I'm generally a big fan of Amazon, I've been a Prime member forever, and I buy, well, almost everything from them. I've often been impressed with their AmazonBasics line, and this chair is no exception.
Since many questions come up about comfort and support, I'll mention that I'm 5' 7", 215 lbs, 48, male. Not huge, but definitely overweight. I've gone through many chairs - some just wearing out, and some I've had to get rid of. Most "normal" chairs tend to bend, wear out, or come apart in some way, after a while, and while I tend to prefer "heavy duty" chairs, those chairs tend to be so uncomfortable after a time that it's like sitting on wood.
So I admit I was hesitant about this chair - but two things caught my attention: the fantastic price (compared to other chairs), and the AmazonBasics name.
While it is true that "Basics" implies... well... "BASICS".... this is BY FAR the most comfortable chair I've ever owned. The part you sit on has a perfect and generous amount of cushioning that has stood up to repeated use, and still remained soft. I frequently have pain at the base of my spine, and I *notice* when a chair is uncomfortable. With other chairs, I"ve had to use pillows or extra padding, but this chair is absolutely amazingly comfortable, even after 7 months of constant use (purchased this in February 2016).
The seatback is also awesome - it's made of a kind of nylon mesh netting - not metal (as you'd think from the pictures) but soft material. This stuff is so much more comfortable to lean back into than any normal chair back I've tried, that I find myself leaning back into OFTEN - whereas with other chairs I would avoid leaning back at all. So... bottom, back, lumbar support - all there, and really amazingly nice.
Of course... BASICS. So the armrests don't adjust and are not adjustable even during assembly - and the same for the back. The back does "go back" a little, and there is a "push to lock" option on the control arm - but that's it. Up/down, lock/unlock, that's all you get. (There's some kind of knob on the front that I suspect controls tension, but I never mess with it, it doesn't seem to make a difference to me.)
Assembly was easy. The screws take an alan wrench (hex key) tool, which comes with the chair. I've seen people commenting on screw holes not lining up, causing the back plate to overlap the bottom plate. Here's the thing: IT'S SUPPOSED TO. Just follow the instructions, assemble the chair in order, and tighten it down. The chair will come out fine, and perfect, and you'll love it. Assembly was typical for an office chair - but I was able to do it myself. This chair is lighter than most, which makes assembly quite easy.
Now... not all is sweetness and light here. About 7 months in, the cylinder in this chair started to fail. I'd be sitting on the chair, and it would suddenly JERK downwards about half an inch. Then it would wait about 30 minutes, and JERK down again. UGH! It was not fun! But here's where the AmazonBasics (and Amazon!) really shines: Since this is an "Amazon Product", there is a one-year warranty noted right on the product page... and it's administered... BY AMAZON! YAY! They didn't even make me call some other number or company or anything. I just went to MY ORDERS, hit the "Return or Replace" button - this was 7 months later, mind you! - and sent a message. Within a few hours, I heard back from an agent asking if I'd like a refund, or a new chair? WOW! Really? Awesome! I mean... I was a little sad that they couldn't just send me a new cylinder and bottom part or something, but, hey, a whole new chair, okay. They sent it free, with free overnight shipping, and i had it the next day.
And let me just amplify on this: I kind of wanted to try to fix this myself. I saw on Amazon where they have replacement cylinders you can buy. And if you have a big hammer, you can apparently "bang out" the old cylinder and replace it with a new one. Not so for this chair: The bottom piece which bolts onto the bottom of the seat cushion, and into which the cylinder fits, is a CLOSED assembly. You can remove it from the chair, but you cannot disassemble it further in order to bang the cylinder out. So don't even try. If you have a cylinder problem within the warranty period (a year), just let Amazon handle it for you. If it's post-warranty, you'll either need some kind of special clamp-on tool (Amazon has these - some of the cylinders come with them) to force the cylinder out from the outside (too much for me, I didn't try that), or you'll just need to buy a new chair. Which, knowing how great this chair is, I'd do in a heartbeat.
So, again, a really great product from AmazonBasics, with the absolute top-tier support that you'd come to expect from Amazon. Buy this chair with confidence, it will serve you well!
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