Ergonomic chair – first impressions

My ergonomic chair arrived on Tuesday and so I have now had a couple of days to try it out and evaluate it.

Having spent a not inconsiderable amount of time deciding on this particular chair, it holds no surprises and the functionality and lever adjustments are as expected.

What did catch me out slightly was the size of the chair. Just like 40 inch plus TV’s in an electrical store, it looked no bigger or smaller than anything else. However, once in my small office room it takes on much greater proportions and is considerably larger than the chair that it replaces. This is no bad thing as I can slouch, lounge or sit to one side of this chair with plenty of room and comfort.

If there is a disappointment, it is in the fact that the recline-action of the backrest is not so much a “real” recline, as it is an angle adjustment for the backrest. i.e. You cannot recline the chair’s backrest beyond 10 or 15 degrees past the vertical. This makes leaving the backrest in “open- lock, in order to stretch backwards, impossible.

This is however a minor moan and the chairs overall flexibility allows it to be adjusted to a massive degree and into a near limitless number of positions. The seat slide and seat tilt actions are probably the most valuable adjustments and, being tall, this allows me to gain full thigh support on the seat.

The tilt action in particular has surprised me as, to my amazement, both my wife and myself find an angle close to the maximum forward tilt the most comfortable. This is of course what experts in ergonomics recommend, however it is quite strange to see just how prone the seat angle actually is.

Other initial observations are that the seat height adjustment and the inflatable lumbar balloon are more effective than I had expected. This chair really is capable of a very high level of adjustment and it is (as my chiropractor recommends) very easy to make quick position and set-up changes during the course of the day.

To conclude this initial “first impressions” review, I would also point out that having an adjustable tension control (under the chair) is very important. Initially (on the factory-set loose setting), the chair was very loose when tilting or reclining, but once I increased the tension it took on a new and better feel.

First impressions are very positive.