Related: Travel Stroller Fold Test: What Survives 100 Cycles
Stroller shopping has a problem: every listing looks good. The photos are clean, the feature list is long, and none of it answers the only question that matters on a Tuesday morning, which is whether the thing folds small enough to share a trunk with a week of groceries. I am a pediatric nurse by training, and I have spent the last several years buying strollers at retail and pushing a 22-pound weighted doll over Portland's broken sidewalks and gravel shoulders. My stroller picks for small trunks and real terrain keep coming back to four models, and this guide walks through which one fits which routine.
Here is the short version. If you need one purchase that covers a newborn, the Baby Trend EZ Ride Travel System does that with the included EZ-Lift infant car seat. If you want the stroller that disappears into a small trunk, the Joie Nutmeg is the compact, lightweight, one-hand-fold option. If running is part of your week, the Baby Trend Expedition Jogger and the Delta Children Apollo Jogging Stroller are the two joggers here, and the Apollo is the one that is also car seat compatible.
Everything below is about what each product actually is, what I check before I trust any stroller, and the questions worth asking before you spend the money.
How to choose: four questions that decide it
1. Fold quality, measured at fold #100, not fold #1
Every fold works in a showroom. The one you live with is the one that still works after a hundred cycles, when you are holding a sleeping toddler and a bag of groceries. Single-action folds degrade more gracefully than multi-step ones, because there is less to misalign. If you can, fold and unfold the floor model a dozen times in a row and pay attention to whether the latch catches cleanly each time or starts needing a firm palm strike.
2. The car seat decision
This is the biggest fork in the road and it has three answers. A travel system includes an infant car seat that clicks into the stroller frame, which covers the newborn months without buying two things. A car seat compatible stroller accepts a seat you already own or buy separately. A stroller-only option is for families who already have the car seat handled and want the lightest possible push. Decide this before you compare anything else, because it eliminates half the field.
3. Terrain
Sidewalks and indoor floors are one category. Gravel shoulders, packed dirt, and jogging are another. Joggers earn their bulk with a longer wheelbase and a frame built for a forward push, but that same frame is a lot of stroller to fold and lift into a trunk. If you walk the neighborhood and nothing else, a jogger is more machine than you need. If you run, buy in the jogger category or you will hate every mile.
4. Trunk Tetris and the weight on the box
Measure your trunk with a tape measure, not your hallway. Then treat the claimed weight on the box as a rumor until your own luggage scale confirms it. My scale has caught strollers running well over their stated numbers, including one that read 28.4 pounds when the box said 26.5. A two-pound gap does not sound like much until you are lifting it into a hatchback at the end of a long day.
Joie Nutmeg Compact Lightweight Travel Stroller, One-Hand Fold
The Nutmeg is the travel stroller of this group, and it is the one to look at first if your trunk is small or your car is a compact. Lightweight and compact are the two words doing the work here, and the one-hand fold is the feature that decides whether it actually leaves the house with you.
What I would check on this one: the folded dimensions with your own tape measure, against both your trunk and whatever carry-on limit your airline publishes. A one-hand fold is only useful if it works while your other hand is full, so try it that way on a floor model rather than with both hands and a clean floor. Then look at the basket, because compact strollers often treat storage as an afterthought, and check the recline if your baby still naps on the go.
This is sold as a stroller, so if you need an infant car seat for day one, pair it with a separate seat or look at the travel system below instead.
Baby Trend EZ Ride Travel System with EZ-Lift Infant Car Seat, Dash Grey
This is the one-purchase answer. The EZ Ride is a travel system, which means the stroller and the EZ-Lift infant car seat come as a set, and the seat is designed to move between the car and the stroller frame without waking a sleeping baby. For the first year, that is the whole game.
What I would check: how the car seat releases from the stroller, and whether you can do it one-handed while the baby stays asleep. Then check the stroller seat itself, because you will use it long after the infant seat is outgrown. Look at the harness and see whether the straps twist, since a twisting strap is the thing that makes you dread buckling up. Check the brake with your foot in the position you actually stand in, and fold it once before you buy it.
One boundary worth stating: I do not test car seats beyond basic compatibility, because that is a different expert's job. Read the seat's manual, register it, and check the recall database before you install anything.
Baby Trend Expedition Jogger, Dash Black
The Expedition is the straightforward jogger in this group. It is built for a forward push over ground that is not perfectly paved, and it is the category to buy into if running or long, fast walks are part of your week rather than a someday plan.
What separates a jogger from a stroller is not marketing, it is geometry: a longer wheelbase and a frame that tracks straight when you push hard. That geometry is also why joggers are heavier and bulkier when folded, so weigh the trade honestly. If you mostly walk sidewalks and load a car several times a day, a jogger will feel like furniture you have to drag around.
What I would check: whether there is a wrist strap and whether you would actually use it, the brake, the canopy coverage for a low sun, and the folded footprint against your trunk. If you plan to run, buy in this category. If you do not, save the bulk and look at the Nutmeg.
