It all started with this photo. We were at the launch of Bove at Suntec and I spied with my little eye, a rather fascinating activity table. I popped Sarah into the table and Cherie from Oribel came along to explain how it worked. I was blown away. Being the auntie that I am…the ROI on this table is amazing lah!
How so? Let me show you, thanks to the kind people at Oribel who sent us one to review.
Do you see what I mean yet? It is foldable, so you can tuck it away. And after baby has outgrown the activity table, it becomes a table for activities, with various height. No wastage whatsoever. For SGD$199, this is DAMN GOOD DEAL. Now, let the photos do most of the talking.
The PortaPlay arrived when Sarah was around 4.5mo, so it had been sitting in the living room for a bit and the boys have been eyeing it for the longest time. When I decided that it was time to open it, good grief, they wanted in on every bit of the action. And would gamely pose for any photo required. WTH. Not complaining..but hey, it’s mei mei’s toy you know!!
There is really not a lot of parts to it. Assembly is a no brainer and the boys could even help me with it. No screws involved, which also means no sharp bits that could potentially hurt baby. Just simple push and click.
To fold and unfold the legs of the table, you just need to depress these two buttons to release the catch. This also means that you don’t have to worry about legs springing out when you fold it up. No belt straps to worry about either. Mind you, it is not some cheap plastic that is holding the entire table together. This activity table does have a pretty solid feel to it.
The fabric of the seat is slightly padded and has some elasticity to it to accomodate bouncing in the seat. There are very thin plastics sheets that allow you to hook the seat onto little knobs. So again, no protruding bits that poke bruise baby’s skin!
At this point, I was really loving all the effort that goes into creating this product. Obviously you can read that I’m gushing over this activity table haha.
The toys just clip into the sockets! It packs and grip and is not easy for babies to rip it out of the socket. You have to pinch the clasp in order to take them out of the sockets. The downside of the clips is that they only fit one way. I had hoped that it might fit both ways (facing inside and outside), so a cruising baby could play with it as well, but alas. Maybe something that Oribel could consider in the future! *hopeful*
I had to take a peek to see how it was like underneath haha. What I saw and liked:
– nothing dangling or in the way beneath. I did not have to worry about kiddo’s feet getting caught anywhere. Just 4 legs.
– the seat appears to offer as much support as possible to accommodate the various sizes of babies. I am a little concerned about crotch dangling like how some baby carriers are like. However, given the height of the table, Sarah looked really comfortable supporting herself with her legs, so I didn’t have to worry much about the pressure on her groin.
The seat is also rotatable, which means Sarah could turn the seat around to reach for every toy around her. Because of the way the seat sat on the grooves in the table, I do not have to worry about her fingers getting caught between the seat and the grooves.
The PortaPlay also has 4 height adjustments to grow alongside with baby. At the lowest height, it was perfect for Sarah to rest her feet on the ground at 6mo. So..just how high can the table go?
The PortaPlay comes with a lid to cover the gap where the seat used to be, and 6 covers to cover the sockets where the toys used to be.
This is the setting where Sarah was at. Oribel also developed two lightweight stools that could go with the table as well. They were perfect for the lowest two height settings.
At the highest setting, them Ikea chairs are perfect. Oliver is about 1 metre tall, so you can see how far this table can go with the kids!
The other thing about the table is that the feet are made with somewhat rubberised material to make them non-slip. You can’t just push the table around, it would actually be easier to lift it to move it. You don’t have to worry about baby trying to glide the table around!
Another reason why I was so keen on the PortaPlay was that it was easily portable. We hangout at our grandparents’ place on a weekly basis and having the PortaPlay meant we could put her in for a while and quickly have our meal before entertaining her again.
Having that circular structure made it really easy for us to get a grip on carrying it by our side. There was enough space for our fingers to grip it, and because it was a curved surface, it made it really comfortable to carry it.
And tadaah..popped it into the car boot. It really doesn’t take up a lot of space! I know you’re gonna say we’ve a huge bootspace but the width of the car is probably the same as a regular sedan. So you can see it really doesn’t take up a lot of space.
Got to our aunt’s place, and tadaah..popped the PortaPlay open and placed Sarah in. Easy peasy!
One other major detail about the PortaPlay..is that it is created by a Singaporean company. Most of my friends who asked about the PortaPlay were really impressed that Oribel is a Singaporean brand. We really need to support local, especially when there are gems like these! Oribel also has a range of toys and baby accessories under their brand. My other favourite range has to be the VertiPlay toys. Toys that you attach on to the wall so that you don’t have toys cluttered all over the floor!
I am really impressed by the range of products Oribel has and it is obvious they have put in a lot of thought into these products. So kudos to them!
The PortaPlay is available at the following retail and online stores:
– Mothercare
– Bove
– Motherswork
– Pupsik
– Big Little Me
– Lazada
– Agapebabies
Disclaimer: An Oribel PortaPlay was sponsored for review purposes. All opinions are my own.