Design & Features
The Boomer high chair is a solid wooden high chair in a modern, European (i.e. adjustable), design but with an Australian boomerang shape to the legs. It comes in a natural finish.
The Boomer is designed to adjust to fit a child from 6 months to 15 years.
It's made from plantation rubber wood and the harnesses and cushion sets are optional extras.
The Boomer high chair is very well made and sturdy.
The Boomer features an adjustable seat & foot rest and a removable wooden restraint bar for babies. A 5 point safety harness is an optional extra and should always be used for younger children.
The Boomer does not have a tray, it's a high chair that's designed to pushed up to the table.
Finally all the edges of the Boomer chair are rounded so that there are no sharp or pointy bits for your child to hurt themselves on.
Performance & drawbacks
You need to put the Boomer together and it comes with an allen key, nuts and bolts and dowels so you can do this yourself. I must admit I've found it a challenge to put our tester Boomer together. I found the instructions a little difficult to follow and found the pieces too many to juggle by myself.
Having said that I called in the least handy member of this Best Buys household and he had it assembled in minutes. If you're not a very handy person (like me) I'd suggest you find a helper just to help you hold it together while you screw it together (or find someone else to do it for you!).
Once assembled the Boomer is solid and sturdy and I particularly like the way the legs are splayed to give it extra stability. It's a little heavier than an average wooden high chair but not so heavy that it's a strain to push it into your table (complete with toddler).
For a younger child, they really need to be sitting confidently before you pop them in their new high chair. You'd probably want to use a cushion under their bottom and behind their back to provide a little more comfort. The optional harness secures your child to the chair so they can't slip out of the bottom or fall over the top.
For an older child the footrest can be removed and the seat lowered to accommodate your child up to 15 years at the dinner table. The Boomer is certainly strong and stable enough to take an older child's weight.
For all children the backrest and seat are ergonomically designed to seat your child with the correct posture. The adjustable foot rest means that your child's feet are supported right up until they are long enough to reach the floor.
The Boomer is made from rubber wood. It can scratch so make sure you take care of it to ensure it looks just as great in 5 years time. To keep it clean just give it a wipe down with a damp cloth.
One thing that lets these modern style high chairs down in general is the lack of a tray. The addition of the tray would make them more versatile by being both a chair that you can bring to the table and an independent high chair.
One thing that lets the Boomer down in particular is the prints on the seat pad. The Boomer is pretty stylish and modern looking, I'd like to see some seat pads with funky, modern prints to match. An Australian themed pattern would be ideal. (PS. - I hear better options are on the way!)
Finally the wooden child restraint bar is reasonably wide. You'll want to make sure that it doesn't prevent you pushing the Boomer right up to your table.
We are going to send our Boomer high chair off to put it to the ultimate test. We'll let you know how it performs for its new occupant.
Conclusion
The Boomer is similar in design principle to other adjustable wooden high chairs on the market. What makes the Boomer stand out from the crowd is its unique Aussie themed design and it's chunky stability.
The Boomer is making it's way into baby stores now, in the meantime you can buy yours directly from Piccolo Innovations.
About Piccolo Innovations
Piccolo is an Australian company and the Boomer is its first product. The company specialises in designing modern children's furniture with a distinctly Australian feel.
