Top of the Which? league table of high chairs is... ....
The Graco Contempo high chair is a lightweight, folding chair designed for babies and young children up to the age of three. It certainly boasts good design, but what else did we find in our high chair tests?
The Graco Contempo did well enough on our tests to be rated a Best Buy. It's well padded, easy to clean, and it has a feeding tray which is generally well-designed.
Its manufacturers claim that it's suitable for children up to three years old, and our testers agreed.
Easily adjustable
The Graco Contempo has three different recline positions, and it can be adjusted to six different heights. There's also a foot rest, although this is not removable or adjustable.
When it comes to safety, this chair has most bases covered - it has a height-adjustable, five-point safety harness and a solid safety bar which remains attached to the chair when the tray table is removed.
Folds away neatly
When folded shut it's just 21cm deep and 89 cm high, which is small enough to slide under a standard kitchen counter. So if you have an awkward narrow space in your kitchen next to your fridge, this can now be put to good use.
Folding the chair shut isn't intuitive but, as one parent in our test said: 'It's easy once you know how.'
You click the two red buttons on the front of the chair underneath the tray table to collapse the arms, then click the two buttons on the side to pull the chair up to flatten it. Finally, you click two buttons on the back of the chair to bring it down to the lowest height position.
When collapsed, the Contempo is easy to carry - it weighs just 8.9kg - and there are two lockable castors on the front legs which help manoeuvre the chair when it's not folded.
It's also freestanding, so you don't have to lean it against a wall or door.
Dishwasher-safe tray
The two-part, segmented removable tray was popular with the parents in our test.
They were particularly impressed with the single-hand quick release, although they said that to remove the tray insert it needed to tip towards the child, which could make a mess.
Those with active toddlers may also find that the insert in the feeding tray is a little too easy for young fingers to remove. Both the feeding tray and insert are dishwasher-safe.
Not machine washable
The Contempo has a removable, padded seat which is easy to wipe clean, although this is not machine-washable. There are lots of hooks, poppers, and straps that make removing the cover very fiddly, however.
There were a couple of faint stains left on the fabric after our wet food test, but the bright print hid them well.
The shape of the seat means that dry food does catch in the seams of the cushion but this is common with this style of highchair.
Pros: Easy to clean, small when collapsed shut, compartmentalised dishwasher-safe feeding tray, reclinable.
Cons: Tray insert could be removed by toddlers, removing the padded cover is fiddly, crumbs can get caught in the seams of the chair, some parents did not like the lockable castors.
The other 4 Best Buys are the Cosatto Noodle, Chicco Polly Magic, Chicco Jazzy and the Oxo Tot Sprout (which is by far the best name
). Let me know if you want any of the other reviews.
I have also heard good things about cheapo IKEA high chairs but Which? don't appear to have reviewed them out of the 29 they have looked at.