Design
The POD is a trim, solid stroller/trailer that, oddly, doesn’t come ready to roll right out of the box. The base model is just a chassis, handlebar and two rear wheels; to make it a trailer or stroller, you have to buy the relevant conversion kits—stroller, jogging stroller or bike trailer—which tack on another $45-90 each.

Performance
Fully assembled, the POD does have a few noteworthy features. The rear axle drum brake, operated with a single lever on the handlebar, comes in handy when you’re jogging downhill or pushing it through crowds or traffic. And the POD is the easiest to fold up of all the models I tested: just grab the two soft handles in front and pull. On the other hand, since it folds toward the read instead of the front, you can’t store all the removable parts like wheels inside it like you can with other models.

Comfort
It has a narrow, upright design with a relatively high center of gravity, so fitting two kids inside—at least ones bigger than babies—can be an exercise in patience. (At knee level it’s only 19” wide inside.) Storage space behind the seat is minimal. With no suspension, it had a little bounce as a trailer, but it’s still comfortable to tow, and its small footprint makes it more maneuverable than larger models. If you’re willing to forego day-glo visibility, the red-and-grey color scheme actually looks pretty slick.

Quality
Minor complaints: the square bike-arm attachment usually took some jiggling to connect, and all the wheels and bars attach with clip pins [? D-shaped things], which may make them more secure but is still an extra step when you’re taking things off and putting them on.

Value
On the whole, the POD is well designed and comfortable for its passenger(s), even if it’s a bit on the small side—which makes it all the more puzzling that for $500 you don’t get a fully functional unit. Even a rain cover is extra. Weird.