Customer Reviews

Ergohuman Executive Chair With Headrest - Black

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've had a mesh offic chair for like 4 years and when the arms started to break I wanted an upgrade. I work on the computer all day, so the chair I got had to be comfortable, ergonomic, and multi-adjustable (and if it looked cool even better)I looked at and sat on the Aeron, which was not bad, but to get all the features, you have to pay extra which ended up being about $1000. I almost got it until I sat on the Ergohuman at a local office store, and WOW! The amount of adjustments and comfort was incredible. The local store wanted $700 for it, went online and found it for just under $500. This may not be as well-know as Aeron, but for the price I think it's a clear winner.

I sat in at least 40 chairs before this one and after some quick adjustments, immediately recognized the perfect fit. As pointed out already this chair seems designed for somewhat taller people (I would guess 5'8" to 6'4"). I'm 6'2" and only have one of the adjustments in the outer position which is the seat forward adjustment. Here's a group of comments I hope will be helpful to those shopping:

1. Don't buy any chair without first sitting in one (like some previous reviewers did and then rated it low). There are so many individual preferences and body shapes that it's just plain foolish not to make sure you get something that fits.

2. I bought this chair locally from a reputable office furniture store. Since I had to pay tax it cost me about $60 more than the best price online. However this product has a lifetime warranty on the frame and 5 years on the fabric and if something goes wrong I won't have any of the nightmares expressed in other reviews. I'll just drop it off at the furniture store and let them deal with it. To me that's worth $60 not to mention the argument of supporting local merchants that enabled me to try this chair in the first place. That service alone is also worth an additional $60. If you try out the chair at a struggling local merchant (which all are these days), then buy it online to save $60, and then whine when you need a warranty service provided - too bad. Please note that many of the bad reviews are related to just such a scenario.

3. The arms do adjust ridiculously high (much more than you would ever need) but except for those with unusually short arms, I can't visualize the shortest position being uncomfortable or not fitting under a normal sized desk. Maybe I'm wrong - another reason to sit in the chair before buying.

4. I'm using this chair at home where I sometimes watch movies on my computer screen in a fully supported reclining position and therefore wanted the headrest. If you rarely would use your office chair reclined then you don't need the headrest and should consider the version without.

5. Someone complained about the chair being too narrow and barely fitting. At 210 lbs. I consider myself average width, if not above average, and have plenty of room to spare on the sides. If this chair barely fits your width you need to consider custom made furniture.

6. Some earlier versions of the chair had mechanical issues that have since been fixed. It's a good question to ask your reputable local merchant who would have the most experience in chair warranty issues.

7. The armrests don't recline along with the rest of the chair. That's the only negative statement I can agree with. However, I didn't run across any chair under $1000 where they do and the $1000 chairs I tried did not fit me well in the upright or reclined positions. I'm not sure it's fair to deduct stars from a $600 chair because it can't do what much more expensive chairs can do.

Bottom line: Read between the lines of every bad review and you'll find the person buying the chair was at fault for their misfortunes. This is a great chair and should be considered by anyone in the height range mentioned above.

First I would like to say I have this model and the older version in all leather. The older version was the reason I decided to give the Ergohuman a try, that and because it looks cool. I have two failures on my Ergohuman. The first is where it connects to the base with wheels. It has a plastic type collar or washer that after two months began to move around and now no longer stays in place. I have a metal cotter key that I have wedged in it to keep it in place. So now the chair wobbles around as you sit in it. The older version that I have does not have a collar like this and it is still quite solid after 6 years. Must be a design flaw. The second failure is the hight adjustment will just drop you for no apparent reason. I had turned where one of the arm rests were over my desk when I got up, then went to sit back down and it gave way and took a huge chunk out of the glass on my desk sending shards everywhere. I have no clue why or when this will happen only that it will again. I have contacted the manufacturer (Raynor Group) around 8 times so far and they have not returned any emails after sending read receipts. So who knows if the warranty is any good. I cant wait to see what it is going to cost to ship the chair to them at my cost according to the warranty. Older chair was built much better and was several hundred cheaper. Who knew!

Update 2-6-08 Company shiped part for repair. Unfortuatly it was the wrong part and I sit here now typing and wobling, but I do have a new seat section out in my garage now. Will try to call again.

