Sitting for a long period of time can cause a host of health complications such as chronic back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and even heart disease. To reduce the risk of these serious health concerns, you need ergonomic tools and equipment in your workspace.
There are many components that make up an ergonomic workspace, but the core of such a system mainly lies in your chair. Today, we will be providing you with a comprehensive review of the award-winning Humanscale Freedom Task Chair. We spent over 200 hours testing the Freedom Task Chair and we’ve gathered all the results here.
We stand by our almost-perfect rating of the Humanscale Freedom Task Chair. Durable and designed for the rigors of everyday use, Niels Diffrient created a truly ergonomic chair that is one of today’s breakthrough office equipment. We simply must say - once you get used to the Freedom Task Chair, you won’t want to sit on anything else. It does come with an expensive price tag but this chair is an investment - it is smart, intuitive, comfortable and comes with a 15-year warranty. Check out our full review and see if the Humanscale Freedom Task Chair is for you.
PROS
CONS
Known worldwide for their highly-rated and award-winning Freedom Task Chair designed by ergonomics expert Niels Diffrient, Humanscale has solidified its place as an innovative leader in the ergonomics industry. The company was founded by Bob King in 1983 and has since then produced ergonomic tools and products that adapt to the natural comfort of the user. Today, you can find Humanscale in 28 countries and their products have been featured in popular TV shows and films such as The Bourne Ultimatum, Mission: Impossible III, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, The Newsroom, New Girl, and 24.
Dimensions: W: 26.75” x D: 17.40“- 19.85” x H: 36.7”- 41.5”
Weight: 30 lbs without arms, 34 lbs with arms
$1049
Reseller prices may vary.
Disclaimer:
The price included in this article is the price of the product as of this article’s publish date. Prices may change without prior notice.
Finishes: Graphite, Titanium and Polished Aluminum with Graphite or Titanium
Textiles: Range of four-way stretch fabrics, box-stitched leathers, antimicrobial textiles and non-stretch materials
Stitch finishing: Choice of matching or contrasting box stitching is available with all leathers
QuickBuy models ship in 1-2 weeks. All other custom configured seating products ship in 2-4 weeks. Per Humanscale’s website, shipping details and policies are found in their Terms & Conditions page.
Per Humanscale’s website, information and specific policies regarding returns found are found in their Terms & Conditions page.
Per Humanscale’s website, information and specific policies regarding the FM500’s lifetime warranty are found in their Terms & Conditions page.
For specific questions, contact Humanscale.
Conceptualized by legendary furniture designer Niels Diffrient, the Freedom Task Chair is designed to synergize with your body. His approach was to create a chair that removed unnecessary complexities but still has the capability to automatically adapt to your body as you work, browse, or relax. The result is what the New York Times describes the chair as “the gold standard in office seating.”
The Freedom Task Chair is designed with a weight activated recline mechanism that adjusts three different recline aspects at the same time. Simply sit on the Freedom Task chair and lean back. When you do so, your weight and the natural laws of physics do the rest of the work. The back seat goes backward, and the lumbar support goes forward and up. This allows the chair to provide you superb lumbar support no matter how much you recline.
As you recline, the seat rises to compensate for the angles. All these combinations of synchronized automatic actions ensure that your spine stays properly aligned no matter what sitting position you’re in.
Let’s take this a little further. The chair also features a mechanism that enables the back rest to swivel at a fixed point. So while leaning, when you twist your body, the backrest swivel moves along, ensuring that your back is properly supported at any degree of rotation.
The neat part is that there’s no need to adjust anything. The Humanscale Freedom Task chair will adjust its components to how far you recline or lean forward!
The other neat feature of the Freedom Task Chair is its headrest. The comfortable headrest is dynamic and articulating, so it can support your neck and head as you recline. Just like the weight activated recline mechanism, the headrest also moves along without the need to manually adjust the component as you change your head posture.
Together with the headrest, back seat, and seat all supported by its weight activated recline design, the entire seat allows you to work on your computer even if you’re reclined! This is almost virtually impossible with other office chairs as a reclined position forces you to stretch your arms and you’re your groin forward. Not exactly an ergonomic position, right?
