Phil and Teds Lobster portable high chair

The Lobster is a new and improved Me Too – and while I think my Me Too is great, I love my Lobster so much more!

The changes:  The mechanism to clip onto the table is different, it doesn’t screw on, but has claws like a lobster, as you adjust it, the lower claws move up to grip the table. They have added a tray and a bag to carry it in, the Lobster is deeper and the fabric can be detached from the frame for easier cleaning. The straps are more cushioned than the Me Too.

I’m liking:

We use this highchair all the time at home. I love that it sits up at the table so it doesn’t take up much room and the baby can feel like he’s part of the family more when we eat together. It looks great too. It is safe to use up to 15-17 kg so we will use this as our main high chair for quite a while.

The tray is fabulous, it saves the table top at home and also means food doesn’t fall through the gaps when clipped on to a picnic table outside.

The removable fabric makes it so much easier to clean.

The bag is really handy for taking it places, there’s a bit of extra room in there so you can squeeze in some wipes as well.

The new clip on mechanism is great, it’s really gentle on tables.

The deepness of the chair makes me feel really secure that baby won’t fall out, it would also make it last longer for taller babies. It also has a wide crotch strap to stop the baby being able to slide out.

It’s light and compact, and folds out flat, so if I didn’t use it at home all the time, it would easily store under the seat in the car so I would always have it on hand.

Things that make me go hmmm:

They used a mesh fabric on the inside of the chair. It hasn’t happened to us yet, but I could imagine it would be hard to clean if food got mushed into it.

I would have liked to be able to throw the fabric in the washing machine to clean, but that’s not recommended.

The claws are quite long, so this doesn’t clip on to our kitchen bench as the lip isn’t deep enough.

A pocket on the bag would have been really handy, so you could pop the baby’s food and spoon etc in there when going out.

Extra for experts:

The Lobster is a lot deeper than the Me Too. It seems like it would be really hard for a child to fall out of it which is great, however my petite 8 month old almost disappears in it. He can still reach the tray, but it’s at his armpit height. Maybe an infant booster insert would be good to help with smaller babies.

There don’t appear to be instructions for cleaning the tray. The cleaning instructions say not to immerse in water, but I assume that’s the body of the chair not the tray. I’d like to see information on whether the tray is dishwasher safe.

Conclusion:

These are great. I’d recommend these for anyone who likes the companionability of having their child up at the table with them, or who doesn’t have room for a conventional high chair, for grandparents or people who have occasional little visitors or for people who want a compact highchair to take with them on the go.