How comfortable are the Humanscale Freedom and Steelcase Please?

Hades said:
Sorry no pics as haven't had time. But I did just finish stripping the chair down to find out what is wrong with the arms. I found the problem(s). There is a square toothed block on each side. It fits into a curved toothed bar. When you lift the front of the arms it pulls the block away from the bar to allow you to move them. When you release the arms the block is pushed back into the bar by a spring. That is what stops the arms moving.

On mine one of the blocks had sheered off the holding mechanism so it is only being supported by one side. Secondly the toothed bars on each side had come away from their own holding screw. Thirdly the teeth on the block and bars looks a little worn.

I reseated the bars and put the chair back together. It works a little better now but it's still not right. I will see whether Humanscale can supply replacement parts.

I am afraid I am going to say that I can't recommend this chair. It looks to me like most of them will suffer this issue eventually.


Thanks. I love the recline. It's the best part of the chair.
Click to expand...

Where did you buy it from?
JU4ga5Y
 
Last edited:
Pyr0m@nI@]{ said:
The back of the freedom is supportive, but the recline would be pretty crap without the headrest. As you recline, the headrest moves forward keeping your head in the ideal position. Sounds a bit weird and does take a little getting used to, but I think it's great.
If you've got the chance to try one out first, I would.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately there aren't any in stock close to me so it's likely i'll just have to take the risk with the chair if i decide to buy one, which is quite likely! It's not like it can be any worse than my current chair!
 
Ah fair enough! I think it's money much better spent on a refurbished ergonomic chair like this rather than a new gaming style chair which I was also considering!
 
I recently bought a Steelcase Please v2 from 2ndhand (n.b. went via ebay and the "best offer" option and got it for ~10% less than the website price). At work we all have Herman-Miller Mirra2's but as I get to work from home a day or so a week and having something that has a similar recline here as well is great ... in fact I think I prefer the way on the Please the lower and upper back sections can move semi-independently. The seat itself isn't very padded but that works fine for me and the adjustable arms are perfect - can adjust to exactly the height I want plus armrests are flat so comfortable for resting arms on ... non-adjustable round armrests were a reason for not considering the Ikea Marcus etc.
 
Just a quick update as I've been a bit too busy to get this sorted so far. Humanscale are quoting £75 for the replacement parts and £75 if I want someone to come to the house to fit them. I may take them up on that offer as apparently you need a special tool to get the old broken part out.
 
Finally an update. I had a Humanscale engineer fix the chair today. It cost about £75 for parts and the same again for a call out fee. He replaced the internals of the arm mechanism. I probably could have done it myself but decided to get them to do it. They came to my house although looking at their website they only seem to come out to the areas around London and Manchester. The guy was very friendly and took about 20 mins. However actually getting them to come out was quite lengthy and not very efficient at all.

The arms now work perfectly and I am very happy with the chair from this point. think it would have been cheaper and better to have just bought a refurbished one from a company like 2ndHnd. But I guess this way I have actual new arm internals so it should last a good while.

It really is a lovely chair now that it's fixed.
 
Hades said:
The arms now work perfectly and I am very happy with the chair from this point. think it would have been cheaper and better to have just bought a refurbished one from a company like 2ndHnd. But I guess this way I have actual new arm internals so it should last a good while.

It really is a lovely chair now that it's fixed.
Click to expand...

Glad to hear you got it sorted, i'm still waiting to pull the trigger on one to be honest. It is the top of the list, but I err on making substantial purchases, in spite of my current chair being crap!
 
I have steel case leap v1 and V2.

V1 had a lot more padding on the seat but it doesn't make the V2 any less comfortable. I had back ache sitting in normal chairs, sat comfortably in the v1 for 9 hours a day without any problem for over 4 years.
 
akaFonzie said:
Glad to hear you got it sorted, i'm still waiting to pull the trigger on one to be honest. It is the top of the list, but I err on making substantial purchases, in spite of my current chair being crap!
Click to expand...
Although I am happy with mine I still can't recommend them. Having taken it apart and looked at the arm mechanism I feel the design is flawed. The arms will fail. It's just a matter of how long. I love the chair. But I can't recommend it because of this.

However in the plus side they look fabtastic, the reclining mechanism works well and you can get spares and service from Humanscale.
 
Last edited:
Hades said:
Although I am happy with mine I still can't recommend them. Having taken it apart and looked at the arm mechanism I feel the design is flawed. The arms will fail. It's just a matter of how long. I love the chair. But I can't recommend it because of this.

However in the plus side they look fabtastic, the reclining mechanism works well and you can get spares and service from Humanscale.
Click to expand...

Aye, I remember you saying something about the arm mechanisms. I'll do a bit of research later on, and discuss with the seller about whether this is a part of their refurbishment process before actually buying!
 
I have a Steelcase Please v2 with headrest, I would describe the back rest system as up there with the best with the padding being more like an operator chair not luxurious comfort. The chair is all about posture and support not a chair you'd want to fall asleep in.

Until gaming chairs offer something for gamers its just a style and marketing brand, just like gaming isotonic drinks and branded over the counter pharmaceuticals.
 
I thought I'd give a medium term review of the Humanscale Freedom. I've finally got a desk in my office room and have been using the chair full time for a week. Firstly I still have reservations about the design flaw (my opinion) of the arm mechanism. I still think it will fail long term. For that reason I am still reticent to recommend it. But having used it for many hours now I do love the chair.

