The family beach day. Nothing but blue sky, crystal waters, and beaming smiles. Unless you’re the packhorse responsible for maneuvering a mountain of gear from the parking lot to the perfect spot on the sand. What you need is a high-quality beach wagon.
Also known as a festival or shopping wagon (or trolley), these collapsible, all-terrain carry-alls live in the trunk and make it possible to transport everything you need for a day at the shore or a weekend camping, in just one trip. They’re also increasingly popular with those of us who love dragging our kids around farmers markets while loading up with organic produce.
To discover which beach wagon is best, WIRED took four popular options to the beach for some serious shoreline testing. Camber Sands is just two hours from London, but it has a vast sandy beach and miles of dunes to play in. With models ranging from an Amazon favorite from Timber Ridge costing just $80, to Veer, a luxurious hi-tech option for $700, we wanted to know which wagon would complete our real-world race course featuring deep dunes, wet sand, wetsuits, awnings, coolers, chairs, buckets, dry bags, spades, and soccer balls.
Each beach wagon got loaded up with the same selection of WIRED’s outdoor gear.
As well as our beach wagon time trial—a 300-foot dash through dry, soft, firm, and wet sand—we tested how compact each design was when folded, how easy they were to assemble, pack, and unload. We also tested each design off the beach across a range of surfaces from paving to gravel, so wherever you’re heading, you’ll know what to expect.
It’s by no means an exhaustive test—there are hundreds of almost identical designs on Amazon—but what it does do is focus on the features worth investing in, from build quality and collapsibility, to durability and, crucially, how well it copes with sand.
And if you’re interested in upgrading your outdoor gear, check out WIRED's many other outdoor guides, including the Best Coolers, Best Flat-Top Grills, and if the weather betrays you, the Best Rain Jackets.
Best Beach Wagon for Deep Sand: Veer All-Terrain Cruiser
Veer designs and manufactures premium gear for parents of small kids who want to explore. The $699 All-Terrain Cruiser is so far removed from a typical Costco beach wagon, it looks more like a NASA-designed high-tech stroller. And with a vast selection of add-ons, including toddler seats, bassinet for infants, awnings, coolers, insect and rain shields, it’s the most desirable cart available.
Our sample, which has two child harnesses as standard, shipped with a set of tough-but-forgiving all-terrain wheels, which chewed up sidewalks and trails with ease. But for this test, we added a pair of $299 Beach Wheels. Yes, these inflatable wheels with aluminum forks cost almost as much as the next most expensive beach cart on test. That said, the extra surface area and smooth texture made all the difference across the sand, and the beach wheels were the only ones that rolled, rather than plowed through deep dry sand.