Evenflo Aura Travel System Review

The travel system is almost a must-have for first-time parents, and the good-looking Evenflo Aura travel system is widely available and comes from a trusted brand, and therefore captures the interest of many parents-to-be. If you're considering buying a travel system for your newborn, though, think carefully before buying the Evenflo Aura travel system. While it may meet your needs, there are some drawbacks that may mean you'll want to look at other models, too.

The base of the Evenflo Aura travel system is the Aura Select stroller, which holds kids up to 40 lbs. It's the same basic stroller for both the Aura Select and Aura Elite versions of the travel system, but the Aura Elite system gets a bit of an upgrade in the fabric, padding and trim department. The Aura stroller has a parent tray with two cupholders, some storage, and a wipes dispenser.

The stroller also features one-hand folding. The front child tray pivots out of the way when it folds, so it doesn't hit the ground first, a problem with many travel system strollers. A roomy basket is underneath, and the canopy extends nicely over the stroller so you can block sun or wind from all angles.

The infant car seat included with the Aura travel system is the Evenflo Embrace. This is another difference between the Aura Select and Aura Elite travel systems. Aura Select has an Evenflo Embrace with a rear harness adjuster, while Aura Elite has an Embrace with a front-adjust harness. Both Embrace infant car seat versions have a Z-shaped handle that makes carrying the car seat easy.

The front tray that pivots a bit when it folds so it doesn't hit the ground is nice. Many travel system strollers end up with a scuffed or broken front tray because they constantly hit the ground hard.

The brakes are easy to put on and take off. Folding the stroller isn't hard, and can be accomplished reasonably with one hand. For a travel system stroller, the Aura Select even steers reasonably well with one hand when it's not too loaded with gear. You'll likely need both hands if you have a toddler and a loaded basket.

The parent tray has good storage. The cupholders have grippy rings in them so your drinks don't wobble around as much. The big basket underneath is adequate for a large purse or diaper bag, too.

The Evenflo Embrace infant car seat has a relatively comfortable carrying handle for the parent. The Z-shape means you can hold your arm in a more natural position for carrying the car seat.

While it's not hard to fold the Aura stroller, unfolding it is awkward. Using the recline feature on the seat is also a bit awkward. The Aura travel system stroller is very big, both dimensions-wise and by weight. When open, it measures about 43" x 23.5" x 40", and it doesn't fold compactly, so you can expect to devote a good portion of trunk space for this stroller. The Aura stroller weighs about 27 lbs.

The built-in wipes box is a nice idea, but I found it hard to open and close, which means I wouldn't probably use it a lot. The plastic felt cheap and I suspected that the lid would break pretty quickly.

Durability seems to be an issue with the Evenflo Aura travel system stroller. It steers well when it's new, but many parents complain that it becomes very wobbly after just a few months of use. Some report that the stroller even fell apart in less than a year, including wheels falling off.

The back harness adjuster on the Embrace infant car seat with the Aura Select travel systems is hard to use. Not only do you have to get underneath it to see what you're doing to make harness adjustments (which should be made every time you put baby in the car seat), you also have to perfect a pulsing pull on the adjuster straps at the correct angle, or the plastic clips will fall off.

The front-adjust harness Embrace with the Aura Elite is better, but both models MUST be used with their bases all the time, which is a significant drawback. You must also keep at least 1.5" of clearance between the infant seat and the vehicle seat, which could be a problem in compact cars.

I think there are better travel systems available in the same price range. The stroller works well right out of the box, and even has some nice features, but durability seems to be a problem. The size and weight are common to travel system strollers, so some parents are willing to overlook those flaws, but no stroller is really worth the cost if it falls apart within a year.

If you do choose this travel system, I recommend the Aura Elite travel system over the Aura Select. The back-adjust harness on the infant car seat with the Select version is absolutely not worth the hassle, and it's hard for most parents to use correctly. If you know that you won't ever need to use baby's infant car seat without the stay-in-car base, or you're willing to buy extra bases from Evenflo to have on hand, the Embrace car seat that comes with the Aura Elite travel system is OK.

As with any travel system, you should check to see that the Evenflo Embrace infant car seat fits well in your vehicle before buying, if possible. If you have a compact car, check to see if there is clearance between the infant seat and the vehicle seat in front of it, too. Use the infant car seat manual to verify proper fit.