Flexispot Soutien Ergonomic Office Chair Review: Is this the perfect chair under $300?

One of the toughest problems to solve when building out your home office setup is the chair. Desks are pretty much straightforward, with only a few decisions to really be made, but parameters are set by the size of your office and making sure you have enough space on the desk. But office and/or computer chairs are completely different, as there’s definitely not a “one-size-fits-all” option really available. Even if you have a friend of the same height and weight, a chair may be comfortable for them, but it’s not comfortable for you.

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Ever since I began working from home in March of last year at the beginning of the pandemic, one problem that I have been trying to solve is finding a comfortable chair. As someone who has spent more money on chairs than any other desk accessories in the last year, I think my search may finally be over thanks to Flexispot.

Flexispot Soutien Ergonomic Office Chair Specifications

Flexispot Soutien Ergonomic Office Chair: Features and function

Flexispot has really made a name for itself in recent years as it offers quite a few different desk configurations, many of which are designed to help you stand up throughout the day. But the company also has a few chairs available including the Soutien Ergonomic Office Chair. And we were lucky enough to get our butts in one thanks to Flexispot.

As someone who stands around 6-feet tall and hovers around 280-pounds, it’s difficult to find a chair capable of handling my weight for long periods of time. But at first glance, the Soutien Office Chair hits all of the marks when it comes to “compatibility” with my body type. It features a weight capacity limit of 299 pounds while offering plenty of adjustments and additional ergonomic “features” to take advantage of.

There are a series of levers on the underside of the Soutien which make it easy to adjust the height of your seat and lock the backrest into place so you can sit upright. But you can also do things like adjusting the angle of the backrest, allowing you to sit perfectly upright when you need to or to recline back a bit if you want to try and relax with some games at the end of the day.

“4D armrests” sounds like a weird concept and a weird phrase, but there’s a reason why Flexispot is advertising these armrests with the Soutien Office Chair. So what does this mean? Well, in addition to being vertically adjustable, the tops of the armrests can pivot, be moved closer (or further away) from your desk, along with being horizontally adjusted. It’s a rather interesting experience overall, but definitely, something that is welcome to ensure that you get the perfect ergonomic position while sitting for long periods of time.

Along with the different armrest adjustments that can be made, there are two more features included that help the Soutien Office Chair earn its “ergonomic” rating. That’s the built-in lumbar and headrest. Both of these are adjustable, while the headrest can just be lifted up or down, and then pivoted inwards or outwards to provide the maximum amount of support. Adjusting the lumbar support is a bit odd, as you can move it up and down, but it then needs to be “locked” into place.

This is done by lifting the lumbar pillow all the way up and then moving it back down to the best spot for you. But you’ll need to get used to the detents used to lock the lumbar into place. There have been a few times where it wasn’t locked in all the way, and the lumbar pillow moving all the way to the bottom when I came back and sat down. It just takes some getting used to, but having lumbar support is so important for me that these minor inconveniences aren’t anything to really worry about once you get used to how the detents work.

Flexispot Soutien Ergonomic Office Chair: Is it the perfect chair?

I have not been able to try out any high-end chairs like the Herman Miller or Steelcase series of ergonomic office chairs, both of which are widely considered to be amongst the best. But I can say that compared to my last office chair, which was priced at around $400, the Flexispot Soutien does enough to make me feel like I don’t need to go and spend the extra money on one of those super-fancy office chairs. At least not yet.

Even when switching between standing and sitting, the Flexispot Soutien is comfortable, although we do wish there was just a smidge more padding in the seat. It does get uncomfortable when sitting all day long, but that usually just marks the time where I need to get up and move around for a few minutes.

Other than the adjustable lumbar support, my favorite “feature” of the Soutien chair is the breathable mesh material that the chair is made from. Other chairs are really quite annoying and make me feel hot, even when my home office is under 70-degrees. That’s not a problem with the Flexispot Soutien, as the breathable mesh doesn’t just trap my own body heat, causing me to sweat while I’m sitting.

Is the Flexispot Soutien the perfect office chair? To put it plainly, no it’s not. But if you’re under 300 pounds and are around 6-feet tall, it’s pretty darn close. Being able to adjust almost every aspect of the chair is extremely convenient, and the breathable mesh material also helps out when you’re staring at your computer screen for hours on end.