Why The Austlen Entourage Is The Best Stroller That Grows From One to Two Kids, And The Best Stroller For A Military Family
My husband is in the military, which means there are plenty of stretches when he's gone and I'm handling everyday life with our baby on my own.
And "everyday life" doesn't always mean a quick walk around the neighborhood.
Sometimes it's groceries.
Sometimes it's a trip where I'm bringing a suitcase.
Sometimes it's a day at the beach with what feels like half the contents of our house coming along with us.
So when I was choosing a stroller, I wasn't just looking for something to push my baby.
I needed something that could help me carry everything else, too.
That's a huge reason we chose the Austlen Entourage.
We love this stroller, and the more I use it, the more convinced I am that we made an investment not just for the baby we have now, but for the family we hope to have in the years ahead.
When I'm on My Own, My Stroller Has to Do More
When my husband is away, there's no second set of hands walking beside me.
If I'm getting groceries, I need to manage the baby and the groceries.
If we're traveling, it's the baby and the suitcase.
If we're heading to the beach, it's the baby and the beach bag, towels, toys, cooler and whatever else we need for the day.
I can't magically grow another pair of arms.
But I can bring a stroller designed to carry a lot of the load.
The Entourage 2.0's lower storage basket is rated for 70 pounds, and the included Market Tote adds another 30 pounds of dedicated storage capacity. The entire stroller can carry up to 200 pounds of kids + cargo.
That's very different from having a little under-seat basket where I can squeeze a diaper bag and maybe a jacket.
I can actually use this stroller to help me move our stuff.
For me, that makes the Entourage a serious contender for the stroller with the best storage capacity, because storage isn't just a convenience when I'm parenting solo. It can determine whether an outing feels manageable at all.
Groceries, Suitcases, Beach Gear...Bring It
This is probably one of my favorite things about the Entourage.
I don't have to decide ahead of time whether I need a "baby stroller" or something to haul our gear.
The Entourage can do both.
If I need more cargo room, I can expand the patented frame in seconds and create it.
If I don't need all that extra space, I can retract it again to the footprint of a single stroller.
That means I'm not permanently pushing around the stroller at its largest size just because I sometimes need a lot of room.
It's bigger when I need it.
Smaller when I don't.
And when you're doing a lot on your own, those little bits of flexibility add up quickly.
It Still Fits in My Hyundai Tucson
This mattered to me, too.
I drive a Hyundai Tucson, so while it's technically an SUV, we're not talking about a giant three-row vehicle with endless cargo space.
The Entourage still fits folded in my trunk.
Its published folded dimensions with the wheels and fenders attached are 33.5"L × 24.5"W × 19"H.
And even better, Austlen designed the folded stroller so I can stand it behind the vehicle and roll it into the cargo area with only a light initial lift, rather than having to hoist the entire stroller up and into the trunk.
When I'm the only adult loading the car, that's exactly the kind of thoughtful detail I notice.
Right Now We Have One Baby
This is the part that made the Entourage feel like such a smart long-term choice.
Right now, we have one child.
I don't actually need a double stroller today.
But I also didn't want to spend a lot of money on a premium single stroller knowing that if we have another baby, I could find myself shopping for another stroller all over again.
With the Entourage, I don't have to.
The Primary Seat is rated from birth to 65 pounds and even has a built-in bassinet mode.
So today, we use the Entourage as the stroller our baby needs.
And if our family grows?
The stroller adapts.
Then One Baby Becomes Two
This is where the Entourage gets really interesting.
If we have another child while our first is still little, we can add the Second Seat, which is designed for children from 6 months up to 40 pounds.
If our first child is older and more independent by then, we may not need two traditional stroller seats at all.
Instead, we can use the Sit + Stand, which is designed from age 2.5 with good balance and coordination and holds up to 75 pounds.
That gives our older child choices.
Walk when they want to walk.
Stand on the integrated Platform Rider when they want to ride.
Sit on the Jump Seat when those little legs need a real break.
And when they hop off, the Jump Seat can flip up and out of the way.
That's what I mean when I call the Entourage the best single to double to Sit and Stand stroller.
