Reviews
Review: Autonomous ErgoChair 2
I’m not a chair expert by any means, but as the old saying goes, “if it fits, I sits.”
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The last time I reviewed one of Autonomous’ office chairs, I was generally impressed and decided to hold onto it for another year or so because it was seriously that good. I generally give away all of my review units or send them back to the manufacturer, but no, not this one. So when the company reached out to see if I had any interest in checking out their latest offering, the ErgoChair 2, I didn’t skip a beat in giving them my mailing address.
So here we are, after a couple of weeks of sitting my tush on the ErgoChair 2, and I’m proud to announce the company did it again, offering all the same premium features you would normally get out of a $1K+ office chair, wrapped into something that only costs $369. But, it’s not perfect, and there are a couple of things I would change, but we’ll get to that in a few moments. But overall, it’s a slammer. Let’s see what this puppy has to offer.
On the outside, the chair looks like it was plucked from 2040. It has a pretty intense futuristic look, and the color options available are plentiful, so you have plenty of choices in customizing it to your choosing. But looks aside, what else does this chair has to offer?
The product’s website says the company implemented a new Italian-designed tilt mechanism that offers a handful of adjustments to get the most comfort out of the chair. There’s a lot of levers on this thing, so I’ll try my best to break them down and explain what each one does.
The seat mechanism features a recline release found on the left side of the chair. The front-right lever offers three options. The first adjustment crank adjusts the back tilt tension, bottom seat tilt, and adjusts the chair’s height. And finally, a lever on the back of the chair that adjusts the back tilt angle.
Here’s a helpful video from Autonomous that shows you exactly what every lever does:
I have to say, with all these levers, it took me a while to get the seat to my desired setting. It can be a little overwhelming at first, but after time some time, you’ll get to know what every lever does.
Installation wasn’t all that difficult either. I am notoriously known for being the worst handyman in existence, but even with my lack of skills, I was able to get everything installed and fastened within 15-20 minutes.
However, I found myself getting the company’s previous Kinn chair installed a lot quicker than this one. Still, I remember the previous chair having fewer parts than this, so it’s understandable why this one took a bit longer. It’s not a deal-breaker or anything, but the Kinn chair was one of the most straightforward chairs I’ve ever assembled. Thankfully, Autonomous gives you everything you’ll need to get the chair installed, plus some extra nuts and bolts, just in case you drop or lose any as I did with mine.
So, how’s the actual chair? Is it comfortable to sit in? Did it help my posture?
OK, this is where I’m a little torn. There’s no question about it; the chair looks comfortable, and I’m sure it’s comfortable for most people, but I had some issues. After sitting it in for a couple of weeks, I discovered it wasn’t as comfortable as the Kinn. I think it was maybe due to the chair’s lumbar support. Even after adjusting the lumbar support to different positions, it was still bothering me. I don’t know what it is, but something wasn’t meshing with me.
Additionally, the chair sits really low, as well. I think this is the root of the issue. Even when I adjust the chair to its highest position, it’s still somewhat low to the ground. I’m 6’4″, so I need the seat to sit a little higher. And because the chair sits low, one of my legs developed a sharp pain around the knee. Now, I’m not saying this is directly related to the chair, but it could possibly be a factor.
To test this, I switched back to the Kinn chair for a week. My back and knee pain went away sometime early in the week after switching chairs. This was promising. So I closed out the week on the Kinn chair and tried the ErgoChair 2 again the following week. When it came to round two of the ErgoChair 2, the pain started up again. It was clear. My body just wasn’t meant to sit in this chair.
I literally tried everything. This included adjusting the chair’s height, changing the tilt, back tension, and fiddling with the rest of the levers. I would spend at least five minutes each day messing around with all the seat adjustments, and nothing seemed to do the trick. It’s probably a “me” problem and not the chair’s problem. All I know is that when I switched back to the Kinn chair, I didn’t experience any of these issues. Maybe I’m just a creature of habit.
Should you buy the ErgoChair 2?
Listen, this is a great chair, without a doubt. The price is right, there are features for days, and it looks absolutely amazing. When it comes to comfort, I’m sure a lot of people will be happy with it. I’d venture to say most folks will find this chair comfortable. However, for me, it simply wasn’t a good fit. Sure, I can sit in it for a couple of hours at a time, but when it comes to sitting in it for eight hours straight, five days a week, this is where the problems start to pop up.
The ErgoChair 2 retails for $369 (which is a steal compared to other similar office chairs), and the company even gives you a 30-day trial. If you don’t like the chair, you can return for a full refund. I would highly suggest taking advantage of this, as in my case, it would have been extremely beneficial to take the company up on that offer. And on top of that, the company backs up the product with a two-year warranty.
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Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more. A sample unit was provided for the purpose of this review.