Is it worth investing in a travelling high chair?

Helping feed your infants when you’re on the move with a portable high chair

Infant parents know how critical a piece of equipment a high chair is at mealtimes for your weaning baby or toddler at home. But just how essential is a high chair when you are travelling?

We used to make do with sharing the holding duties if a high chair wasn’t available away from home. However, once you have multiple children this can become extremely challenging and impractical.

Not all destinations are built the same when it comes to kiddy gear such as high chairs (and safety standards vary considerably around the world!). So is it worth bringing your own portable high chair? Will it reduce your mealtime stresses or is it just another piece of baby kit to lug around when you travel?

We have a comprehensive guide here on how to feed your baby on the move, but in this post, we are going to specifically look at portable travel high chairs and which might suit you & your baby best. We will cover:

• Different styles of portable high chairs
• Features to look for in a good travel high chair
• Best portable high chairs on the market

This post is part of our tried & tested family travel product reviews

What to look for in a portable high chair

Styles of portable highchairs

There are four different styles of portable high chair perfect for travel:

• Clamp-on chairs – a foldable high chair with a metal frame and cloth seat with a harness that can clamp on to the actual table.
• Booster seats – usually made of plastic and designed to sit on top of an existing dining chair to bring your baby up to table height, or can be used on the ground with their own tray.
• Cloth High Chair – a lightweight material wrap around a dining chair to keep babies and toddlers secure at the table but does not increase their height.
• Foldable chair for toddlers – these are complete chairs with their own tray but varying heights that can fold away.

The best travelling high chairs

See all of our favourites compared here, then read on for more details for when we think these portable high chair options may suit your travel needs:

	Product	Style	Weight	Key features
	phil&teds Lobster Clip-On Highchair	Clamp-on	Product 3.8lbs Max load 37lbs	folds small 14"x13"x3" Easy wash Secure
	Inglesina Fast Table Chair	Clamp-on	Product 4.2 lbs Max load 37lbs	Fits tables up to 3.5" Easy to wash Folds flat
	Mountain Buggy Pod Clip-On Highchair	Clamp-on	Product 2.2 lbs Max load 33lbs	ultralight & small easy clean
	Chicco Caddy Hook-On Chair	Clamp-on	Product 5.8lbs Max load	easy clean fits more table types beep seat
	The First Years On-The-Go Booster	Booster	Product 15.8oz Max load 50lbs	Self inflates t-restraint Very light
	Ingenuity SmartClean Toddler Booster Seat	Booster	Product 3lbs Max load 110lbs	easy clean lightweight lasts until toddler
	Bumbo Multi Seat	Booster	Product 4.17lbs Max load not specified	Solid plastic 3-point harness Use from young age
	Fisher-Price Healthy Care Deluxe Booster Seat	Booster	Product 2.5lbs Max age 24mths	Easy clean Waist strap
	Easy Seat Portable Travel High Chair	Wrap	Product 8oz Max load unspecified	Extra shoulder straps
	ciao! Baby Portable High Chair for Travel	Chair	Product 7lbs max load 50lbs	5-point harness Nylon material Cup holder
	Summer Infant Pop N'Sit Booster	Chair	Product 4.5lbs Max load unspecified	3-point harness easy fold
	Baby Delight Go with Me Chair	Chair	Product 7.5lbs Max load 75lbs	5-point harness RemoveableTray Sun canopy

Best Clamp-on Portable High Chairs

We love how these work in theory, but execution can be very variable depending on where to are dining. They are a safe and secure option though and see your baby right up close to the action: Our favourites are:

• phil&teds Lobster Clip-On Highchair
• Inglesina Fast Table Chair
• Mountain Buggy Pod Portable High Chair
• Chicco Caddy Hook-On Chair

phil&teds Lobster Clip-On Highchair

This is our favourite of the table clip-on variety. Despite its size, it’s really super light to carry and folds down pretty flat when not in use into its own carry bag (It can fit in the bottom of your stroller or if your lucky, into a backpack/diaper bag).

The lining is machine washable and it includes a 5-point safety harness suitable to 37lbs and a removable tray table. This one’s pretty durable and works surprisingly well still even with a wiggly little one (and it looks good!)

It’s downfall – which is common to all the clip-on varieties we’re going to mention here – is finding the right table to connect it to. The clamps need the table to have a wide enough “lip” (it can handle table thickness from 0.8″ to 3.75″ to grab on to). Sadly it didn’t work on our table at home and we eventually sold ours, as cool and practical as it looked.

See also: Our review of the phil&teds Traveller carry cot – one of the lightest portable cots on the market.

Inglesina Fast Table chair

Also using the clamp-on style, this fancy number has a little pouch in the back of its washable cover which easily removes after use. Coming with its own travel bag and available in a variety of colours it is good from around 6 months until 37lbs and provides a 3-point safety harness.

There is little separating it in our option from the phil&teds, we do like the colour range but for practical purposes, it does the same job. We don’t like that you need to pay separately for the tray, and it is a little bigger, dimensions and weight (14″ x 17″ x 4″ folded).

Mountain Buggy Pod Clip-On High Chair

This is the absolute smallest and lightest in the clamp-on range we could find, weighing in at just 2.2lbs. Clamps to tables with a thickness of 0.8″ to 2″ (slightly more restrictive than the previous two) with rubber pads to avoid table damage.

If you want something super small but sturdy this will do the job, though better for your smaller infants with a max weight of 33lbs. Comes in three colours and with a carry bag and is washable.

