Author
Joe Jackson, Kat Englishman
Photographer
Joe Jackson
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Have you ever looked at the mass of gear in the back of your vehicle at a hike-in campground or parking spot a quarter of a mile from a beach and thought to yourself, holy shit this is going to take me ten trips to get set up? Yeah, me neither, because when my wife was pregnant with my now six year old kid I invested in a folding wagon to haul everything from gear to groceries. In this world obsessed with efficiency I would argue that the folding wagon is one of the greatest efficiency tools for folks who love gear (read: anyone with kids or a love for car camping, beach days, park hangs, etc). A solid collapsible wagon can save you precious trips—and your back—so you can spend your time enjoying the outdoors instead of lugging gear and cursing all that is holy.
But, of course, not all wagons are created equal and not every end user has the same needs. Also: a lot of wagons on the market suck. If it can’t handle the weight of your gear it doesn't do you much good. And if the wheels are caddywompus it will drive you nuts.
I tested six popular folding wagons to get you the skinny on which one will serve you best for your individual needs.
How I Tested the Folding Wagons
My testing method was quite simple yet practical: I filled each of these wagons with a 15-liter Yeti cooler, a six person tent, a two person sleeping pad, and a some other miscellaneous gear items and took the wagon through an obstacle course I created at Emigrant Lake Campground near my house in Ashland, OR.
The reason I picked this campsite as my testing ground is due to its varied terrain including deep grass, very dead summer grass, medium depth sand (about 3 inches), and a stretch of beach covered with rocks ranging in size from softball to golf ball. The crux was a steep paved path with five switchbacks.
I also opened and closed these folding wagons 20-times in a row and took notes on the functionality of each. Due to two failed photo shoots (sorry for the deadass grass and rough lighting, as shown below), I also packed all of these into my truck a handful of times and drove around town with them in the bed for a week. The unpacking and repacking proved to be a fantastic impromptu portability and easy storage test, too.
In all, I put each through the paces. Read on below for how they faired.
Field Mag's Top Picks
- Best Overall: MAC Sports MACWagon - Push Pull Wagon
- Best for Families: VEER Cruiser
- Best for Camping: RTIC Ultra Tough Wagon
- Best for All-around Utility: Gregory Alpaca Gear Wagon
- Best Value: Embark Folding Wagon
- Best for the Biggest Loads: Ozark Trail All-Terrain Push/Pull Cart
The 6 Best Folding Wagons for Hauling Gear
Best Overall: MAC Sports MACWagon - Push Pull Wagon
Pros: Incredible performance and packs tidily
Cons: None
Dimensions: 44.9" L x 23" W x 38.6” H
Folded Dimensions: 32.3" L x 23" W x 8.3" H
Weight Capacity: 300 lbs
Weight Empty: 36.6 lbs
Price: $160 $130
I struggled with the fact that I could not give this wagon any cons, but I legitimately just couldn’t dock it—the MAG Wagon easily swallowed half a truck bed’s worth of gear and just crushed every single obstacle in my makeshift course I set up. My notes said it best: “Without a doubt, this is the best folding wagon—so rad.” The MacWagon’s wheels made it the easiest to move through the obstacle course being both the heartiest on sand and also moved the most fluid on concrete as it was going up and down the windy path which would make it the best beach wagon.
Whether when it is folding/unfolding/or deploying the very capable adjustable handle, the MACWagon really clicks into place in a very clean, solidly, and satisfying manner. The wagon’s ample dimensions when fully deployed made it comparable in storage space to the cavernous Ozark Trail below in terms of capacity but then it very easily folded down to a tidy little when folded. I really like the two external cup holders on the wagon as well as the built-in exterior mesh storage pockets on the front side—all of these details were subtly built into the body of the wagon. It is one of those pieces of gear that you can just see that it was incredibly well-built from the details of the burly cordura exterior to the way that everything's moves smoothly, almost like liquid, for every opening and closing. The adjustable handle has a very sturdy, telescoping, and then locking and unlocking mechanism.
Best for Families: VEER Cruiser
Pros: Incredible for child passengers and gear
Cons: Expensive. Doesn’t pack down very small
Dimensions: 37” L x 20” W x 23” H
Folded Dimensions: 37” L x 20” W x 14” H
Weight Capacity: 250 lbs
Weight Empty: 32.6 lbs
Price: $699
This is, by far, the most expensive wagon on this list but before sticker shock makes you immediately hop down to the next product on this list, I suggest looking at this as a stroller wagon hybrid. VEER wagons are only wagon on this list that is safe for kids to go in and the fact that I could bring my daughter and a whole load of groceries from a local farmers market in it is priceless. Think of the price as like a two-fer, stroller and wagon. That handle on the VEER Cruiser is by far the best handle out of all of them and it’s sturdy shaft and handle can push or pull up or down hill when loaded down which made for a nice smooth ride through the obstacle course as well as when loaded down with over 80 pounds of kid and gear.
