This affordable high chair converts to a booster seat and toddler chair for kids up to 50 pounds — it's sleek, portable, and easy to clean

• The Ingenuity SmartClean Trio Elite 3-in-1 High Chair is a versatile, affordable high chair that will grow with your child.
• Thanks to its lack of fabric and dishwasher-safe tray cover, it's easy to clean.

When my youngest daughter was ready for a high chair, I settled on the Ingenuity SmartClean Trio Elite 3-in-1 because of its impressive array of features, all for under $100. The high chair has easy-to-clean components and can be used as a traditional high chair, a booster seat, or a toddler chair for children who weigh less than 50 pounds.

I've been using the high chair with my daughter for more than three months, and it's been perfect for our family's needs.

Design and assembly

No tools were required for assembly and my husband put the chair together very quickly and easily. Fully assembled with the tray attached, it weighs approximately 18 pounds and is 42 inches tall from the floor to the top of the high chair. The seat is only 15 inches wide, but at the floor level, it's 22 inches wide and 36 inches deep.

The seat itself is equipped with a five-point harness and can be detached and secured as a booster seat on a regular chair. As soon as your baby is able to sit up on their own at around 6 months old, they can safely use the high chair or the booster. As a bonus, if you have both a baby and toddler, you can use the booster and toddler chair simultaneously.

The chair has metal legs, and the seat is made of plastic but includes two separate pieces of removable EVA foam, which cushion the back and bottom of the seat. There is no fabric on the chair, and the nylon five-point harness is detachable and machine-washable.

How to use the high chair

To keep my daughter secure in the chair, I place a harness restraint over each shoulder and clip each one into the bottom buckle. Once she's safely strapped in, I click the tray into place and can easily do it with just one hand. The tray can click into four different spots, so I can adjust it as she grows. Unfortunately, the footrest cannot be adjusted, so smaller babies' legs hang freely.

I use the high chair with my daughter all day long. With the 360-degree rotating wheels on its base (the back ones lock), I can easily roll it into the kitchen and entertain or feed my daughter while I'm doing other tasks like dishes or meal prepping.

How to use the booster seat

Converting the high chair to the booster is simple. There are two one-click buttons on both the back and the front bottom of the seat that you press at the same time to detach it from the leg base. To secure the booster on a chair, you take the two sets of straps on either side of the seat (they are hidden in a compartment when not in use) and fasten them onto a chair. One set goes around the back of the chair, and the other set fastens around the bottom. You can only use the booster on a chair that has a back that's at least 10 inches tall and a seat that is at least 17 inches wide and 21 inches deep.

How to use the toddler chair

Once your toddler is over 3 years old or 33 pounds, you can remove the seat from the legs and use the base as a toddler chair. The leg base of the chair looks like any traditional toddler chair you'd see at a restaurant. The seat itself is made of plastic, without fabric or padding, and has its own lap belt made of nylon.

My daughter isn't big enough for the toddler chair yet, but I like that I have the option for when family and friends with toddlers come to visit. We can still use the booster seat for my daughter and offer them a toddler chair as well.

How it is to clean

When my daughter starts to eat more table food, I know things will get really messy, so I love that the high chair is easy to clean. The two foam cushions in the chair overlap so there aren't cracks or crevices that may catch food.

The cushions aren't dishwasher safe or machine-washable, but I can wipe them off with a damp cloth. I've also been pleasantly surprised that the foam cushions and the rest of the high chair haven't stained.

Because the tray has a removable dishwasher-safe cover, I can easily pop it off if my daughter makes a mess mid-meal and carry on with just the base tray. And if I forget to wash the cover at night, I can remove it in the morning and still have a fully functional high chair for breakfast.

The main tray, however, is not dishwasher safe. I clean it with a damp cloth or wash it in the sink with soap and water.

The cons

As far as high chairs go, the SmartClean Trio Elite 3-in-1 is quite wide at the base. From the back of the legs to the front, it measures 36 inches, so if you have a smaller living area, this may be a dealbreaker. And while it is very easy to convert to a portable booster, the chair itself does not fold up. If you need a high chair that you can easily stow away between uses, consider the Graco DuoDiner 3-in-1 High Chair.

The bottom line

If you have the room for a larger high chair and want something affordable, portable, and extendable into the toddler years, I recommend Ingenuity's SmartClean Trio Elite 3-in-1 Elite High Chair. It's sturdy, easy-to-clean, and will get extended life in my home as both a booster chair and a toddler seat.