Humanscale chair looks different from many others in the market. The design work is clearly a work of genius but as you will see, the ergonomic features are well thought out and simplified. Apart from the height, the rest of the chairs can be adjusted with the flip of a finger, with most coming automated. Â
In this Humanscale chair review, you will see why these chairs are a worthy investment for any office. Niels Diffrient designs these chairs on the precept that the workplace should conform to the ergonomic needs of the human body. It should never be the other way round.
One glance at their products will show you just how stylish these chairs are. Made with diverse materials, they do not only turn any workplace into an ergonomic space. They also make it stunningly stylish.
Since the establishment of this company in 1983, they have been making incredible office chairs. The one reason why you should buy these chairs is that this brand has quite a reputation to protect. They have been known for making ergonomic office chairs that promote health and productivity in the office.
However, all things considered, it was the Freedom office chair that made the company to stand out from the competition. This chair was an ergonomic work of genius. It was designed by Niels Diffrient. The outstanding thing about this chair was that it came with many automated features, all of them designed to make work fun.
Get a good variety of stylish office chairs
Other incredible office chairs such as Diffrient World, Smart and Liberty Chairs would soon follow Freedom. Like good wine, the Humanscale office products just got better with time, and kept on getting better. Besides, some of their chairs have become celebrities in their own right after appearing on different TV shows and films, including The Bourne Ultimatum and The Newsroom.
With so much evidence of what these chairs can do all around us, you can see that they are good for office employees and bosses who care about their health. The bad thing about using a bad chair is that the results can come to haunt you in future. When you retire, the last thing that you want is to have to contend with chronic back pain. Well, you can prevent that by using the right ergonomic office chair.
Humanscale office chairs are known for their stunning styles. For example, most have their armrests attached to the backrest. The chairs have been designed with automatic backrest such that you do not have to adjust anything, apart from the height, manually.
What to expect from the Humanscale chair review
- These chairs are built to last a long time
- Great craftsmanship and design
- Very stylish looking chairs
- Comfort from the gel cushions
- Widely adjustable chairs to meet the needs of every user
- Many automated features such as the chair recline
- Maintenance free parts – just buy and use everyday
- They offer automatic lumbar support with minimal room for manual adjustment
- Long warranty for all chairs – 15 years
- Some have armrests that are attached to the backrest
- Seat pad is made of gel which never loses shape
Humanscale office chair review
There are different models for each Humanscale office chair. Thus, you can find out the one that appeals to you most. They also have stools.
Here are three of their most popular chairs:
Humanscale Freedom Task Chair
On many Humanscale chair review articles, this chair has been described as the Holy Grail of office seating. When you buy it, the transformation in your office is so noticeable. This chair was made with one objective only and that is to convert the office space to fit the ergonomic needs of the human body. This chair adjusts to the needs of your body. Fancy that!
When you sit down on the chair, the recline is going to adjust automatically to meet your needs. For example, if you are weighty, this chair’s recline will adjust itself to accommodate your weight. Thus, you do not have to bother about adjusting the reclining angle manually. However, it is a bit more complex than that, although you will not really feel the difference.
>> Click Here to See Humanscale Freedom Chair Review – Best Simple Office Chair
How the recline works
The back recline mechanism works in three different ways. The first one is the backrest swivel, which adjusts the backrest in such a way that it pushes itself against your back. The upper back leans back, the middle and lower back pushes against you for lumbar support. The pelvic support pops out towards your lower back.
The second way is the backrest only recline. This means that any time that you sit down, the backrest reclines to accommodate your weight. More weight means more recline and vice versa. The third way is the seat riser. This works very well to boost your butt as you sit down. It stays firm and supportive throughout the day.
Armrests adjustment
The armrests of this office chair are adjustable. As you will see in any Humanscale chair review, this is one of the best armrest design in the market. All you need to do to raise the armrests is raise them a bit from the front to your desired height. They will lock into that height. It is ingeniously simple.
Thanks to the double metal rod that connects the armrests to the spine, you do not even need a button to adjust these armrests. In fact, there is no button or knob for the armrests.
But these armrests have a disadvantage. They cannot be adjusted width-wise and many chairs in the market have armrests that can pivot outwards to increase the width. Â
Fixed back support
We all know that back support is the best and most important feature in any office chair. While the Humanscale Freedom office chair does not have adjustable lumbar support, it has been built to mimic the natural curve of the human spine as much as possible.
The seat
This seat is made with gel instead of foam. Gel does not give way no matter how long you sit on it. It stays firm for a long time, without losing shape. The seat of the Freedom office chair is not adjustable. However, it is well-designed, with a waterfall edge for comfort.