It definitely does not break down as small as the other wagons on this list, but on the other side its body is incredibly sturdy which adds to its safety rating as a vehicle for humans and will definitely add to the longevity of this wagon. It also had the best locking system on the wheels which could be easily locked with one foot and kept it steady at the top of a hill filled with gear.
Best for Camping: RTIC Ultra Tough Wagon
Pros: Straightforwardly tough as hell
Cons: Not as much capacity as the big dawgs in this test
Dimensions: 37.4" L x 18.9" W x 22.8” H
Weight Capacity: 250 LBS
Weight Empty: 30 lbs
Price: $150
The Ultra Tough and the Alpaca below are pretty comparable in their features except the RTIC has a thicker, heartier, durable steel frame that has been powder coated and would be my bet to win in a durability fight versus any of the other wagons in this test. The 60-denier nylon fabric is also hearty as hell.
It isn’t all brawn, though, the Ultra Tough has two big old external cargo pockets, to add to its solid capacity that can fit a 65-qt cooler—which does place it as a nice midrange wagon in this test but with less capacity than the MAC and Ozark Trail. The wheels were sturdy as hell but were plenty fluid on the switchbacks up and down as well as uneven terrain making it a killer option for a family camping trip.
Best All-around Utility Wagon: Gregory Alpaca Gear Wagon
Pros: Travels well, versatile
Cons: A little pricey for the feature set
Dimensions: 20.9" L x 23.20" W x 38.6” H
Weight Capacity: 250 lbs
Weight Empty: 28.8 lbs
Price: $250
The Gregory is a fantastic middle ground with its five pockets, nice and sturdy, good medium size and super meaty all terrain wheels that got top marks both in the sand portion of the test and while rolling over the rocky shore—really all of the uneven surfaces. Every detail was clearly well thought out with nice clean handle that pops into place really nicely and easily and helped me keep a nice speed while descending the paved switchbacks.
The nice, incredibly tidy, package this folded down to (it looked like a violin sized tetris piece when zipped up) made the Gear Wagon a breeze to pack into small spaces and a delight to store in the garage. The included rain cover was also an amazingly thoughtful addition for folks like me who camp and recreate year round in rainy climates like the my home region the Pacific Northwest.
Best Value: Embark Folding Wagon
Pros: Simple, easy, inexpensive
Cons: Couldn’t handle heavy loads
In-use Dimensions: 35.5" L x 18.6" W x 21.5” H
Weight Capacity: 180 lbs
Weight Empty: 22.6 lbs
Price: $70
The Embark is the smallest collapsible wagon I tested by far. It also had the smallest wheels as well, which did not do it any favors in the sand or over rocks, but the smaller wheels proved surprisingly nimble on the steep switchbacks. Couldn't be packed down very much due to its 180-pound capacity (most of the wagons in this test came in at around a 300-lb capacity), but its details were nice like a sturdy handle for its size. What it lacked in frills, like no pockets, no accessories, and a light overall build, it made up for in price coming in at less than half the pricepoint of its nearest competitor on this test.
Best for the Biggest Loads: Ozark Trail All-Terrain Push/Pull Cart
Pros: Capacity could pack a week-long trip
Cons: Pretty terrible wheels for anything but flat concrete
In-use Dimensions: 48" L x 25.6" W x 38.5” H
Weight Capacity: 300 lbs
Weight Empty: 36.6 lbs
Price: $139
The Ozark Trail is a monster by all accounts—whether we are talking overall size, capacity, or accessories. It goes big. My notes read: “The thing has so many pockets so if you're bringing a ton of stuff, particularly if you're tailgating or need to serve a meal out of it, it would be the best.” It's the largest wagon in the test and has the deepest capacity with a very believable 300 pounds limit meaning you can stuff a tailgate party for 20 in here.
It has monster 10” wide wheels that were theoretically good for grass and sand, but one of the large wheels just kept falling off and they were all generally wonky as I went through every part of the obstacle course that was not flat. On an angle, the wider wheels would go in three or four different directions and every once in a while they'd pop off even after I had fully checked that the removable wheel was locked in. With that said, it was killer on flat paved ground and is a great deal for folks looking to haul a ton of gear.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do you need a folding wagon?
I can distill the answer to this question with one word: efficiency. Having a wagon allows you to get gear from vehicle to recreation spot (be it a campsite, beach spot, or woodsy picnic) in one or two trips that would normally take you four plus trips. This saves time and hassle and lets you focus on the fun part of your day rather than the logistics of moving shit around. Since they take up less space than a traditional wagon, a collapsible wagon can pack up into the trunk of a vehicle and go from being the size of luggage to an outdoor utility wagon in an instant.
What are the most important traits of a folding wagon?
The most important traits of a folding wagon are the amount of gear it can haul, how easy it is to fold and unfold, and how well it hauls your gear once it is packed up.
How much should I spend on a folding wagon?
This is a heck of a question considering that the range of prices on the wagons in this test is $70-$700. With that said, a nice middle ground in price for buying a good solid wagon is $130-$170 with half of the wagons in this test falling in that price range including the winner.
Published 10-01-2024
Updated 10-10-2024
