The best office chair fabric for you
While ergonomics is a vital factor to consider while buying an office chair, your consideration list shouldn’t stop there. You also need to consider the price of an ergo chair. And most importantly, you should buy your office chair with due consideration of future use.
Can the chair serve you for long? Will it remain stable and presentable after years of use? The answer to these questions should influence your choice of ergonomic chairs.
One of the features responsible for a chair’s durability is its fabric or material. Some materials are more durable than others. So, if you don’t want to have a worn office chair within a couple of months, you must consider and pick chairs equipped with the best fabrics.
Wondering how you can find out the best fabric? Now, that’s why we are here. Consider this simple guide as your compass for navigating the flooded ergonomic chair market space.
Why is your office chair material important?
Before choosing an office chair, we often place importance on ergonomics. We can’t fault this decision since ergonomics has been one of the catalysts for office chairs since it took the market by storm.
But after you buy your first ergo office chair, you realize ergonomics doesn’t guarantee a good chair. If you lead a sedentary lifestyle, your body and skin will have contact with your chair for long hours.
Some people claim they developed itchy skin after sitting on an ergo chair for a long time. This recalls the essentiality of buying a chair with material that suits your skin.
Furthermore, we can’t rule out the possibility of a dusty workplace. Even if we could, touching and having contact with your office chair makes it vulnerable to stains.
The question of how resistant a fabric is to stain should pop up when you are deciding on the office chair. And if it’s not so resistant to stain, is it easy to clean?
Additionally, your office chair material plays a role in the durability of a chair. It also determines the level of comfort you can get from sitting in a chair. For example, when you buy a clunky leather chair void of breathability, you will probably have issues with accumulated sweat.
If the situation gets unbearable, chances are you may visit a store to buy or order another chair online. To avoid having this, you need to invest in chairs with strong, flexible, and repairable materials.
A chair with a backrest needs to be breathable for comfort’s sake, especially in charring summer weather. When you sit in a chair that has no ventilation, you have to deal with sweats for hours.
This may seem like an endurable situation initially, but it may lead to blisters. Or cause a discomforting sitting experience that would gradually grow to become uncomfortable.
See? checking the material of your chair is nonnegotiable. Most often than not, the material of a chair affects the price. But regardless of the price, it’s always a better choice to own a long-lasting ergonomic office chair rather than a counterfeit material.
This isn’t to say all affordable ergo chair fabrics aren’t durable. For a fact, Flexispot makes its quality and breathable office chair budget-friendly making it easy for everyone to stay healthy.
Summarily, you mustn’t make a purchase blindly. Check and confirm that an office chair’s material is quality before you decide it’s a worthy investment.
Choose a chair that meets your needs
Buying the best chair is overrated. Here’s why. Sometimes, the best ergo chair might be unsuitable for your needs. So, you must buy a chair best suited for your needs. Different people have peculiar chairs that are best for them depending on their job and some other factors.
Besides the material of the chair or the durability, consider your needs. Do you need a solid headrest? Leg rest? Or a reclining chair? Once you decide, select a chair that tends to your needs.
Best office chairs materials
The main fabric that you need to examine thoroughly is the upholstery fabric on your chair. That’s because you will have contact with the fabric multiple times a day while working. Keep reading to know the options you have.
Leather
Leather chairs emit a form of luxurious feel that several people find attractive. It oozes comfort at every pore. Plus, leather chairs are incredibly easy to maintain, you will have no issue cleaning them and the appearance is exquisite.
Other upholstery holds no candle to leather in terms of sophistication. The classiness that characterizes leather material makes it a pricey choice.
People also love leather because of its easy maintenance. Due to the feature, it’s durable and considerably seamless to clean.
When you stain your leather chair, all you need to do is wipe the stain off and it will be good as new. So, you won’t have any hassle trying to keep it sparkling clean.
However, despite the luxurious feel of a leather office chair, it may not be the best material to buy. If you spend a long time sitting in your office chair, the leather will make you sweaty because of its unbreathable nature.
People that sit for long will enjoy the aeration and comfort that mesh chairs offer instead.
But if you’d like to own a chair that can send off an impressive message to your clients at first glance, a leather chair is suitable. There is a quiet sophisticated appearance that leather chairs emit—it’s hard to miss.
Nonetheless, a leather chair can easily have cracks and appear worn if you don’t maintain it properly. Learn how to care for a leather office chair by reading the manual. Read up on the maintenance tips and follow them religiously if you want your chair to last.
Vinyl
Another common material that is noteworthy is vinyl. There are several levels and grades of this material.
Cleaning it isn’t a bother at all, and it falls under one of the durable office chairs. It’s suitable for people who work in a health care facility or anywhere that’s prone to dust and stain. Vinyl is a good choice because you can wipe off the dust or stain with a wet rag.