Without the need to pull a lever or push a button, the Freedom Task chair allows you to shift positions throughout the day while continuously supporting you. This is quite important as you’re bound to unconsciously change your body positions to reduce strain.
You can even make this reclined working position more effective by making your workstation ergonomic. Humanscale suggests two things: an under-desk keyboard tray to allow you to bring your arms closer to your Neutral Reach Zone, an area in front of you where you won’t feel any strain on your forearms as you type. The second item is a footrest so you can comfortably brace yourself as you recline.
The arms of the Freedom Task Chair can be moved up and down together. You can adjust it as you recline for uninterrupted support and comfort. You cannot independently move arm rests, so if you move one, the other moves as well. Due to its design, you can adjust both arm rests with just one hand. The arms automatically lock in place after you’re done adjusting them.
The chair’s armrests are attached to the chair’s back via thick metal braces. This allows the arm rests to move with the rest of the chair as you recline.
The Freedom Task Chair is designed to fit all types of users. Thus, the seat, back rest, and head rest can be positioned independently to perfectly fit your body size. Also, a lever underneath the seat allows you to adjust the height of the chair.
There’s no more “this chair is too tall for me” or “this chair is too small for me” kinds of complaints. You can fine-tune the chair to your liking!
Sitting on your chair for long periods of time can make you uncomfortably warm. That’s because the seat and back cushions trap your body heat.
To ensure you stay cool and comfortable, the Humanscale Freedom Task Chair features gel-infused cushions. The cooling gel absorbs your body heat and dissipates it out of the chair.
Five tough coasters support your weight as you sit on your Humanscale Freedom Task chair. Rotatable in all axes, they allow you to coast all across your office, from one end to another. Move to your colleague or scoot to your bookshelf without ever leaving your seat!
Made to compliment the modern workspace, the Humanscale Freedom Task Chair looks stylish, modern, and simple. When you buy one, choose from a wide array of frame colors such as polished aluminum and graphite. You can even choose textiles such as leather, vellum, and sensuede, for the cushions.
The Humanscale Freedom Task Chair fits 95% of users even though you can opt to tailor your own chair to your own preferences (more on that later). The standard basic model has the following dimensions:
Do you want to have your own unique office or gaming chair that is different from everyone else’s? Believe it or not, you can actually do that with the Humanscale Freedom Task Chair! Do you want advanced duron armrests or no arms at all? Do you prefer a simple black or an aggressive red as your textile’s color? Do you need locking casters or glides? Simply go to the product’s “Customize Your Own” page and select how you want your chair.
That’s not all! You can also add more accessories! Simply click the “Accessories” button on the product page and add the accessories to go along with your purchase.
There’s no need to explain further that the Freedom Task Chair is a product that gives you great value for your money. The chair costs more than $1,000, but that is a small price to pay for your safety, good health, and comfort.
But the Freedom Task Chair is more than just a top-of-the-line chair. It is also the product of a responsible business that puts health, comfort, ingenuity, and sustainability in every aspect of their enterprise. Let’s take a glimpse of the philosophies of Humanscale.
Does the Humanscale Freedom Task Chair support your body when fully reclined?
The design and engineering features of the Freedom Task Chair allow the product to be reclined to whatever angle you find comfortable. So, yes, it supports your body. However, some of our testers did report that when the chair is at 100% recline, they feel their head sliding off the headrest and their neck a little bit “stretched.” The discomfort disappears until you reach a 75% recline.
How does the shipping work for the custom Freedom Task Chair?
If you have customized your Freedom Task Chair, the company will ship your products in 2 to 4 weeks due to the time spent in tailoring your chair. For base models, Humanscale ships in 1 to 2 weeks.
It’s a must to have an ergonomic chair if you’re planning on sitting in front of your computer for a long time. The Humanscale Freedom Task Chair provides you with that much-needed support with style, class, and clever engineering.
With its weight activated recline mechanism, the product is intuitive to use. Without the need to adjust anything, you can shift your positions freely, with the chair itself adapting itself to your body’s actions.
Long hours of work (or fun) need a smart solution. And the Humanscale Freedom Task Chair may be exactly what you need.
[…] one of the best ergonomic office chairs in the market, the Humanscale Freedom Task Chair is designed with an articulating headrest and other great ergonomic features. For instance, smart […]