I've read reviews saying the base is quite hard. It is a little. But I've been using it for about 12 hours off and on today and it's only now started to feel a little hard. My herman Miller Aeron at work is definitely more comfy on the bum cheeks. But it's certainly OK for general home use. I've also read review saying the back doesn't give quite enough lower back support. Yes this is true to an extent too. I'd prefer a littl emore support on the lower back. But it's not enough to be uncomfortable and no doubt this can be fixed with a cushion if it was an issue. I'd say the arms are just very slightly wider than I would like. But I'm a small person and this is unlikely to be a problem for most people.

So far it sounds pretty negative. But the above points are minor for me. There are four things that make me very happy with the chair:

1) It does look great.

2) I find it very comfortable (notwithstanding a few minor points above when using all day).

3) While I am worried about the long term strength of the arm mechanism, they are working fine right now and they really do work well. Because they are so easy to adjust I have found myself adjusting them quite frequently through the day. Sometimes I want them higher. Sometimes I want them lower. Sometimes I want to fold them completely away. With other chairs I don't bother adjusting them. But because these are so easy to move I do actually change them through the day.

4) On just about every office/desk chair whcih I have used, I have just adjusted the back to be almost straight up and left it (similar to leaving the arms in place in the comment above). I then slouch in the chair over time. But I adore the recline facility on the chair. For example I was working this morning, bolt upright, and then leaned back while still typing. Tonight I was playing games bolt upright and then leaned back to watch some youtube. The killer feature of this chair, apart from the easily adjustable arms, is being able to lean back and the head and neck support moves forwardto support you. Unlike other chairs your head is supported while still facing towards the screen when you recline. I love it. I'm currently sat here, reclined, but still looking at the monitor, head supported so my neck doesn't ache, typing and sipping a beer :)

So, while I still have reservations about the long term durability of the arms, I currently love the chair and it is exactly what I was looking for.
 
Hades said:
I'm sorry but I didn't ask. I had to get them replaced regardless of what warranty was on offer.
Click to expand...

@Hades almost a year on, how are you finding it? I'm looking for a replacement for my Gesture as I find I can't recline all the way back without it starting to hurt my lower back after a while. This may be because I was an idiot and didn't get a headrest version, but I don't want to take that chance. Great chair when upright, but I think the lumbar support is just a tad too aggressive which is causing my lower back to dislike it when leaning back.

I definitely miss being able to lean all the way back and just chill, though. Realised that while I'd like a good ergonomic chair, it needs to be leisure-capable as well!

Having reservations about the headrest though, a video I saw made it look like it really shoves your head forward when you lean all the way back. Doesn't sound like it would work on the nappable scale.

When it comes to seat and back hardness, did you get the gel or normal foam version? That may make a difference.

Also, for the Please chairs: The part that breaks is the plastic that connects the two back sections. Steelcase are aware of this design flaw and it will eventually happen if you lean back a lot and stress it, so that ruins it as an option. Leap v2 headrest completely sucks, so that's out too.
 
Last edited:
Hello everyone, this thread has made me finally sign up to the forum after being a long-term lurker.

I've owned a Humanscale Freedom for the last decade and love it, I prefer it to the Herman miller's in work. Absolutely worth the price in comfort & build quality, and I'm sorry if I'm at risk of sounding like a company rep but they are legitimately fantastic if there's a problem. I stumbled on this thread while looking for a tutorial on how to replace the recline spring, as I just fixed the arm ratchet mechanism that I lost while moving house (long story).
The reason I have a spring is because I gave their office a call looking for one of the €2 ratchet arm mechanism in hope they'd let me buy one. They did give me the part for free and then the rest of the entire assembly.. And then some more parts because "if you're changing that you might as well fix this so it aligns". It helps I live basically next door, but it took about an hour from initial phone call to the engineer handing me parts with a smile. Really lovely honest people.

It's definitely not a big cushioning sofa chair, but it's comfortable to work on for hours and supports you properly. I'm going to reupholster this one after so many years because it's legitimately awesome.

Rachel
-software engineer

Edit:
Just reading up I'm going to make this edit as someone who has disassembled the arm mechanism. They've changed the mechanism between my old one and the new one, it has like a welded half housing now, I don't expect it to be an issue not that it was before.

I have the headrest gel option, honestly brilliant and no problem reclining it flows with how your body sits perfectly. The initial force to recline is quite firm so its comfortable and intentional to recline.
The chair is big true, I'm not small at 5'10 but I sit comfortably crossed legged on it. I'd say if you were a man or just had wider shoulders than me the arm rests would be perfect. If you're quite petite it's easy to curl up on it.

I do not recommend disassembling this chair unless you love it or just a project, it's a proper bit of engineering. Very proprietary.
 
Last edited:
Just thought I'd post here as I've just got a Humanscale Freedom. Initial impressions I hate it, I'm hoping I'll get used to it, but I'm finding it really uncomfortable to sit on as it feels like I'm being constantly pushed forward.

To any HS Freedom owners - how long did it take to get used to it? I'm willing to give it a go but not liking it at the moment!

Edit: Also the lowest height seems to be about 2-3 inches higher than most other chairs I've used - so much that the top of my thigh is in contact with the bottom surface of my standard height desk.
 
Last edited:
If you don't like it probably change it asap, it's a very personal preference thing and I didn't experience a 'getting used to it' period. I don't weigh a particularly huge amount, but when I recline I put my feet up to relax which keeps it all inclined. Although there is a difference in the recline spring between the old ones and the new one.

Blue = New
Red = Old

You can look at it if you take the bottom cushion plate off.

I've just measured mine at the top of my thigh lowest setting and it's 59cm including my leg and 40cm without. Which is pretty well below the 68cm standard desk height, large thighs?I've the hardwood floor casters, I know 3rd party rubber ones add height.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom