A special thank you to Lifeform Chairs and Lori Dyson with Relax the Back, Las Vegas store on helping me decide on the new chair! I urge anybody interested at all in purchasing a Lifeform Chair to email info@lifeformchairs.com. Their customer service is top notch and will make your purchase effortless.
Summary: Lifeform has done it again with the Ultimate Executive High Back. This is not the Rolls Royce of chairs. Rolls Royce is the Lifeform of cars. If you have a back, rear end, legs, torso, or any combination of the aforementioned body parts, you owe it to yourself to invest in a Lifeform Chair. Secondly, if you haven’t already, please read my original Lifeform Chair review. Then come on back. Boom.
There comes a time in every man’s life where the best is merely accepted rather than appreciated. It is a sad time. Yet a time full of opportunity to see what the whole “max out your credit card” idiom even means. Back in 2007 I began a journey to find the best office chair on the planet. After trying many, spending thousands and thousands, I came to the victor: The Lifeform Ultimate. It has been one of the best investments I have ever made. That may sound like hyperbole but that’s because you haven’t tried a workday at your desk with a Lifeform yet. However, I am a man of wants and I kept checking out all the new hotness Lifeform was pumping out and I couldn’t help but be tempted.
After much deliberation, I finally decided on my new dream chair: Ultimate High Back Executive in Deer Run bitter chocolate leather with cornflower piping, deep contour seat and a cherry wood base. Naturally, the best comes with a price. An exact price of $3,325. Of course, while I was shopping I of course needed the matching footrest for an additional $225 bringing the grand total to a spicy $3,550. Note: I am planning on retiring at 143 so no worries.
The Chair Arrives!
As you can see, the chair is not small. The whole chair came in three very large boxes much to my delivery guy’s enjoyment.
The build begins
The best news is that the chair is extremely simple to set up. And I mean extremely simple. There were no instructions and I had it set up in under 10 minutes. True story. Everything feels solid, together, and fits like a glove. You can feel instantly that a lot of thought went into making this chair.
Boom.
There’s the beauty. It’s cliche, but pictures do not do the chair justice. The leather is a deep dark chocolate that works with the lighter cornflower piping. The new cherry wood base also gives the chair an big style upgrade. The plastic on my original chair was fine but it’s nothing to the quality of the wood base. Of course the matching foot rest is not too shabby either. The foot rest was not an after thought by Lifeform. This is a beautiful well made product that should seriously be on your list if you’re buying a Lifeform.
All set up, ready to sit on. After looking over the great adjustment videos located here I was ready to enjoy. This was an easy task. The Deer Run leather was an awesome upgrade and feels like butter. Not too soft, still has a nice texture to it so you’re not sliding all over the place. The deep contour seat alleviates all the pressure in my legs. This chair does not “hit” in any one place but rather distributes your mass evenly.
tough problems to have
Here is the new chair side by side with my original. You can see the main differences: no headrest, color, type of leather, and the cherry wood base. Both beautiful chairs in my humble opinion but the new one just blows the old one out of the water on the pure looks department. It could fit in a home, CEO’s office, or boardroom.
So it’s been more than four years, how about all the new competitors out there? What about all the other manufacturers? What have they been doing while Lifeform is kicking their butts all over the ergonomic chair world? Not doing much it seems. I did go ahead and look at a few more chairs:
Think Chair by Steelcase ($919 MSRP)
Meh. I actually really liked the look and feel of the chair. If I was outfitting my new startup in silicon valley I would love to have a fleet of these just for the aesthetic. I of course would require employees to pull out the Lifeform mid backs when the investors leave. The chair was fine and comfortable for a bit but it can’t compare to the firm pillow the Lifeform creates. Additionally, the arm rests, which are so important yet so many manufactures forget about them, suck on this chair. They are short and stubby and unless you’re related to a Tyrannosaurs Rex, they will not be comfortable. Also, for close to $1000 you’re almost in Lifeform land…
Leap by Steelcase ($1329 MSRP in leather)
Steelcase Leap
I was actually impressed with this chair. Steelcase stepped their game up a bit and if you want a small drafting chair for not too prolonged sitting periods you could have a good time in this chair. I don’t think it comes close to the Lifeform in quality but it gets the job done. If an analogy must be made the Leap is the Lexus of ergonomic chairs. Dependable, comfy, not too exciting, but it will get you there. Most importantly, they fixed the armrests! That said, now this chair is dangerously close to the Lifeform price and it’s tough to recommend it.
Herman Miller Embody Chair (starts at $1150 MSRP)
Definitely the best Aeron chair out there in my opinion. I just don’t think they are made well for bigger people. I’m 6’3″ 200 and the chair is just not comfortable for me after an hour or so. It’s not a “bad” chair but I don’t think it’s worth the hype. Sit in in though, you might like it. Personally I would steer you to a Steelcase series before an Aeron and I would definitely steer you towards a Lifeform before a Steelcase…
Conclusion:
People ask, “Jordan, is there ANYTHING not to like about the Lifeform chairs??” Um, yes, the price kicks like a donkey downhill. Would I love for the chair to cost half as much? Of course. But I’d like a lot of things to cost half as much as they do. In my mind, until someone else comes out with the same quality chair, I can’t judge Lifeform too harshly. If there is money to be made someone would come in and undercut Lifeform. Hasn’t been done yet to my knowledge. Speaks volumes in my book.
The least expensive way to get into a Lifeform chair is around $1600 unless there are some real spicy discounts and deals going around. If that is too steep for you (completely reasonable) just realize that you will probably spend that much over your life in cheaper chairs. Additionally, you have no idea how much pressure you are putting on your body by sitting in a bad chair all day. Try a Lifeform, you won’t regret it.
Common Questions:
1. Is the headrest worth it? I liked my original headrest but I never really reclined that much to take advantage. Definitely a nice option but not one of my top choices. Lastly, I don’t think it looks as good as the non-headrest version.
2. Is the wood base worth it? Completely aesthetic. Does nothing to add to the chairs functionality. Personal preference. If it’s going in your home…maybe not worth it. If it’s going in public/work setting, the wood is pretty damn nice.
3. How did you decide on that color combination? There are literally thousands of color combinations. You can choose the color of just the center panel, the piping, the back panel, the whole chair, etc. It will drive you crazy/excited depending on how involved you get.
4. Is the leather worth it over the Dreamweave? Personal preference. I think the leather feels and looks great. Other people swear by the Dreamweave. The Dreamweave is “cushier” and softer. More pillow-esque. The leather is a bit firmer. You have to sit on both to decide. I’m a leather guy though. One note about the leather: if you live in a hot climate, say Los Angeles, the leather can get a bit toasty. Just something to keep in mind.
Thanks all for reading! Please ask any questions or leave any comments in the comment section below. Love to hear what you think of the chair!
Gallery
Side shot
intimidating
a lot of levers
leather armrests
back
wood base
