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Task Chair Evaluations

Here is a listing of all chairs that have so far been evaluated by UNC Ergonomics. Click on the name of the chair (far left) for detailed information. Below the table is a description of the header criteria and an explanation of the ratings. Please note that the prices are approximations and each vendor’s prices may vary.

This is not an exhaustive list of all task chairs, nor is the rating necessarily indicative of your personal comfort. Please visit the “What to Look for in a Task Chair” page to learn more about choosing a task chair.

Ratings: Very Good - Poor
Manufacturer & Line Overall
Score		 Seat Back Arms Lumbar
Adjust		 Directions Material Rater’s
Opinion		 State
Contract
Neutral Posture, 5500 88% Very Good Very Good Very Good Average Very Good Good Good No
SitOnIt, Transit T2 77% Good Average Very Good Poor Fair Good Average Yes
Herman Miller, Mirra 76% Average Fair Very Good Very Good Poor Good Poor No
SitOnIt, @Work 76% Average Good Average Poor Fair Very Good Average No
Hag, Credo 73% Very Good Very Good Poor Poor Average Poor Very Good No
Humanscale, Freedom 70% Poor Very Good Average Poor Fair Good Good No
Steelcase, Criterion Plus 69% Average Fair Average Poor Average Good Good Yes
Steelcase, Criterion 69% Average Average Average Poor Average Good Good Yes
Dauphin Basis BL 1400 68% Good Poor Good Poor Average Poor Good Yes
Dauphin Syncro SL 1450 P 66% Average Good Average Poor Fair Poor Average Yes
Knoll Life 65% Fair Poor Average Average Very Good Average Average No
Allseating Dove 59% Poor Average Poor Poor Very Good Fair Average No

Ratings Explained

The rating system here was created at the University of North Carolina to take into account the specific needs of task chairs within a university setting.

Documents used for reference:

  • BSR/HFES 100 Draft Standard: Human Factors Engineering of Computer Workstations
  • ANSI/HFS 100 American National Standard for Human Factors Engineering of Visual Display Terminal Workstations
  • BIFMA’s Ultimate Test for Fit
  • The Ergonomic Seating Evaluation Form from the Cornell University Ergonomics Web
  • The State of North Carolina Department of Administration Division of Purchase and Contract Specification for Chairs, Ergonomic (Specification # 7110-5)

Evaluators rated each chair’s seat, back, arms, lumbar support, instruction, construction/material, and the evaluator’s overall impression. The rating for each category was placed into one of five categories (Very Good, Good, Average, Fair and Poor). The scores were combined and normalized to a percentage of the perfect score (Overall Score).

While evaluating the chair, the evaluators kept the following criteria in mind:

Seat
The seat category refers to the height, depth, and tilt adjustments of the seat.
Back
The back category refers to the height, angle and tension adjustments for the backrest.
Arms
Height, width and angle adjustability were evaluated.
Lumbar Adjustability
This refers to the ability to adjust the lumbar support. The ability to adjust firmness, amount of curve and height of the curve were evaluated. Adjustable lumbar supports are still relatively new for chairs, so many chairs only allow adjustment of the lumbar support by adjusting the entire chair backrest.
Instructions
This category refers to how easy the adjustments are to figure out and how well-marked the adjustments are. In some cases, manufacturers included instructions built-in with the chair.
Material
North Carolina state contract has a number of material requirements for chairs, such as a waterfall front seat. These requirements and the construction of the armrests were considered.
Overall Impression
The evaluator’s impression of the chair and feedback from users at UNC were rated in this category.

More information can be found on the “What to Look for in a Task Chair” page. If you are interested in purchasing or evaluating any of these chairs, please contact:

John Medlin
104 Airport Drive Suite 2700
919-962-3772
jhmedlin@email.unc.edu