It probably won’t surprise you to learn that I was not satisfied with my initial high chair purchase for my eldest son. Despite my best efforts, I, like many parents-to-be, did not make the best baby gear choices with Boy Wonder No. 1. And I mean really, how can one be expected to select all the right accoutrement, having never had a babe before? Particularly given that most shortcomings aren’t apparent until the gear has been used, rendering it un-returnable? While many people feel compelled to rationalize and justify their purchases, regardless of their dissatisfaction, I feel the need to rectify these situations. And with a blog like this, why not? Thank you, CraigsList, for making this possible. Here I compare three modern-style wooden high chairs, including the Svan, the Stokke Tripp Trapp and the Keekaroo Height Right High Chair.
When I first started hunting for high Chairs, when the little man was around four months old, I quickly rejected all plastic options. I like modern design and I love the look of the Boon Flair and the Bloom Nano, but neither of these options would meld as much as I’d have liked into my more transitional side of contemporary décor. At the time, we lived in a 900 square foot bungalow, so I needed something compact, but I didn’t want anything that looked like Laura Ingalls could have slurped her supper in it, either.
Svan High Chair
Enter the uber-elegant, ultra compact Svan High Chair ($260). The first time I saw it in a local baby boutique, I asked if the floor model was smaller than the actual-sized High chair, because compared to the other chairs it was standing next to, it seemed tiny, like it wouldn’t even fit a real baby. They laughed at my ignorance and assured me that despite its miniature proportions, it seated the under-three set very comfortably whilst leaving plenty of floor space in one’s kitchen. I was sold, instantly.
In our Svan, we happily made our way through rice cereal, sweet potatoes, pears and other purees, but about the time we started on finger foods, while Huck was still raking rather than pinching, the Svan’s shortcomings became more apparent. The Svan, as elegant and compact as it is, has roughly 25 nooks and crannies for mashed peas, potatoes, chunky dinner blends and banana remnants to hide, dry and cake in (I might be a little batty, but when I sold it on CraigsList this weekend, I actually felt the need to remove individual bolts and use a toothbrush and a toothpick to get into these crevices).
The "wipe-able" fabric pad ($39.99) was thin and didn’t seem terribly comfortable for marathon lunch and dinner sessions, and, ultimately, did not come as clean as I would have liked when sponged off. It faded and got a bit more pilled each of the 10 or so times I machine washed it. The plastic tray was a nice addition, and easy to clean, but it did not completely cover the side rails (which chubby, grubby hands love to grab), necessitating a near-total wipe down of the chair almost every time it was used (roughly 5 times a day—fun). Furthermore, its narrow width, a bonus for space-saving purposes, resulted in a lot of food on the floor (and consequently a chunkier dog and more wiping for me). Because of all this wiping and cleaning, the finish, particularly on the footrest, started to show signs of mild water damage and could have used a bit of a sand down and re-finish. After two years of use, it just seemed like a lot of work for a $300 price tag.
Stokke Tripp Trapp High Chair
I love the Stokke Tripp Trapp chair—the design, the finish options, the fact that I would actually keep this chair around to sit on after the kids have gone off to college . . . In fact, I covet a friend’s Tripp Trapp, along with her vintage modern dinnerware and NotNeutral glassware, every time I visit her house, but I think my dear husband would have flipped his lid if I’d spent $400+ on a High chair after recently swapping out my high-end stroller. To really make the Stokke Tripp Trapp ($265) work from the beginning, you need the baby set ($69.99) to support your babe’s trunk and I’m assuming you’re not the parent who would make his/her child sit on bare wood, so you also need at least one if not two chair cushions ($44). Furthermore, I know myself well enough to tell you that I am constitutionally incapable of passing up an elegantly designed solution like the PlayTray, but at $89.99 (10 bucks shy of $100 for a piece of plastic!? Really?), that puts the purchase over the top for me, totaling out at about $465. That, and I really, really didn’t want to deal with a fabric cushion again. Finding a more affordable option with a sponge clean-able cushion that didn’t scrimp too much on quality and versatility didn’t turn out to be the impossible task I thought it would be, however.
Keekaroo Height Right High Chair
The Svan’s replacement was an unknown name to me when last year my mom replaced the papa-san monstrosity that all grandchildren dreaded sitting in at her mountain house, but I’ve fallen in serious like with the Keekaroo Height Right High Chair over the last several months of frequent/occasional use. Last week I finally got around to selling the Svan on CraigsList to swap it out and I couldn’t be happier. The Keekaroo has a good aesthetic, a latex-free molded matte vinyl cushion that’s super-duper comfortable, it cleans up spic n’ span, and is almost infinitely adjustable. I purchased the chair with a comfort cushion in chocolate, to match Huck’s Keekaroo Café booster seat, and the removable tray for $250 out the door. Is this a chair I will keep in the family, pass down the generations? No, probably not, but I just couldn’t justify the expense of an heirloom for this purchase, particularly given that what I really wanted was the convenience of a wipe-able vinyl seat to make five of the 50 messes I clean up on a given day a little bit easier to manage.
