The realm of office chairs is an odd one. You’ll find bizarre looking seats like the Herman Miller Sayl or Anthros chair and almost too-simple-looking seats like the Humanscale Freedom all trying to do the same thing: provide excellent ergonomics and comfort for long-term sitting. Unfortunately, many fail to deliver, and quite a few have price tags that match what you’d expect from a high-end gaming PC. The Autonomous ErgoChair Ultra 2 tries to thread the needle with a more modest price at $599, and it has some of the trappings of a fancy office chair thanks to its peculiar support system. But it takes a lot of elements coming together in harmony to make an excellent chair, and the ErgoChair Ultra 2 has its work cut out for it.
Autonomous ErgoChair Ultra 2 – Design and Features
The Autonomous ErgoChair Ultra 2 is a looker. From a style standpoint, it’s something of a cross between a Herman Miller Embody and Sayl chair with its latticed back and springy plastics all supporting the mesh of the seat and seatback. Ergonomic chairs tend to have somewhat outlandish designs, so it’s little surprise to see the ErgoChair Ultra 2 keeping up with this trend.
The name might give it away, but the ErgoChair Ultra 2 isn’t exactly original. It follows up the ErgoChair Plus (also named ErgoChair Pro+ and Kinn at different points in time). There are strikingly few differences between this new model and the Kinn that dates back several years. There appear to be a few refinements to the build though: the armrests now have 4D adjustment, and all configurations of the ErgoChair Ultra 2 include a mesh cover where some Kinn and ErgoChair Plus sets could skip the mesh for a straight TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) design.
The ErgoChair Ultra 2 is on simple caster wheels and a sturdy, aluminum base. Between the base and the gas lift, the chair is rated to support users up to 320 pounds. For the price, it’s surprising to see just how much plastic is used in the build. Just about everything I can see above the piston and the bottom half of the seat base is hard plastic. Now, some of it feels quite robust, but the attachment between the backrest and the seat is a fairly simple slot-in held in place by a few bolts and screws. The overlap for this slot isn’t confidence inspiring. That said, I haven’t heard any worrying creaks or groans. The aluminum appears to extend up to the arm rest holders as well, and that gives them a pretty tanky feel, though I wouldn’t count on the armrests to bear a lot of weight. Given some of the concerns all the plastic use raises, it’s a bit disappointing to see Autonomous offer just a two-year warranty.
Autonomous says the chair can support users from 5-foot up to 6-foot-4, and the piston can raise the seat well above what’s comfortable for me at 6-foot-3. The lowest seat height is 18 inches, and that rises up to 23 inches. Add in the armrests’ peak at 11-inches, and you’re looking at an ergonomic fit for a 34-inch tall desk, which is unusually high.
The armrests offer a good deal of flexibility. They don’t go very low, but they can extend to quite a height. And they include side-to-side, front-to-back, and rotational adjustments. The top material of the arm rests fairly firm plastic with just a bit of give to provide some cushion.
The highlight of the ErgoChair Ultra 2 is its seat and seatback. These are both covered in a polyester mesh for flexible, breathable support. Underneath the backrest, Autonomous has built a lattice of TPE that adds even more support while still providing flexibility, so you can adjust your body and move a little while remaining seated. Beyond its flexibility, the backrest offers no adjustments. The optional headrest doesn’t get the TPE treatment and just has a mesh area to cushion users’ head and neck. It can slide up and down vertically to adjust to different heights, and the arm that holds it has a bit of give for more flexibility, but it’s altogether a very simple and narrow headrest that doesn’t feel up to the standard I’d expect from a $100 add-on.
The seat cushion combines both the mesh, a bit of memory foam, and a grid of spring-like structures. This gives the mesh extra support and provides a bit of give to the seat for added comfort. That said, I still find it a bit on the stiff side. The chair allows for some adjustment of the seat, letting it slide forward or backward to accommodate users with longer or shorter legs.
