{Dear Santa} Inglesina Fast and Zuma Reviews & Giveaway (ends 12/19)

Inglesina.  You guys have heard me talk about this wonderful Italian brand of baby gear products before…remember that crazy awesome giveaway they held last month on their Facebook page?  Well in case you didn’t win (just wondering, were any of my readers one of the lucky 11?  You guys had awesome odds if you entered!) here is another chance to get one of Inglesina’s Fast Table Chairs.

But let’s start off with my own experience with two of their products…

Inglesina was kind enough to send me their Zuma High Chair (Retails for $249.99).  After researching it online, I had high expectations.  After all, it has some pretty cool features that you just don’t find on a lot of other high chairs.  Let’s go over some of them.

Check out the 3-position reclining backrest – how cool is that?  This feature alone really extends the amount of time you use a high chair.  I had waited and waited and waited until Whistler was able to sit up and was eating solid foods before venturing into the high chair arena.  With this reclinable seat, baby can join everyone else at the dinner table MUCH MUCH sooner!  Imagine that – baby can lay back and enjoy their bottle while you get 10 free minutes to enjoy your own meal.  I think EVERY high chair needs to have this feature and I’m sad that I missed out on it (and missed out on many lunches myself because I was too busy feeding the baby and just didn’t have time!)

The Zuma comes with 2 removable snack trays that are dishwasher-friendly.  LOVE IT.  So even while one is dirty waiting to be cleaned, you still have another to use :)  And of course, if for some reason you’re *really* behind on the dishes (its been known to happen), you can use it simply without.

The tray itself is completely removable so you can use it at just about any table because the Zuma has a very easy to use 8-position adjustable height mechanism.  Just press and hold two buttons on the side and you can have baby sit as low as under as 23″ table to as high as a 34″ surface.

When folded away, it measures only 29″ high so it’s compact enough to fit under many dining tables!  This is definitely another one of my favorite features because we are so limited in space – it’s very nice to be able to tuck it away when not in use.  HUGE plus in my book!

Inglesina also added some nice little touches.  One is the adjustable foot rest.  EVERYONE is more comfortable when they can rest their rest on a surface while sitting (think about it – do *you* want your feet dangling while eating?) You can raise it up and down to grow with your child.

The seat also has *double* seat pads that are completely removable and washable.  So many high chairs just don’t seem “soft” enough or easy to clean and this one is definitely both.

Overall this is a wonderful product, but I do have a couple of possible improvements that I’d like to point out.  First, is the 5-point harness.  As you can see in the picture to the right, the spacing in which it joins the lap belt is a bit wide – about 4″ across.  This makes the straps sit off Whistler’s shoulders so they are pretty much useless.  (He is 1 year old and weighs 19 lbs).  Now, he is a bit on the skinny side so this may play a factor, but I still think it would be better if they came in very close so that the straps would better fit younger/smaller children.  I’m sure he’ll grow into them – but he’s pretty squirmy *now* and he easily takes them off.

My second issue can also be seen in the same photo and might also have to do with having a skinny kid – but do you see the space between his belly and the tray?  The tray is in it’s all the way closed position and the seat is fully upright.  As you can see, there is no way he can eat “over” the tray.  He is a good 6-8″ from it.  He really needs to lean forward to be anywhere close to eating over it.  Once again, not a big problem because I know he’ll grow into that as well and right now he doesn’t feed himself anyway – but if he did, we would not be able to do it in this setup.

On the plus side, since this chair is so versatile and can be used at the table – I am able to overcome this little obstacle simply by removing the tray and adjusting the height of the chair so that he can sit at the big kids table with mom and dad!  Problem solved and he can enjoy being a big kid too :)  (hah – ignore my piles of boxes in the background – I told you my place was a disaster right now!)

Overall we are both pretty happy with this chair and could (and do) recommend it to friends.  Its a quality made product that will last us well into toddlerhood as a safe, comfortable and highly adaptable dining chair for Whistler.  :)

The second item Inglesina sent me was their Fast Table Chair (Retails for $49.99).  These types of “hook on” chairs have been around for many many years, but Inglesina really has perfected it!

I’ve seen so many at restaurants that just sort of slide on – with no adjustment required.  These are also the same chairs that if baby pushes hard enough on the table can lift and slide himself right off!  The Fast chair has solved this little glitch by having a twist tight mechanism that allows the chair to be attached to a wide variety of table sizes – very securely with ZERO budge.  The rubber wrapped arms leave surfaces damage and scuff-free too.

