Phil and Ted Lobster High Chair Review

phil_and_ted_lobster portable high chair

Review of Phil and Ted Lobster High Chair

phil and ted lobsterA high chair uniquely distinguished by it’s Lobster looking arm clips, the Phil and Ted Lobster portable high chair is also an award winning travel high chair. The portable high chair lobster folds flat into its own compact carry bag, measuring just 35 x 34 x 8cm. The lobster arms clips onto almost any table with its rubber grips and uses a “twist on-and-off” clamp mechanism. The Phil and Ted lobster high chair fabric is made durable, wipes clean and slides right off the high chair frame for recommended hand wash. The harness is 4-point safety harness with padded shoulder straps to keep the toddler securely fasten yet comfortable.

phil-teds-lobster-portable-high-chair-with-baby-sitting-at-tableIn my opinion the Phil and Ted Lobster portable clip-on high chair is a quality product made with quality clip-ons in the form of a “Lobster” arm. The clips are also highly compatible with large range of thickness from 0.8 to 3.75 inches. However there is one big downfall with its design. The lobster clip-on unlike the Inglesina Fast Chair and Mountain Buggy Clip-on is not compatible with tables with a lip. This is because the clip-on is more a continuous clip as supposed to a bolt on hook like arm.

There is still merit in choosing the Phil and Teds Lobster High chair over the Inglesina Fast Table Chair, given it is a lot more affordable, compact and easiest to install but beware, being small may not suit your child if the seat is too small or too low and whether you would be using the clip-on chair with tables with or without lips. So do you research and below are some pros and cons for you to weigh up.

Note: As with all types of portable high chairs, you have to supervise at all times. Even if you think the chair clips on tight, you just never know how your child can creatively climb out of it or someone bumps it and it falls. So always supervise and stay close with all high chairs, portable or not.

Pros

Compact, Fold Flat and Light weight – Weighing only 3.9 pounds, fold compact and flat for effortless portability when travelling and takes up very minimal storage space.

 Comes Carry-bag –  The product comes with a carry-bag so you can store it away neatly in its own snugly fitted bag.

 4-point Harness –  With a 4-point harness and padding, the Phil and Ted Lobster portable high chair will secure a child in there securely and comfortably.

 Mostly compatible with tables – The thickness of the table that can be used with the Phil and Ted’s Lobster portable high chair is a minimum limit of 0.8 inches and maximum limit of 3.75 inches.

 Fairly Easy to Clean – The fabric can be taken off but recommended for hand wash.

phil-ted-lobster-in-folded-flat-position Quick and easy to set-up – A simple straight forward method of installation. Just twist the screws of the clips to tighten.

 Sturdy and good quality – Sturdy clips used for the Clip-on portable high chair as it is made by strong rubber and fastens securely.

Cons

  Compatibility with tables – The Phil and Ted Lobster chair although fits most tables does have a table thickness minimum limit of 0.8 inch and a maximum limit of 3.75 inches. This is an issue across all hook-on type portable high chairs anyway so you will need to find out the limitations of each clip-on high chairs an whether it suits your purpose. Note: It is also NOT compatible with tables with a Lip on the edge of the table.

phil-teds-lobster-portable-high-chair-super-easy-for-picnics-Lifestyle-portable  Hygiene – There is too many nooks and crannies where food can easily get stuck in it.

  Too small –  Some mums have reported that the section of the seat where the legs go through are too small for chubbier legs or when babies are being taken out from the seat are stuck in it.

  Seat is too deep –  Some mums have reported the bucket seat is too deep and as a result makes it quite difficult for infants or toddlers to be eating comfortable at an adult’s table. Babies were hitting their head onto the table if they were not tall enough.

  Tray does not stay in place –  Although comes with a tray, it has been reported that it does not stay in place and easily misplaced by a toddler.

In summary, this is a great portable clip-on high chair with great features – portable with carry bag, folds flat, light weight and fits most tables. Although there are some shortfalls of this chair such as the deepness of the bucket seat and compatibility of installation to tables with lips. To overcome this, just ensure you find test it out with the size of your child and tables you intend to use it on. Other than that, it makes a great travelling portable clip-on high chair given it light weight and fold flat feature.

