As far as functional furniture goes, the Flexispot Soutien might not be for everyone, but after using this office chair on the regular — in conjunction with the best standing desk — for a solid three months, it quickly became my favorite home office tool for lengthy writing/editing sessions. Read on to see why I ditched my old gaming chair in favor of this Editor’s Choice-winning bad boy. Note: If you’re interested in other Flexispot stuff, check out our full reviews of the EN1 Standing Desk, Flexispot Comhar All-in-One Standing Desk, and Deskcise V9.
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Flexispot Soutien Ergonomic Office Chair pricing and availability
Worst things first: this chair ain’t exactly cheap. With an MSRP of $300 on Flexispot’s website, the Flexispot Soutien Ergonomic Office Chair is the most expensive chair the company has to offer, and it’s available in two pleasingly neutral colors: black and gray. At this price, however, a little more customization in the style department might be nice. Yes, $300 is a lot of dough to plunk down for your standard rump-rester, but this is one of those purchases it’s okay to splurge on; you can’t put a price on a healthy spine, after all.
Flexispot Soutien Ergonomic Office Chair setup
Some assembly is required with the Flexispot Soutien, but not too much. Setting up the chair was simply a matter of connecting the wheels to the base to the seat to the armrests/backrest/headrest — a process that took me roughly 20 minutes. For anyone who’s ever put together an office chair before, this will be old hat; all the hardware fits together as it should, and the included instruction manual walks you through the process.
Flexispot Soutien Ergonomic Office Chair design and special features
When it comes to finding the most comfortable office chair out there, the best ones aren’t always stellar in the cushion cover department. Case-in-point: you can shell out the big bucks for an elegant p/leather executive chair, but depending on its cushion quality, you may find your bare skin sticking to the armrests, backrest, and seat, resulting in a less-than-optimal scent of swass around your desk. (I mean, probably. I don’t know from personal experience or anything.) Flexispot keeps things breezy with a breathable mesh backing, which is made from Italian-imported chenille (ie, high-quality yarn) and temperature-sensitive fibers that offer a durable, flexible support system for your back. The Samhongsa Class 4 gas lift in the base is built to last, and it’s rated to hold anyone up to 300 pounds. Impressive. While many office chairs offer scant armrest adjustments, the Soutien’s are customizable in four dimensions: up/down (27.5 inches max, from ground to elbow), side-to-side, forward/backward, and inward/outward (up to a 30-degree angle). As a lanky 6-foot-3 fellow with longer-than-average orangutan arms, I love this logistical level of customization — especially since I’ve never been comfortable typing from chairs with immobile armrests. The headrest is adjustable too (another relative rarity, design-wise), and the seat tilts all the way to 135 degrees in case you feel like just laying back and vegging out to SportsCenter during your lunch break. We’re not quite done with those adjustments, though. On the left side is a lever that lets you slide the seat forward and backward to adjust the depth, which directly complements the 3D lumbar support system for your lower back. I’ve owned at least five office chairs in my adult life, but none of them let me simultaneously adjust all this minutiae; it took me about a week of tweaking to find the perfect combination of seat height/depth, armrest position, and so on for my specific frame. Note: when testing the chair with my old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles bathrobe, I noticed that the chenille material on the backrest and headrest picks up fuzzies easily. Ahh well, not a deal-breaker. (A lint roller solves the problem in no time.)
Flexispot Soutien Ergonomic Office Chair comfort
Let’s talk turkey: this is the most comfortable office chair I’ve ever used for an extended period of time. And I’m no slouch when it comes to selecting my reclining furniture; I had scoliosis as a kid, and am susceptible to lower back pain as an adult. I’m a picky man when it comes to resting my rump is what I’m saying here, and after using this thing for a month, I tossed out my old gaming chair — which I originally purchased for its supposedly decent lumbar support. Keeping carpal tunnel at bay is all about supporting those forearms and wrists when you type, and the 4D adjustable armrests are a downright godsend in this regard. They’re just high enough to prop up my elbows at a healthy angle — especially if I turn the armrests inward. The breathable mesh backing feels great no matter how much pressure you apply with your body weight, and the whole apparatus felt secure as I leaned back. However, you can’t lock the wheels, so be careful about putting your feet up to doze.
Flexispot Soutien Ergonomic Office Chair warranty
If you’re going to shell out extra cash for a premium product, it’s nice to know said product is covered should anything go awry. None of the Flexispot products I’ve tested so far have required additional tech support, but the Soutien Ergonomic Office Chair is nevertheless covered for three years under the company’s warranty. (If it’s not the best fit, you can return the chair within 30 days risk-free without incurring any shipping or restocking fees.)
The importance of being earnest (about your office chair)
Why should you care so hard about your chair? Well, spine health is something that becomes more important for the average human after the age of thirty or so, and if you spend any length of time in front of a computer with poor posture, your back, hips, neck, and core will eventually pay the price. According to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), lower back pain becomes even more common after the age of 45, and across the board, sedentary lifestyles have become practically synonymous with a menagerie of unpleasant health problems. Plus, according to research compiled at StartStanding.org, the average back pain sufferer spends about $2,000 every year on medical costs and treatment, which makes $300 a bit more palatable in comparison.
Bottom line
If you’re aching for a premium office chair that can be customized to the Nth degree, the Flexispot Soutien Ergonomic Office Chair might well be worth its hefty price tag. All those adjustable parts take some getting used to at first, but for tall people who require/desire better back support than the average keyboard-tapper, you can’t do much better when it comes to pure ergonomics — which is why the product is named as such, no doubt. Heck, I’ve nearly forgotten what my old gaming chair felt like, since my lumbar is already in love with this one. (That, or because I have the attention span of a flying squirrel).
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