Summary
I spend a lot of time at my desk, and when I say a lot, I’m talking upwards of 14 hours a day. I work from home and one of the main things I do after work is play games, which so often happens to be at my desk. Thus, I consider a good office chair vital - something meant for professionals, and certainly not a garish gamer chair that gives you a bad back and makes you sweat like Prometheus after being asked where he got that big glowy stick.
The Boulies EP460 is a pretty damn fine chair. The weight of the package that I had to drag up a flight of stairs was both excruciating and encouraging - this is a chair made of sturdy stuff, not a flimsy seat fit to break after a year of use. What followed its arrival was around 50 minutes of assembly - ten minutes of which was futzing about with a bolt that I tightened too much and five whining at my partner to help me with the last few steps - the instructions aren’t kidding, you really do need two people to put these things together.
A somewhat trying assembly aside, I’m happy with the Boulies EP460. It’s a very firm but not uncomfortable chair with enough adjustable parts to keep me happy no matter what contortionist position I put myself in - I’m a wriggler. Principally, it’s a chair designed for very long sessions at the desk, which is perfect for me. There’s plenty of lumbar support, an adjustable headrest, and even a footrest. I’ve never had a chair with a footrest before, and after the Boulies, I don’t think I’ll go back.
I don’t know why they call them footrests, you can only really put your calves on them. They should be called calfrests.
The EP460 is a little on the pricey side for someone on a budget at £269.99 (more than $300) but for what you get, it’s a very nice addition to a home office for the mid-range spender, and if you’re someone who works from home or games more than is healthy (or, like me, both), you may’t really afford not to get something that respects your spinal column.
If I had one criticism, it would be that the tilting mechanism is very forceful - you can unlock, tilt, and then lock the back of the chair into one of three positions, and the mechanism is quite finicky. There’s also no easy way to rock in your seat while the back is unlocked, something I loved about my old chair. Instead, the back will forcefully keep itself upright, requiring significant exertion to keep it back until you’re forced to settle on a laid back position to lock into. I find myself not using the tilt option at all, instead keeping the chair in the upright position.
My cat has no need for the tilting mechanism and will happily spend hours on this chair when I’m somehow not in the office.
This is no dealbreaker, however, and overall I’m happy with this chair. It’s a bit of a step up from what I’m used to and I’m already feeling the benefits.