If you work in a hot environment or under humid conditions, vinyl isn’t suitable for you. Frankly, this material isn’t breathable. Several vendors claim their vinyl chairs offer aeration and breathability, but these claims aren’t true.
This material will make you sweaty and uncomfortable in climes with hot weather or during summertime.
Woven Material
Woven material doesn’t always form a standalone upholstery. Manufacturers often combine it with mesh to make comfortable ergonomic chairs. This material, like vinyl and leather, is popular and commonly used for a chair’s backrest and seat.
Woven fabric comes in a variety of textures, designs, colors, and shapes. Despite this diversity in style, it’s not difficult to make a choice and identify the better options.
While picking any material, don’t choose a fragile one that would barely survive any abusive use. Always pick a material that’s resistant to abrasions.
And if you are keen on eco-friendly materials, you could select one with recycled office chair material. But this doesn’t affect the quality of the chair. Doesn’t matter if the material is made from manmade or natural fibers.
On the downside, woven materials soak in stains and it’s near impossible to blot out stains. Hence, you need to consider how often it’s likely to get stained before going for an office chair with woven material.
Mesh chair
The most comforting feature of mesh material is the unrestricted aeration you get to enjoy from it. You can sit and work nonstop without bothering about blistering sweat.
Airflow is by no means the only laudable feature of mesh chairs. The appearance is also an added advantage. It’s like a triple package wrapped in one chair. Meshed chairs offer top-notch aeration, incredible ergonomic designs, and attractive aesthetic features.
The best ergonomic office chair has a major function, which is to conform to your body. Mesh chairs have a flexibility that allows them to curve accurately to keep your spine in its natural form.
Mesh, like other materials, has varying types. One type that you need to avoid is the nylon mesh. Nylon mesh causes abrasions to your cloth because each time you sit on it, it rubs against it repeatedly.
Ultra-leather
This material is a synthetic version of leather. Ultra-leather looks so much like leather that it's possible to mistake them. However, there are claims that this material is more durable than the real.
But one fact that is undeniable is the fact that it’s easy to clean. Like leather, all it takes is a wipe and you’d get the stain off.
It’s also equipped with an antimicrobial feature that translates to hypoallergenic. So, even if you have sensitive skin, you won’t have any reaction after sitting on an ultra-leather chair.
Surprisingly, ultra-leather, unlike leather material, has a breathability feature; it’s also durable. Thus, these features and a couple of other features make ultra-leather an excellent choice of material.
Ultra-leather is alternatively called faux leather. And it has a striking resemblance with leather chairs although leather material is more durable.
This material is easy to maintain and a smart choice for people who detest the use of animal skins because it’s not made of animal skin.
Plastic
In this regard, we are not referring to plastic chairs per se. The plastic on ergonomic chairs is usually on the armrests and base of the chair. This material is an essential part of most office chairs, hence it’s important to mention it.
Luckily, the plastic is of top-notch quality with tested durability. You’d be shocked to realize that this plastic outlives the upholstery.
Although it does rattle after some time, it’s still the long-lasting part of the chair. Another part that features quality plastic is the casters of the chair. You may have noticed that the caster of all office seat often lasts till you dispose it.
Knitted material
This material is like woven fabric in many ways but they are not the same. They share some similarities, but that’s as far as it goes.
Knitted material is commonly used to make cushioned office chairs. The appearance and durability are commendable. However, before you buy an ergo chair with knitted material, make sure the knitted material is thick.
It’s also a breathable material. Therefore, it’s suitable for humid climes. Whether it’s on the backrest or seat, this material will ensure you have all the comfort you need to get your work done.
Unlike woven material, knitted fabric is seamless to clean. Getting a stain off requires no hassle or difficulty. Although it’s not easily maintainable like vinyl, it’s still a worthy choice if you buy a quality knitted office chair.
The chair bases
The chair base is the most overlooked part of a chair. It’s like no one cares about the chair base. The upholstery is the popular part that draws attention.
Meanwhile, a chair without a sturdy chair base won't last long. You need to check for chairs with a solid chair base before you decide on what to buy.
Manufacturers make chair bases with different materials. Some are plastic while some are steel or wood. But the best and most solid base material is aluminum. Aluminum bases are durable and solid enough.
In fact, some bases use painted chrome material. If you are a fan of style and sophistication, you can go for chairs with a steel base.
In a nutshell
Although there are more office chair materials, this detailed list of durable materials to look out for in the market.
But if you notice, there are conditions attached to each material. Thus, depending on your needs, go through our guide and make a remarkable choice that suits your taste.