I have this chair in my office at work and now have one at home. I have had three opportunities to sit in an Aeron chair for extended times (hour or more) and considered getting one up until I tried the Ergohuman. There is simply no equal to this chair in terms of "working comfort", which is quite different from lounging and relaxing comfort. The chair is a bit quirky and does look like it belongs on the bridge of a spaceship, but once you get to know it, the operating controls make complete sense and work with you to adjust your comfort dynamically. The more fixed controls need only be adjusted once. I do not understand the problems that others have had with this chair since the designers obviously, at least to my mind, put a great deal of effort into it.

This chair is just exceptional. You can see it at places like Office Depot and prices seem to range from $499 to $599 so watch out for that.

This chair is adjustable in everyway imaginable. It is intended for heavy use. While people will tell you that you can have it assembled in 15 minutes I found that it took about that long just to get it unpackaged. The actual assembly is very simple and maybe 20 minutes. One thing that is surprising is the weight of the chair. It is roughly 60 pounds as the box was a total of 66 pounds. It looks light weigh due to the mesh construction of the seat and back but the frame and all of the parts are of the highest quality metals. Very impressive. Unless you are under 5'2" or over 6'5" the company claims this chair fits all. I absolutely believe that is true. I am 6 feet tall and it is so adjustable that with a little patience you can get it adjusted to feel perfect.

I have mixed feelings about this chair. If I could give it 2.5 stars, I probably would. First off let me say that I completely agree with the philosophy of an ergonomic chair; I'm a computer engineer so sitting in a chair is all I do and I would totally go for a better chair if I knew it was worth it. As for this chair, I first saw it in an Office Depot when shopping for furniture for my apartment. When I sat in it I immediately thought it was the most comfortable chair in the world. My dad was with me and he thought the same. A week or so later he bought it for himself on eBay, and when it arrived he let me use it until I had moved out so that I could decide if I wanted to buy one for myself.

That was when things started going downhill. The chair was certainly comfortable, but it was not the world of difference that I had expected. It was not Chair Nirvana. Further, I began to notice design flaws. I'm about 6'2", and the chair was clearly meant for tall people, but parts of it aren't large enough! The instructions say to adjust the seat so that it just comes up to the back of your knees without pressing on them, but it doesn't go forward far enough to reach that spot for me. And the seat is only barely wide enough for me. Also, although the armrests swivel, you can't move them in or out, and they stay in place when you lean back so they're pretty much useless when you're reclining.

As if that wasn't enough, the headrest--which I initially thought was perfect since it was actually in the right spot for me!--is more of a hindrance than a help. How often do you actually want to rest your head in a desk chair? Turns out not a lot. However, I often want to lean back to stretch or to reach for something over the back of the chair, and for both of those things the headrest gets in the way! Plus, because of the positioning of the reclining mechanism, leaning back in the chair results in the back assembly moving up a bit relative to your back, so if the headrest is properly positioned for the upright case then it's in the wrong spot for the reclining case and ends up putting upward pressure on your head from the small of your neck. Mind you, there is another version of the chair without a headrest, so maybe it's better.

I'm now in my new apartment and I'm using a plain-old hand-me-down padded desk chair and not missing the Ergohuman. My dad is using it and has said he's come to understand some of my criticisms. It *is* comfortable, but for the price it should be way better than it is. I may look into other ergonomic chairs someday, but for now I'm disillusioned.

I purchased two of these chairs approx 3 years ago. The vertical seat and back support adjustment mechanisms on one of the chairs failed in mid-2010. I contacted the manufacturer to see if they could furnish replacement parts. The answer, despite the "lifetime warranty", is sure, if I pay for them at full cost and cover shipping. Another $150.00+ I've written the president of the firm but don't expect to hear back based on initial experience w/ customer service dept. I am amazed that you can pay so much for a chair and NOT have the manufacturer own up to replacing defective components.

Nice chair while it lasted. FYI, no, I don't exceed the 250lb rating of the chair. Soaking wet, I'm 180 lbs.

First off, I have spent 2 years with this chair and have tried several others.

