Customer Reviews

Lipper International 516 High Chair, Natural

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

The chair is structurally sound and was easy to put together. The wooden buttons supplied to put in the holes where the screws are located do not stay in. This is due to inconsistent hole sizes. One hole was drilled over a knot in the wood and is not perfectly round as it should be. But this is only an appearance problem. The real problem is in the safety buckle. The buckle is a quick release type often found in luggage. But the quality of the buckle is lacking. Our chair is only used when our grandson visits, about once a week. The buckle broke about six weeks after we got the chair. After a visit to a sporting goods store and $4 expense the buckle problem was corrected with a new sturdier belt and buckle.

This is a wonderful product and my toddler loves it. We had the regular type high chair and she could not get up close to the table like the adults. Once we brought this product into the house, she refused to get into the high chair again. It comes with the safety belt that can lock the child into the seat. It also has a bar across the front that is just the right distance for our child to place her feet instead of them just dangling. The quality of the product is outstanding. I highly recommend this product.

The chair is exactly what I wanted. It is well made for the money and the cost of the chair was very reasonable. I use it for my 2 year old granddaughter and it works out very well.

I can't complain about this chair in any way. Our daughter feels comfortable in it (I base that on the fact that she sits there and eats and doesn't cry when we put her in) and it's not big or bulky so it fits nicely in our smaller kitchen space. I would definitely recommend this seat for kids who can sit up on their own and can feed themselves.

I have both the LA Baby restaurant high chair in cherry, and the Lipper version of the same high chair in cherry (bought from a different site).

I really like restaurant style high chairs for their low profile. They will slide right under the table for storage and make the kids feel like real people because they are eating at the table with us instead of isolated in a traditional high chair with a tray. Both chairs function great for my two toddlers, one 16 months and one 3 and 1/2 years.

I'm writing this review to help those who are deciding between the two brands, and so am posting the same review to each product.

FYI: The stain colors are very different, so if you want yours to match, buy from one manufacturer. The Lipper stain color is more of a natural cherry, while the LA Baby is a darker, aged cherry color.


Lipper

Pros: The Lipper chair has a thicker, sturdier buckle with longer straps. It also has a much smaller, much less noticeable warning label that I didn't even bother to take off. Assembly on the Lipper chair was easier because it had metal threads to receive the bolts. I was able to put the chair together using just a screwdriver for all 14 bolts without breaking a sweat. The Lipper chair also includes wood plugs to cover the bolt heads. If installed correctly, these make for a nicer finish with no exposed screws, but if your kids can get them out they could be a choking hazard. Of course, you don't have to use them if you are worried about the choking hazard.

Cons: The rubber feet on the bottom of the chair are smaller, round feet. Not a problem unless you have uneven tile like I do. These feet make the Lipper chair a bit harder to slide around than the LA Baby chair. While the color of the stain is a natural cherry color, its not dark enough to hide the grain of the birch, making the chair feel like a birch chair stained cherry color. Probably wouldn't bother most people, but I notice it.


LA Baby
LA Baby Commercial/Restaurant Wooden High Chair, Natural (I have the cherry option.)

Pros: The rubber feet on the LA Baby chair are wide rectangles with a lot of surface to surface contact. They slide pretty easily across my tile floor without getting caught on protruding tile edges. This alone makes a huge difference for me, but may not be as important to you if you have flat floors. In addition, I just like the color better. This is the color I was expecting when I ordered Cherry, because the darker stain hides the birch woodgrain better, making it feel more like cherry.

Cons: The buckle on mine works just fine, but I have read from other reviewers that their's didn't work at all. Based on the construction of the buckle, I can see that it's design is more susceptible to failure than the one on the Lipper chair, but it is still a pretty standard buckle. If you buy it, just check the buckle before you put the chair together. If it doesn't work, you can probably return it. This chair also uses wood screws that are inserted into pre-drilled holes. Because of the resistance from having to create the threads as I screwed them in, I had to use a power screwdriver to get all 14 screws in. (I gave up doing them by hand after the 2nd screw.) There are no wood screw covers with this chair, but the screws are a bit darker so they blend pretty well with the wood finish.

Of the two chairs, I prefer the LA Baby chair, but hopefully I've provided enough information that you can determine which you will like more without having to buy both.

Comes un assembled but is easily put together. The finish is good and the fit is good too. It allows the infant ( useful into junior years ) to sit at the table with parents and guests. It is not in place of a traditional high chair but allows for socialization of the child.
I noted that it did not come with glides for the bottom, which would be needed on hardwood floors or any floor that could scratch.

this chair is the standard design that you see in every restaurant.
i am an experienced woodworker that needed this at the last minute
before Christmas, so i made the decision to buy rather than build one.
the design and joinery of the wooden parts is fine- my only gripe is
that my one-year old grandson managed to break the flimsy plastic
buckle the first time he sat in it. the chair was very reasonably
priced; i believe most people would be willing to pay a few dollars
more if the buckle were to be made out of metal.

I bought three of these several years ago when I had triplets (already assembled) at a nearby store, so when I saw this one online for a good price I bought it (having sold the others). I like these because they can slide up to your regular table (no tray to clean)and they accommodate children through the toddler and preschool years. The only negative thing was that the directions were pitiful. They may as well not come with any. If you can figure out a puzzle, you can do this. It comes with a tool (like the ones you get with crib kits) so I put it together in about 20 minutes.

As with others, received 2 Side A's instead of mirror image side B. However, laughably, the English as second language instructions call for 2 side A's, which seems to be a cover up on the company's part to avoid having to go through their boxes and actually put the right parts in. The chair can actually be assembled this way, but looks terrible and ill conceived. Wooden plugs don't stay in holes; anyway the half that you can actually plug when assembling the chair as per the directions, which by the way have sloppy and difficult to decipher hand drawn diagrams that look like they were done by a 5 year old. Belt is cheap plastic and wouldn't hold any size or sort of creature with any degree of safety and security. My 9 month old immediately squirmed out of the belt and stood up despite my best efforts at adjustment. Finish is passable but uneven, and unprofessional tooling is evident everywhere. Chair wobbled once assembled, so I turned it over to see if I could locate the cause; this turned out to be a completely missing rubber foot; only three were present. Worse, the three rubber feet that were there were screwed in, and the place where the fourth foot should be did not even have a screw hole to indicate a foot had ever been installed. Apparently counting to 4 is too difficult a feat for the crack squad of furniture technicians at Lipper, who were either drunk, lazy, or lacking in the basic art of giving a damn when they built and packaged this utter waste of your hard earned money.

Bought this looking for value; instead, every aspect of this product disappoints severely. Avoid with extreme prejudice.

I was pleased with the chair, it was just what I was looking for. Went together easily and the price was perfect. Would recommend this to others.