Review Of The HÅG Futu Office Chair
HÅG Futu Chair
If you long for ease of use in an office chair where adjustments are really simple to understand and implement, then the Futu could be just what you are looking for.
The Futu chair from HÅG, one of the world's best kept secrets in office seat manufacturing, is the result of 7 years of research culminating in a finished product which is radically different to what has gone before. Earlier this year the chair won a coveted red dot award for design excellence
Here's what a commenter said on a Blog post I made announcing the Futu.
"I ordered the chair the first day it was available at Ergo Depot... The chair is simply amazing. I feel like I'm floating on air. Very sleek looking too. This has got to be the best chair value out there right now."
And there is no doubt this is an outstanding price on the chair from www.ErgoDepot.com online.
Futu inBalance Mechanism
At the heart of this new chair is the revolutionary new intelligent mechanism HÅG call the inBalance, which as its name implies is designed to give you a balanced seating experience supporting your moves naturally as well as giving great comfort.
The inBalance mechanism is the brain of the chair, the seating equivalent of a black box flight recorder it senses what's happening and then the chair does what you want it to. This mechanical box of tricks sits on the underside of the chair and is similar in size and shape to a shallow square biscuit tin.
As to how it works I haven't a clue, just like electricity does it really matter? It's what it does that's important and it does things supremely well, so let's take a look at them now.
inBalance Mechanism
Seat height is adjusted by a discreet flat paddle button on the left underside of the chair, so much more positive than the common jutting out steel rod found on the majority of office chairs.
Seat depth adjustment is tackled in a different way, instead of the seat moving, the innovative design allows the chair back to move in and out so you get perfect leg length adjustment. Not only that as you move the back to suit your needs the inBalance controller compensates and adjusts the chair's tilt tension automatically at the same time to ensure your body is supported naturally and properly.
And for those who maybe want to fine tune the tension you can always do so via a slide control on the chair underside, specifically included to allow this.
So much for the inBalance controls, what about the Futu's other functions.
Lumbar Support and Adjustable Arms
The chair back includes an unobtrusive inbuilt lumbar support which the user can very simply adjust to give perfect lower back support by means of two barely conspicuous slide controls on the outer edge of the rear side of the chair's back, it really is a case of set it and forget it.
Adjustable arms move vertically by means of a button on the inside of the arm top, they don't swivel or adjust front to back which is less useful. More importantly the arm width is adjustable allowing users to set the arm width to the correct size for their personal shoulder width.
People with narrow shoulders will really appreciate this as it's so often overlooked in office chair design where arm width is rarely adjustable and when it is doesn't take into account small framed users' needs.
Environmentally Friendly
HÅG takes sustainable manufacture and the environment as seriously as anyone in the seating business, using only 7 different materials in the chair and this includes the unique new FutuKnit textile upholstery, in all having 97% re-usability. Nasty elements like chrome, composites and glue won't be found in the chair, so unwittingly users are doing their bit to help the environment by choosing the Futu.
Specification, Adjustments and Dimensions
The basic Futu chair comes without arms and has a black nylon base, currently this base won't be available until later in 2010 and so the chair has a silver painted aluminium base which is a much better base. It has pre-molded ribbed footrests and these are great for resting your feet on when you feel like varying your sitting position.
The other optional item is adjustable arms and the vast majority of users will want to include them as they offer a huge variation of adjustment making sure users achieve perfect arm support.
Seat height is adjustable from 15.25 inches to 21.75 inches and this makes the chair suitable for both short and tall users.
Seat width is 19 inches and with the adjustable back depth gives users the ability to set seat depth from 15 inches to 18.25 inches to achieve the perfect setting for their own personal leg length.
Futu chairs come with a single sized back which is 23.65 inches high by 14.75 inches wide and as it's a high back there isn't a need for it to be height adjustable, especially as it includes an inbuilt lumbar support with 3 inches of height adjustment and so means individual users can easily set it up for the ideal back support they need.
Arm adjustment is excellent on the Futu allowing an impressive 9.75 inches of vertical adjustment and more importantly users have the ability to easily adjust the width between the arms from 18 inches to 21.75 inches meaning they can set the chair's arms to the perfect width for their shoulders and so gain proper arm and shoulder support and help minimize RSI related problems.
Mention also needs to be made of the specially developed FutuKnit fabric, shape-knitted for an exact fit to the back and seat without seams or folds and in a choice of 8 colors. It's actually quite a complex fabric knitted on specialist 3D machines giving it superior elasticity resulting in greater support and comfort so important when sitting for long periods.
HÅG sum all this up by describing FutuKnit: Simple Surface - Complex Core, it really does take traditional office seating fabric to the next level in comfort and support.
Warranty
Futu chairs come with a 10 year warranty which amazingly also includes the FutuKnit fabric, so the stuff must be extremely hard wearing as normally office chair upholstery carries a maximum of 5 years warranty. In keeping with all HÅG chairs there is a lifetime guarantee on gas lifts.
Conclusion
HÅG's new Futu chair must surely be set to become its flagship seating product over the next several years. Its highly flexible adjustment ranges, achieved with minimal user input makes it an ideal choice of chair for pretty much any size of person large or small.
The 7 years of development by the HÅG design team has resulted in a very well engineered product which is hard to fault and must surely be destined to become their best selling chair and can only help to make this key European seating manufacturer better known in the US and Canada.
Where To Buy Online
Right now, the sale price available from this online HÅG specialist offers outstanding value on the Futu and includes free shipping and 30 day return policy, so if you're thinking of going for the Futu grab this special pricing while it's still available.