SAYL Chair Review
The newly launched SAYL chair is Herman Miller's latest innovative office chair and takes a radically different approach to conventional chair design. Designer Yves Béhar used the Golden Gate suspension bridge for his inspiration and it took 3 years and a $13 million investment to make his dreams into reality.
The aim was to produce a chair that would satisfy the following criteria:
- Suitable for the widest possible range of users
- Be more affordable than its other flagship chairs
- Great design, looks and comfort
- Tough enough to carry Herman Miller's 12 year 24/7 warranty
- Be environmentally friendly
So what sets the SAYL apart from other office chairs?
Herman Miller SAYL Chair
At the heart of the SAYL's design is the full back suspension support, which is molded in a 3D Intelligent™ material. Its open cell structure is made up in such a way that support is greater for areas like the sacrum, lumbar and spine regions, whereas the edges allow freer movement and yet still give proper support.
Its unique properties allow the chair back to do things that just aren't possible with fabrics and foam. By injecting thicker areas of material in key areas it incorporates passive Posturefit® back support as an integral part of its structure. This provides firm support where most needed as well as great freedom of movement elsewhere.
Herman Miller SAYL Chair
The rear of the chair is built around the Y shaped Y-Tower™ central support and this acts as the connection points for the open cell suspension back.
This in turn connects into the other main component known as the ArcSpan™ which effectively forms the lower part of the chair's frame. It brings together the arm structure and tilt mechanism into a single component and the design has great strength as well as saving on materials and the overall weight of the chair.
The seat is a little more conventional being based on an upholstered seat pad. This makes sense because many people find the mesh on chairs like the Aeron uncomfortable in prolonged use.
As with other Herman Miller products there are a number of different ways, in which the chair can be configured.
Let's take a look at the available alternatives.
Model Options
The Basic Model comes with fixed arms and seat, tilt tension control, tilt limiter, is height adjustable and comes with all components finished in black. There is even an option to have no arms if desired.
Changing the color of the back, arms and base as well as adding extras like height adjustable arms can enhance the appearance and function of the Basic Model. If you upgrade to the Adjustable Model you get the added benefits of adjustable arms and seat depth, which are pretty much essential anyway.
Lastly there is a Highly Adjustable Model and it also includes the ability to adjust the seat angle by 5° via a forward tilt control, which isn't essential although can be handy for intensive keyboard work.
There are also a couple of models with upholstered backs, however these are only available via the Herman Miller dealer network.
So, now it's time to dig deeper into the nitty-gritty of the SAYL chair's functions and technical details.
Functions, Adjustments And Technical Stuff
Seat height on all models can be adjusted between 15.5 inches and 20 inches, which is a generous range likely to suit the vast majority of users.
Additionally, all models include a tilt tension control which lets you set up the recline resistance to suit personal body weight, so no more fighting to control your chair. There is also a tilt limiter, which enables the user to control the degree of tilt when reclining.
Seat depth adjustment comes as standard on the adjustable and highly adjustable versions. This is a really important adjustment because it enables you to set the seat to the optimum depth for your leg length. It gives a 2 inch adjustment range which may not sound a lot and yet can make all the difference in leg comfort when sitting for long periods.
Adjustable arms come in two versions. The height adjustable option allows a 4 inch range of vertical adjustment.
The fully adjustable arms additionally allow 1.375 inches of width adjustment as well as 2 inches of front to back movement and an 11° pivot angle inward and outward of the armpads.
What's more, the fully adjustable SAYL also includes an adjustable lumbar support. With the care that has gone into designing the 3D Intelligent™ back and its integrated passive Posturefit® back system, a lumbar support shouldn't be necessary.
If desired a polished aluminum base can be added.
Finishes And Warranty
Black is the standard color for the components on the basic SAYL and this makes sense as black goes with pretty much anything.
However, if you want to be more adventurous with your color choices then adjustable versions offer a wide range of possibilities, here are the choices:
Suspension Back comes in 8 color choices including black, light and dark grey, brown, white, red, green and blue.
Seat fabric finishes come in 22 different colors, here's the swatch showing what's available.
Armpad finish options include black, light and dark grey, brown, spruce green and twilight blue.
Y-Tower™ central support can be either black or white and the base is either black or Fog (light grey).
The SAYL is covered by a 12 year 24/7 three shift warranty for users weighing up to 350 lbs, so it's clearly a product designed to last for a long time. And the good news is that when it comes to time for disposal 90% of the chair is recyclable.
Conclusion
It's clear that Herman Miller's SAYL chair has been very carefully thought out with some 70 physical prototypes having been built along the way to make sure everything functions as its designer intended.
The different choice of color options allows people to be either conservative with the all black finish or to really make a statement by choosing from the bright color combinations it's offered in.
As the back is such a radically different design users of traditional foam padded upholstered backs may find it takes some getting used to, because it certainly allows more freedom of movement than a conventional framed back. Overall it's unlikely to be a major problem and most people will love the flexibility it offers.
Where To Buy Online
The SAYL chair is now available and this online specialist store offers great pricing on both the Basic and Adjustable version which also includes 30 day return period and free shipping too.