AmazonBasics Big & Tall Mesh Swivel Chair Review 2025

Are you on a budget?

Have you been frustrated in your quest to find a good-quality mesh office chair that can support you properly and has the basics covered in terms of ergonomic features?

If so, you will like what you read in this review.

While we readily admit that the AmazonBasics Big & Tall mesh swivel chair isn’t perfect, it’s a very good chair offered by a respected company known for delivering quality and value.

In the following sections, we’ll discuss every aspect of the chair in detail, letting you know what it does best and not pulling any punches about its shortcomings. Armed with that information, you’ll have everything you need to decide if this is the model you’ve been looking for.

​Amazon Basics Big & Tall Mesh Swivel Chair Key Features

Let’s start with aesthetics since the chair’s look will tell first impressions. Mesh chairs aren’t known for their attractiveness, but the AmazonBasics Big & Tall Mesh Swivel chair is surprisingly good-looking. This is mostly because it uses a thicker fabric-like mesh for the seat cover, which allows it to move into unobtrusive territory.

It’s not a chair that will win any beauty contests, just like other chairs in the AmazonBasics lineup, but it is designed along conventional lines. ​​Despite its impressive size, it manages to be unobtrusive enough that it blends seamlessly into whatever room you put it in, which isn’t bad. ​

​The design team didn’t take any chances here. This is purely a conventional design that puts function over form, and that’s okay by us.

Chair Specifications

In terms of the basic stats that define the chair, here’s a quick overview:

​There are a couple of things to discuss, most notably the impressive seat width of 23”. There aren’t many big and tall desk chairs on the market that match Amazon on this front, so if you’ve been struggling to find a good, sturdy chair that’s wide enough for you, this one belongs on your shortlist.

Combine that with the chair’s other stats, and it’s easy to see that almost every aspect of this model’s design is geared specifically for big and tall folks. That’s very good to see.

What often happens is that a company will try to design big and tall chairs that also cater to smaller folks, which is great if you have a busy household with several different people of various shapes and sizes all using the same chair. Still, unfortunately, it has the unavoidable impact of not appealing to as broad a swath of the big and tall segment of the market.

This isn’t that chair. From top to bottom, it’s a big and tall chair, and shorter people won’t fit very well into it. That’s okay, though; they can get their chair, right?

If you’re buying online, be aware that the images don’t do its impressive size justice. Since this is notably wider than most other chairs sold today, it will fill up whatever space you put it in. Yes, it’s got an unobtrusive design, but once you set your eyes firmly on it, you’ll realize just how big and imposing this piece of furniture is!

That, combined with its 450-pound maximum supported weight limit, makes it an excellent choice for the biggest and tallest in the market, a group that doesn’t get much attention from most companies making and selling office furniture today. 450 pounds isn’t the best in class, and a few companies offer more on that front, but it’s far above average, and kudos to Amazon for that.

Adjustability and Comfort

The Amazon Basics mesh doesn’t win any awards for adjustability or comfort, but it covers the basics well. You’ll find the mesh back delightfully breathable and the seat nearly as breathable. It’s also mesh but of a thicker, more tightly woven variety, and it’s stretched over a generous amount of conventional block foam padding, providing a comfortable but not luxuriant seating experience, even if you spend several hours a day in the chair.

Lift Function

The chair’s bottom has a simple lever for controlling the lift mechanism. The height can be adjusted from 18” to 22”, the standard range for big and tall chairs.

Recline Function

This model also features a tilt limiter control, allowing you to recline from 90 to 120 degrees. Again, that’s not the best in class, but it’s acceptable.

Height Adjustable Arms

One of the things we liked best about the model’s non-ergonomic features is that the chair arms are height adjustable. We wish they had been ergonomically designed and the arms could stand longer. Still, overall, the value and versatility of height-adjustable arms make that aspect of the chair shine, even with the other shortcomings of the arms.

Ergonomic Features

In our AmazonBasics Big & Tall Mesh Swivel Chair review, we will discuss only one aspect of ergonomics: lumbar support.

Height Adjustable Lumbar Support

In our view, that’s the single most important ergonomic feature an office chair can provide, and Amazon gets it right. Not only does the chair provide excellent lumbar support, but it’s also height adjustable, allowing you to tweak it to ensure it provides exactly the support you need, exactly where you need it.

Seat Design

The seat design gamely tries to emulate a waterfall-edge design but doesn’t quite live up to it. It does provide good support, and it may have some ergonomic value in that it curves down slightly at the edge, which will probably help your leg circulation, but it’s not quite the same as a waterfall-edge design. We’d still rate it a good try, though, as it adds some ergonomic value to the overall design.

While we’d love to have seen a few additional ergonomic features, given the modest price of the chair, we’re not at all dissatisfied. To find similarly priced chairs, click here.

Assembly Required, Of Course

As with almost all office furniture, when the AmazonBasics Big & Tall​ Swivel chair arrives at your doorstep, it will come unassembled and in a giant box. Fortunately, Amazon’s assembly instructions are quite clear, and the production quality is good, so the assembly process is pretty painless and straightforward.

Two things to note here, however: 

First, again, this is a big chair. Because of that, wrestling the seat back into position and attaching it to the seat is not a trivial task if you’re doing it by yourself.

Second, while the production quality is good, it falls short of being great, so some of the screw holes may be a bit rough. Be mindful of that as you’re putting it together so you don’t scrape or cut yourself!

Once the chair is fully assembled, that won’t be a problem, but it could be a pain (literally) while you’re wrestling the pieces into position initially.

Expect the process to take about 40 minutes if you’re putting it together independently. If you have a trusty assistant to lend a hand, you’ll shave ten to fifteen minutes off of that time. Once the chair is ready for first use, you’re all set except for occasional re-tightening as needed, so don’t lose track of the included Hex wrench.

Amazon Basics Big & Tall Pros and Cons

Overall, this is a good, impressively sized chair. The AmazonBasics Big & Tall Mesh Chair is not the best in class, and it isn’t brimming with cutting-edge features, but it’s got the basics covered. It does everything you want and expects an office chair to do, providing excellent lumbar support. That and the presence of height-adjustable arms count as its two most impressive features.

If we could make any changes to the chair we wanted, we’d add three things:

This would give the chair three additional ergonomic support features. If they were all implemented, along with the lumbar support, it would make this a powerful force in the market without adding a crazy amount to the cost. Even without those things, though, it’s still a solid value for the money.

AmazonBasics Big & Tall Mesh Swivel Chair Review Conclusion

We like the design and recommend the AmazonBasics Big & Tall Mesh Swivel Chair without reservation. It’s a good chair offered at a great price, and there’s nothing wrong with that. This is an excellent choice if you’re on a budget and looking for a wide, sturdy office chair.

Recommended Reading

Official Manufacturer Support

REFERENCES & RESOURCES

• AmazonBasics, Official Brand Website.
• AmazonBasics Big & Tal Mesh Swivel Chair User Manual.
• Swivel Chairs – A Brief History, Chworkspace Blog.
• Swivel Chairs, John Eric, Trevor Moore & Associates.
• A Little TLC for Your Mesh Office Chair, OsPros.com.