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Updated August 2026: Mac Sports’ own page lists the MACWagon at 27.1 lb; Easterly publishes two load ratings, a 150 kg static figure and an 80 kg dynamic one, not just the single 330 lb figure most roundups repeat. The RTIC Ultra Tough is sold out at RTIC as of this update. New here: the October 2025 federal recall of a folding utility wagon under the stroller rule, and what each of these four says in writing about children riding.
The Veer All-Terrain Cruiser takes the tally at 79.9 out of 100 and the RTIC Ultra Tough finishes last at 39.7. That order flips the moment you decide the wagon is only ever hauling cargo: strike the passenger axis and the $169.99 Mac Sports MACWagon wins at 87.5 with the $699 Veer second. Which of those two beach wagon tallies is yours depends on one question, and it is not about sand. It is whether a child is going to sit in it.
Weigh These Five Things, Not the Beach Wagon’s Sticker
Every score below is computed from a figure the maker publishes on its own site, or from a document a government agency publishes. Where a maker publishes nothing, the cell is a zero with the reason printed rather than a guess.
- Rolling capacity — 25%. The lowest load figure the maker will stand behind for a wagon in motion, divided by the highest in this field, 300 lb. Not the parked figure.
- Passengers permitted and certified — 20%. Does the maker allow a person to ride, and is the wagon certified to a child-carrying standard? 100 if yes, 0 if the maker says no or says nothing.
- Price per pound of rolling capacity — 20%. The maker’s own current price divided by the rolling figure above, then scored against the cheapest.
- Buyable today on the maker’s site — 15%. 100 for an add-to-cart button, 0 for a notify-me form.
- Warranty published with readable terms — 20%. Months of coverage divided by 24, the longest verifiable term here. A warranty you cannot find scores zero.
| Wagon | Capacity 25% | Passengers 20% | Price/lb 20% | Buyable 15% | Warranty 20% | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veer All-Terrain Cruiser | 83.3 | 100 | 20.3 | 100 | 100.0 | 79.9 |
| Mac Sports MACWagon Push & Pull | 100.0 | 0 | 100.0 | 100 | 50.0 | 70.0 |
| Easterly Pull-About | 58.8 | 0 | 25.0 | 100 | 50.0 | 44.7 |
| RTIC Ultra Tough Wagon | 83.3 | 0 | 94.4 | 0 | 0 | 39.7 |
The Veer’s 79.9 is (83.3 × 0.25) + (100 × 0.20) + (20.3 × 0.20) + (100 × 0.15) + (100.0 × 0.20) = 20.83 + 20.00 + 4.06 + 15.00 + 20.00. It wins on one axis worth a fifth of the tally and it is the worst value per pound in the field by a factor of nearly five. That is a fragile win, and the section near the bottom shows exactly how fragile.
Read the Capacity the Maker Stands Behind While Rolling
A rated capacity on a folding wagon is not one number. Easterly makes that plain on its own product page and everyone quoting it drops half the answer.
| Claim | Where it is printed | What the maker’s own page also says | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easterly Pull-About holds 330 lb | Field Mag’s wagon test, 17 June 2026 | easterly.co prints a static load of 150 kg AND a dynamic load of 80 kg — 330.7 lb parked, 176.4 lb moving | The headline figure is the parked figure |
| MACWagon weighs 36.6 lb empty | Field Mag’s spec table | macsports.com prints a product weight of 27.1 lb | 9.5 lb apart. I could not resolve it and did not pick one |
| Veer Cruiser holds 250 lb | goveer.com | The same page prints 55 lb per seat across 2 seats for passengers — a separate limit for a separate job | Two limits, both published, neither hidden |
| RTIC Ultra Tough is ‘built to carry up to 250 lbs’ | rticoutdoors.com | The same page publishes no empty weight, no wheel size and no warranty | Nothing to check the claim against |
Static and dynamic are not marketing hedges. A static load is what a structure holds standing still. A dynamic load is what it holds while the thing is rolling, dropping off a curb, or being yanked over a rut. Easterly rates its wagon at 150 kg one way and 80 kg the other, and the second number is 53 percent of the first. Every roundup I read, including Field Mag’s editor-tested folding wagon comparison, prints 330 lb and stops.
So the tally above uses 176.4 lb for the Easterly. That is Easterly’s own number for a wagon in use, and a beach wagon is never parked when it matters.