See also: Love your lightweight but sturdy Mountain Buggy gear? See our review of the Mountain Buggy Nano ultra-compact stroller

Chicco Caddy Hook-On Chair

This is the biggest and heaviest of the clamp on variety but still folds quite flat and includes a 3-point safety harness, washable, but no carry bag.

The larger clamps on this one undoubtedly add weight but do make it more versatile as it can fit around tables that have skirts (that beam of wood underneath). They recommend between 0.75″ and table skirts up to 5.5″ including tabletop).

Best Booster Portable High Chairs

We start to see slightly higher weight capacity as we move into the booster seat range which attaches to the dining chair rather than the table. They also tend to be a little bulkier than the clamp-on variety of high chair, so bear this in mind for when you’re transiting with your baby gear.

Here are our top picks for portable boosters:

• The First Years On-The-Go Booster
• Bumbo Multi Seat
• Ingenuity SmartClean Toddler Booster Seat
• Fisher-Price Healthy Care Deluxe Booster Seat

The First Years On-The-Go Booster Seat

A self-inflating booster! This one actually weighs in super light for a full booster and has a single strap under the chair. Suitable from 9 months and up to 50lbs this is better for your larger infants.

The product zips back up inside itself and is less than a 1lbs making it excellent for frequent travellers, no compromises on safety with a 3-point harness and easy wipe surface. No tray or other accessories included.

Bumbo Multi Seat

Now I’ll admit be LOVED our Bumbo at home on the floor, however, we are dubiously putting it here in the portable category as we have used it on the move too! It’s great for in the garden, picnics and camping and as it’s quite supportive can be used before 6-months.

It comes with a 3-point harness to keep baby snug and secure and a detachable tray that can store on the bag when not in use. Retractable straps allow it to be strapped on to a chair and it has an easy-to-clean plastic surface. It comes in a variety of fun colours to suit your decor!

Yep, it’s a little bulkier than some and doesn’t have a carry bag or shoulder strap. However if you want something practical for at home, and a booster for when you’re on the move for the littlest ones, this is my value-for-money pick.

Ingenuity SmartClean Toddler Booster Seat

A straight forward strap on booster that can work stand-alone on the floor much like the Bumbo, or strapped to a dining chair with a 3-point harness and a base and back strap. The seat part easily detaches from the base for easy cleaning.

Again, this isn’t entirely designed for the travel market. but it is super light for what you get so does classify as being portable, at a slightly cheaper pricing point than Bumbo too.

Fisher-Price Healthy Care Booster Seat

A little bit bulky but easy to clean, dishwasher safe tray and can connect to a standard dining chair with straps. It is light, it is cheap – is it really that portable though?

It attaches to just about any chair and is secured with a bottom strap and a back strap, with a third strap around the child’s waist. We like the built-in sippy cup feature, and the fact it has a shoulder strap for carrying but is the heaviest of this variety of portable seat. Good if you are leaving it at a relatives house for occasional use, for example.

Best Cloth High Chair

• My Little Seat Travel Highchair
• Easy Seat Portable Travel High Chair

My Little Seat Travel Highchair

A durable fabric that wraps around a standard chair. It comes with a 5-point harness and is suitable from approximately 6 months (must be able to sit unaided) through to 35lbs.

We have removed this recommendation now as it appears the product is no longer available as at June 2021

Easy Seat Portable Travel High Chair

An incredibly sturdy fabric that fits over most chair types and includes a harness to wear over the shoulders for extra security. Fits chairs to a max height 16″ and 19″ width. It’s a “one click” secure then adjust the fasteners to tighten to your child’s size.

The product is machine washable and folds back into a tiny bag making it one of the best here for portability, yet sturdy. At a top value price point too so no big investment needed for a little extra convenience.

Foldable High Chair

This sort of chair is best for your outdoor adventures nearer to home. They are not as light and compact as the above-mentioned brands for overseas travel, but they work for safety and sturdiness that you can still easily move away from the kitchen at home – perfect for camping with a baby or for giving baby a sand-free seat at the beach.

• Ciao! Baby Portable High Chair for Travel
• Summer Infant Pop N’Sit Booster
• Baby Delight Go With Me Chair

Ciao! Baby Portable High Chair for Travel

This is an easy fold-out model that still gives your child some height to join you at the table when you’re away from home. It is a little weighty coming out at 7lbs and its quite long when its folded up (32″)

The parts don’t come apart for cleaning so you will need to sponge (or hose) this type of portable high chair down, but a great outdoorsy option with durable fabric. We like the built-in cup holder but note its not a hard surface tray.

Summer Infant Pop N’Sit Portable booster

Another portable high chair best suited for picnics, the beach and camping, it sits lower to the ground. It comes with its own hard tray and available in three colours.

A 3-point harness keeps your infant secure – but I can hardly see you pulling this one out in a city cafe? Great for day excursion nearer to home though – this is the one my brother’s family use and recommend, thanks for the personal recommendation!

Baby Delight Go With Me Chair

A little bigger than some of the models of portable high chair we’ve looked at here as it includes a sun canopy as well, but oh so useful! Weighing in at 7.5 lbs you’re not packing it in your hand luggage, but regular campers, take note!!

The chair will grow with your child as the sun canopy, tray and harness are removable making it ideal for camping with toddlers too. We also love that there are 8 contact points on the ground for added stability.