The FlexiSpot Premium Ergonomic Office Chair (C7) is meant to be the ultimate in adjustable comfort. With a list price of $499.99, but retailing for as low as $329.99, the C7 settles roughly in the middle ground of pricing for premium and gaming chairs.
Despite putting more emphasis on the office in both name and looks, the C7 can give some higher-priced competition, even gaming chairs, a run for their money in both design and performance. Of course, with its more conservative looks, the C7 should be right at home in any office environment as well.
FlexiSpot C7 – Assembly
The C7 comes in a bulky 54.8 lb box, so it's definitely a two-person move. Unboxing was not the most confidence-inspiring experience as I was greeted with the various chair parts more or less laying on top of and across each other. Lack of presentation aside, each part, from the chair back to the wheel assembly, was wrapped and protected. While it's nothing like the slick packing you get with say, a Secretlab chair, nothing was damaged, which is ultimately what matters.
There were eight groups of parts to assemble, which is a few more than some other options, but nothing too out-of-line for a chair of this type. The included Allen wrench and bolts are all you need to put it together.
I'm not the handiest person out there, but the eight-step assembly process was easy-to-follow and should prove little issue for just about anyone else. I did have a helper to speed things along, but a solo build should definitely be doable.
FlexiSpot C7 – Design and Features
The C7 is available in all black or black with a grey backing. The materials are a combination of mostly plastic with a fabric seat and fabric mesh backing, which is intended to be breathable. It's not the flashiest chair by any stretch, but its modest styling also wouldn't look out of place in just about any setting.
Since the C7 eschews leather or other, similarly smooth materials for a fabric covering, it's not the most luxurious looking chair. Similarly, while this material is fine when seated wearing pants, it wasn't the most pleasant-feeling on my legs when wearing shorter shorts. Overall, though, the finished build quality is excellent.
With adjustable seat height, seat depth, armrests, and angles, the C7 is a customizer's dream. While I didn't find how to make the various adjustments particularly intuitive, I'm glad the options are there.
For me, my biggest issue when sitting is lower back, or lumbar, support. The C7's lumbar support cushion is one of the most adjustable I've found, and goes way beyond the typically static pillow-like contrivance of other chairs. For that alone, I'd give the C7 high marks, and I suspect that others would be able to find their own personal favorite adjustment given all of the options.
Since the C7 reclines, it would have been even better with a footrest. Apparently, that's planned for a future version of the chair, but for now, that's not an option.
FlexiSpot C7 – Performance
The C7's wheels are well-lubricated and roll smoothly on my hardwood floors, and perform similarly well on my chair mats. The wheels lack a locking mechanism, but that's not unusual for this type of chair.
The seat cushion raises from 19.3 - 22.6 inches. The seat depth can be adjusted up to 2.4 inches. The seat back can recline from 90 - 128 degrees. These adjustments, combined with its 320 pound weight capacity, mean the C7 can accommodate a wide range of body types and sizes.
The arms raise up and down and the armrests slide back and forth and rotate a bit left and right. While the arms have locks to stop them from moving further up or down, there's no lock for the armrests. As a result, when I leaned on the armrests they had a nasty habit of sliding into all kinds of positions. I would have definitely liked these to have been stiffer like some other chairs, making them less likely to move when not intending to do so.
The backrest adjusts to three different lockable positions. As stated earlier, this is my favorite feature as it's the type of lower back support I personally need the most. With that said, there were definitely some comfort issues.
For instance, I would have liked the roughly 2.7-inch deep seat cushion to have softer and more padding. My bottom definitely craved a bit more attention in this area even after just 20 minutes of sitting. Similarly, while the armrests are firm and supportive, it would be nicer if they had a little more give to their padding.