Delta Children Apollo Jogging Stroller, Black
The Apollo is the jogger that tries to do two jobs. It has a shock absorbing frame, a large canopy, a recline, and it is car seat compatible, which means it can cover the newborn months with a compatible seat and then keep going as a toddler jogger.
That combination is the reason it sits at the top of this list for families who run but do not want two strollers in the garage. The shock absorbing frame matters more than it sounds like it does, because vibration is what turns a twenty-minute walk into a fussy twenty minutes. The large canopy is the other feature I would not give up, especially in a stroller you push in the open sun. The recline is what makes it usable for a napping toddler.
What I would check: the compatibility list for your specific car seat, since "car seat compatible" only means something when it names your seat. Then check how many steps the recline takes, how much of the seat the canopy actually covers when the sun is low, and the folded dimensions with a tape measure.
Stroller comparison at a glance
This is the same table I keep for myself, built from what each product actually is. Confirm dimensions and compatibility against the current listing, because those details change.
| Stroller | Type | Stated features | Car seat | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Visit on Amazon →Joie Nutmeg Compact Lightweight Travel Stroller |
Travel stroller | Compact, lightweight, one-hand fold | Stroller only | Small trunks and travel days |
 Visit on Amazon →Baby Trend EZ Ride Travel System |
Travel system | Includes EZ-Lift infant car seat | Included | Newborn days in one purchase |
 Visit on Amazon →Baby Trend Expedition Jogger |
Jogger | Jogging frame, Dash Black | Stroller only | Running and rough ground |
 Visit on Amazon →Delta Children Apollo Jogging Stroller |
Jogging stroller | Shock absorbing frame, large canopy, recline | Compatible | Running with a car seat option |
How I evaluate a stroller
Every stroller that comes through my house gets the same protocol, and the protocol is the reason I trust my own numbers over any spec sheet. I fold and unfold it 100 times with a stopwatch running, because fold #100 is the fold a real parent lives with. I push a 22-pound weighted doll over a fixed 2.1-mile loop that includes broken sidewalk seams, a gravel shoulder, a 1.5-inch curb-cut lip, and a rain-slick painted crosswalk. I balance a 16-ounce coffee cup on the handlebar for 100 yards of one-handed pushing and count the spills. I measure the folded dimensions with a tape measure and the weight with a luggage scale, and I log the gap between those numbers and the box.
Then there are the small things that decide whether you like a stroller six months in: harness strap twist, brake reach for a shorter parent, pinch points where the frame folds, basket volume, and whether the thing stands on its own when folded. A stroller that will not stand up on its own sounds like a minor complaint until you are holding a sleeping toddler and it keels over.
What separates these four
The car seat question is the biggest fork, and it splits the group cleanly. The Baby Trend EZ Ride Travel System includes the seat, so it solves day one in one purchase. The Delta Children Apollo is car seat compatible, so it can do the newborn months with a seat you already own and then keep working as a jogger. The Joie Nutmeg and the Baby Trend Expedition are stroller-only, which is fine if the car seat is already handled.
The second fork is terrain. The two joggers exist because rough ground and running demand a different frame, and the Apollo adds the shock absorbing frame and the large canopy that make long pushes more comfortable. The Nutmeg exists for the opposite reason: it is the compact, lightweight, one-hand-fold option for people whose biggest obstacle is a small trunk and a busy morning.
The third fork is honesty about your routine. Buy for the life you have. If you walk sidewalks twice a day and fold the stroller into a hatchback, the compact travel stroller wins on every metric that matters. If you run three mornings a week, buy the jogger and accept the bulk.
Should you buy the Joie Nutmeg Compact Lightweight Travel Stroller?
Yes, if your trunk is small and your trips are short. It is the compact, lightweight travel stroller here and the one-hand fold is the feature that decides whether a stroller comes with you or stays in the garage. Test the fold one-handed on a floor model and measure the folded dimensions against your trunk before you buy.
Should you buy the Baby Trend EZ Ride Travel System?
Yes, if you want one purchase that covers a newborn. The included EZ-Lift infant car seat is the point of a travel system, and it is the simplest path to a stroller you can use from the first week. Check the harness for strap twist and the brake reach before you commit, and read the car seat manual like it matters, because it does.
Should you buy the Baby Trend Expedition Jogger?
Yes, if you run or push fast over rough ground. It is the no-nonsense jogger of this group, and jogger geometry is not a gimmick. If you only walk sidewalks and load a car several times a day, skip it and take the compact travel stroller instead.
Should you buy the Delta Children Apollo Jogging Stroller?
Yes, if you want a jogger that also handles the newborn months. The shock absorbing frame, the large canopy, the recline, and car seat compatibility make it the most flexible stroller here for a family that runs. Verify that your specific car seat is on the compatibility list, and check the folded dimensions against your trunk before you decide.
Every one of these is a real option, and none of them is the right answer for everybody. Match the stroller to your trunk, your terrain, and your actual week, and you will end up with the one you keep using.