Customer Reviews

Boon Flair Pneumatic Pedestal Highchair - Frosty Blue and White

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Finally a highchair made by folks who not only have a great sense of design but also must actually have kids!

1) The fact that there are no crevices or corners to trap food should've been the most obvious concept in highchairs, but no other manufacturer has bothered to implement that idea until now. I no longer have to bring a highchair outside to hose down with a pressure washer and a toothbrush - I can clean the Flair with babywipes and one hand!

2) The pedestal base is a welcome change from the A-frames of other highchairs that were not only trip hazards but also a pain to clean. The smooth pedestal easily wipes clean with the aforementioned baby wipes (or Lysol wipes for the tough stuff). The pneumatic lift is to other highchairs' height adjustment as power seats in your car are to non-powered seats. It's not only more fun to use, but makes for a better fit, too.

3) The waterproof seat pad (a closed-cell-type foam cushion of the type seen on some boats) is another simple concept that until now hadn't been implemented by other highchair makers. I no longer have to throw a highchair seat in the laundry after every meal because some manufacturer thought it was a bright idea to make it out of cloth so it could have ruffles. This one wipes clean with little effort, and it's removable so you can get around the edges.

4) The fact that the harness is removable for cleaning is yet another genius move that would've been obvious to any parent but seems to have been lost on other highchair manufacturers. Bravo, I say. It's also comfortable for my daughter, and really strong. She definitely puts it to the test, and it's never even given me a scare.

5) The design is simply beautiful, but at a price point that competes with highchairs that are far less practical and much more ugly. Finally, you don't have to shell out $600+ for something beautiful, and you don't have to sacrifice function for style (or vice versa).

6) The tray liners are a great concept, but I only wish a) there were 3 of them included (instead of only 2) so I can do just one dishwasher load at the end of the day, and b) the liners covered the whole surface of the tray. As they're made now, the tray's outer rim is partially exposed, so that you end up having to wash the tray by hand anyway (it's not dishwasher safe for some reason) which seems to defeat the purpose of the liners. It's a small issue which only comes to light because the chair is so outstanding in so many other ways, and I'd still buy this chair if I had to do it over again.

7) How many other companies give 10% of their profits to children's charities? I loved this chair so much I also bought Boon's Frog Pod and Flo faucet cover for the bath. What a great company. They deserve success.

I've had this product for about a year now. There are definitely pros and cons. The big pro is that it is super-easy to clean. Love that.
Here are the cons:
1) Small tray -- this is not a problem when baby is little, but when you have a toddler that should be eating from a plate, it is difficult to fit a standard melanime plate plus cup on the tray.
2) Shoulder straps are worthless. Will not fit a larger baby/toddler. We just use the belt strap and leave the shoulders dangling (wish they were detachable!) I don't think it's safe to rely on the tray -- it pops out fairly easily.
3) Foot rest is useless. Although it is a good ladder for a toddler to climb into the chair.
4) Odd design choices with the tray and buckle -- the tray requires 2 hands to properly install or uninstall (why???); also the buckle really needs to be squeezed to get it into the latch (as opposed to my old peg, where the buckles slid in easily). I'm mystified why these easy fixes weren't made.
I noticed some people say the top was wobbly -- if the child is active, the bolts will loosen. You will need to periodically tighten them.
The ease of cleaning may outweigh all of this . . . Also be aware that the pneumatic lift makes this HEAVY. Not a good choice for rolling over carpet or lifting to different locations (although we do it sometimes). But the roller wheels work great on hardwood/vinyl/etc.

Okay... admittedly, our prior highchair was the worst as far as cleaning (Peg Perego) but this thing is a dream to clean. It takes so little time that I find myself sitting there rubbing it with the washcloth after it's already clean becuase I'm so used to it taking 10 times as long, and never really coming clean in the cracks and crevices until you disassemble the thing.

So it's completely a joy to clean and it moves around so easily on the wheels. We move our child a lot around the kitchen while we're cooking and it's perfect because it's so simple and smooth.

I had two concerns prior to buying it: the small size of the tray (the Peg Perego tray is huge) and the fact that the chair itself seemed small and I was afraid it would be too small for an older child (our child is 16 months). Well, I love the small tray. In fact, I think it's better because the baby learns to contain his food in a smaller place, much like a plate, and not spread it everywhere. Secondly, it's so easy to clean and the tray insert that goes over the main tray is so eaesy to drop in the dishwasher (it comes with two of those). And the seat itself is plenty big. The tray is a little low, believe it or not, but it's fine and it doesn't matter if food drops down because it is SO EASY TO CLEAN.

Overall, I love the sleekness of it, it's a nice, refreshing change. I love how easily it moves around and I love, love, love how amazingly easy it is to clean. Gone are the days of scrubbing in one place to get something off the highchair. The texture of the plastic just swipes clean right away. I have never had to scrub one thing. It literally takes seconds.

So... if you want easy cleanup and a pretty neat looking highchair, this is the chair for you. It's so much better than traditional chairs, with all the crevices, etc. And don't worry about the molded seat being removable and thus there being a crevice for food, it lifts right up so you can quickly and easily swipe your washcloth underneath it and get it spotless in a matter of seconds. It's actually an ingenious design.