Conclusion:
The chair is great. After two years, I have zero complaints on wear and tear, still looks and performs good. I couldn't imagine a better cushion, I have the leather seat with mesh back, so I can attest the leather seat is comfortable. Most of the adjustments are adequet and the overall comfort is great. I have spent an entire day, a few times, sitting in this with only a little discomfort.

At 6' and 170 lbs. I would say I'm average and would expect any chair to fit. Don't get me wrong this has been one of the most comfortable chairs I've sat in, there are a few concerns.

The lower back piece for the lombard support, you can see in the picture, was very uncomfortable initially. It pushed against the top of my pelvic bones on my back which isn't very effective. It makes me wonder what they were thinking giving this support to push your butt forward, even at it's maximum height. This may only be a problem with the leather seat as the mesh seat would allow your butt to sit lower. I modified this backpiece with a drill, right after I put it together, to allow it to rise higher, which ended up being the perfect placement for me and has been a very comfortable position.
The headrest just doesn't seem to work well, you can only adjust the angle of it when you need to adjust the placement of it. Pulled it off because it seems to be a waste. The armrests do not move closer to your body or further, but the forward piece of the armrest can pivot in or out, which can act as a sufficient armrest, not the best.

I did modify the chair to make it fit me, which nobody should have to do after buying a new chair in this price range, however it has been worth it regardless of this. The modification I made didn't make a noticable change to the appearance either.

I bought this chair 2 years ago and loved it. I had had a lot of problems with my back (because my work-place can't spring for ergonomic chairs, despite most of the workers being computer programmers). Immediately, I felt a lot better. And because my health improved, my overall happiness improved. This chair changed my life and made me realize how important it was to be in good health -- before the chair I was in pain, but after I got the chair, I felt so much better, and less stressed.

Fastforward to present: I recently moved and needed a chair for my new home. I went to Office Depot and tried a lot of chairs. For $200-$300, you can get something that's called ergonomic but doesn't have the full features of this chair. I actually did buy something, which was comfortable but not great. After some thought,I decided to return the Office Depot chair and just buy another one of these chairs. Yes, this is more expensive, but if it saves me a couple of trips to the chiropractor, brightens my mood so that I'm nice to people around me, it will more than make up for the price. Really, your health is priceless -- when you've had lots of back problems like I did and then they go away, you really value your health and the $ doesn't seem as important (and I'm one cheap bastard).

For $1000, you do have a lot of choices. But I really don't want to spend that much, and I could never feel a difference between the $1,000 chairs and this chair.

Chairs are a personal thing. What works for one may not work for another. Don't listen to a salesperson's recommendation, just see how *you* feel sitting in this chair (or any ergonomic chair). I recommend to try searching for a place that stocks these chairs, try it out, and then get it online. You can get it online for $500.

I had high hopes for this chair after reading the many reviews online and it's impressive repertoire of adjustments. Yet, after assembling it and finally sitting down on it, I ran into a few problems. First of all, the "adjustable" lumbar support is actually not very adjustable but is rather a piece of tight mesh material that sits on a strong spring. This is nice when you're reclining since the lumbar follows the curve of your back and provides support in a variety of positions. However, if you try to simply sit up straight, the lumbar provides too much support, pushing me forward and hardly allowing the rest of my back to contact the seat. Some might find it tough to sit up straight for extended periods of time with support only at their lower backs.

A more prominent issue for me was the height of the adjustable arms. It turns out that even the lowest height for the arms is fairly high and forces me to raise my elbows to an uncomfortable height. Ironically, the chair arms can be raised to a ridiculous height, which makes me really wonder what the engineers of this chair were thinking.... The chair arms also don't fit under my desk, but rather bump into it, making any sort of writing or book reading uncomfortable because the chair forces me to sit at a distance from the desk. The chair arms also do not move with the chair when you recline, leaving your elbows dangling in empty space.

The headrest is also disappointing. It cannot be oriented to properly support my head, forcing me to really pull my head back in order for my neck and the back of my head to contact the head rest. Bottom line - the headrest is useless.

I would probably have kept the chair if it weren't for the chair arms, but for such an expensive chair (~$600) I expected fewer isssues. Do your best to try this chair out at a store before purchasing it. I've learned the hard way and will be dragging it (all 60lbs) to the store for a refund.