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Omar Shahine
about 2 years ago • Seattle

Artificial Christmas Tree

Does anyone have a tree they love? I've been looking at balsamhill trees as they are supposed to be the best, but the reviews on the site don't really make me feel awesome about ordering a huge tree from them to find out I'm not a fan.

I was looking at the Noble Fir tree and not sure on Flip vs non Flip tree.
3 replies
about 2 years ago
We have two Balsam Hill trees, after having had several others in the past. There is no doubt they are the best in the business. They are really well built, very good looking, and the storage system alone is worth it. Heck, they even come with cotton gloves to use putting them up so your hands don’t get destroyed.

I will say, however, that their lights are garbage. And they are strung terribly. Our first BH tree was a mess, and figuring out what was/wasn’t working was really hard. So I just stripped the lights, bought all new LEDs at McClendons, and redid it. Been working solidly for years. The second tree we bought from BH, I got unlit and did it myself. It was a much better way to go.

Yes, the first time it’s a PITA, but after that has been flawless. And I bought an extra string or two of lights, tossed them in the bag, and I have spare parts and bulbs that I _know_ will work with the strings.

But all-in-all, Balsam High is easily the best. Recommend them most highly.
about 2 years ago
Thanks Chris. That's interesting on the lights. If you don't mind my asking, which tree did you opt for and Flip vs Non Flip?
about 2 years ago
Oh, we predate “flip” by several years. But I can setup either of our trees in under 10mins. From bag to lit and ready for ornaments in about five steps. Pull out stand, plop each section on, plugging them together, and plug the whole tree to the timer. Zip,zap.

IMHO flip looks like a gimmick, mostly solving a non-problem. Setting up/taking down isn’t the hard part. But hey, if they sell :)
about 2 years ago