We'll use this chair for the next kid too, and I only wish we had it from the beginning. So much aggravation could have been avoided and so much time saved!

In addition to all of the Boon Flair's other positive attributes (it's super-easy to clean, very safe, easy to move around, looks cool, etc.), I have to say that my first (and hopefully last) interaction with Boon customer service has been excellent.

One of the plastic buckles on the strap broke on us recently. I shot off an e-mail to Boon through their website, and received a prompt and courteous reply. They shipped out a new buckle and strap assembly along with a handwritten apology note and a prepaid envelope for sending back the broken piece so they could try to figure out why it broke (and help prevent it in the future).

In an ideal world I'd hope never to need to deal with customer service in the first place. But in the real world parts break, and their customer service more than made up for the minor inconvenience of having to replace a small piece (it was also really, really easy to replace).

I definitely recommend this product.

I bought this high chair after much research, and after owning a Baby Trend model.

Pros: Easy to clean, much more sanitary, cool looking design, comes with two snap-on tray liners.

Cons: Brakes don't work very well, tray is too small, shoulder straps are too easy to get out of, snap-in "buckle" falls right where tray rests against baby's belly, main tray is not dishwasher safe, tray liners do not cover entire tray (so you have to wash it every time anyway).

Neutral: Though the pneumatic lift is a cool idea, as a mother who doesn't adjust the height of her high chair, I found it kind of silly and useless.

Even though it appears from my review that the "cons" outweigh the "pros", I still give this chair 4 out of 5 stars simply because of how clean you can get it! You can take even the straps off and throw them in the washer. Plus, when your kid is in it, he looks like he's piloting a spaceship!

Well, I agree with almost all the positive talk about this high chair - I LOVE the fact that it's so easy to clean - my biggest beef with our old high chair was that the tray was so large, it was really difficult to clean and the fabric padding meant frequent trips to the washing machine - this high chair cleans up with a couple of wipes, which is a treat. The Flair is easy to move around (again, a problem with our old high chair) and it looks great. BUT - I have a big issue with the harness/straps. I didn't buy this chair until my child was 11 months and putting her in the harness is next to useless - the buckle the straps click into sits right between her legs, so there's nothing really holding the straps together - the harness should hold the straps together across her chest/stomach to keep her securely in the chair. Because the straps clip on to the harness so low, the straps mostly just slip off her shoulders - so I'm relying completely on the tray to keep her from falling out of the high chair. Hopefully soon the chair will be mostly used as a toddler chair, pulled up to a table, so I won't have to worry about the straps - but now it's a bit of a concern. Oh - and also, I was ticked off that the second snap-on tray that comes with the high chair was 100% covered in a sticker touting the features of the Flair chair - but it's impossible to get off! I've even tried to scrape it off with a knife, and it's barely coming off - as a result, I really only have 1 tray that I can use, which is a drag.

I searched to find the perfect high-chair for the longest time. I am so happy that I found my dream high-chair. I bought this chair for the following reasons

1. It is very easy to clean unlike other high chairs.
2. It looks very fahsionable and the color is great
3. It can let you adjust to any height that you wish...
4. It is super easy to install (I found out that afterward of course)

This highchair blows away the similarly priced competitors in design, functionality, ease of assembly and comfort. My chunky 5 month old fits in the seat well and the straps are very secure. The chair moves easily when you need it to and has a very secure break when you don't want it to move. The two dishwasher safe tray liners are key when you haven't run the dishwasher yet. Safety is obviously my number one concern, but to have a well designed product that fits in with my decor is outstanding!! Kids don't care about ridiculous teddy bear graphics on their highchairs, so why do they keep producing such hideous designs? I wish more companies were like Boon, and they give back to children's charities!

The biggest problem we've had with all of the typical high chairs on the market is that food gets all stuck on and in the giant padded seats. The Boon high chair has a simple molded plastic seat that is very easy to clean and is still very comfortable for the baby. The Pneumatic lift is a nice feature, but it's action is kind of jerky going up and down and I'd like it to go higher than it does. Other than that minor issue, this is a great chair that looks fantastic.

We were concerned after reading some of the reviews on this site, but the Boon Flair is PERFECT! Here are answers to some of the concerns expressed in other reviews:
1. Pneumatic lift does not lift the chair when the baby is in it, you have to pull it up: all office chairs are like this; when you're sitting, you have to take the weight off to be able to raise them up; this is normal
2. Tray is too small: it is the perfect size if you want baby to learn good table manners; it is big enough, and a perfect size for easy leaning.
3. Stability and rolling wheels: no issues at all; feels safe and the brake works perfectly; rolls around easily
4. Shoulder belts slide off: not if you adjust them properly; plus, there is a lap belt as well; it is similar to a car seat belt design
5. You need to use both hands to insert or take off the tray: I would hope so, otherwise the baby could take it off; the tray is safe and it is a breeze to take off or put in
6. The sticker on the tray is hard to get off: do it carefully and slowly; it took me less than a minute to take if off in one piece
7. Tray insert does not cover the entire tray space: so what? The tray is easy to take off and rinse
Overall, this is a museum piece that makes a great addition to our home; absolutely safe and perfect! Thank you Boon!