We invited Laura from product review and parenting blog Mum's the Wurd to review the Boon Flair high chair, a roughly $200 chair with some innovative features we were very curious to see tested in real-world use. Laura's son Lennon has logged some serious hours in his new Flair and Laura passed on this thorough assessment.

We wanted a different highchair for our son Lennon, so when ZRecs offered to have us test out the Boon Flair, we jumped at the chance. I've loved the styling and functionality of every product that Boon makes, from their layette, to the Frog Pod, to their small dishes and plasticware. Like Boon's other products, the Flair's surface snazziness masks a highly utilitarian and functional meeting of form and function.

The basics

The Flair's seat is made of molded plastic (BPA-free, phthalate-free, and PVC-free) in light blue/white, orange/white, or pink/white combinations. The seat rests on a single shaft leading to a flared 23.5" base with two "controls" - a foot pedal to set and release a brake that allows or prevents the Flair from rolling on six hidden urethane casters, and a button to adjust the seat's height using a pneumatic lift. The high chair tray comes with two removable plastic tray toppers. The seat is padded and has a built-in, non-adjustable footrest.

The Flair weighs 28 pounds and has a weight and age limit of 50 pounds and four years. The seat's height range is 21" to 26.25" and the tray's height range is 26.25" to 31.5".

Design

The plastic body of the high chair feels very durable, and seems thicker than other high chairs I've used and seen. The Flair is a very solid piece of furniture.

The Flair is much less cumbersome than other high chairs I've used, in part because it's easy to move around, and in part because there's no real "setup" to use it or get it out of the way. The five-point harness is easy to use and super safe.

I'm no caster expert, but the casters do appear to be good quality and work smoothly.

The whole seat is very easy to keep clean - in fact, it's one of the Flair's best features. The high chair is almost entirely smooth, with no nooks and crannies for food to get stuck in.

How Boon's innovations measure up

I've never used a high chair that had an adjustable height, so this feature is unique, in my experience. I like that the baby isn't towering over the rest of the family, as it seems they do with most highchairs. The pneumatic lift is easy to use - you just press the colored button on the base and pull the seat up or down. It's very simple and a great function - the variable height positioning means you aren't stuck with just a few set heights, and it's easy to change the height without getting out an Allen wrench or messing with something that might bite.

The tray is very simple to put on and remove, and the removable toppers are a great idea and work well. They keep the tray itself nice and clean - you just take off the removable tray and stick it in the dishwasher. (All removable parts of the Flair are dishwasher safe, even the padded seat!) I have noticed though, that the solid white tray base gets lots of water in it very easily, so I don't like to run it in the dishwasher. Use the removable trays and wipe any messes off the main tray, and you're good to go.

The "brake system" locks the chair in place easily. While I like the braking system, I do wish that it completely stopped the chair from moving. This may not be a problem for those who have carpet, but all of our floors are hardwood.


The Flair retails for $229 - just shy of the prices of established high-end high chair brands like the Tripp Trapp (Mika reviewed the Tripp Trapp on The Tranquil Parent) and the gorgeous but tough to clean Svan high chair used by the folks at Z Recommends (there's a review of the Svan in the ZRecs Archives). The tradeoff is length of use - unlike the Tripp Trapp and Svan seats, Boon's Flair has no option to shift into a "youth chair" as your child grows - but the convenience, utility, and cool of this chair is hard to beat. you can be certain that your child will be dining on one of the safest and coolest highchairs on the market. As with all the products from Boon, the Flair gets 5 out of 5 Fonzie "Ayyyyyyyeee"s from our family.

You can purchase the Boon Flair from Boon's website or on Amazon.com. - Jeremiah

My 18-month-old loves applesauce. She’s been a big fan for months now, though I must say I’m not a big fan of the mess. Even when she lets me feed her (those moments are few and far between these days), it can be a total mess. I don’t dare take snack-cup-size applesauce on the go; I’m just not brave enough for that adventure. And yet all-natural applesauce is a great snack for little ones, especially those still learning that whole chewing thing.

So what’s a mess-fearing mom to do? Well, she can either teach her little one how to slurp applesauce through a straw (been there, done that...just as messy) or she can pick up a case of Smashies, a new line of USDA organic applesauce-filled pouches for kids. Though touted as the perfect lunchbox snack I think these little guys are perfect for infants in the applesauce stage.

First of all, Smashies are healthy with no added water, sugar, high fructose corn syrup or concentrates. Second, they are convenient, portable and though probably not totally mess free, the applesauce splash zone will be a lot smaller than it was before. The applesauce is in a squeeze pouch perfect for small hands. Just unscrew the lid and squeeze - no spoons necessary. The screw cap lid means Smashies are resealable so you can snack on a little now and a little later.

Smashies’ current flavor, Snappy Apple, has only three ingredients: organic apple puree, organic apple flavor and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C). They will soon add three new flavors to their line with another three after that. Can’t wait! You can purchase a 10-pack of Snappy Apple Smashies for $10 from Smashies.com. - Emily H.

Tastybaby is the maker of some unique and nutritious baby food. All of their products are are 100% organic and gluten-free. They also come packaged in BPA-free and phthalate-free resealable cups. Six packs are normally $40 on Amazon, but right now though you can save $25 on qualifying Tastybaby products when you spend $50 by entering the code TASTY333 at check-out. That's a 50% savings, so it's a great time to stock up!

Amazon is also running a deal on Mom Made products. Mom Made has a variety of items ranging from baby foods to meals and pockets for the toddler set. You can save $10 on qualifying products when you spend $40 or more by entering the code MOMMADE2 at checkout.

Both the Tastybaby and Mom Made products are also eligible for Free Super Saver Shipping. - Jenn

Happybellies is a baby food company producing some great natural and organic products. Their Dr. Sears-backed cereals (available in multigrain, oatmeal, and brown rice) really stand out from the crowd. Each cereal is made from USDA certified organic ingredients, is free of soy, wheat, gluten and dairy, and is enriched with DHA, vitamins, and probiotics. A welcome change for the baby food market.

Amazon currently has six-packs of the Happybellies 7oz. canisters on sale for $24 (factoring out to just $4 a canister), 28% off the regular price. Additionally, you can save an extra 15% buy utilizing Amazon's "Subscribe and Save" option. This gets you regular deliveries of Happybellies cereal at a delivery pace you choose, without the hassle of remembering to reorder. With Subscribe and Save, the price on the six pack drops to $20. An excellent deal! - Jenn

Babies are not fun to have on planes, trains, or sometimes even automobiles. But if you bring the right foods, you can make you life a little bit easier.

Wet foods like yogurt and applesauce are fine, but make sure it is plain or vanilla yogurt and plain applesauce, and bring a bib. Flavors, coloring, and fruit bits make for more rapid staining of clothing and upholstery, which doesn’t make for a happy flight attendance. I’d advise staying away from most other brightly colored fruits and veggies. One thing you probably want to avoid is the appearance, as well as the reality, of a baby covered in multi-colored vomit.

Dry foods that don’t crumb up really badly are also a good option. For instance, Cheerios are better than saltines. A single wayward Cheerio is easy to pick up, while a crumbled saltine turns to a pernicious dusty prickly nuisance.

Most of all, take extra of everything. The weirdness of travel might make your normally happy eater really picky. So what if you kid only eats applesauce for an entire eight-hour flight? Much better than a starving, screaming horror.

What have you found works for feeding solids while traveling? Share your tips in the comments!
- Leigh G.