The ErgoChair Ultra 2’s final adjustment is a 25-degree recline, which feels deeper than it might sound. The seat shifts subtly when the back is reclined, and the armrests recline in sync with the backrest, so they angle up as you recline. You can lock the seat in a recline, and the chair also supports a tension adjustment, though it takes a lot of cranking to fully adjust this, and I found that even at full tension it was a little too easy to recline.
Autonomous ErgoChair Ultra 2 – Assembly
The Autonomous ErgoChair Ultra 2 is surprisingly lightweight at just 36.5 pounds, and this makes the setup process extra easy. The chair comes largely disassembled, but the low weight of each part makes it easy to pull them from the box and arrange them for assembly. The five-point base just needs the gas piston and wheels pressed in. The seat base and seat back slide together and then take four bolts near the middle of the seat and four screws running along the bottom edge of the backrest. The bolts can be a little difficult to get lined up and screwed in, but are still easier than some gaming chairs I’ve had to line up and bolt together. An Allen wrench is included for the bolts, but Autonomous doesn’t supply a screwdriver. Altogether, it took me less than 10 minutes to get the chair assembled. Attaching the optional headrest was a little trickier, as it has a plate that needs to sneak between the spine and mesh of the seat back and bolt in, requiring me to snake my hand into that void, line up the bolts, and maneuver the Allen wrench. This still only added another 5-10 minutes to the assembly.
Autonomous ErgoChair Ultra 2 – Performance
The Autonomous ErgoChair Ultra 2 is a mix of good-but-not-great and almost bad. I generally found I could get by spending a considerable amount of time in the chair. The mesh is quite breathable, helping me avoid uncomfortable warmth and sweat even when my ancient steam radiators kick on to help me forget it’s winter outside. The material of the mesh is a bit coarse, and direct skin contact is uncomfortable. So, if you’re often going shirtless, wearing a tanktop, or wearing short shorts, you’ll likely find the mesh harsh.
The base of the seat is decent. It’s not too firm, and it’s not so soft that I immediately bottom out. It’s also so wide that my thighs don’t end up pressing into the outer edges, which are not so padded. This is a big advantage over the many steel-bolstered racing chairs that you’ll find in any search for the best gaming chairs. That said, even as high-tech as the cushioning may seem, it could still be better. It’s firm enough that any time I sit for an extended period with my legs not just straight out on the chair (i.e., if I cross a leg over my knee or lean heavily to one side) the firm base of the seat leads to excess pressure. From there, it’s not long before I’m sore and one of my legs starts to fall asleep. Tucking a leg is also ruled out as the outer edges of the seat are stiff. While the seat is plenty wide and evenly cushioned, getting anywhere near those edges is a recipe for discomfort.
The armrests are also a miss. They are so faintly cushioned that most of the time I can’t believe there’s a cushion on there at all. With my elbows pressing into the surface, they don’t really provide enough padding to avoid the discomfort of bone contacting a hard surface. They are at least quite flexible in their positioning, making it easy to get a good ergonomic alignment with my desk whether a narrow position for typing or a wider one for gaming. The fact that they recline with the backrest also means just about any amount of leaning back will result in serious discomfort trying to still use a mouse and keyboard.
The backrest is where the ErgoChair Ultra 2 should have been the most promising, but it falls short for me, figuratively and literally. I’ve found the ErgoChair Ultra 2 isn’t well suited to folks much over 6-foot. Much of the backrest is quite soft, but the top edge is firm. And at 6-foot-3, my shoulder blades press into the edge, which ends up uncomfortable quickly. The TPE weave of the backrest has a firmed section meant to serve as a lumbar support, but it’s a bit too low for me. And the rest of the backrest is soft enough that I end up more stooped than I should be. Shorter users may be more comfortable here, though the headrest will likely be too high if you’re shorter than 5-foot-5 or so.
Purchasing Guide
The Autonomous ErgoChair Ultra 2 is available directly from Autonomous for $599. It comes in two colorways: gray mesh with a white frame or black mesh with a black frame. The headrest is an optional accessory and adds $100 to the price.