Look Up the Stroller Rule Before You Put a Child In One
Three of these makers print a warning. Mac Sports writes on the MACWagon page: ‘Please note that it is not made to transport children.’ Easterly writes on the Pull-About page: ‘The Pull-About is not designed for transporting children, adults or pets.’ Target’s Embark Collapsible Wagon, the $50 answer people reach for first, says it is ‘not recommend for carrying children’ and was out of stock when I checked. RTIC’s product page says nothing either way, which is not the same as saying yes.
The reason those sentences exist is regulatory. 16 CFR Part 1227 requires that each carriage and stroller comply with ASTM F833-21, and CPSC’s own business guidance defines a stroller as ‘a wheeled vehicle for the transport of one or more infants or children generally in a sitting-up or semi-reclined position.’ That guidance does not use the word wagon anywhere. A wagon a child sits up in still fits the definition.
And the agency has enforced it that way. On 23 October 2025 CPSC published recall 26-044: Olympia Tools International recalled about 530 Pack-N-Stroll Premium Folding Utility Wagons, sold through Costco.com and cohooutdoors.com from June through July 2025 for $200 to $400. The stated reason is that the wagon ‘violates the mandatory standard for strollers because an opening between the organizational tray and the sidewall may cause a child’s head to become entrapped, posing a risk of serious injury or death,’ and that ‘the utility wagon’s lack of a restraint system poses a risk of falls to children.’ No incidents were reported. The remedy is a refund.
Read that hazard sentence again. Nothing broke. The wagon was recalled for what it does not have: a gap small enough and a harness at all. Those are exactly the things a cargo wagon has no reason to include.
One of these four is built the other way. Veer publishes a passenger rating of 55 lb per seat across two seats, states that the Cruiser is JPMA Certified, and claims it ‘meets or exceeds ASTM, SOR and EN 1888.2 safety standards.’ That is a different product class wearing a wagon’s shape, and it is priced like one at $699.
This page reports what each maker and the CPSC publish. It does not rank these wagons by safety and it is not a substitute for the manufacturer’s own instructions. If a child is going to ride, follow that maker’s harness, age and weight guidance exactly, and do not put a child in a wagon whose maker says not to.
I searched the CPSC recall record for all four brands and found nothing covering the MACWagon, the Cruiser, the Ultra Tough or the Pull-About.
Divide the Price by the Pounds It Will Actually Roll
Now the money, computed on the rolling figures rather than the parked ones. Prices are each maker’s own, read this month.
| Wagon | Maker’s price | Rolling capacity used | Dollars per pound |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mac Sports MACWagon Push & Pull | $169.99 | 300 lb | $0.57 |
| RTIC Ultra Tough Wagon | $149.99 (sold out; list $249.99) | 250 lb | $0.60 |
| Easterly Pull-About | $399.00 | 176.4 lb (80 kg dynamic) | $2.26 |
| Veer All-Terrain Cruiser | $699.00 | 250 lb cargo | $2.80 |
The spread from top to bottom is 4.9 times. Two things are worth pulling out of that table rather than leaving in it.
First, the RTIC’s $0.60 is a sale number. At its own list price of $249.99 it is $1.00 a pound and its score on that axis falls from 94.4 to 56.7, which would drop it further behind the Easterly. Second, the Easterly moves from $1.21 a pound to $2.26 depending purely on which of its two published ratings you use. That is the largest single swing on this page and it comes from reading one more line on the maker’s own site.
Buy the MACWagon If the Load Is Cargo
At $169.99 with a 300 lb rating, the MACWagon is the cheapest pound-for-pound wagon here and the only one that took a perfect score on two axes. Field Mag’s testers put it at the top on the surface this page is named for: ‘The MacWagon’s wheels made it the easiest to move through the obstacle course being both the heartiest on sand and also moved the most fluid on concrete.’ That is the closest thing to a sand verdict anyone has published on this field.
Two honest problems. Mac Sports covers it for one year, half of what Veer publishes. And the empty weight is genuinely unsettled: Mac Sports prints 27.1 lb on its own page while Field Mag’s table prints 36.6 lb. I am not picking between them. Note that Field Mag’s table also prints 36.6 lb for the Ozark Trail cart on the same page, which is the kind of coincidence that makes a spec table worth doubting rather than quoting.
Skip this if anyone is going to ride in it. Mac Sports has written down that this is not what the wagon is for.
