Ergohuman IOO High Back

Wanted to love it... but is absolutely one of the most uncomfortable chairs I've used! – The title says it for itself - this is by far one of the most uncomfortable "ergonomic" chairs I have used. I am an occupational therapist who regularly works in seating prescription, with a background in occ rehab and workplace ergonomics. I cannot sit in this chair for >2 hours without considerable lower back pain. Pushing this to the 3-hour mark, my mid and upper back are completely shot and I'm typically sitting cross-legged ontop of a clinical high-pressure care cushion to alleviate some of the pain. I identified quite a few issues with the design upon first receiving the chair, but had unfortunately disregarded the packaging as we were just about to move house. I contacted Ergohuman with these concerns, photos, and illustrations - however, received no response. I thought that perhaps the seat and I would adjust to one another over time... but the absolute opposite has happened!

• USER BIOMETRICS AND HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT: Ergohuman recommends that users of this chair are at least 5’4” (162.56cm). I am 168cm and can say with absolute certainty that the tallest lumbar support option was WAY too short for me, the highest seat level doesn’t even have my shin:thigh angle close to 90 degrees (well under), the tallest armrest adjustment is below 90 degree elbow flexion, and the headrest sits closer to my shoulders than it does neck (on the tallest height). • SEAT COMFORT: The seat of the IOO is *supposed* to be “3D Zero Pressure Seat” - but I’d choose to (and have!) sit on a timber bench over this chair. One year in and the fabric has moved/crinkled considerably - not what I would expect of a close to $800 chair. Padding? Never existed, and never bothered to show up to the party. • NOISE: No other way to say this… the chair is NOISY. I have tried all of the usual remedies; however, this has been present since delivery. The noise is not only annoying, but is heard at the perfect frequency to be picked up easily by microphones during conference calls. Please note that I have tried several microphones with similar results.. The noise is so bad that I have resorted to sitting on a table, box, or kitchen chair. Again, not something I would expect from an almost $800 chair. • MESH STRETCH/SUPPORT: Straight out of the box, the backrest mesh felt WAY too stretchy to provide any sort of lumbar support. This has only gotten worse over time. For reference, I also have a 10 year old $300 Costco chair that has continued to hold shape despite daily use (by me initially, and now by a family member of mine). • ADJUSTABILITY: As above - seems to be much ado about nothing. The seat lacks basic adjustability in places you’d expect it (e.g. lumbar support), or is just damn difficult to make work without feeling like you’re going to break something (e.g. headrest is plastic, flimsy, and impossible to adjust without a second person stabilising the rest of the chair). The tension adjustment may as well be for show, as it makes about 0.7% of a difference when on max tension vs nil. Additionally, the armrest angle constantly changes while the user switches between mouse and keyboard, resulting in excess noise and frustration. Perhaps these just serve as a very expensive fidget toy? • CUSTOMER SERVICE: Again, I’m yet to hear anything from Ergohuman support. I purchased direct via Ergohuman due to a promised extended warranty and support - but haven’t even heard back regarding basic issues raised at the time of assembly.

WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS CHAIR: No, and definitely not for the price point. It is probably better than the old school library computer lab chairs, but (somehow?) inferior to a basic IKEA kitchen chair.

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***Note RE Ergohuman customer service*** I purchased Ergohuman's IOO Highback chair directly from them in January 2022, but quickly found that I was running into issue after issue. I tried reaching out to customer support via email and Instagram, but never heard anything back.

Incredibly frustrated and now prematurely out of pocket once again due to needing to purchase a new chair as the IOO just gets worse and worse, I wrote up an objective review of the chair from my experience and attempted to post it on their website. Hoping that I could potentially resolve some of my issues by getting directly in contact with Ergohuman's customer service team (and subsequently retracting my negative review), I forwarded a copy of my review in reply to my original invoice as proof of purchase.

While I was met with a fairly prompt response... it was not at all what I expected. I have included annotated screenshots of my email exchange alongside this post - please note that highlighting, red text box notes, and black redacted text has been added by myself in retrospect. Redacted text includes personal contact details and names, including that of the Ergohuman customer service representative replying to each email.

I have decided not to respond to the rep's last email to preserve my own sanity. It is also worth noting that my review has now disappeared from their website.