down and opening up with just one hand is astonishingly adept. I couldn’t quite believe how easy it was – and neither could my husband – so we spent a good 10 minutes taking it in turns to simply put it up and fold it down in awe. But that’s not the only eyebrow-raising aspect – its weight (or lack of it) is an absolute DREAM. Of course, I’m comparing this to my 13.5kg travel system pushchair which – if you’re interested – is equivalent to nearly 30lbs, and that’s four times as heavy as my babs were at birth. Whew.

Usability

As a mum-of-two, I have seemingly even less hands now than I did before my youngest was born, so anything that can remotely make leaving the house easier is absolutely in my best interests.

The Joolz Aer 2’s four main claims on the site are: Easy fold, Lightweight, Newborn to toddler, Aeroplane compatible. I can certainly vouch for the easy fold and lightweight aspects. My little girl was nine months old when I first began testing the pram, so not quite newborn, but she’s perfectly happy in there. Lucky for me, my nearly-four-year-old hasn’t wanted to be in a pram since he was two and loves walking everywhere, so it’s just the nearly-one-year-old who needs carting about at the moment.

However, I coaxed my son (on the 90th centile for height and weight!) to have a spin, since it can take a child up to 22kg in weight. I wouldn’t want to push him in there for hours, but it was not anywhere near as taxing as I was expecting in terms of weight. For the aeroplane compatibility, you’d need to check the dimensions against an airline, but it has been made to fit them.

Performance

Having tested the pram for a month, I have truly put it through its paces. The Joolz Aer 2 came on a week’s holiday to Whitby, so I’ve tried out every aspect in all manner of weather (including monsoon rain, blazing sunshine and wind) and terrain (pavement - of course - grass and sand).

My main unexpected highlights were the five-point harness, the brake, the raincover and the recline options. If you’ve ever tried to get a child over the age of about six months into a pram, you’ll know it’s like trying to wrestle a cat (probably). You separately click four pieces into the main part of the harness, so there’s no faffing about trying to get pieces clicked into each other before they go into the main bit… It’s just much easier!

Another point is how simple and secure the brake is – I’ve found in the past that the brakes can often need a wiggle to click in or you need to hit it in just the right way, whereas with this one, it clicks in super quickly and doesn’t shift.

This might be an obvious one, but I also really appreciated how the raincover fit completely perfectly over the pram – others I’ve used have been more universal and hard work to get over the pram, which is the last thing you want when it starts chucking it down. It seems to be water repellent too, which is even more ideal – no more hanging and waiting to dry before you can shove it back to where it’s stored.

The recline options are also brilliant too – it can go completely flat if needed for a newborn, but there’s a halfway house that’s absolutely ideal for snoozey babs. My little girl has point-blank refused to nap in our other pram, but she fell asleep in it at least once a day during our week’s holiday in Whitby. The extra material for the recline is hidden inside a zipped section too, so it’s very easy to slowly transition from upright without waking them up.

There are only a couple of things I would have liked to change about the Joolz Aer 2. I’d have much preferred the safety bar to come as standard – she’s been absolutely fine in it, but just for my own peace of mind, I prefer to have something going across for an extra layer of security.

I found the sunshade was good, especially the extendable section, but it wasn’t quite the right shape to completely cover my little one. Her tiny feet were poking out the end on a particularly sunny Whitby day; thankfully, we were able to fashion a cover out of our car window sunshade. Joolz do sell a pram parasol for the Aer 2, but I’ve never been hugely keen on them as I haven’t found them to be effective or stable.

A huge selling point is how lightweight the pram is, but that does mean that you sacrifice just a tiny bit of stability – it was a little wobbly trying to push the pram with one hand if my little boy wanted to hold my other hand.

For suitability, the Joolz Aer 2 would suit most parents! I particularly enjoy the easy fold, as I normally have a baby and a pre-schooler to juggle along with various bags, and the fact it’s so light actually makes me more inclined to leave the house.

The only thing I’d further have liked to test is how easy it is to clean – we haven’t had any major spillages or other messes (ahem!) in the pram yet so I haven’t needed to give it a proper scrub down in the washing machine, although it looks like the soft furnishing sections comes off easily enough.

Final verdict

I am incredibly happy with the Joolz Aer 2 – the easy fold and light weight have made my life easier in so many ways in just the last month, and it’s even made me more inclined to get out of the house and go for a walk more regularly.

It is quite an investment to make at over £400, but it’s truly a fantastic stroller. I’d recommend this to any parent who is out and about a lot and wants an easy life, as you can genuinely fold it open and closed with just one hand while holding a baby.

My main highlight from testing this pram is just how easy it was to fit into a car absolutely full to the brim with stuff on a week’s holiday to Whitby – not an easy feat with all the other baby paraphernalia!

My parents-in-law joined us for the week and both had a go testing out the pram – we all noted how my 6ft5 father-in-law and 5ft3 mother-in-law were both happy pushing it with very different stride lengths, and the main gripe my husband had was about the slight instability if you’re not able to use both hands, but agreed it’s worth it for the light weight of the pram.

Emily Gilbert is the Features & Reviews Editor for Mother&Baby. With a background in both print and digital journalism, she has written extensively on pregnancy, fertility, perinatal mental health, and the best in baby and parenting products. A first-time mum to Theodore, Emily combines her professional expertise with personal experience, offering readers trusted advice and relatable insight. Specialising in product and travel reviews, she stays ahead of the curve on the latest parenting trends and is passionate about showing that life with a little one can still be full of adventure.