Humanscale Liberty Chair Editorial Review
Posted by Human Solution on Jan 25th 2009
The Humanscale Liberty Chair simplifies the automated design of the popular Humanscale Freedom Chair. The Liberty chair includes only two standard points for manual adjustment: seat height and seat depth. A third, arm-height adjustment, may be made on Liberty models with the optional height-adjustable arms. The remainder of the chairs adjustments are made dynamically. An intelligent seat mechanism measures a users trunk weight and adjusts recline tension appropriately.
This intelligent mechanism, working in tandem with the Liberty chair’s unique 3-piece mesh back design, creates a chair that naturally follows the user without ever touching a button.
The Liberty chair comes standard with a foam seat, though an excellent gel seat is available as an option. Read my recent discussion on Foam Vs. Gel seats to help decide which is best for you.
- The Good:
The Humanscale Liberty chair has a number of enviable features, but the most unique is the 3-piece mesh back. Inspired by the trim fit of tailored men’s shirts, designer Niels Diffrient set out to create a mesh back that tracks the sitter's motions. I have found that even when I fidget, the mesh will continue to follow and support my back and shoulders.
The dynamic adjustment mechanism used on the Liberty chair is one of the most fluent on the ergonomic market. The chair glides effortlessly, making it an extension of your body. I never noticed the ease of adjustment until I traded my Liberty chair for a co-workers more traditional, knob driven ergonomic chair.
Humanscale offers optional short, standard and tall cylinders, which lets the Liberty chair fit a wide range of users from the 5’ woman to the 6’4” man.
- The Bad
In their effort to simplify, Humanscale removed two points of adjustment available on the Freedom chair. Back height and arm width are fixed on the Liberty. While customer complaints on these issues are almost non-existent, I would have liked the ability to draw in the arms a little further for tasks at the keyboard.
- Bottom Line
Ultimately I believe Humanscale has created one of the most comfortable and accommodating mesh backed chairs on the ergonomic market. The automatic adjustment moves naturally, and the unique back is unrivaled in its ability to mold to each user. I have sat in a Humanscale Liberty Chair for over a year and given the opportunity to change anything, I would simply buy a different color to change the look of the office.
Related Posts: Humanscale Seats: Foam vs. Gel Why I Sit In A Humanscale Liberty Chair