It doesn't just "grow" by letting me bolt another traditional seat onto the frame.
It adapts to the way our family's needs change.
That's Especially Important for a Military Family
Military life can involve a lot of change.
There can be periods of solo parenting. Travel. Moves. New places. Days when I'm handling everything myself and days when we're finally all together again.
I can't predict exactly what our family will look like several years from now.
And I definitely can't predict exactly what we'll need from our stroller on every outing between now and then.
That's why versatility matters so much to me.
I can use the Entourage as a single now.
I can expand it when I need more storage.
I can add a Second Seat if we have two little ones who both need traditional seats.
I can switch that rear seating to the Sit + Stand as an older child becomes more independent.
And when only one child needs a ride again, I can retract the frame back to a single-stroller footprint.
One stroller can take us through all of those stages.
For our family, that's what makes it feel like the best stroller for military families.
Not because military families need some completely different kind of stroller, but because flexibility, independence and being able to manage more with one piece of gear are incredibly valuable in our military-family life.
Easy Reconfiguring Matters More Than I Expected
Another reason this works so well for me is that changing the Entourage doesn't feel like a project.
The frame expands and retracts in seconds.
The rear seating accessories are modular.
And when we're using the Second Seat or Sit + Stand, they can stay attached when the stroller folds.
That's a big deal.
I don't want a stroller that theoretically has 20 different configurations if changing between them is so complicated that I never actually do it.
I want to be able to change the stroller because today's outing requires something different from yesterday's.
That's the kind of versatility that actually gets used.
Why the Entourage Works So Well for Us
Here are the features that make the Entourage our best single to double to Sit and Stand stroller, stroller with the best storage capacity, and best stroller for military families like ours:
- Single → double → Sit + Stand adaptability, giving us useful configurations for the baby we have now and another child in the future
- Up to 200 lbs of total kids + cargo capacity, giving me serious help when I'm managing outings on my own
- 70-lb lower storage basket + included 30-lb Market Tote, with room for groceries, luggage, beach gear and everything else family life brings along
- Expandable and retractable patented frame, creating more cargo or seating room when I need it and returning to a single-stroller footprint when I don't
- Primary Seat rated from birth to 65 lbs, with a built-in bassinet mode
- Second Seat rated from 6 months to 40 lbs, providing a traditional double-stroller option when both children need seats
- Sit + Stand rated from 2.5 years to 75 lbs, giving a bigger child the freedom to sit, stand or walk instead of being confined to a traditional stroller seat
- Easy reconfiguring and folding, so changing the stroller doesn't require a second adult
- Folds with the Second Seat or Sit + Stand attached, eliminating extra pieces to remove and load separately
- 33.5"L × 24.5"W × 19"H folded dimensions, compact enough to fit in the trunk of my Hyundai Tucson
- Roll-in vehicle loading, which reduces how much of the stroller I actually have to lift into the SUV
- Long-term usefulness, so the stroller we invested in for one baby doesn't become obsolete when our family changes
An Investment I Expect to Keep for Years
I'll be the first to admit it: the Entourage is an investment.
I thought about that before we bought it.
But I also thought about what I would spend if I bought a stroller for one baby now, a double stroller later, and then discovered that a traditional double didn't make sense anymore once our oldest wanted to walk most of the time.
That's what changed the equation for me.
I didn't want to buy a stroller for one particular snapshot of our family.
I wanted one that could adapt through years of different snapshots.
Right now, it's me and our baby, with enough storage for the groceries, suitcase or beach gear I'm managing along with us.
Someday, maybe there will be another little one riding beside them.
Later, maybe our oldest will be hopping on and off the Sit + Stand while a younger sibling rides up front.
And eventually, we may be right back to one child needing a stroller again.
I don't know exactly what those years will look like.
But that's kind of the point.
Military life has taught me that I can't plan for every change.
I can choose gear that's ready to adapt when those changes come.
For me, that's why the Austlen Entourage is worth the investment, and why I think we've found the best single to double to Sit and Stand stroller, the stroller with the best storage capacity, and the best stroller for military families like ours.
Image provided by customer is for illustrative purposes. To read their review and other customer reviews, click here.