Joovy Zoom 360 Jogging Stroller

Reviewed by: Amelia

Price (MSRP): $269.99

Best Use: Day Hiking

Where to Buy: Joovy Website 

Testing Location: Yellowstone National Park and Surrounding Areas

Testing Environment: All conditions

 

Disclosure: For our “Stroll On: Get Out on Wheels” project this summer, we approached a variety of jogging stroller companies for reviews.  Each of these strollers were given to use for their review purposes free of charge.  However, we pride ourselves in having thorough and honest reviews – everything you see here is our honest opinions and exactly what we tell family and friends.

 

The Joovy Zoom 360 jogging stroller is a great budget-friendly jogging stroller for running on multiple surface types.  While all our strollers that are part of our “Stroll On: Get Out on Wheels” project are being tested by more than just Mtn Papa and I, I sent this one off to a couple extra people.  My thoughts on the 360 were initially unsure and I wanted to be sure I had a few extra opinions.

 

First of all, the Joovy Zoom is by far the cheapest (by a couple hundred dollars) jogging stroller in our line-up.  As much as I am an advocate for investing in great gear that you will be able to use, abuse and then sell when you are done, investing upwards of $400+ is NOT an easy thing to do for most people.

 

 

Across the board, our testers (us included) were pleasantly surprised on how great of a ride the Zoom 360 gave.  The suspension is gravel road/trail worthy and base is solid – you don’t have the feeling it is going to tip over.  In our opinion(s), costs were cut in the smaller details of the stroller – less padding, simpler straps, not a super smooth adjustment of the backrest, and less protection from the elements for the rider.  However, for most people, those “cost-cuts” aren’t a big deal because the important things (ride for the child and “push ability” for the adult) are great.  That said, the Joovy 360 comes with some great perks that other stroller companies charge extra for: a parent organizer (which I love) and a bike pump that stays in the cargo compartment for emergency air-fill-ups.  

 

 

The Joovy 360 has a locking front swivel wheel that easily switches from each position – something we all appreciated.

 

If you have used other jogging strollers, the way the 360 collapses is not intuitive.  In fact, all 4 families of testers had to look up instructions online.  To collapse you lift up the footrest (Joovy has a sign there so you can find what you are looking for) and release a lever and lift a wire-handle.  Once you get it, it’s super easy, but again, not intuitive.

 

 

Best Uses:

– Jogging or Walking

– Needing a budget-friendly and high-quality option

 – For “taller” people – the “shorties” (around 5′ tall) had a hard time looking over the canopy

– For use with babies through preschool age (see below)

 

What we love:

– It is well-grounded and stable

– The larger wheels and suspension allow for a smooth ride on non-smooth surfaces

– The included parent organizer is awesome for keeping your water, your kids’ water and snacks and phone/keys accessible and safe

– The storage underneath the stroller is easily accessible and big enough for holding what you need on a run with kids (extra clothing, snacks, etc.)

– The pockets on the interior of the stroller allow for keeping items available for the child

– Available in 3 different colors (red, blue and black)

– It has a wider seat than other joggers

– An impressive max weight of 75 pounds (which means our 5 year old still comfortably fits in it)

– An option to attach a car seat to it

– It folds down surprisingly flat

– There is a great mesh peek window on the top of the canopy (though sometimes having this being plastic would be great so we could see through without exposing them to the elements

– While I am actually not that crazy about the straps (see reasoning below), they are VERY easy to adjust for shorter and taller riders.

 

 

 

 

 

What we aren’t so crazy about:

– While the canopy is really great for keeping the sun and weather out and for taller kids, it also stands a little taller than us shortys would like.  If you are under 5’2″ or so, it’s hard to see around which can be annoying especially on hills

– The handlebar does not adjust heights

– While the airflow is great for warmer months, the child is not very protected in colder weather due to the mesh part exposes as the child reclines (see image below)

– Getting the stroller to recline and then go back up isn’t super easy.  It’s a two-handed job.

– The seat does not recline completely

– The straps are “naked” and less comfortable for smaller riders than other strollers

– It’s fairly big/heavy for a jogger, BUT also very stable

 

The Bottom Line:

For the price, the Joovy Zoom is a great jogging stroller. It leaves a bit to be desired as far as some details (strap comfort, protection from the elements, ease of recline, etc.) but in general rides well, pushes well and is a great value for the money.

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