Mountain Buggy Pod Clip-on Review

Review of the Mountain Buggy Pod Clip-on

Mountain-buggy-clip-on-seatBrought to you by the people from “Mountain Buggy,” their Portable high chair, Pod Clip-on is a Hook on type high chair. Similar to other clip-on portable high chairs, it is highly suited for infant or toddlers who are less independent in sitting up themselves due to its bucket design that has side support. These type of clip-on high chairs has less compatibility than booster portable high chairs when it comes to installation as you would be limited to the type of tables which you can install on. But that limitation is consistent across all hook-on type high chairs. So if you are after a hook-on type high chair, this is something you have to bear in mind.

Mountain-buggy-pod-clip-on-mobile-high-chairPersonally, in my opinion the Mountain Buggy Pod Clip-on chair is a quality mobile clip-on high chair given it is a product by the reputable baby brand “Mountain Buggy.” However given how small and lesser padding the Mountain Buggy Pod Clip-on high chair has, it makes it less superior than the Inglesina Fast Table Chair Hook on.

There is still merit in choosing the Mountain Buggy Pod Clip-on chair over the Inglesina Fast Table Chair, given it is a lot more compact of a portable high chair but like I saw beware, being small may not suit your child. So do you research and below are some pros and cons for you to weigh up.

Note: As with all types of portable high chairs, you have to supervise at all times. Even if you think the chair clips on tight, you just never know how your child can creatively climb out of it or someone bumps it and it falls. So always supervise and stay close with all high chairs, portable or not.

Pros

Compact, Fold Flat and Light weight – Weighing only 2.2 pounds, fold compact and flat for effortless portability when travelling and takes up very minimal storage space.

Mountain-buggy-clip-on-high-chair Comes Carry-bag –  The product comes with a carry-bag so you can store it away neatly in its own snugly fitted bag.

✓ Light weight

 Mostly compatible with tables – The thickness of the table that can be used with the Mountain Buggy Pod Clip-on high chair is a minimum limit of 0.8 inches and maximum limit of 2 inches.

 Fairly Easy to Clean – The fabric can be taken off and thrown into the washing machine for a good clean.

Portable-high-chair-travelling-toddler Quick and easy to set-up – A simple straight forward method of installation. Just twist the screws of the clips to tighten.

 Sturdy and good quality – Sturdy clips used for the Clip-on portable high chair as it is made by a reputable manufacturer of other baby products Mountain Buddy.

Cons

  Compatibility with tables – The Mountain Buggy Pod Clip-on high chair does have a table thickness minimum limit of 0.8 inch and a maximum limit of 2 inches. This is an issue across all hook-on type portable high chairs anyway so you will need to find out the limitations of each clip-on high chairs an whether it suits your purpose.

Mountain-buggy-pod-clip-on-high-chair  Two point harness – It is only a two point harness whereas some other clip-ons portable high chairs may have more.

  Too small –  Some mums have reported that the section of the seat where the legs go through are too small for chubbier legs or when babies are being taken out from the seat are stuck in it.

  Seat is too deep –  Some mums have reported the bucket seat is too deep and only taller babies around 18 months were able to sit up to the table without being too low. As a result makes it quite difficult for infants or toddlers to be eating comfortable at an adult’s table.

In summary, this is a great portable clip-on baby high chair brought to you by a reputable baby product manufacturer “Mountain Buggy” people. It is no surprise given the almost perfect 5-stars that mothers rated this product who has purchased, tried and tested it. Although there are some shortfalls of this chair such as the deepness of the bucket seat and compatibility of installation to certain thickness of tables. To overcome this, just ensure you find test it out with the size of your child and tables you intend to use it on. Other than that, it makes a great travelling portable clip-on high chair given it light weight and fold flat feature. And of course for the clean mums out there, you can wash it completely clean by throwing it into the washing machine!

Summer Infant Deluxe Comfort Folding Booster Review

Summer-infant-booster-high-chair

The Summer Infant Deluxe Comfort Seat is a Booster type portable high chair. A slightly different design to the other booster seats but being still a booster type mobile baby high chairs it’s fairly easy to install.

Summer-infant-booster-high-chairAlso another popular Amazon product, the Summer Infant Deluxe Comfort seat has a few unique features making it different to the other booster seats. This portable booster seat is designed with side support and includes a detachable tray so that you can take off the tray when sitting up at the adult’s table or put it back on if you wanted to use it by its own on the floor. It also has a seat adjustment whereby you further boost up the seat with fold out legs under the seat. The booster seat is also made with plastic throughout so very easy to keep clean for longer.

