Ikea SNUDDA Lazy Susan Review

Ever since I was little, I dreamt of having beautiful garden parties where I'd serve the most beautiful of foods in vast quantities. Working out the logistics was another issue in itself. How would one allow guests to sample so many amazing foods conveniently? That was where the lazy susan came in.

Okay, no, I didn't have those dreams. I thought a lazy susan could be useful for certain videos or photos. And for about $10, I couldn't find a big reason not to. Well, aside from the fact that I was running out of room to put stuff.


Ikea SNUDDA Lazy Susan

Configuration
SNUDDA Lazy Susan: CAD$ 9.99 (US$ 7.99)

Video
Ikea SNUDDA Lazy Susan Overview

Assembly
I had to put it in a bag after checking out and take it out of a bag when I got home. Decided to wrap the bottom in a sheet of wrapping paper to protect the edge while in the bag...

More seriously, it kind of bugged me that the SNUDDA wasn't packaged in anything. Not even shrink wrapped. I found them in the kitchen section of Ikea and they were found stored vertically inside a cardboard box, which I assumed to be what they shipped in.

There were about four boxes laid out 2 x 2 and I noticed that one box seemed to have more than a few duds. By duds, I mean that the ones I sampled from that box had defects like spots or clumps of white powder, or an unfurled rubber ring on the base. My guess was that the powder was from the lacquer job. The other box I went through looked fine. I found myself a pretty good one with only a few white specks in a wood knot and a minor sanding issue on an edge -- didn't notice the latter until I closely inspected it at home. Wiping the knot with a moist paper towel didn't remove the specks. Oh well, the knot was on the bottom, and for $10, meh.


Ikea SNUDDA Lazy Susan Bottom

Stability
Nice and flat, a whole inch or so tall with a wide base -- I didn't have an issue. The spinning mechanism worked well for the time that I used it. However, I never put anything beyond a few pounds onto the SNUDDA lazy Susan. The webpage for the item did say it had a maximum load of 12 kg when I checked.

Expandability / Customizability
There was a marble version called the ADELSTEN for $US/$CAD 19.99 when I bought the SNUDDA. I didn't like the idea of having to deal with such a heavy item. And while it was available, I didn't see it at the store. Otherwise, one could buy another SNUDDA to keep the other one company.

Ikea SNUDDA Lazy Susan Mechanism

Everyday Use

For the video and photography purposes that I bought the SNUDDA for, it worked well. The base stayed in place, probably with help from the rubber ring on the bottom, and the top spun consistently without getting stuck. Speaking of, peaking through the tiny gap between the upper and lower discs suggested that the spinning mechanism was ball-bearing based -- I saw a lot of tiny balls in a circular arrangement. The overall appearance of the SNUDDA itself was also a plus. I liked the fact that it was simply solid wood with lacquer (website).

Not sure how it would work for food. The SNUDDA was only 15" in diameter, according to the webpage. In Chinese restaurants I'd eaten in, there would commonly be giant lazy Susans that would span almost the entire table, probably a few feet in diameter. Those ones would send food from one end of a party of eight to the other -- occasionally done with destruction when things on the Susan got caught on other things not on the Susan. At a bit over a foot, I got the impression that the SNUDDA would be more useful as a decorative conversation piece. My arm span would pretty easily cover the distance from one side of this lazy Susan to the other.

Conclusion
This was a functional, good looking piece for a pretty low price. It served my non-kitchen related purposes well, but I had concerns about how well it would work serving food due its relatively small size. No regrets, especially for $10.