EASEL REVIEW
Budget
Runner
Up
Great price, easy assembly, good accessories package, small-ish work spaces.
MSRP: $41.99
Mfr. Recommended Age: 3 Years+
Total score: 87 points
Assembly: Excellent (98 points)
Artistic potential: Excellent (87 points)
Quality: Average (57 points)
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THE SCOOP
The Fun
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Good surfaces
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Easy assembly
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Great price
The Frustration
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Small-ish work spaces
Overview
The 3-in-1 has a lot to offer at a great price. It checks all the boxes on features (chalkboard, magnetic dry erase board, and paper holders) while also including a decent accessories package. The work space is on the smaller size, and the chalkboard could take chalk a little better, but assembly is a cakewalk. Good bang for your buck.
Assembly
Score: Excellent
Time
Less than ten minutes.
Ease
Assembly is mercifully easy. Pop the legs in, add the tray, and you're done. The 3-in-1 would've earned a full 100 on assembly except a couple of the legs required some serious elbow grease to click into place.
Artistic Potential
Score: Excellent
Features
The 3-in-1 checks all the boxes for features. It's got a chalkboard, magnetic dry erase board, and paper holder clasps.
How well it works
Chalk visibility is respectable. You can distinguish between most colors, though the colors don't pop as much as they do on some other models. The chalk erases fairly well though it still takes a wet cloth to get the chalkboard fully clean. Dry erase marker shows up pretty well though fainter colors (see the purple stars below) don't really jump out. The dry erase board erased cleanly.
The 3-in-1 does not include a dowel. Not a huge deal, but it's more convenient to have paper already in place. (We tested this easel using the Melissa & Doug easel pads. The paper was a bit wide for the easel, but it worked pretty well.) As with the Easel for Two, you attach paper to the clasp on the top of either side of the easel. It holds the paper securely, though not as securely as the easels that had top and bottom clasps.
Again like the Easel for Two, the working surface is on the small side. While it offers a decent amount of space for creation, other models we reviewed offered more expansive working spaces.
Quality
Score: Average
Accessories
The Easel for Two comes with:
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Chalk
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Eraser
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Magnets
Components
The 3-in-1 isn't as fancy as some of our other models, but it's of good quality, especially for the price. It ties with the Tri-Side in terms of offering the most accessories, though the included plastic magnets—while adequate—aren't as robust as we'd like. Not height adjustable.