Summer-infant-portable-booster-seatHowever, there are few disadvantages to this booster chair as highlighted by mums who has bought, tried and tested this portable booster seat. Some common concerns include the size of the seat where some mums has described the seat is so small it is only suitable for a “doll.” With that said, it just means the seat could be more suitable for smaller toddlers and will not grow with your growing toddler. Another mum’s complaint is the quality of the chair whereby some described it as flimsy plastic again only suitable for a “doll.” Despite some of the shortfall of this booster chair I personally think there is still some merit in owning one of this chair being that it does come with a detachable chair and it does have sides to give additional support for the unstable toddler.

Note: With all types of portable high chairs, you have to supervise at all times. So this chair is no different except it fits on most chairs like most booster seats do.

Pros

summer-infant-side-support-booster-seat✓ Has side support – The Summer Infant Booster is one of the few booster seats which has side support and for younger travelling toddlers that are still a little unstable when seated, this is the perfect portable booster seat.

 Adjustable seat height – The Summer Infant booster seat comes with a retractable bottom legs that can be folded out to give additional height. This is a bonus if the infant is still a little short coming up onto the same level of the adult table.

✓ Folds flat and compact – The Summer Infant seat can be fold down flat to be stored away flat or put into a carry bag for travelling.

summer-infant-fold-flat-mobile-seatEasy installation – Like all other booster seats, it is easy to install by fixing the straps onto and around the adult chair. Not much to it!

Very compatible with any chairs or floors! – The Summer Infant booster chair like all other portable booster seats are very compatible with most adult chairs but the additional feature of the Summer Infant booster is that it can be used on its own on the floor without having it attached to an adult chair. It can be a stand-alone booster seat.

 Detachable tray – The Summer Infant’s detachable tray can come in handy if you wanted to use the portable high chair on its own whether you are on transit in an airport, at the park or on any floor surface. You don’t need a table or chair to be attached to in order to use it and you can still have a table tray for your infant.

 Easy to Clean – As the whole Summer Infant Booster seat is made of plastic, it can be easily wiped clean and kept clean for longer.

Cons

  Limited to size of infant / toddler – As the name suggest, Summer “infant,” the booster seat is aimed at infants rather than toddlers. As a result of that, the seat is smaller than other booster seats. Mums have complained it is really only suitable for a “doll” as it is so small and tight for their babies. This seat is probably more suited to smaller sized infant or toddlers and would be unable to grow with your toddler hence you will get limited use in the longer term.

  No internal storage – The Summer Infant seat is purely a portable high chair and designed that way so there is no internal storage built-in like two other portable booster seats mentioned Benbat Yummigo and Munchkin BRICA GoBoost Travel booster seats.

  No in-built strap or carry case – The seat does not come with any carry bags or in-built carry strap for summer-infant-travel-booster-seattravelling so you will need to buy a carry bag or put it under the pram when you are travelling. Most other booster seats come with in-built carry straps so making it very versatile for travelling.

  Detachable tray tricky to take on/off – Although the Summer Infant booster seat comes with a detachable tray, mums have reported it is not only difficult to take off and put back on, it is also a hazard to put it on while the baby is seated. And you can really only put it on when they are seated. When you do put it on while the baby is seated, you have to watch that it is not pinching the skin of the baby. So watch out!

  Flimsy material – Some mums have complained that the plastic seat feels flimpsy and so does not feel safe for their bigger infants or toddlers to be sitting on it. Additionally the straps and buckles are also of lower quality where the adjustable mechanism slides loose after tightening and some buckles have broken for some mums.

Summer-infant-portable-booster-seatIn summary, overall on a personal level the Summer Infant Booster Foldable seat is not my favourite seat but you do have to give this booster seat some merit. It is one of the few booster seats that you can fold flat to take for travelling and suitable for an infant just learning to sit as it has side support. All other booster seats do not come designed with side support. So who would buy this seat? I think if you are travelling and have an infant that is just starting to sit up, this could be the seat for you. The fold-flat mechanism gives your mobile portability and the side support is needed for your infant to stay safe and secured in the seat. Also being a booster seat, it is very compatible to most adult chairs for easy installation. If however you are looking to explore further and want an alternative to a booster seat and for an infant with side support and still be able to travel, I would recommend exploring the Hook-on seats.

