Brother Max Combi bibs - A Review

We reached a point not long ago where it became very clear that some kind of food collection function was required at the end of Alex's bib. To be honest, there wasn't really a wide range to choose from as far as crumb-catching-bibs go, but I decided to give Brother Max a try. 

The basic Brother Max bib set comes with the catcher, and three bib attachments. I did like the look of the bibs; the bib attachments are made of soft white cotton (with a waterproof backing), each with either a red, orange or blue edging, and the orange scoopy attachment looked quite funky also. I was a little put off with paying $23ish for the pack. However the only other bibs with catchers I could find worked out to be marginally more expensive per bib anyway. 

I particularly like having the cloth part around the neck, rather than having the whole bib as plastic. I can't imagine it would be nice having a plastic bib attached to your neck every time you ate. I am also a big fan of being able to put the cotton bib part in the dryer. One of the few pitfalls with these bibs though, is that they seem to stain like nothing else. I guess one should expect that with a white bib, but it is annoying having to constantly soak them to get the stains out. The majority of the time, the stains don't come out anyway. I have a banana stain on Alex's blue-edged bib from the first time I used it that has lasted through several soaking with no signs of going anywhere. 

I am also a huge fan of how "nappy-bag-friendly" these bibs are. You can attach a bib to the catcher, roll it up, do up the buttons, and you end up with this cute little package that fits nicely in your bag. Also great for after use - if there is mess, it can be contained in the catcher. Fantastic for my little Grot-Bag, who manages to smoosh everything he eats.

You can also buy extra bib attachments, should the need arise, however these are still quite pricey. We generally only use this bib for lunch and dinner, so we can usually go through a day or two without running out. I have been known to reuse a cloth attachment for dinner after lunch if Alex hasn't completely covered it in banana, ricotta or avocado. We have run out a few times when I have been a bit lackadaisical with the washing, so I have been tempted to buy the extra cloth bib pack.

So to sum up:

The Good

• fabulous at actually catching food, therefore meeting their purpose
• nappy bag friendly
• easy-to-clean orange catcher attachment 
• very nice looking

The Bad

• The cloth part stains very easily and requires a lot of soaking to keep white
• A little pricey

I would say, though, that they are probably worth the money. In essence, they work. They are great for when you're out and about (see Alex's sushi photo). I wouldn't say I love them, because they're a bib and still largely utilitarian to me, but they are cute and have made eating out with Alex less of a nightmare. I give them a 8.5/10.