Favorite Portable High Chairs for Feeding on the Go
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. The post does contain affiliate links from which I earn a modest amount of revenue that helps underwrite the cost of upkeeping the site. I was gifted some of the boosters in this review although the thoughts and sentiments about the products written below are my own.
Favorite Portable High Chairs for Feeding on the Go
If you’re taking your show on the road, you might be wondering how baby-led weaning works when you’re traveling or out of your regular routine.
Food is pretty easy because your baby has a lot more options with BLW than traditional spoon-feeding.
One of the benefits of a baby-led approach to starting solids is that babies learn to eat modified versions of the same foods the rest of the family is eating.
So, because you don’t have to purchase and pack all sorts of baby-food, I think it’s actually easier to do BLW than traditional spoon-feeding on vacation or trips.
…but what about the chair?
Choosing a safe seat for your baby to eat is hard enough when you’re at home, but safety also matters when you’re at home.
Here are a few of my favorite portable booster chairs that might work for you when you’re feeding away from home.
Chicco Pocket Snack Booster
You know what they say about your first love…
(...well I actually don’t know how that saying ends :)
Regardless, the first portable booster I ever had and used was the Chicco Pocket Snack Booster.
And I still love it.
Our quadruplets had just started solid foods with baby-led weaning and we were on a road trip from San Diego to Texas. When we got to my mother-in-law’s house in Texas I realized I hadn’t really thought through how I was going to get 4 babies to eat when I didn’t have their high chairs with me.
I ordered 4 different portable boosters to try them all out and the CHICCO POCKET SNACK BOOSTER was the first one to arrive and the best one by far.
So we fell in love.
Here’s what I like about this high chair:
It’s plastic. Usually I avoid plastic in feeding but they don’t eat the chair and you can hose plastic down - so it’s super easy to wash and clean up after. (At my mother-in-law’s house remember...the BLW mess isn’t always so fun at someone else’s house :)
It has 3 different levels; you could feed flat on the ground but baby’s knees should be at 90 degree angle so pop up to lower level so feet rest on floor and then level 2 when baby gets a little taller
It has straps that affix chair to adult chair or bar stool so you can safely put baby in there and bring up to table for baby-led weaning if you want. Or feed popped-up on the floor.
I use this all of the time on TV segments when I can’t bring my full size chairs. They’re not perfect or as safe as your full size high chair with the footrest, but the Chicco Pocket Snack is a good portable option for sure.
Here’s what I don’t love as much about this chair:
The bump under the tray that separates the baby’s legs is probably a safety feature of some sorts, but it means you can’t compactly pack this chair. The chair part folds down really nice but the tray is kind of cumbersome. Fine if you have 1 baby but I always hated having to pack 4 of these with quadruplets because it took up some space.
The tray size doesn’t fit my bowls. Even the ezpz Tiny Bowl which is super small (5 oz) has a footprint that is too big for this tray. Not the end of the world, checkout more info on why it’s wise to feed out of a suction mat or bowl instead of off the tray or table.
The ezpz product are the original silicone suction mats and bowls that fit on most (but not all) regular size high chair trays. Because portable trays are smaller, some products don’t fit. You can get 10% off all feeding gear at ezpzfun.com with code KATIE10.
So, all in all the CHICCO POCKET SNACK BOOSTER is a great high chair for $30. It comes in a variety of different colors (…check Target if Amazon stock is low) and you’ll have it for awhile.
Of course once your cute little baby because a bigger baby or toddler, there’s the potential the baby starts rocking and can tip the chair backward. I would always back the chair up against a wall if feeding from the floor or strap it with back and under the chair straps into an adult chair to make it safe for feeding.
Summer Pop ‘n Sit Portable Booster Chair
I’ve used this Summer Pop ‘n Sit Portable Booster Chair off and on for years for babies and it’s another sturdy, affordable $30 option.
This is more of a “camp style” chair that folds down and comes in its own carrying back. We take this everywhere, usually to the beach because it’s easy to shake sand out of…and I just love the visual of little babies lounging in their beach chairs which double as high chairs!
Its more compact than the Chicco Pocket Snack and you can use it as an actual chair for bigger babies in addition to a high chair.
We use this chair also for camping or outdoor events like parades. The tray is really easy to slide off and on and you can store it in the canvas carrying bag it comes in.
Some of my favorite parts of this chair are:
Tray is small and fits into the bag that the folded down chair also comes in so you don’t get the tray separated from the chair easily
It’s really lightweight and at one point 6 of my 7 kids were using these (quadruplets and then twins 2 years apart) and they store really easily in our van or trailer
Drawbacks of the chair:
The canvas isn’t removable. So if you have spaghetti sauce or something brutal you want to wash out you have to scrub it vs. removing it and throwing in the wash. I’ve seen some parents attempt to take the canvas off, but putting it back on looked so exhausting that I never attempted myself. Again, it’s $30 so removable canvas probably wasn’t in the cards in the original design
Tray size also small; doesn’t hold suction mats so more challenging to feed babies off of. But then again, it’s a portable chair, so the whole thing is designed to be small.
This chair also comes in a number of colors. We’ve had different models, they’re all basically the same. Make sure you’re getting the PORTABLE pop ‘n sit booster from Summer though; I don't’ recommend their regular pop ‘n sit high chair because it does not have a footrest. Babies need to be able to rest their feet on a solid surface to support a safe swallow.
Bombol Pop-Up Booster
The Bombol Pop-Up Booster is a newer booster bills itself as a “sofa in a bag”. It has a really unique origami-type design that folds down totally flat.
The Bombol booster is definitely a pricier option around $150. But if you’re interested in design, durability and saving space - this has it all.
What do I like about the Bombol booster?:
So durable. I’ve had little babies & bigger babies sit in it. There’s a 5-point harness that can be turned into a 3-point harness later on and adjustable straps make it so easy to fit your baby’s size. It says it holds up to 165 pounds and I’ve sat in it and jumped on it and it really is indestructible.
Also has straps to affix to the back of adult chairs or bar stools so you can feed baby at the table.
Folds down flat. This is huge if you have limited space. It also comes with its own carry bag that acts as a seat cover. I don’t use it as a seat cover as it’s one more thing to clean, but the design is beautiful. And doesn’t take up hardly any space.
Some drawbacks of the chair:
It’s a higher priced item; some families may not spend this much on their every day chair, so it’s not an option for a portable sometimes chair at that price point. My code KATIE10 works for 10% off when the code is active.
Doesn’t have built in adjustable levels. That would interfere with the simple design, but you have to prop up on other boxes or books to move the seat level so feet are resting flat on a chair - I’ve done it for sure, but DIY footrests might not be everyone’s thing!
Click to check out the Bombol.
