Flexispot’s C7 ergonomic chair is comfy, but didn’t fix my back

Anyone who spends a lot of time sitting at a desk will appreciate the benefits of a good chair. I fall squarely into that group, since I spend much of my time writing from my home office. Plus, some of my favourite leisure activities, like gaming, happen at the computer, so I’m always interested in trying new, ergonomic office chairs.

So when Flexispot reached out to me offering a trial of its C7 ergonomic office chair, I was pretty excited to take it for a spin sit. However, my experience with the chair has been fairly mixed and even now, after a few months of sitting on it and comparing it to other chairs, I’m not sure how much I like the C7.

The chair itself looks quite stylish, but once I got it in my office and assembled it (no easy feat!), I found the quality wasn’t quite what it appeared to be. Moreover, I haven’t felt as much of an ergonomic benefit as I expected. At the same time, I keep going back to the C7 because it is quite comfortable.

Decent hardware, frustrating assembly

I’ve assembled many office chairs in my time and the C7 was among the most frustrating, thanks to a mix of unclear instructions and awkward steps. I did manage to get it together, but I definitely spent time scratching my head and, in some cases, even skipped steps because they made no sense. For example, one step asked me to push a handle to reveal screw holes, but the directions weren’t clear which handle to push. Moreover, none of the handles actually moved in the direction the instructions indicated, and I didn’t even need to move anything to access the screw holes in question.

I discovered after the fact that Flexispot has several video guides on its YouTube channel, which could help smooth the assembly process, but it would have been nice if the company made these materials more readily available (or at least improved the manual).

Once everything was together, it seemed all right, but I very quickly ran into issues with the headrest and armrests. The headrest was the more egregious of the two in my eyes. It’s height adjustable, which at first was a major plus, but the mechanism isn’t strong enough to hold the headrest in place. Even the slightest pressure from my head causes the headrest to fall to its lowest height setting, making a horrible noise as it does.

As for the armrests, my frustration with those was more personal. Their lowest height setting, which happens to be perfect for my arms, is also frustratingly on the same level as my desk. Because of that, I either have to sit uncomfortably far back so the armrests don’t bang my desk, or raise the height, which becomes uncomfortable for my arms. By comparison, my previous chair, Staples’ airCentric 3, the armrests sit slightly lower, allowing them to slide effortlessly under my desk while still providing adequate arm support.

Really, this is a personal gripe and more a matter of my own body proportions, desk height preferences and armrest tastes. Unfortunately, the C7’s armrest woes did sour me on what were otherwise decent armrests. I ultimately removed them from the C7 because I got sick of banging the armrests on my desk.

But how does it sit?

Overall, the Flexispot C7 is actually quite comfortable. The model I tested had a foam seat and mesh back. The back is quite breathable and helped keep me cool, which was welcome as I tend to run on the warm side.

However, as I mentioned up top, the ergonomics didn’t quite benefit me as much as I expected. I’ve switched back and forth between the C7 and the airCentric a few times now and, of the two, I think the C7 takes the edge in comfort and ergonomics, but I wanted more than a slight improvement. Things like the lumbar support had me expecting a spinal shake-up but more often than not I found it just shifted discomfort to another part of my back.

I was also disappointed by the adjustment options included with the C7. Aside from the non-functional headrest and the armrests I removed, the C7 sports four different levers, two of which boast two adjustments. With six total modification options, I expected a bit more freedom.

One lever simply locks and unlocks the lumbar support, but this only matters if you allow the chair to recline. I disabled reclining because the C7 has virtually no resistance, so it always felt like I was about to tip over backwards and fall right off the chair. Other adjustments include raising/lowering the seat, moving the seat forward or backward, the recline degree, and seat angle. I messed around with all of these and found the default settings to be ideal. It also didn’t help that the mediocre manual made it tough to figure out which levers did what.

All this is to say, the C7 chair didn’t feel as customizable as I thought it would be, which was a real disappointment. At the same time, I found the chair fairly comfortable, so it was ultimately a net positive.

Worth the cost?

Flexispot normally charges $699.99 for the C7, though at the time of writing, it was on sale for $429.99. After my time with the chair, I’d say it’s much more intriguing at the lower price point, so if you can pick it up on sale, that’s the way to go. At $699, the C7 feels too costly for what you get.

I’ve bounced back and forth between the C7 and the airCentric 3 a few times now and while I had a hard time settling on which I preferred, I do think the edge goes to the C7. It overall feels more comfortable to me, despite the somewhat frustrating adjustment options. I’m also frustrated over the incompatibility between the armrests and my current seating preferences.

It’s also worth pointing out that beyond the C7, Flexispot offers a C7 Max at $599.99 (regular $799.99) and C7 Pro Max at $649.99 (regular $799.99). The Max and Pro Max options have more backrest adjustments, “5D” armrests, and other bonuses. Both the Max and Pro Max are marked as ‘pre-sale’ on the Flexispot website and don’t start shipping until March 20th and February 25th, respectively.

You can also get a footrest with the C7, but you have to pay an extra $20 for the black colour and then $30 to add the footrest – the grey colour I got doesn’t have a footrest option.