I don’t know about you, but we’ve been oh-so-slowly wrapping our mind around the fact that fall is creeping up on us. As much as I love curling up by the fire with a mug of tea, with warm cozy socks on… I’m not quite ready for that just yet! However, the nerdy part of me does appreciate that fall means getting back into a routine, and getting the house organized after a summer of travel and fun!
One of the biggest changes for Emmett this summer was definitely his food consumption. The types of food, and sheer volume of food that he’s eating has increased dramatically! Also important to note, is that we have what I affectionately refer to as a ‘cozy’ kitchen (read: small). We try to make the best of the space, but space-saving is definitely always on our minds. As I realized just how much time Em is going to be spending in his highchair eating (all. the. time.), I realized that having a full size highchair in our kitchen… all day long… isn’t exactly optimal. So, we started searching for solutions… and we found the clamp-on/hanging high chair!
Whether you’re looking at these chairs as a space saving solution, for outdoor dining, or for flexibility when dining out (all things that made us want to buy one!), you’ll want to know the ins-and-outs of the available options. So we did the heavy lifting for you, and put together a comparison of the major players in the Canadian market! We evaluated each of the following seats against Emmett’s ABC’s…
1.The guzzie + Gus Perch
2. The Chicco 360
3. The Chicco Travel Seat
4. The Phil and Teds Lobster
Here goes!
Affordability:
One of the best features when considering a clamp-on highchair, is their relative affordability (especially when compared to full size highchairs). The four brands we’re comparing all fall within about a $20 price spread, and all sit under the $100 mark. Check out the details below:
- guzzie + Gus Perch: $89.99
- Chicco 360:$89.99
- Chicco Travel Seat: $79.99
- Phil and Teds Lobster: $99.99
Blueprint:
We’ve identified the key design features of a hanging high-chair and have compared each seat on the key metrics below:
1)guzzie + Gus Perch:
- ~4 inches of clamp clearance
- 5-point harness
- 37 pound weigh capacity
- Highest back chair we could find, at 14 inches, for full back support
- Removable, machine washable cover
- Sleek design, full array of available colours
- Folds flat, comes with carry bag for travel which stores under seat when not in use
- guzzie + Gus is a Canadian company, which we love!
2) Chicco 360:
- ~5.5 inches of clamp clearance
- 3-point harness
- 37 pound weight capacity
- Rotates through 6 lockable seat positions around 360 degrees
- Removable plastic tray
- Machine washable seat cover, however it’s awkward to remove. Also there are many crevices in the metal components not covered by the seat cover that get food caught in them. Chicco recommends cleaning these with a toothbrush… seriously (?!)
- Comes with travel bag
3) Chicco Travel Seat:
- ~5.5 inches of clamp clearance, fit well over a lip if you’re trying to fit a table with a lip/ledge underneath
- 3-point harness
- 37 pound weight capacity
- Machine washable cover, however it’s a bit tough to remove
- Comes with travel bag
4) Phil and Teds Lobster:
- ~3.7 inches of clamp clearance (smaller clamping mechanism on this seat than the others)
- 5-point harness
- 37 pound weight capacity
- Machine washable cover, easily removable from frame!
- Folds flat, comes with travel bag
- Sleek design, offered in basic black/red colours
- Removable plastic tray
Creativity:
Each of these chairs has a component or two that differentiates it from the others, and provides a point of difference. Our recommendation is to identify which of these is most important to you, and that’ll help make the decision easier. Here are the key points of difference for each seat:
1)guzzie + Gus Perch:
- Highest back support, 5-point harness, Canadian company
2) Chicco 360:
- Pivots 360 degrees, removable plastic tray
3) Chicco Travel Seat:
- Least expensive, adaptable clamping mechanism
4) Phil and Teds Lobster:
- 5-point harness, removable plastic tray
Emmett’s Choice: The guzzie + Gus Perch!
For us, the guzzie + Gus Perch was the obvious choice! The 5-point harness in combination with the high back were essential for safety and comfort. Em is really tall, and he also tries to push himself out of every seat, so the extra peace of mind this offered was a win for us. We also loved that we were supporting a fantastic Canadian company (have we mentioned that we LOVE great Canadian companies and brands?), and let’s be honest… we love the look and design of the chair! It’s going to be in our kitchen most of the time – so having something that’s easy on the eyes was (slightly superficially) important to us too.
If the Perch is the right seat for you, you can buy the it HERE!
Happy high chair shopping!
Note: This review contains referral links so you can shop along with us!