Please note, there is a Freedom Headrest chair, and a Freedom Task chair and both are incredibly good.
Humanscale Diffrient Smart office chair
Many Humanscale chair review articles say that you should try this chair at least once in your office. It is an expensive chair retailing at around $1000 in many online marketplaces. However, you know it is not extravagant at all, if the features make it worth that price.
The way this chair is designed, it can seat more than 90 percent of the global population. Thus, whether you are tall, short, heavy or slim, this chair will meet your office posture needs perfectly.
When you feel that your ergonomic needs are a necessity rather than an option, you need a good chair. Perhaps one that can last decades. Definitely, a chair that has limited warranty of 15 years would be a good option. And that chair is the Diffrient Smart.
From the design of this chair, you will see that it is quite different from many other office chairs that you know. You can tell this from the armrests that are quite outstanding in design. They are attached to the backrest rather than to the bottom of the frame as we see with many chairs in the market.
Just as the other office chairs under this brand name, the form-sensing mesh has been used for the backrest. This is smart mesh, such it deploys just the right tension depending on your weight when you sit down. The recline is automatic, meaning that when you lean back, the recline adjusts automatically so you do not have to do anything manually.
The breathability of this office chair makes it very comfortable. The backrest is meshed, and the seat is also quite breathable. Besides, the pad is made with gel, which retains its form for the longest time possible. The edge of the seat is designed in such a way that it does not press against the back of your knees. This chair is quite comfortable.
Minimal adjustability
This chair has minimal adjustability. Many of the features of this chair adjust automatically. So you do not have much control over how far you can adjust the chair. If you are looking for a chair that has a lot of adjustability, this might not be it for you.
There is no adjustable lumbar support. This is a turn off for many people. But even without adjustable lumbar support, this is still a good chair to buy for your office. Â
With a limited warranty of 15 years on parts and workmanship, this chair is deemed quite durable. It lasts a long time. A good warranty also inspires some confidence as you buy a chair because it shows how confident a manufacturer is in their product.
Please note, there is also the Diffrient World chair, an equally good-looking masterpiece with almost the same features.
Humanscale Liberty Task Chair
The Humanscale Liberty Task chair is one of a kind. One of the most outstanding features for this chair is that it is hinged at the lumbar region. When you recline, the upper backrest goes back while the lower part of the backrest pushes against you. When you lean forward, the lower backrest area moves inwards a little leaving you supported all the time.
If you are looking for a chair with good, inbuilt lumbar support, this is the best choice for you. The backrest is designed to give support to all of your lower back, leaving the whole of the lumbosacral region well supported all the time. This chair promotes the natural curve of your spine as much as possible.
Another thing that you will note when you lean back is that armrests move with you. This can be a double-edged sword. You will relax better with your arms supported, but at the same time, you will not be able to work on your tablet when the armrests are tilted at that angle. Also, this chair does not have a headrest, something that leaves your neck unsupported all the time when relaxing.
Just as happens with the other Humanscale office chairs, you do not have control on how much you can recline, or on the tilt tension of the recline. This one is determined by the weight of the person using the chair. This also means that the chair can support almost any weight. The good thing is that this chair is able to support any sitting posture that you adopt.
Liberty Task chair has some downsides
As you can see in any Humanscale chair review, this chair has some downsides too. Ok, while compared with chairs such as you would find under the Autonomous brand name, this one is quite costly. But that is not all, because even the design, as awesome as it is, also has some flaws too. For example, the backrest reclines too much meaning that you may find it hard to work on your computer. As a result, you will have to move your chair too close to the desk.
Another design flaw is the metal edge on the frame of the chair. Your elbow comes into contact with this edge as you work on the desk. This is uncomfortable and too much rubbing of the elbow on metal could lead to injury after prolonged use.
The adjustability is out of your control. The only thing that you will be able to adjust is the height of the chair. The seat is fixed in place but it is quite comfortable. However, you have to remember that Autonomous chairs, Herman Miller chairs and Steelcase chairs to name but just a few, have adjustable seats.
Conclusion
When choosing an office chair that you can use for long hours, most people consider ergonomics on top of style. That is ok, but it does not mean that just because a chair is ergonomic that it should be drab looking and bland. You can get the best of all worlds by choosing a chair from any of the three that we have reviewed in this Humanscale chair review. They look stunningly good and they do give good value for the price. They are not that cheap, but the long warranty of 15 years inspires a lot of confidence when buying.