Inglesina – Fast Table Chair – Hook on High Chair Review

Inglesina Best baby portable high chair

Inglesina-Fast-table-chair-hookReview of the Inglesina – Fast Table Chair – Hook on High Chair

The Inglesina – Fast Table Chair is a Hook on type high chair. For infant or toddlers who are less independent in sitting up themselves, it’s my best pick out of all of the portable high chairs. The big limitation with these type of chairs is the compatibility to tables which you can install on. But that limitation is consistent across all hook-on type high chairs. So really, you just have to deal with it.

Inglesina Fast ChairPersonally, in my opinion there are other type of chairs that could be suitable for infants that provide the same support as the Inglesina hook-on chair, but it is not as near as portable, compact and safe. If you are travelling or taking to a restaurant, you want to be carrying a non-bulky high chair.

Note: With all types of portable high chairs, you have to supervise at all times. Even if you think the chair clips on tight, you just never know how your child can creatively climb out of it or someone bumps it and it falls. So always supervise and stay close with all high chairs, portable or not.

Inglesina Hook on high chairSo if you have an infant and need side support with their seating. This is it. You won’t regret it! It ticks all the boxes. I have below summarised all the pros and cons from hundreds of Amazon parents and grandparents. You can weigh up the option and decide if it is for you. Enjoy!

 

 

Pros

fold flat high chairCompact and Fold Flat – All hook-on type high chairs can fold flat but what makes Inglesina better is the simplicty of its hooks and its not dangling everywhere!

Inglesina-fast-table-chair-carrybag In-built Carry-bag –  The last thing you want is another item to carry. The Inglesina has an in-built carry bag. You pull out from the back of the high chair and the collapsed chair just fits into the carry bag.

✓ Light weight

Inglesina hook view Mostly compatible with any tables – Being a hook-on type mobile high chair, you will always have this issue with table compatibility but the Inglesina hook-on design is the most compatible compared with the other hook-on type high chairs.

 Fairly Easy to Clean – Being a hook-on type high chair, you will always have the problem of food being stuck in between the folds as it is a bucket type high chair. But the Inglesina makes it better by being made out of material that is easy to just brush off.

Inglesina_hook Quick and easy to set-up – Inglesina simplifies the design and makes it easy to set-up and very versatile with most tables.

 Sturdy and good quality – Inglesina is a more premium product so you would expect to get a sturdy and good quality hook-on high chair

Inglesina tray ✓ A tray that snaps on easily – You can buy an add-on accessory tray for the high chair which snaps on and off easily. The tray also stays in place and the child cannot move it around or play with it.

 Back-pocket – A clever design by Inglesina which incorporates a back-pocket that allows you to store your essentials during meal time like your wipes, tissues and maybe even your mobile phone! haha!

 The clips do not create marks on table – An issue most hook-on high chairs have is the marks they can create on your table from the hooks. Inglesina’s hooks pride itself that it does not leave marks on your table.

 Zipper encloses metal loops – This is a clever little detail as it prevents your child from standing on the hooks and standing up. Being enclosed like the Inglesina, your toddler won’t be able to stand up on it.

Cons

  Compatibility with tables – This is an issue across all hook-on type portable high chairs anyway. 

Inglesina straps  Straps can be wiggled out – In any type of portable type high chairs, straps are not made like your IKEA high chairs or car seats where it is meant to be so tight that your child cannot wriggle out. The straps act more like deterrent for them to get out and encourage them to just sit on the chair. You need to always supervise when using any high chairs and especially portable types. So really this is a con for all portable high chairs.

  Food gets stuck inside seat –  Being a bucket seat like most hook-on type high chairs, food does fall easily into the seat and more so if your toddler does not fill the seat. And in addition to that, the food does get stuck in between the folds.

  More expensive than others –  Being a more premium product that is sturdy and of quality, a more premium price will come with it too 🙂

Inglesina chair colours In summary, I personally still prefer the Benbat Yummigo Booster due to the fact it overcomes some of the issues of the Inglesina. Being it is much more compatible with most chairs, no issues with table compatibility, much easier to clean and much easier to set-up. However the Benbat Yummigo Booster is only really suitable for toddlers who can sit up quite well as it is not a bucket seat like a Hook-on portable seat. So if you have a child that is not quite confident in sitting up yet and you need a portable high chair to travel or out at restaurants, then the Inglesina Fast Chair is your Best Pick!