- M.
See below for my side-by-side comparison.
|
Feature |
Svan |
Stokke |
Keekaroo |
Comments |
|
Color Options |
Several |
Several |
One, natural |
I wish the Keekaroo had more wood color options. My favorite options are Stokke’s bright painted colors and the walnut. For me, Svan’s stain colors are a bit off, which is why I chose the natural when first I bought it.
Mom Point: Stokke |
|
Cushion |
Thin foam, fabric cover |
Thin foam, fabric cover |
Thick molded foam with matte vinyl finish |
Keekaroo’s Comfort Cushion was its biggest selling point for me. It’s so comfortable (I’ve actually sat on it quite a bit), easy to remove and wipe clean. I’m not a fan of the fabric cushions because they’re more difficult to keep clean, start to look worn quickly and don’t seem that comfortable for a baby bum.
Mom Point: Keekaroo |
|
Ease of Cleaning |
Difficult |
Easy |
Easy |
As I mentioned above, the Svan has a ton of nooks & crannies for food and gunk to get into, the removable plastic tray cover doesn’t cover the clunky wood tray on the sides and the fabric cushion doesn’t clean up all that well. The Stokke’s clean lines are highly wipe-able, but I’m giving this one to the Keekaroo for its easily removable tray and easily removable, wipe-able cushion.
Mom Point: Keekaroo |
|
Footprint |
Small 18” x 19” |
Medium ~21” x 21” |
Medium/Large 18” X 24” |
If you need a small but safe chair, the Svan is for you. It fits easily in tiny eating areas and blends away. The Stokke has such an airy design that it feels almost as small as the Svan. Though I love the Keekaroo, and the color and design help it occupy less visual space than conventional chairs, the Keekaroo is a bit of a clunker compared to the Svan and the Stokke--glad I have room for it.
Mom Point: Svan |
|
Heirloom Quality |
Maybe |
Definitely |
Probably Not |
If you want to pass your child’s high chair down through the generations, the Stokke is the chair for you. It has beautiful, classic lines and is constructed of high quality materials. I think in most cases the Svan could be an heirloom, but that slight water damage on the footrest made me wonder. . . I’m 100% sure the Keekaroo will hold up, but I just don’t see keeping it around the house the way I would a Stokke because it's simply not as elegantly designed.
Mom Point: Stokke |
|
Price/Value |
- Chair w/ tray - Cushion $300 |
- Chair - Cushion - Baby kit $380
Add PlayTray $465 |
- Chair w/ cushion - Wood tray $250 |
These prices include the accessories I consider essential to making the chair work. If you want a fairly complete package, go with the Svan or the Keekaroo. The Stokke irritates me a bit for including absolutely nothing--it’s just the chair in the box, then you need to purchase a cushion, infant insert and a tray that’s not even made by Stokke separately. Keekaroo has an infant cushion and infant grab bar available, but with the regular cushion and tray, I haven’t found that I need either and Lou’s been using my mom’s since he was 5 months old. Please note that I do not leave him sitting in it without the tray--I loosen the tray (it has two locking depth adjustments and slip him in and out. Keekaroo takes this one for relative affordability/value though it's still pretty pricey.
Mom Point: Keekaroo |
|
Style/Design |
To me, the Stokke is the clear winner in this category with the Svan a close runner up. With regard to functionality of design, I like the Keekaroo for having a tray option, but I’m talking pure aesthetics.
Mom Point: Stokke |
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|
Suitable for Young Babies |
Yes |
Yes, with add-ons |
Yes, with add-ons |
The Svann is an excellent chair for young babies, providing a lot of trunk support which is also the support that the tray snaps on to. The Stokke baby support does not accept a tray (obviously, Stokke doesn’t make a tray), and I’m not sure how the support would work with the PlayTray add-on. Keekaroo sells a baby bar, but I’ve been pretty happy just lifting Little Lou in & out, then taking the tray to the sink for clean up, so I don’t feel I need it.
Mom Point: Svann |
|
Tray |
Included, wood with plastic snap-on cover |
Purchase PlayTray separately, designed for Stokke $89.99 (!) |
Purchase separately, wood, no plastic cover $29.99 |
I’m all for the family table, but the first several months (or years) of eating are messy and quite destructive to a table top in my experience, so I feel like a high chair should definitely have a tray option. I’m intrigued by the PlayTray made for Stokke, but I’m not sure how easy it would be to get your kiddo in & out with it on, or how easy it would be to buckle the kiddo in, then slip the tray on (it slides over the top of the side rails). Overall, it seems to be a great solution to the Stokke’s main weakness (beyond price). I like the Keekaroo tray and, unlike some reviewers, have not had problems with how it functions or with the finish on either my mom’s, or mine, which I’ve been using for several months--I'll update if anything changes. The tray on the Svan was too narrow to prevent drop-age and spills and the plastic cover didn’t cover all of the wood.
Mom Point: Keekaroo |
|
Mom Points: |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Keekaroo takes it by a hair. Price, cushion comfort & cushion wipe-ability being the differentiators. |