Pay $699 Only If Children Ride
The Veer All-Terrain Cruiser wins this tally and it wins it narrowly and for one reason. Take the passenger axis away and it drops to second. On cargo alone it costs 4.9 times what the MACWagon costs per pound it will carry, and it carries 50 lb less.
What the money buys is the thing the other three decline to sell you: a published passenger rating, a restraint system, and JPMA certification. Veer also has the longest published warranty here, two years, and its own warranty page states it runs ‘from your date of purchase’ rather than from registration. At 32.6 lb with wheels on and 24.6 lb with them off, it is the only one that gets meaningfully lighter for the trunk.
Skip this if the only passengers are a cooler and four chairs. You are paying $529 more than the MACWagon for a capability you will not use, and getting less capacity for it.
Read Easterly’s Two Load Numbers Before Paying $399
Field Mag named the Pull-About its best overall wagon. My tally puts it third at 44.7, and that disagreement is worth stating plainly rather than burying: it is not a judgment about how the thing rolls. It is about what happens when you score it on the rating Easterly publishes for a wagon in motion instead of the one everybody quotes.
Credit where it is due. Easterly is the only maker in this field that publishes both a static and a dynamic figure at all. The other three publish one number and leave you to assume which condition it describes. Easterly told the truth in more detail and got scored down for it, which is a real weakness in how I have weighted this and you should know it before you accept the order.
The rest: $399, in stock with an add-to-cart button, 27.6 lb empty, inflatable rear tyres with front casters, and a 12-month warranty from date of purchase per Easterly’s own warranty page. The passenger line is unambiguous and covers adults and pets as well as children.
Skip this if you were buying it on the 330 lb figure. At 176 lb rolling it is a mid-capacity wagon at a premium price.
Wait for the RTIC, or Move On
The named loser, at 39.7, and it lost on things RTIC could fix this afternoon. The Ultra Tough Wagon is sold out on rticoutdoors.com with a notify-me form where the buy button goes. Its product page publishes a capacity and nothing else — no empty weight, no wheel diameter, no warranty term. Field Mag lists it at 30 lb and $150 and rates it best for camping, praising ‘a thicker, heartier, durable steel frame’ over its nearest rival.
It is probably a good wagon. It scored 94.4 on price per pound, second only to the MACWagon. But two of five axes are zeros because RTIC has published nothing to fill them with, and a wagon you cannot buy is not a recommendation.
Skip this if you need a wagon before the weekend, or if you want to know what it weighs before it arrives.
Zero the Passenger Axis and Watch the Order Change
Most people buying a beach wagon are hauling gear. For them the passenger axis is worth nothing, so here is the same tally with it removed and its 20 points redistributed across the other four axes in proportion.
| Wagon | Full tally | Cargo-only tally | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mac Sports MACWagon Push & Pull | 70.0 | 87.5 | +17.5, and first place |
| Veer All-Terrain Cruiser | 79.9 | 74.9 | −5.0, second |
| Easterly Pull-About | 44.7 | 55.9 | +11.2, third |
| RTIC Ultra Tough Wagon | 39.7 | 49.6 | +9.9, fourth |
One axis, a fifth of the weight, and the winner changes and the gap becomes 12.6 points instead of 9.9 the other way. If you want the arithmetic: with the passenger axis gone the remaining weights become 31.25, 25, 18.75 and 25 percent, and the MACWagon’s 87.5 is (100.0 × 0.3125) + (100.0 × 0.25) + (100 × 0.1875) + (50.0 × 0.25).
Prices are approximate, current as of publication, and change frequently — confirm the latest price with the retailer before buying.
Take Two Numbers Away From This
The first is 80 kg, because it is Easterly’s own rating for the wagon while it is moving and it is 53 percent of the figure printed everywhere else. Before you buy any wagon on a capacity claim, find out whether that claim describes it parked or rolling. Three of these four makers do not say.
The second is recall 26-044, because it settles an argument people have every summer. A folding utility wagon was pulled off the market under the federal stroller standard for a gap and a missing harness, and three of the four wagons on this page carry a written instruction from their own maker not to put a child in them.
The wagon is one third of a beach morning. Our beach shade comparison handles the sun and our cooler comparison handles the ice, and if the wagon doubles as campsite transport, our tent comparison covers where it is headed. The rest sits in Outdoors & Travel.
