Review on 🪑 Premium Comfort & Support: Flash Furniture HERCULES Series Big & Tall 400 lb. Rated Black LeatherSoft Executive Ergonomic Office Chair with Full Headrest & Arms by Robert Decamps

I know office chairs. I've been through half a dozen of these in a dozen years. I weigh 300 pounds (give or take - probably a plus), 6ft 3in and have a hell of a time finding chairs that will last and fit me. My last office chair lasted about four years (it still "works" but is falling apart) and I wanted a new one that doesn't groan any more than I do when I sit down or stand up. I literally spent weeks going through the options and settled on this one for a number of reasons, but the biggest being that it's priced at £350. It doesn't have the bells and whistles my old one had, but once installed, some features were forgotten. I had the same hands and in a seated position where my hands rest, that's important for my level of performance. They have gaping holes in the box, I don't expect anything to fall out. I had about 35 minutes left on the film which I watched when it arrived and set about putting it together. Overall, I was EXTREMELY impressed with the weight of the steel that makes up this chair. It's a quarter inch thick. Most chairs have bent metal to stiffen the piece. This to a small extent, but the main strength in pure thick steel. I suppose you could use it to tow an SUV. The base is chromed steel, and the pins on the wheels are also steel (although there are no wheels, it's better to get office chair wheels if they fail). They felt quite strong and settled firmly and firmly onto the base. The holes are welded (3-point weld) into the base, which also appeared solid. The upholstery is firm but pliable and much better than my old chair (where I had a duvet and two pillows to make the seat bigger). Pad}. The skin may or may not be "real" skin. I'm guessing faux leather, ie wears out fairly quickly, but that was the case with my old 5 star chair, so I don't mind. Adjustable armrests are at least as snug as my old ones. and I've had no complaints about them. My only concern is welding the holes in the wheels and where the air strut attaches to the seat of the chair. Reinforcement from one of them. This may not be as critical with the wheels (since they share the load), but the strut connection is a potential issue. This is where I've ripped out other chairs in the past (three out of six). Metal NO 1/4 inch metal in seat base and armrests. It looks like it's shaped about 1/8 inch. Over time this can bend and break, not at the hole itself but where the part containing the hole is welded to the rest of the base. For that alone I deducted a star and added "Bye" to the title of this review. Assuming it can hold my weight for the next year or five it will be worth the cost (which was reasonable given the specs) and I'd upgrade it to five stars as four or five years is a great run for me . It depends on the strength of the steel and the weld. Only time can tell. In terms of montage, I was done (working alone) about the time the credits rolled. It was easy to assemble if you bothered to read the instructions and do it in the order given with the correct screws. The width of the seat cushion is very generous (about an inch and a half wider than a typical bus seat) and relatively comfortable. The lumbar support is a little on the wrong side (at least for me) but since it's not adjustable I don't blame the chair. In any case, a separate pillow or pad would be better. My chair doesn't moan louder than me. It fits where I need it. Holds me up fairly well (after adding my usual modifications as I think it leans too far forward when fully upright - all chairs fit me so it's not unique), rolls well and seems well made to be. Durability can be an issue. Definitely will come back to update this review when the time comes, assuming this chair is still on sale by then. EDIT (2013-05-18): Okay, I'm not happy anymore. And the right time wasn't very long. The happiness only lasted a few days before the chair's flaws became apparent. First, the seatback is TO upright. Maybe they expect petite people who can comfortably sit perfectly upright to buy £350 chairs. After a few hours I feel like I'm being turned into a taco. Being a fixed rear seat (no reclining function) this poses a bit of an issue. I've tried to use some creative spacing to make the thing recline, but there's more to it than just no tilt. The lumbar support is terrible. My back is pretty straight. This thing hits my kidneys and pushes my spine forward without shrinking it. My back has never hurt so much. Leaning too far forward. I feel like I'm sitting in the back of a dump truck, ready to be dumped in the garbage. Again I tried to find some clearance to tilt the seat back but there wasn't enough screw to do it enough to make it worth it. It's still too uncomfortable. Yes it reclines, but the adjustment is terrible and it reclines TOO far. If I leave it in a reclined position (instead of locking it), I "float" to find a more comfortable position. However, it is an unstable seat that worsens my back even more. If it's caged I can't get it comfortable without a heck of a lot of work. It's big and heavy, but it's really uncomfortable for a big and heavy person. Continuing the longevity of this chair, it's something of a double-edged sword. The main chair holds up well in structure. But the obvious vinyl cover wears off quickly, and the sleeves (their upper part) fell apart. I had some old Mexican tourist trap blankets (little more than cotton twine woven together) to stuff and cover. I also added foam blocks on the back so it doesn't fold me forward. As for the armrests, I still had good armrests from my previous chair that miraculously actually fitted. So in my personal case, the chair works relatively well. But it took a lot of getting used to, lots of fine tuning (even adding washers and longer screws to the base to allow the backrest to recline properly) and lots of happy accidents to get the details on my old chair to fit. before it worked. All in all, if you're willing to work hard on the comfort of this chair, it's not too bad. But if you expect it to be user-friendly, workable, and durable (at least from a non-structural perspective), look elsewhere.