Pros: One hand tray release, wheels, 3 position recline
Cons: Child can "kick" the tray off, pain to remove the cover to clean
The Bottom Line: A great chair with lots of wonderful features, but think about the ease of washing the pad and the food your child will get on it, like spaghetti sauce.
melolabel's Full Review: Baby Trend Breckenridge Highchair 8878
I must have spent an hour in Toys R Us looking at high chairs and trying my baby in them. We bought the chair about a year and a half ago when my son was 6 months old. This had all the great features of the Chicco mama.
~The wheels
~The adjustable height
~The one hand removable tray
~The 3 position recline
I also really like the gingham fabric, it felt softer and comfier than a vinyl seat cover. But after a year and a half I almost wish it had a vinyl seat cover. The cover washes up pretty good, you just have to make sure that all the crumbs and gunk are scraped out of the seams, otherwise they'll get glued in to the seams. The only problem is that it is a pain to unthread the harness system in order to get the cover off. You have to take the webbing out of all the buckles in order to remove the pad. The crotch strap doesn't remove either, which makes it the most difficult to clean. Underneath the seat pad is a vinyl covered foam pad. Our is starting to tear a little at the stress points, where the straps go through. The seat bottom (with the pad off) wipes up pretty good. The foot rest, however, tends to collect crumbs and dried up peas. It is difficult to get it all the way clean. I've tried vaccuming it and using a damp cloth, but I think I'll have to unscrew the foot rest in order to get it really clean.
So enough about cleaning. I love the fact that you can wheel it all over the kitchen with out a problem. It's not quite as smooth on carpet, but not bad. The five point harness is also a nice feature. My niece, who is the master houdini escape artist, couldn't even get out of this one. My brother also praised the 5 point harness. My son isn't quite as adventurous, so we usually just use the belt around the waist, and he seems to stay put pretty good. And the three position recline was nice when he was still little. I would usually feed him when he was this young with out the tray on.
The one hand tray release is great too, with one flaw in our model. I understand that they have rectified this problem and that replacement trays can be ordered from Baby Trend for 25$. My son can lift his leg up and get his toes into the handle release and if he pushes hard enough, can "kick" the tray off of the chair. He's only done this a couple of times and has gotten busted big time. Another new feature which is not on my model is the removable/washable tray. That is a great added feature.
There is a passive restraint bar that comes up the middle between the child's legs, but not over the top of their legs (like the Graco's) so it is VERY easy to get them in and out. However, quite a bit of food collects around this post in the nooks and crannies. But I think that would be true of most chairs with these types of restraints.
The tray stores nicely on the back of the chair legs, but you have to get it on the hangers just right or it will come crashing down on the floor. I've done this numerous times.
And while the chair is made to last a long time, the tray seems to be very high up. My son is in the 95 percentile for height, always has been, and the tray has always been a little too high up on his chest. This and the having to undo the harness to wash the pad would be my two biggest complaints. Otherwise the chair has been great.
I will strongly advise think long and hard about a fabric cover before you buy. Think of spaghetti sauce, ketchup, mustard, peanut butter and jelly, strained peas even, being rubbed not only on your child's face but all over the sides of the chair where their heads are. Think also of the renegade ravioli's that fall down into the seat. And then enjoy!
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