Evenflo Pivot Xpand Modular Travel System Review

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With 100 years of experience under their belt, Evenflo products are renowned for their innovative designs. The Evenflo Pivot Xpand Modular Travel System is no exception. It is primarily a single stroller but just as the name suggests, it expands into a double if required and does so in under a minute. The combo includes the Pivot Xpand stroller plus the Safemax infant car seat with the SafeZone base.

In all, the travel system features a whopping 22 seating configurations! Usually, strollers which offer so many configurations are awkward and difficult to assemble. The Pivot is surprisingly easy to use – the design is intuitive and the build quality is excellent. No extra parts, tools or adapters are required to adjust the seating.

If we start describing all 22 configurations, this post will run into multiple pages. So we’ll just quickly explain in a couple of sentences. (Please check out the demo video for more information: https://amzn.to/398biKS ).

All travel systems include a stroller and a car seat. The car seat goes onto the stroller frame (usually in a parent facing position). The toddler seat and the infant car seat are not usable for strolling simultaneously.

The infant car seat renders the toddler seat unusable (it eats up all the space). However, that’s not the case with the Xpand. It has a smart ‘slide and lock’ system that enables dual seating. The toddler seat can be moved ahead to make space for the infant car seat, which easily mounts behind it in a front or rear facing configuration.

Wait, there’s more! The Pivot’s stroller seat has an infant mode, which means that parents can use the stroller for infants without attaching the car seat. This is very convenient for short strolls around the block or a visit to the local park. Why use the car seat if you’re not travelling by car?

It’s due to Evenflo’s out-of-the-box thinking that the Pivot Xpand won of the 2018 JPMA Innovation Award.

Evenflo Pivot Xpand Modular Travel SystemFeatures:

Modular Design: The Evenflo Pivot Xpand is a comprehensive birth to toddler strolling solution. It is best suited to families that have a toddler and an infant.

Even if a family has just one kid as on date, they can still opt for this stroller as they won’t need to upgrade if another little member joins the troupe.

As the toddler seat converts into an infant carrier, the Xpand can also be used for two infants simultaneously (One in the car seat and one in the stroller seat). However, do keep in mind that this is not exactly a twin stroller. We recommend the Bugaboo Donkey Twin for well, twins 🙂

The SafeMax infant car seat is approved for babies weighing between 4 pounds to 35 pounds. It comes with a removable infant positioner for added body support. It can be mounted onto the stroller without additional adapters. It locks into place quickly and securely, thus facilitating unhindered transitioning from vehicle to stroller and back.

The stay-in-car base is easy to install with the vehicle LATCH system (actually the SafeSure connectors are twice as secure). Parents can also opt for live chat and video support just to be doubly sure that it has been installed correctly.

Reversible Seating: The seat ‘pivots’ to a number of positions. It can arranged to face the front or rear. It can accommodate infants as well as toddlers weighing up to 55 pounds. (The stroller along with the toddler seat weighs 28.5 pounds).

Needles to say, the seat is equipped with all other essentials such as a 5-point safety harness and a ratcheting overhead canopy to keep out the elements.

Height Adjustable Handlebar: The handlebar is height adjustable to 3 positions. People of varying heights will appreciate the customizable ergonomics. Even taller people can use the stroller without leaning forward (no more back pain).

Parents will also love the Flex-Hold beverage holder – it adjusts to cups of varying size so that they don’t tip over.

Quick, Self-Standing Fold: The stroller is easy to fold. It’s not a one-hand fold but then, this is not exactly an umbrella stroller. On the plus side though, the stroller does stand up independently when folded. The fabrics stay cleaner for longer as the folded stroller does not fall flat on the ground.

Swivelling Front Wheels: The stroller becomes fairly long and heavy with two kids and their luggage on board. Thankfully, it has cruiser tires for added traction and the swivelling front wheels make it easy to maneuver. It’d be unreasonable to expect it to be as maneuverable as a Chicco Liteway but it’s easier to steer than we’d expected.

The Pivot has been designed for use on predominantly smooth surfaces. It does handle grass pretty well and doesn’t flinch over the occasional gravel patch. However, it doesn’t possess all-terrain capability. If you want an all-terrain stroller, we recommend the Summit X3 by Baby Jogger.

Rear Wheel Suspension: Helps to filter out minor bumps and ensures a smooth ride.

Oversized Storage: The storage basket located under the seat expands to 2 feet long and is accessible front the front and rear.

SafeMax Infant Car Seat: Has been tested for structural integrity at forces 2X the federal crash standards.

The Travel system complies with or exceeds all US and Canadian standards (CMVSS and FMVSS 213, 302)

Certified for use in Aircraft. It complies with FAA regulations as long as it’s used with the 5-point safety harness.

The car seat base features an Anti-Rebound bar for limiting the rebound movement and absorbing the energy of impact in case of frontal collissions. The car seat has been side-impact and roll-over tested for vehicle roof to ground contact, which is responsible for the most number of injuries in cases of roll-overs.

The SafeMax comes with an integrated belt lock-off system for total peace of mind. SureSafe connectors ensure proper installation; they’re twice as secure in comparison to standard LATCH connections.

Pros:

Great from Birth to 55 pounds
Dual seating capacity. Other travel systems may include two seats but they don’t accommodate 2 kids
Self-standing fold
Side-impact and roll-over tested. 2X federal safety standards
Rear wheel suspension

Cons:

It’s not very compact (definitely not a lightweight stroller)
Not approved for off-roading and jogging

Evenflo Pivot Xpand Modular Travel System Review & Final Verdict:

We really like the Evenflo Pivot Xpand modular travel system. Evenflo really brought their A game to the table and were rewarded by numerous accolades.

The Pivot Xpand really outshines other travel systems in terms of practicality, flexibility and versatility. We recommend it.