The second part is keeping baby safe and secure so there is a seat belt safety harness with an ingenious cover strap that precludes baby from playing with or undoing the buckle!  I like that extra little feature :)

The seat is nicely padded and seems really comfy.  You can completely remove it from the frame and wash it in cold water too!  There is a nice sized pocket on the back of the seat that I like to keep a pack of wipes and extra spoons in.  It folds up flat and even comes with it’s own travel bag to make carrying it around pretty darn easy.  I actually keep this goody in my trunk so I can always be ready to join friends at a restaurant – even last minute – and not have to worry about having to deal with a stroller at the table.

This seat is on my list of baby essentials and I am so glad I stumbled across it.  I have used it at regular restaurant tables, bar tables and even several Sushi bars!  I’ve been asked about it countless number of times and everyone thinks its just the coolest thing.  I have to agree!

Is there a downside to the Fast chair?  Well, just be prepared to either have baby’s hands in all the food or have a big enough table to where to can leave the table space around baby free and clear of stuff to grab.  I’ve tried using this at a very tight table filled with people, plates and food – and I spent the whole time stopping Whistler from grabbing everything in site and didn’t get a chance to eat myself – lol!  (Not like that’s anything new!)

And now for the part you guys have all been waiting for – Inglesina would love to give one lucky Crazy Coupon Mommy or Sisterly Savings reader a Fast Table Chair of their own! (***NOTE*** The giveaway is for the Fast Chair only NOT the Zuma High Chair)

How do I enter?

PLEASE read and follow directions!! Must be over 18 to enter. US residents only.

Just complete the one mandatory entry below that is highlighted in the blue box – that’s it!

MANDATORY ENTRY – You MUST at minimum do this 1 task to enter. If you do not do this, none of the bonus entries (if you choose to do them) will count and they WILL BE DELETED.

1. Leave me a comment letting me know what you found most interesting or liked best about my product review you just read!

LOTS OF WAYS TO GET BONUS ENTRIES!! (This section is OPTIONAL and just a way for you to earn extra entries into the giveaway!)

Once you have completed the above mandatory entry, you can do as many of the below as you like for extra entries Good luck! Please leave one comment per task completed. (ie, if you do three of the following, you should leave three SEPARATE comments)

(If you already are a subscriber, follow on Twitter or like on Facebook, that counts as one entry, so be sure to leave a comment saying you already do so!)

1. Subscribe to Crazy Coupon Mommy via RSS Reader or email
2. Subscribe to SisterlySavings via RSS Reader or email
3. Follow Inglesina on Twitter
4. Follow CCM on Twitter
5. Follow SS on Twitter
6. “Like” Inglesina on Facebook
7. “Like” SS on Facebook
8. “Like” CCM on Facebook
9. Submit this giveaway to ANY online giveaway Linky (go here for a list. choose any site listed under what day today is.) and leave a link to where you listed it! Do this daily for unlimited extra entries!
10. Share this giveaway on Facebook by clicking on the Share button on the pink toolbar you see at the bottom of your screen.
11. “Like” this giveaway on Facebook by clicking on the “Like” button on the pink toolbar you see at the bottom of your screen.
12. Enter any other current open giveaway on my site and leave a comment saying which one you entered! (Giveaways that have ended do not count)
13. Tweet about this giveaway (just click on the retweet button at the very top right corner of this page – all the way up at the top! You can do this daily for extra entries! Just leave a comment each day you complete this task)
14. Become a public follower of Crazy Coupon Mommy (Scroll all the way down to bottom of this page and look for this button
15. Share this giveaway on your blog (or if you don’t have a blog, share it on a forum you belong to (BabyCenter, WhatToExpect, Bump, etc) and leave a comment with a link to your post (this earns you 3 entries! Be sure to leave a separate comment for each!)
16. Got a blog or webpage? Place my link button on your site and leave the URL of where I can see it.

***IMPORTANT*** You need to leave a separate comment for each of the above that you complete. Each comment acts as one entry, so if you only leave one comment saying “I did 1-3 above” then you’ll only get ONE entry instead of the 3 you deserve!

Contest will end 12/19/2010 at 11:59pm PST. The winner will be chosen randomly via computer using “And the Winner is…” WordPress Plugin or Random.org. Winner will be notified by a blog post (so be sure to subscribe to my newsletter so that you don’t miss the winner announcement!). Winner must respond within 48 hours or another random winner will be chosen.

Many thanks to Inglesina who provided me with a sample for the purpose of this review, sponsored this giveaway to a randomly selected winner. I was not required to write a positive review and no other type of compensation was received. My reviews are always 100% honest and 100% my own.

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