King of Christmas King Fraser Fir Tree Review
The holiday season now brings with it serious artificial alternatives to rival the real Christmas tree. To do this they must have the effective realism and impact of a living evergreen whilst requiring no maintenance or disposal. Here we have the King Fraser Fir Tree (our 7.5ft $1199) from King of Christmas and we’ve put it up in our studio to see if it really can capture the authenticity of a freshly cut Christmas tree.
Assembly
In the box you’ll find a metal tree stand, off-season storage bag with handles and, importantly, Santa inspired protective gloves. Although just one pair of the latter, which did mean, with two people shaping the tree, we were able to ascertain that the gloves are very necessary, protecting your hands from the surprisingly prickly foliage; just as you’d find with the real specimen. Much like offerings from Balsam Hill, the King of Christmas tree uses an interconnecting system to send power from each separate section of the tree, if pre-lit like the one we have. The system is called ‘power pole’ and works extremely well with our 7.5ft model, that comes in three separate sections, so it's no more arduous to assemble than one which is non-lit.
With artificial trees of this calibre and height, branch shaping can often take the best part of two hours, especially on the first install. It then generally becomes a little easier in subsequent years, with some memory of shaping in the branches even after being stored, and also familiarity of the task by us. But we did notice with this King of Christmas King Fraser Fir tree it actually presented a somewhat vague outline of shaping straight out of the box, because the realistic front hinged branches are webbed and less free than with Balsam Hill trees we have previously reviewed. So manipulation feels restricted, but this seems to be done for a purpose, as once we had shaped the more classically artificial foliage within the centre of the tree, that can be formed to go anywhere, we made our way to the outer realistic foliage and found we were rather speedy in shaping this, despite the large size of tree. In fact, we had the entire tree shaped and ready to decorate with ornaments in under an hour.
Realism
So does it pass the ‘is that a real Christmas tree’ glance test? Well, to answer, we can see immediately that careful attention has been made in replicating the intricate details of a live tree, setting the King of Christmas Fraser Fir apart from any run of the mill artificial Christmas tree. Needle detail three dimensionally captures the lifelike qualities of a real evergreen and the well-balanced tree silhouette closely mimics the charm of a freshly cut Fraser Fir, so we would definitely be hard pressed in knowing this wasn’t a real tree at a glance. Closer to the trunk, synthetic foliage is used strategically for padding, enhancing the overall fullness when fluffed. While not easily noticeable from a distance, it's worth noting that the Balsam Hill Fraser Fir offers a higher ratio of realistic foliage in comparison. Nevertheless, the King Fraser Fir is such a vibrant green colour, with lush foliage, that just like a real tree it reacts to different lighting scenarios, so is much paler in the natural sunlight that floods over it from being placed in front of our bi-folding doors and then becomes more inky when night falls at the studio.
The fullness of the tree is impressive, providing a lush canvas for your holiday decorations, and allowing for easy decorating; providing ample room for our 2x boxes of ($249) King of Christmas Traditional 30-piece glass ornament sets to glisten. As the name would suggest, these hand blown and painted/decorated bauble ornaments are richly detailed with familiarly Christmassy designs, and the delicate craftsmanship looks absolutely enchanting when catching the soft glow of holiday lights.
Lighting
Speaking of lights, one of the standout features of the King of Christmas Fraser Fir is its pre-strung brilliance, with 1000 Warm White & Multi-Color Micro LED lights woven into the branches. The strategic placement of these lights enhances the tree's overall visual appeal, so whether you prefer the classic and timeless elegance of warm white lights or the festive and playful ambiance of multicolour lights, this tree accommodates both preferences seamlessly. They provide a balanced and well-distributed glow that accentuates the tree's natural beauty, and the supplied remote control or foot pedal floor control allows us to alternate modes, brightness and set timers to suit various moods and themes.
Verdict
The Christmas tree is an enduring symbol of the season and King of Christmas elevate the festive decorations by capturing real authenticity. Whilst the King of Christmas King Fraser Fir may come with a higher price tag than some, the investment is justifiable by the tree's carefully crafted and realistic design that mimics the appearance of a freshly cut Fraser Fir. Not to neglect mention of the twinkly multi-coloured lights and our additional gorgeous hand blown and painted traditional ornaments. This has culminated in a truly festive and inviting realism, that has made a stunning centrepiece for our studio's holiday setting and celebrations.
