High Chair brand review: Chicco

Web site:  chiccousa.com

Chicco’s Polly high chair ($150) features an adjustable footrest, compact fold, three-position seat recline, seven height positions and removable dishwasher-safe tray.

FYI: The Polly uses a fabric-like material on its seat pad that is only wipeable, not machine washable. (Past versions came with either a cloth pad or a vinyl pad. You might continue to see these online. If so, we’d avoid the cloth pads and stick with the vinyl seat versions).

Fans of the Chicco Polly like the tray, which can be removed with one-hand and hung off pegs on the back of the frame. The compact fold is nice, but the chair doesn’t stand well by itself. Readers who like the Polly love the stylish look—it comes in several snazzy color combinations.

Cleanability is a major negative to the Polly: the chair and tray have numerous seams, cracks and crevices that are food magnets. Also: the submarine protection is attached to the tray and not the seat, as we prefer for safety reasons. To top it off, the harness can be difficult to adjust.

Chicco has rolled out several variations of the Polly in recent years, including the Polly Magic ($127). The Magic version has an upgraded leatherette pad, toys and a storage basket. Although the frame base on the Magic version looks different than the regular Polly, the chairs are basically the same in terms of features.

Reader feedback on the Polly Magic has been mixed, with the tray being the biggest negative. Parents tell us the tray is too bulky, too high and can’t be removed with one hand. That probably much nixes the Polly Magic as a good high chair—it doesn’t matter if the chair otherwise is great. The tray can shoot down the whole thing.

The Polly Progress ($230) is Chicco’s attempt at the multi-function high chair market dominated by the Graco Blossom. The Progress is pitched as a 5-in-1 chair—the seat removes to become a kitchen booster (attached to a regular table chair). The base can also be used as a “youth stool” . . . which doesn’t sound that appetizing, but basically is a kiddo-sized bar chair.

Readers give the Polly Progress much better reviews than the Polly Magic—but the price is a bit sticking point. This chair competes directly with the Graco Blossom, which runs $165. It’s hard to justify the 40% price premium for the Progress. Perhaps the best answer for the Progress is it folds (and does so in a rather compact form). The Blossom doesn’t fold.

If the Progress seems a bit pricey, Chicco has a similar multi-function model at a lower price: the Chicco Stack ($120), a 3-in-1 high chair. First, it’s a traditional high chair with three position recline and two position footrest. Then you can remove the seat from the base and attach it to a regular kitchen chair as a booster. Finally, the base makes into a child’s seat with a backrest that pops up.

The Stack has fewer features than the Graco Blossom (example: the Stack is not height adjustable) but it is less expensive. Parents seems to love it, noting the easy of assembly and conversion plus a one-hand tray release. Some complain the seat cushion isn’t machine washable and the white parts can stain.

Reader feedback on the Chicco Stack has been quite positive—this is a well-designed chair with great quality. The drawbacks? Critics note it doesn’t fold and takes up a good amount of floor space. So parents with limited room in their kitchen, heads up.

Also: the Chicco Stack’s tray insert is NOT dishwasher safe. That’s a major oversight in our opinion. On the other hand, the Chicco Stack is $120, about $45 less than the Blossom. So it might be worth the trade off.

So a mixed review for Chicco. Between the models, the Chicco Stack is probably the best bet, with a great price point and good overall quality . . . if you can live with the fact it doesn’t fold away for storage.  Rating: B+