A review of the Humanscale Liberty™ Chair

In the real world the statue of Liberty stands for a lot of things. Hope, enligthment, friendship and freedom just to name a few. I am sure the Humanscale Liberty™ Chair would like to stand for similar things in the chair world. Freedom from back pain and discomfort. Hope for the 10 hour a day office worker. But is the Liberty™ able to claim such an honor?

Overall appearance

The first impression you get when you look at this chair is the total lack of levers and knobs. However, don’t be fooled. That does not make it less ergonomic than other chairs with three times the amount of knobs and levers. It simply means you are dealing with a chair smart enough to automatically makes the adjustments for you. The reasoning behind the automatic adjustments is the thought that if the chair makes the adjustments every time the user moves, it will encourage the user to move more often. And movement is the in word when it comes to ergonomic chairs these days.

The Seat

The standard seat cushion is made from molded polyurethane foam and has been contoured to match the shape of the body. The broad seat ensures even weight distribution so that no pressure points form. However if you are looking for unparalled long term comfort I would go for the gel seat cushion option where there is an additional gel layer on top of the foam.

For short and tall users a high and low cylinder is available to ensure you can adjust the seat height to the correct high to fit your size. Adjusting the seat height is pretty simple. All it takes is lifting up an easily reachable lever under the right side of the seat, adjusting the seat to the right height and then to release the lever. As would be expected from a chair in this price class the seat depth is fully adjustable. By pulling a lever underneath the seat you can slide the seat forward or backwards to best match the length of your upper legs.

Backrest

The backrest is made out of three non stretchable mesh panels that automatically adjust to fit the contours of your back. This ensures you receive just the right amount of back and lumbar support. There are no lumbar pads to move up or down, in or out to receive support. The backrest is smart enough to take care of this. The mesh also ensures proper airflow and if you stay in a warm climate you will be thankful in summer. Unlike some other mesh chairs that can damage your clothes the mesh has been specifically designed and extensively tested to ensure it does not damage your clothes in any way.
The backrest pivots even further while you recline, up to a maximum of 7 degrees to provide even more lumbar support.

Reclining

Like its family member, the Humanscale Freedom Chair, the Liberty™ has an Intelligent Counter balance recline mechanism that automatically adjusts to control the resistance of the backrest when you recline. So if you are heavy it won't feel like you are going to fall every time you recline. If you are light it will adjust the resistance so that you don't have to fight the chair to recline. There are no knobs levers or anything else to adjust the tension. The Liberty™ takes care of that.
The eye level stays the same no matter the amount of reclining so you never lose touch with the computer screen. The angle between your torso and legs also open up, causing a more comfortable sitting position.

The Arms

When it comes to armrest you have three choices. A chair without arms, a chair with fixed arms and a chair with adjustable arms. Then you also have a choice between standard or optional armrests. The optional armrests have an additional gel layer to ensure your arms receive maximum support and comfort. Another thing to note is that the armrests are attached to the backrest and not the seat. This helps your arms to receive full support from the armrests when you recline. Adjusting the height of the arms is easy (if that is the option you have chosen) - you simply push a button on the underside of the armrests.

The chair finish

The frame is available in black, silver or polished aluminum. There are a wide variety of finishes and colors available to meet the needs of even the fussiest consumer.

Warranty

Humanscale offers a 15 year 24/7 warranty. Humanscale is a well respected and trusted company and this is one warranty you can depend on.

My overall rating

In several reviews that I have read where top quality chairs were matched against each other, this chair came out tops. Now admittedly some of these reviews are a few years old before chairs like the Embody™ appeared on the horizon, but it is still something to take note of. I rate this chair very highly -it is another Humanscale winner. Well designed, very comfortable and well worth the investment.

Where can you find the best price?

CSN STORES OFFER TO MATCH ANY PRICE you can find online so I recommend you try them first.